Deidre Brock

The Church Commissioners recieved a total net income of £8,858,429 from forestry and windfarms between 1st January 2018 to the 31st December 2018.

We are unable to provide a figure for profit in the equivalent period as liabilities, including for restocking, will be borne over a number of years and the cost of purchasing the asset should be taken into consideration.

The Church Commissioners hold 12,333.67 hectares of land in Scotland.

As of December 2018 the forestry holdings of the Church Commissioners amounted to 103,138 acres across the United Kingdom, United States of America and Australia. The Church Commissioners most recent Annual Report sets out in more detail its timberland investments: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/Church%20Commissioners%20Annual%20Report%202017.pdf

All forests managed by the Church Commissioners conform to the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme (UKWAS) and the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS), and have Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification. The FSC is recognised by WWF as the “hallmark of responsible forest management”. The Church Commissioners are not required to report under the Scottish Natural Heritage's ‘Biodiversity Duty Guidance and Advice in its forestry estates in Scotland’, as this applies only to public bodies.

In order to comply with the Forestry Stewardship Council, UK Woodland Assurance Scheme and UK Forestry Standards, forests must contain a maximum of 75% primary species. Latest figures for forests in Scotland managed by the Church Commissioners show that they contain around 65% Sitka spruce, though that percentage was higher when the forests were first planted in the 1960s and 1970s. The remainder comprises native broadleaves and other conifer species such as Scots pine, Norway spruce, Douglas fir and open ground. Open ground makes up approximatley 19% of the area under management and mostly comprises native grasses, water (ponds, streams and rivers), heather and rock outcrops. The Church Commissioners will achieve at least 5% native broadleaves by the end of the first rotation.

The Church Commissioners receive no direct Government support for maintaining redundant or under-utilised churches.

The Church Commissioners and DCMS provide financial support for the Churches Conservation Trust, which cares for redundant churches of special architectural significance, and for which no suitable alternative use can be found. The Grants to the Churches Conservation Trust Order 2016, (which can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111142738) sets out the basis of Government funding from 1^st April 2016 to 31^st March 2020.

The underlying financial health of the Church of England’s parishes is a testament to the generosity of the commitment of congregations and local communities across the country. The most recent assessment of Church of England parish finances relate to 2016 when total giving to the 12,400 parishes was £3million more than the previous year. Between 2010 and 2016 total giving increased by 8.5%.

The figures also show that in 2016 Church of England parishes donated £46 million to supporting other charities working in the UK around the world, from foodbanks and local children's charities to international aid appeals.

Detailed figures for giving and charitable donations can be found in the 2016 Parish Finances Statistics here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2018-10/2016ParishFinanceStatistics.pdf

The Department for Education social media team consisting of five full time staff also cover the social media work for the Government Equalities Office.

The Electoral Commission welcomed the publication of Sir Eric Pickles' review into electoral fraud and is now carefully considering the detail of its recommendations. The Commission has noted that the review supports a number of its own longstanding recommendations, including its call for voter ID, first put forward in 2014.

The Commission is an independent statutory body which reports and is accountable to the UK and Scottish Parliaments. It will publish a full response to Sir Eric’s review in due course and a copy will be placed in the House Library.

The Church Commissioners have no plans to undertake such an assessment.

Through its network of parishes and dioceses the Church of England is present in all the communities of England. The clergy and people of the Church of England are well placed to hear, articulate and respond to the needs and concerns of local communities. This plays an important role in informing the public engagement of the Church on social policy matters especially at local level.

The two Houses have established a Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster which will report and make recommendations to both Houses on the future restoration and renewal of the Palace. It will be for the two Houses to decide in due course whether or not they wish to make changes to the layout and seating arrangements of their respective Chambers in conjunction with the essential replacement of service infrastructure and other repairs to the fabric of the building. I am sure that the Joint Committee will be happy to receive the hon. Lady's ideas on this subject.

An option to move Parliament out of the Palace of Westminster to a new purpose-built building was included in the Restoration and Renewal Pre-Feasibility Study of 2012. The House of Commons Commission reviewed that study on 29 October 2012. It decided to rule out the option of constructing a new building away from Westminster and agreed that no further analysis would be undertaken on this option. The House Committee of the House of Lords took a similar view.

The House of Commons Commission and the House of Lords House Committee asked for the independent appraisal of options for restoring and renewing the Palace of Westminster that was published on 18 June. The IOA does not test value for money as such, because it is not yet possible to quantify the benefits of the different options in cash terms. Instead it recommends that value for money should be tested in the course of drawing up a business case in the next phase. The Commission expects value for money to be central to the work of the Joint Committee that is to be set up to take this matter forward.

The UK has Bilateral Investment Treaties in force with 94 countries and has never faced a serious investor-state dispute claim.

The UK Government regulates in a responsible manner – by not discriminating on the basis of nationality or expropriating assets without compensation – therefore the existence of investor-state dispute settlement systems doesn’t impact on decisions about public service provision in the UK.

Neither the Government nor any other UK public body have been involved in any investor-state dispute settlement claims that have either had a tribunal ruling or reached any settlement since 1997 under our entire network of bilateral and multilateral investment protection agreements.

The UK is not subject to any centres for investor-state dispute settlement. However, we have included reference to a number of institutions related to international dispute resolution in our bilateral investment treaties: the Swedish Chamber of Commerce (SCC), the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a part of the World Bank, and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The SCC and ICSID can provide a venue and procedural rules for arbitral proceedings and UNCITRAL just provides procedural rules.

The UK is party to 94 Bilateral Investment Treaties and the Energy Charter Treaty, all of which include an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. A list of the UK’s Bilateral Investment Treaties is available online (also including treaties terminated by South Africa and Bolivia) at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130104161243/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/treaties/treaty-texts/ippas-investment-promotion/.

The Government has been involved in one investor-state dispute settlement claim under our network of bilateral and multilateral investment protection treaties. We received notice of the claim in 2006 but the investor has not completed the procedural requirements for the claim to be heard by a tribunal. Other public bodies in the UK have never faced an investor-state dispute settlement claim.

Trade unions have a constructive role to play in maintaining positive industrial relations. The British Social Attitudes Survey and the Workplace Employment Relations Survey provide information on how the population, employers and union members view the services and activities of Trade Unions. The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates of the approximate Gross Added Value for Trade Union activities as well as the number of disputes (and days lost to industrial action).

I refer you to my response to PQ 14436 on the appointment process for the Chair. The same process was followed for appointing the clinical experts. Browne Jacobson LLP secured the contract to provide legal advice via Direct Award. Details of the legal firm contract award were published on Contracts Finder on 7 February.

The Government has moved as quickly as possible to ensure that it has access to the technical expertise necessary to inform its decision-making in relation to the Infected Blood Inquiry recommendations on compensation. The expert group formally began work on 22 January. The names of the other members of the expert group will not be disclosed to safeguard their privacy and ability to continue their frontline work while advising on Government policy.

As their work relates to the formulation and development of Government policy, their advice, evidence and methodologies as well as the minutes and agendas of their meetings will not be published.

The Government is considering all recommendations of the Second Interim Report alongside the recommendations of Sir Robert Francis’s Compensation Framework Study, and the advice from the expert group will inform this. The purpose of the expert group is to provide technical assistance in understanding how the Inquiry’s recommendations could work in practice. The Government is committed to engaging with the community and updating Parliament on progress of the Government response to the Infected Blood Inquiry as appropriate.

The Government has committed to responding to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Final Report and this response will be informed by the advice of the expert group.

I refer you to my response to PQ 14436 on the appointment process for the Chair. The same process was followed for appointing the clinical experts. Browne Jacobson LLP secured the contract to provide legal advice via Direct Award. Details of the legal firm contract award were published on Contracts Finder on 7 February.

The Government has moved as quickly as possible to ensure that it has access to the technical expertise necessary to inform its decision-making in relation to the Infected Blood Inquiry recommendations on compensation. The expert group formally began work on 22 January. The names of the other members of the expert group will not be disclosed to safeguard their privacy and ability to continue their frontline work while advising on Government policy.

As their work relates to the formulation and development of Government policy, their advice, evidence and methodologies as well as the minutes and agendas of their meetings will not be published.

The Government is considering all recommendations of the Second Interim Report alongside the recommendations of Sir Robert Francis’s Compensation Framework Study, and the advice from the expert group will inform this. The purpose of the expert group is to provide technical assistance in understanding how the Inquiry’s recommendations could work in practice. The Government is committed to engaging with the community and updating Parliament on progress of the Government response to the Infected Blood Inquiry as appropriate.

The Government has committed to responding to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Final Report and this response will be informed by the advice of the expert group.

I refer you to my response to PQ 14436 on the appointment process for the Chair. The same process was followed for appointing the clinical experts. Browne Jacobson LLP secured the contract to provide legal advice via Direct Award. Details of the legal firm contract award were published on Contracts Finder on 7 February.

The Government has moved as quickly as possible to ensure that it has access to the technical expertise necessary to inform its decision-making in relation to the Infected Blood Inquiry recommendations on compensation. The expert group formally began work on 22 January. The names of the other members of the expert group will not be disclosed to safeguard their privacy and ability to continue their frontline work while advising on Government policy.

As their work relates to the formulation and development of Government policy, their advice, evidence and methodologies as well as the minutes and agendas of their meetings will not be published.

The Government is considering all recommendations of the Second Interim Report alongside the recommendations of Sir Robert Francis’s Compensation Framework Study, and the advice from the expert group will inform this. The purpose of the expert group is to provide technical assistance in understanding how the Inquiry’s recommendations could work in practice. The Government is committed to engaging with the community and updating Parliament on progress of the Government response to the Infected Blood Inquiry as appropriate.

The Government has committed to responding to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Final Report and this response will be informed by the advice of the expert group.

The number of civil servants reported in post by government departments and executive agencies as at 31 March 2023 based in Queen Elizabeth House is presented in the table below. The postcode for Queen Elizabeth House, 1 Sibbald, Edinburgh is EH8 8FT.

Information on consultants based or employed at Queen Elizabeth House is not centrally available.

Table 1: Civil Servants whose postcode of government establishment or other workplace where employed or based is EH8 8FT, by civil service organisation and working pattern, as at 31 March 2023

Source: Annual Civil Service Employment Statistics (ACSES), Cabinet Office

[s] = confidential and suppressed due to small numbers of between 1 and 4.

Numbers are rounded to the nearest five.

Additional departments and their civil servants may be based/employed at Queen Elizabeth House but may not show in the data due to non-reporting of postcode information when reporting their locations information to Cabinet Office through ACSES.

The data in the table refers to civil service organisations and civil servants only. Data for non-civil service organisations are not available centrally.

The Cabinet Secretariat in the Cabinet Office exists to support the Prime Minister and the chairs of Cabinet committees in ensuring that government business is conducted in an effective and timely way and that proper collective consideration takes place. This includes providing secretariat support for the Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) Cabinet committee.

The most recent Cabinet Office organogram of staff roles and salaries for the period ending 31 March 2023 is published at:

https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/ff76be1f-4f37-4bef-beb7-32b259413be1/organogram-of-staff-roles-salaries/datafile/33e688f4-2903-44d1-817a-332b399549d6/preview#organogram

There is no individual budget for the Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) committee, as it sits within the broader Cabinet Secretariat in the Cabinet Office.

Within the Cabinet Office there are 1.5 full time equivalent members of staff who support the operation of the Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) Committee, working with policy teams across government departments, as is typical for Cabinet committees.

This reflects one full time member of staff supporting the Committee alongside other members of staff, which equates to 50% of a full time member of staff.

The Government’s position on domestic flights is outlined in my answer of 24 February 2023, PQ 143903. The Ministerial Code was last updated on 22 December 2022 and there are no plans for further updates.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 24 February is attached and the completed answer will be deposited in the House of Commons Library.

The Domestic & Economic (Efficiency and Value for Money) Committee is a Cabinet Committee.

Membership of Cabinet Committees is decided by the Prime Minister. GOV.UK is updated regularly with the list of Cabinet Committees, their terms of reference, and membership.

The Domestic & Economic (Efficiency and Value for Money) Committee is a Cabinet Committee.

Membership of Cabinet Committees is decided by the Prime Minister. GOV.UK is updated regularly with the list of Cabinet Committees, their terms of reference, and membership.

The Domestic & Economic (Efficiency and Value for Money) Committee is a Cabinet Committee.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

Staffing costs for the Government Communication Service within the Cabinet Office, including No10, were approximately £18.3m in 2019-20, £25.1m in 2020-21 and £27.2m in 2021-22. Over this period, the Cabinet Office has responded to extraordinary national and global events, such as COVID-19 and UK Transition, through the running of large centralised public information campaigns.

The figures provided include staff loaned or seconded from other government departments who supported the centralised public information campaigns.

Staffing costs for the Government Communication Service within COP26 was approximately £623,000 in 2020-21 and £1.2m in 2021-22.

Staffing costs for the Government Communication Service within the Cabinet Office, including No10, were approximately £18.3m in 2019-20, £25.1m in 2020-21 and £27.2m in 2021-22. Over this period, the Cabinet Office has responded to extraordinary national and global events, such as COVID-19 and UK Transition, through the running of large centralised public information campaigns.

The figures provided include staff loaned or seconded from other government departments who supported the centralised public information campaigns.

Staffing costs for the Government Communication Service within COP26 was approximately £623,000 in 2020-21 and £1.2m in 2021-22.

Staffing costs for the Government Communication Service within the Cabinet Office, including No10, were approximately £18.3m in 2019-20, £25.1m in 2020-21 and £27.2m in 2021-22. Over this period, the Cabinet Office has responded to extraordinary national and global events, such as COVID-19 and UK Transition, through the running of large centralised public information campaigns.

The figures provided include staff loaned or seconded from other government departments who supported the centralised public information campaigns.

Staffing costs for the Government Communication Service within COP26 was approximately £623,000 in 2020-21 and £1.2m in 2021-22.