Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support scientific innovation in sustainable transport research.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Net Zero Innovation Board oversees the Government’s portfolio of research supporting the transition to net zero and is chaired by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser. The Department for Transport is investing £377m over the current Spending Review period into research & development on decarbonisation.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I refer the Hon. Member to PQ 136762 – Cabinet Office is unable to provide the full spend for 2022-23 until after the end of the current Financial Year.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
Department for Business and Trade was created on 7 February in a Machinery of Government change. During the period in question, the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) were operating as two separate Departments.
DIT expenditure was: £648,408.47.
It is not possible to disaggregate the BEIS expenditure.
DIT spend
Year | Total Spend |
20/21 | £183,480.00 |
21/22 | £161,970.70 |
22/23 year to date 31/01/23 | £302,957.77 |
Total | £648,408.47 |
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of VAT applied to electric vehicle charging on his electric vehicle policies.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has committed to keeping the transition to electric vehicles affordable for consumers across the UK. Taxation policy and its impacts are taken into consideration when developing policies that will support and accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles. Taxation is a matter for HM Treasury and the Chancellor keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Will Quince
The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Cabinet Office will on most occasions procure recruitment consultancy services through Crown Commercial Service (“CCS”) Framework Agreements. Procuring through CCS Framework Agreements delivers consistency and efficiency savings through providing a range of benefits, such as:
Access to pre-assessed capable and proven suppliers;
Reducing the need for repeat campaigns;
Capped maximum costs protecting from market price increases;
Notable saving against market rates on average;
No hidden costs of service; and
Vendors may agree to further discounts for large campaigns.
Venders are also aware of, and must support, government diversity and inclusion requirements when providing their services.
The relevant CCS Framework relating to recruitment consultancy services was established in November 2018 and its first year was a transitional year. Spend incurred by Cabinet Office in the first two full years post-transition are £216,868 for financial year 2020-21 and £206,048 for financial year 2021-22.
The Cabinet Office continues to encourage the use of the CCS Framework across the Department as standard.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales has spent nothing on recruitment consultants in the last three years.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Steve Baker
The amount spent by the Department on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years was:
2019-20 - £31,380
2020-21 - £10,395
2021-22 - £42,336
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alister Jack
The Scotland Office has not spent any money on recruitment consultants in the last three years.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The records available to the Department for Transport via the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), as declared by suppliers on their permanent recruitment frameworks, for each of the last three years are as follows:
2020/21 | £100,044.62 |
2021/22 | £45,532.00 |
2022/23 | £189,376.90 (to date) |
Note: Recruitment consultancies are used by the department to attract the talent and specialist skills required to deliver its strategic objectives and services. It is possible, but unlikely, that some spend has occurred that has not been declared by suppliers, although the Department’s internal finance system does not record data in such a way that allows this to be cross-checked. These totals are inclusive of recruitment to the Department for Transport and its Executive Agencies (DVSA, DVLA, MCA, VCA and ATE) and for both senior civil service (SCS) and delegated grade recruitment. The figure for 20/21 was higher than expected due to a higher volume of recruitment targeted at individuals with specialist/hard to recruit skills. The increase in 22/23 over the previous year results from a renewed focus on the department’s places for growth agenda and a growing focus on recruiting outside London.