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Written Question
Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for February 2023, how many staff in his Department received training as a result of the payments to (a) The Hawkhills on 16 February and (b) Bristol Beacon on 22 February; and for what purpose each training course was required.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

(a) The payment made on the government procurement card on 16 February was for one member of the Incident Response and Coordination team attending the Strategic Emergency Management course delivered by the Emergency Planning College at The Hawkhills in York on 23 and 24 March 2023. The cost covered the Emergency Planning College’s two day residential Strategic Emergency Management training and accommodation, as published in their course prospectus.

This course is available to all organisations with a role in strategic emergency management and is not specifically for Cabinet Office staff. The delegate attended to further develop their skills and abilities to provide strategic management to critical incidents in line with their job role.

(b) The event at the Bristol Beacon was aimed at 47 members of the Government Property Agency (GPA). The purpose was to launch the GPA South West and South Wales Community Group. The event was important given the essential role of the community in:

  • Supporting the Levelling up agenda and connecting with Head of Place activities

  • Delivering the GPA strategic objectives within the region

  • Driving cross-organisational working to enable GPA to best support its customers - civil servants working in GPA offices in the area


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for April 2023, what the nature was of the training and development services for which Happy or Not Ltd. were paid £1,794 on 13 April, and for what purpose they will be used by his Department.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Honourable Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood to the answer provided on 6th May PQ 186920.


Written Question
10 Downing Street: Video Recordings
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many hours of staff time were involved in (a) designing, producing and editing the video footage, music and graphics and (b) drafting and recording the voiceover used in the film entitled May: The Rewind, published on the 10 Downing Street Twitter account on 2 June 2023; and whether any other public money was spent on the preparation of the film.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

No10’s digital content is produced in-house as part of the wider communications team output. Civil servants are not required to fill out time sheets.

A range of digital content is published on No10’s digital channels on a regular basis.

The video is available to the public at: https://www.facebook.com/100069280206756/videos/982077386441926


Written Question
10 Downing Street: Video Recordings
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason his Department deleted the film entitled May: The Rewind, published on the 10 Downing Street Twitter account on 2 June 2023, on the same evening that it was published; and whether he plans to (a) publish the film elsewhere and (b) produce an equivalent film to catalogue the work of the Prime Minister during the month of June.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

No10’s digital content is produced in-house as part of the wider communications team output. Civil servants are not required to fill out time sheets.

A range of digital content is published on No10’s digital channels on a regular basis.

The video is available to the public at: https://www.facebook.com/100069280206756/videos/982077386441926


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, for how many (a) nights and (b) individuals was (i) £4,363 spent at The Kensington Hotel, on 7 November 2022 and (ii) £1,743.44 spent at A Taj Hotel, London, on 23 January 2023; and for what purpose was that accommodation required.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

Regarding the first payment for £4,363, although the payment is listed on 7 November 2022, that is, in fact, the date the final transaction was settled by the Cabinet Office. The payment was made in October 2022 and relates to ten members of staff who were supporting the delivery of events in relation to the funeral of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as part of a 24-hour government secretariat.

Regarding the second payment for £1,743.44, again the payment date listed is the date the transaction was cleared from the Cabinet Office system. The payment was made in November and relates to two individuals accommodation for 5 nights in London w/c 5th December 2022. These staff were supporting the delivery of an Learning & Development event for senior civil servants as part of the Leadership College for Government offer for permanent secretaries, directors general and equivalents, called the Civil Service Leadership Group.

There is a central contract in place for travel booking including an e-platform in order to provide easy price comparison, payment processing and reporting for staff travel and subsistence driving value for money for taxpayers. Occasionally it is necessary for staff to conduct separate searches for accommodation providers, to continue to achieve the best value during market driven surge pricing such as around major events.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, for how many (a) nights and (b) individuals was (i) £532.16 spent at The Capital Menlyn, Pretoria, on 5 October 2022; (ii) £577.18 spent at the Melia Bali, Indonesia, on 2 November 2022; and (iii) £547.15 spent at The Hotel Palace, Berlin, on 19 December 2022; and on each occasion, for what purpose was that accommodation required.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The spends made between 5 October 2022 and 19 December 2022 were related to COP26 events. The team that incurred these costs has now been disbanded. To provide this information would exceed the threshold and incur a disproportionate cost to the Cabinet Office.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, for how many (a) nights and (b) individuals were payments totalling £3,855.72 made for accommodation to The Four Seasons, Seattle on (i) 25 November 2022 and (ii) 7 December 2022; and for what purpose that accommodation was required.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The spends made between 5 October 2022 and 19 December 2022 were related to COP26 events. The team that incurred these costs has now been disbanded. To provide this information would exceed the threshold and incur a disproportionate cost to the Cabinet Office.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, for how many (a) nights and (b) individuals were payments totalling £12,878.83 made for accommodation to The Dupont Circle Hotel, Washington DC on (i) 25 November 2022 and (ii) 14-15 December 2022; and for what purpose that accommodation was required.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The spends made between 5 October 2022 and 19 December 2022 were related to COP26 events. The team that incurred these costs has now been disbanded. To provide this information would exceed the threshold and incur a disproportionate cost to the Cabinet Office.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, for how many (a) nights and (b) individuals were payments totalling £3,072.17 made for accommodation to The Sofitel Metropole, Hanoi, on (i) 24 October 2022, (ii) 25 November 2022 and (iii) 15 December 2022; and for what purpose that accommodation was required.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The spends made between 5 October 2022 and 19 December 2022 were related to COP26 events. The team that incurred these costs has now been disbanded. To provide this information would exceed the threshold and incur a disproportionate cost to the Cabinet Office.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 in November 2022, if he will provide the location of the St Regis hotel at which £4,846.01 was spent on accommodation on 29 November 2022; for how many (a) nights and (b) individuals that accommodation was purchased; and for what purpose that accommodation was required.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The spends made between 5 October 2022 and 19 December 2022 were related to COP26 events. The team that incurred these costs has now been disbanded. To provide this information would exceed the threshold and incur a disproportionate cost to the Cabinet Office.