Emily Thornberry

As per the former Solicitor General’s (Sarah Sackman KC MP) answer of 31 October to Question 9604, following the dissolution of the last Parliament on 30 May 2024 and before the General Election on 4 July 2024, officials in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) arranged for the two ministerial offices to be modestly refurbished. The costs are set out in that answer.

No other refurbishment has taken place between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

With apologies to the Rt. Hon. Member, the answer has now been published.

The Government Property Agency confirmed £230,462.01* excluding VAT was spent during the period 4th July 2022 to 4th July 2024 on new furniture and fittings plus other refurbishment (including moves) This is broken down as follows:

• New Furniture and Fittings - £215,030.73*

• Other Refurbishment of Ministerial Offices including moves - £15,431.28*

The full itemised list can be found below:

(a) new furniture and fittings

Covering the period from the creation of DESNZ, as announced by the Prime Minister on 7 February 2023 to 4 July 2024

• Date Reference: 31/10/2023

• What: New office furniture (desks, chairs, tables) as a result of the move from 1 Victoria Street to 55 Whitehall and the creation of DESNZ.

• How Much: £141,781.00 ex VAT

• Date Reference: 31/10/2023

• What: Installation of Audio Visual (AV) Equipment

• How Much: £73,249.73 ex VAT

Please note: the costs above were incurred as part of existing refurbishment and move taking place for DESNZ, and were not costs incurred from additional requests from Ministers.

*Additionally: Additional Changes in 55WH after the handover of the building included the request to swap the Ministerial Office with the Private Office. This was requested on 20/11/2023 and required the use of pre-existing furniture which required porterage, however, unfortunately the GPA has been unable to source the cost or exact details of what was ordered at this time by the deadline.

(b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices

Covering the period from the creation of DESNZ, as announced by the Prime Minister on 7 February 2023 to 4 July 2024:

• Date Reference: 26/10/23 to 03/11/23

• What: Relocation of Ministerial Team 1VS to 55WH

• How Much: £10,362.28 ex VAT

• Date Reference: 06/12/2023

• What: Floorbox changes to ministerial and private office rooms. Please note that we are unable to proportionately split this cost between the minister’s room and the private offices.

• How much: £5,069 ex VAT

During this period, DESNZ was originally part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) which was dissolved on 7th February 2023 and split into DESNZ, DSIT and DBT. As a result of this, the former BEIS departments were moved out of 1 Victoria Street and into different buildings The GPA has no record of any ministerial furniture or refurbishment expenditure at the former BEIS office (1 Victoria Street) during the requested period.

The Government Property Agency confirmed £24,315.62 excluding VAT was spent during the period 4th July 2022 to 4th July 2024 on new furniture and fittings plus other refurbishment (including moves) This is broken down as follows;

• New Furniture and Fittings - £526.87

• Other Refurbishment of Ministerial Offices including moves - £23,788.75

The full itemised list can be found below:

(a) new furniture and fittings

Covering the period from the creation of DSIT, as announced by the Prime Minister on 7 February 2023 to 4 July 2024:

• Date reference: 01/03/2023

• What: Supply and installation of 4x key safe for private offices

• How much: £302.89 ex VAT

• Note: 1x key safe out of these 4 key safes was for the DSIT Permanent Secretary’s room (not ministerial) - however, we are not able to separate the cost of this from the overall costs for these fittings and works as a whole

• Date reference: 02/02/2024

• What: Supply and installation of key safe for private office

• How much: £68.25 ex VAT

• Date reference: 02/04/2024

• What: Installation of portrait of HM The King at ministerial offices

• How much: £51.91 ex VAT

• Note: Portrait was supplied under the government's His Majesty The King's Portrait Scheme

• Date reference: 16/04/2024

• What: Installation of a heavy duty key safe for private office

• How much: £103.82 ex VAT

(b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices

Covering the period from the creation of DSIT, as announced by the Prime Minister on 7 February 2023 to 4 July 2024:

• Date reference: 26/7/2023

• What: Removal of whiteboards from wall, repair and redecoration (repainting) of damaged wall in ministerial office

• How much: £472.98 ex VAT

• Date reference: 7/8/2023

• What: Churn of furniture (relocation, repositioning, removal of furniture to storeroom and installing furniture from storeroom) in private offices

• How much: £311.47 ex VAT

• Date reference: 16/11/2023

• What: Churn of furniture (removal of furniture to storeroom and installing replacement furniture, reused from separate office) in ministerial office

• How much: £415.30 ex VAT

• Date reference: 15/12/2023

• What: Major churn of furniture (internal movement and relocation of furniture to move ministerial teams to different rooms from previous rooms) of ministerial and private offices

• How much: £13,661.92 ex VAT

• Date reference: 19/1/2024

• Removal of noticeboards and relocation of artwork, repair and redecoration (repainting) of damaged walls in 2x ministerial rooms

• How much: £1,855.57 ex VAT

• Date reference: 12/04/2024

• Removal of whiteboards from 3x walls, repair and redecoration (repainting) of damaged walls in ministerial office

• How much: £2,249.52 ex VAT

• Date reference: 21/06/2024

• What: Redecoration (repainting) of ministerial office

• How much: £1,539.77 ex VAT

• Note: Works completed prior to 4 July 2024

• Date reference: 27/06/2024

• What: Redecoration (repainting) of ministerial office, and installation of 7 pictures throughout ministerial office and private office

• How much: £3,281.99

• Note: Works completed prior to 4 July 2024

During this period DSIT was originally part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) which was dissolved on 7th February 2023 and split into DESNZ, DSIT and DBT. As a result of this, the former BEIS departments were moved out of 1 Victoria Street and into different buildings. The GPA has no record of any ministerial furniture or refurbishment expenditure at the former BEIS office (1 Victoria Street) during the requested period.

Mr Johnson's claim for the Public Duty Cost Allowance covering eligible costs incurred in 2022/23 was paid on 1 November 2023. This followed a decision made the previous month to grant an exception to the policy which requires all claims to be submitted by the end of quarter 1 of the following financial year. This was granted because Mr Johnson only began accruing eligible costs in late 2022/23.

Mr Johnson's claim for the Public Duty Cost Allowance covering eligible costs incurred in 2022/23 was paid on 1 November 2023. This followed a decision made the previous month to grant an exception to the policy which requires all claims to be submitted by the end of quarter 1 of the following financial year. This was granted because Mr Johnson only began accruing eligible costs in late 2022/23.

All facilities management services, including the procurement of furniture and undertaking of refurbishments, are carried out on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade, by the Government Property Agency (GPA).

The GPA have confirmed that they did not undertake any refurbishment work to Ministers offices in Old Admiralty Building, London, during the period specified.

Any ministerial furniture requests are administered by the GPA on behalf of the department and no central records are maintained by the department of such requests.

UKSBS have confirmed the following numbers of government procurement cards were held by the Department for Business and Trade/Department for International Trade:

UKSBS have confirmed that totals for executive agencies are not held.

The Department for Business and Trade (formerly Department for International Trade until July 2023) publishes all government procurement card (GPC) spend of over £500. This is available at:

a) (i) GPC spend over £500 for 2022:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-spending-over-500-for-2022

(ii) GPC spend over £500 for 2023 (Jan to June)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-spending-over-500-for-2023

GPC spend over £500 for 2023 (July and August)

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dbt-spending-over-500

GPC spend over £500 for 2023 (September to December)

£57,661.27

b) (i) GPC spend below £500 for 2022:

£233,872.67

(ii) GPC spend below £500 for 2023:

£380,373.90

The guiding policy setting out the requirement to publish GPC transactions over £500 remains in place. Guidance is available to all government departments on gov.uk at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e8b402686650c18ce2cb541/Procurement_Cards_-_Pan_Government_Policy_V4_06042020.pdf

The policy clearly sets out the standard that departments must publish to which covers transaction date, transaction reference, merchant name and the amount spent.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was created in February 2023, so no information is held for periods prior to that date.

However, even though DESNZ was set up in February 2023, the spilt across GPC cards was not done at that point and was much later, all data prior to 2024 was recorded as BEIS, so we hold no DESNZ data for 2023.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was created in February 2023, so no information is held for periods prior to that date.

However, even though DESNZ was set up in February 2023, the spilt across GPC cards was not done at that point and was much later, all data prior to 2024 was recorded as BEIS, so we hold no DESNZ data for 2023.

Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) only hold records for the core department and does not hold the requested information for 2022, as DSIT was established in February 2023. The DSIT cardholders at the end of 2023 calendar year total 35.

Department for Science Innovation and Technology does not hold the requested information for 2022 as DSIT was established in February 2023. The total department spent on government procurement card purchases between February 2023 to December 2023 are outlined below:

a) Above £500 - total £114,646

b) Below £500 - total £78,502

DCMS spent £120,687.71 incl VAT on the refurbishment of Ministerial offices during the period 4th July 2022 to 4th July 2024 on new furniture, fittings plus other refurbishment (including moves). This is broken down as follows:

New furniture and fittings: £106,736.66

Other refurbishment of Ministerial Office including moves: £13,951.04

The full itemised list can be found below:

i) £83,215.85

ii) 5 executive L-shaped desks made of veneered MDF and varnished wood veneer. 5 wood veneer meeting tables with power and media connectors for video conferencing. 5 coffee tables made of veneered MDF. 12 meeting chairs made of mid range fabric and leather arm pads.

iii) £23,521

iv) x5 soft furnishings and 1 bookcase

v) £13,951.04

vi) Painting and Decorating of 5 Ministerial offices

Core Department:

A total of 23 DCMS core civil servants held government procurement cards at the end of the 2022 calendar year. A total of 15 DCMS core civil servants held government procurement cards at the end of the 2023 calendar year. This enabled them to make purchases against the Department’s budget, subject to internal policy and approval.

Executive Agencies:

DCMS does not hold executive agency GPC data.

DCMS publishes departmental transaction level data on government procurement card purchases for transactions over £500 in accordance with policy. The guiding policy setting out the requirement to publish GPC transactions over £500 remains in place.

Guidance is available to all government departments on gov.uk at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e8b402686650c18ce2cb541/Procurement_Cards_-_Pan_Government_Policy_V4_06042020.pdf

The most recent publication of expenditure via GPCs at DCMS is available using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-spending-over-500-october-2024

1. With regards to transactions above £500, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent the following (minus refunds) via Government Procurement Cards:

i. 2022 - £168,578.66

ii. 2023 - £125,104.19

2. In relation to transactions below £500, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent the following (minus refunds) via Government Procurement Cards:

i. 2022 - £89,996.23

ii. 2023 - £89,065.33

The Secretary of State regularly engages with the BBC Chair on a range of issues, including the BBC World Service.

The BBC’s public service output is primarily funded through the licence fee. The World Service is also supported by a grant-in-aid from the government. Government funding for the World Service in FY 25-26 will be determined as part of the upcoming Spending Review.

In a time where the world faces huge challenges, the government is fully committed to a successful BBC World Service that continues to provide essential, impartial and accurate news coverage and programming reaching millions of people across the globe. The Government strongly values the BBC World Service as a UK soft power asset.

The department spent £608,685 on the refurbishment of Ministerial offices during the period 4 July 2022 to 4 July 2024 on new furniture and fittings and other refurbishment. This is broken down as follows:

• Furniture and Fittings - £127,385
• Refurbishment of Ministerial Offices - £481,300

The department has been undertaking a refurbishment project at Sanctuary Buildings to transform the building from its previous use as the department head office into a Government Property Agency (GPA) hub with multiple government occupants. This is part of the consolidation of buildings in and around Whitehall and will generate cost savings.

This project refurbished all relevant floors that the department occupies including where the Ministerial offices are located. As a result of this wider project, during the timeframe referenced, all Ministerial offices were rebuilt, and furniture replaced. As part of the renovation, the direct costs to create Ministerial rooms (excluding mechanical and engineering plant systems) includes costs for purchase and installation of carpets, wood panelling, paint upgrades and glass partitions.

A list of furniture and fittings purchased are available in the attached document.

The table below provides a breakdown of the Electronic Purchasing Card Solution (ePCS) cards that were held by staff within the department, its arms-length bodies and executive agencies as of 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023.

ePCS cards assist with the reduction in procurement bureaucracy, boost efficiency, support the government’s Prompt Payment initiative for small-and-medium sized enterprises, and help maintain cash flow to suppliers.

The department has a clear policy for card allocation which involves confirmation from budget holders to approve the issuing, and use of cards to staff within their delegated budget areas.

The department has robust controls in place that limit purchase types and values and these are regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure acceptable card usage in line with the Pan-Government policy: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/payment-cards-pan-government-policy.

The department, including its Arm’s Length Bodies and Executive Agencies, spent the following amounts via an Electronic Procurement Card Solution (ePCS), previously known as Government Procurement Card (GPC):

(a) Spending above £500

The department publishes its ePCS expenditure over £500 data on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-government-procurement-card-gpc-over-500 . The amounts published are consistent with the transparency policy and guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/payment-cards-pan-government-policy .

For the calendar years, the total value of the sum of individual ePCS transactions above £500 (and net of individual refund transactions above £500) was (i) £4,665,676.98 in 2022 and (ii) £8,949,303.97 in 2023.

There are differences between the terms of this question and the Pan Government Policy. For example, in the treatment of individual transactions made on the same day, refunds and the time periods considered

(b) Spending below £500

For the calendar years, the total value of the sum of individual ePCS transactions below £500 (and net of individual refund transactions below £500) was (i) £416,010.02 in 2022 and (ii) £630,834.53 in 2023.

Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024 approximately £5,700 (inclusive of VAT) was spent on renovation and improvements to Ministerial Offices.

Incurred costs were:

• Reupholstery of 14 leather-seated meeting chairs - @ £3,450.00
• 2x Floor standing lamps - @ £2,194.20 for two.
• 2 x mounted mirrors - @ £59.90 for two.

The table below sets out the number of cardholders at the end of each calendar year, by organisation.

(a) Published departmental transaction level data on government procurement

card (GPC) purchases for transactions over £500 in accordance with policy are at the following link:

https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/710cd410-0724-4aac-b891-e48e9ec50d66/defra-government-procurement-card-spend-transactions-over-500

The guiding policy setting out the requirement to publish GPC transactions over £500 remains in place. Guidance is available to all government departments on gov.uk at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e8b402686650c18ce2cb541/Procurement_Cards_-_Pan_Government_Policy_V4_06042020.pdf

The policy clearly sets out the standard that departments must publish to which covers

transaction date, transaction reference, merchant name and the amount spent.

(b) The following table sets out the core department’s expenditure using government procurement cards for transactions under £500 for each of the calendar years stated.

Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024 the Department spent £405 on furniture for Ministerial offices. No other costs were incurred during this period.

The number of Government Procurement Cards allocated to individuals for making purchases against (a) the core Department's budget was:

(i) As of December 31, 2022: 325

(ii) As of December 31, 2023: 324

The number of Government Procurement Cards allocated to individuals for making purchases against (b) the executive agencies’ budgets was:

(i) As of December 31, 2022: 304

(ii) As of December 31, 2023: 280

The Department for Transport has a clear policy for card allocation. Applications for cards must be accompanied by confirmation that budget holders approve the issue of the card within their delegated budget areas. The application confirms the Merchant Category Codes the individual is authorised to use and proposed card transaction limit and monthly limit. Card applications must include a signature to confirm that the cardholder has read and accepted departmental policies and the consequences of misuse.

(a) The value of spend for purchases under £500 made against the Department’s budget using a Government Procurement Card was:

(i) in calendar year 2022 - £391,995.07

(ii) in calendar year 2023 - £415,715.73

(b) The value of spend for purchases over £500 made against the Department’s budget using a Government Procurement Card was:

(i) in calendar year 2022 - £567,711.85

(ii) in calendar year 2023 - £633,173.21

There was nil spend in relation to the Ministers' Private Offices, on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in her Department between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

a.) We do not hold this data historically, as the system (Smart Data Online SDOL) that we use to record ePCS management information will only give us a list of active cardholders' data as of today's date; we do not have the capability to look back as of the time required.

b.) After confirming the numbers for executive agencies bodies, the numbers of active cardholders were:

Health and Safety Executive:

2022 – 47

2023 – 38

Office for Nuclear Regulation:

2022 – 8

2023 – 11

The table below shows the government procurement card spend split by transactions above £500 and transactions of £500 and below for the 2022 and 2023 calendar years. Figures are net of refunded payments.

(Source: Smart Data Online)

Information about payments above £500 can be found here: DWP and CMG spending over £500 - GOV.UK

The Department spent £140,000 in 2023 to remove a suite of individual ministerial offices and replace these with a flexible co-working space. The Department spent £321,000 between January and 4 July 2024 to build new ministerial offices.

In relation to the number of Government procurement cards held by staff within the core Department, I refer the Hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury to the answer given on 18 January 2024 to Question PQ8714.

In addition, the following table shows the number of cards held by the Department’s two executive agencies, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in 2022 and 2023:

The Department publishes procurement card transactions of a value greater than £500, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dh-spending-over-500

The following table shows the total spend, net of refunds, for transactions lower than £500, for 2022 and 2023:

The FCDO's UK Estate comprises five primary sites in the UK. Each building has a separated operational budget from which furniture and fittings are procured, either by planned projects or through reactive requests. Office refurbishments are completed as required and are not seen as specific to Ministerial requirements. We are unable to separate costs specifically for Ministerial offices within the deadline period due to the complexities created by separating expenditure. However, previously we have been able to confirm no specific works in Ministerial offices between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2023.

We are unable to provide data as at the end of the calendar years requested, but in mid-January 2023 and 2024 respectively:

• Core Department Government Procurement Cards (GPCs) held = i) 4,590 ii) 5,472
• Executive Agencies of department GPCs held = i) nil ii) nil

Government Procurement Cards provide an efficient route to enable key staff to procure goods and services, necessary to the promotion of British interests overseas and the maintenance of our embassies and high commissions. All purchases are subject to authorisation by managers and audit checks.

Government Procurement Cards provide an efficient route to enable key staff to procure goods and services, necessary to the promotion of British interests overseas and the maintenance of our embassies and high commissions. All purchases are subject to authorisation by managers and audit checks.

The FCDO publishes £500+ spend on gov.uk, and the monthly breakdown can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fcdo-spending-over-500.

With regards to sub-£500 spend, the total for 2022 is £13,434,713, and for 2023 is £15,106,232. To note, the total value of refunds in the period has been deducted from the total value of purchases in the period in the data presented; some refunds may relate to purchases in the previous period.

The FCDO publishes its transparency publications in accordance with the cross-Government transparency schedule, determined by Cabinet Office. The September 2024 transparency publication was postponed and therefore the publication of these reports has been delayed.

The FCDO is targeting the next cross-Government transparency day to publish the historic files, presently scheduled for the end of November 2024.

Between 1 January and 16 October 2023, The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance in 228 new victim of crime cases related to assault and 260 new victim of crime cases related to theft.

The FCDO introduced a new consular case management system in October 2023. A transition phase is in progress and therefore we are currently unable to provide the data requested between 16 October 2023 and 31 December 2023.