Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the contract awarded by his Department to Ground Transport Ltd on 13 November 2020 under contract reference CCYZ20A06, whether the services agreed in that contract were performed until the planned expiry date of 12 November 2023 set out in Paragraph 4.1 of the contract.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This contract is no longer held by the Cabinet Office. It was novated to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Communities on 14th January 2021. It was then novated to the Department for International Trade (now the Department for Business and Trade (DBT)) on 17th October 2022. DBT have subsequently extended the contract until June 2024 and so the services covered by this contract are still being delivered.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference his Department's statistics on Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, how many permanent civil servants excluding agencies worked for his Department on 31 March (a) 2011, (b) 2016 and (c) 2020.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
On 2 October 2023, the Chancellor announced an immediate cap on civil servant headcount across Whitehall to stop any further expansion, increase efficiencies and boost productivity.
The Civil Service grew in size to manage the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the illegal war in the Ukraine but it is right that we reduce the size of the Civil Service over time as we drive up productivity and deliver efficiencies.
As part of this Government’s commitment to transparency, my Department publishes workforce statistics each month. Information about staffing levels since 2006 are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/payroll-costs-and-non-consolidated-pay-data
The data requested can be found at the following links
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 19 of the Public Sector Fraud Authority Annual Report for 2022-23, published on 13 November 2023, how many investigations by public sector organisations arising from referrals received from the Covid Fraud Hotline by the Public Sector Fraud Authority's Intelligence Hub are ongoing.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
5,124 referrals were made to the COVID Fraud Hotline during its time being operational from October 2020 through to the end of June 2023.
All 5,124 of these referrals were disseminated to the relevant department(s) or organisation(s) for consideration as of the end of June 2023.
Once Hotline intelligence is forwarded, the decision to investigate sits with the relevant organisation and the decision to charge rests with the Crown Prosecution Service.
As of October 2023 there were 20 Operations at various stages of the investigative process with the National Investigation Service (NATIS). As of 31/3/23 a further 83 intelligence reports originating from a C-19 Hotline submission were being investigated by the Insolvency Service, with the majority being focused on insolvent investigations and dissolved investigations.
The Public Sector Fraud Authority established last year works with stakeholders to track outcomes linked to the Hotline intelligence.
The value of intelligence is not only for progressing prosecutions. The Hotline intelligence has helped us better understand the threat across Government and informed the wider intelligence picture across public sector organisations. It has also contributed to media campaigns providing guidance in relation to Covid Pass fraud, vaccine fraud and phishing.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his Department’s enabling agreement with Corporate Travel Management (North) Ltd. for the provision of public sector air capability (reference CCYZ20A01), what number of (a) club, (b) business and (c) economy seats were provided in the configuration for the A321neoLR plane wet-leased from Titan Airways between the periods (i) 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, (ii) 4 April to 8 June 2022, and (iii) 1 October 2022 to 1 September 2023.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The reconfiguration of seating arrangements enabled greater passenger capacity and more versatile seating. These efficiencies have allowed larger delegations, such as for trips to key international summits, to travel on a single flight. Delegations frequently include members of the media.
| Economy Seats | Business Seats | Conference Table Seats | Total No. of Seats |
1 April 2021 - 31 March 2022 | 12 | 44 | 8 | 64 |
4 April to 2022 - 8 June 2022 | 12 | 44 | 8 | 64 |
1 October 2022 - 1 September 2023 | 36 | 36 | 8 | 80 |
The MSN 10238 airframe does not have any club seats within its configuration.
More broadly, I would note that foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that Government Ministers and delegations can travel abroad to pursue UK interests and develop international relationships through closer economic, security and development ties. This has been the case under successive administrations of all parties. Information on the cost of overseas Ministerial travel is routinely published on gov.uk (including the number of officials who accompanied the Minister if non-scheduled travel was used).
Given the Rt Hon Member’s keen interest in overseas travel, I would also point her and her staff to the frequent use of non-scheduled / charter flights under the last Labour Government, including by Gordon Brown
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the contracts agreed by his Department with (a) Alma Economics on 27 September 2023, procurement reference CCZZ23A21, and (b) Russell Reynolds Associates Ltd on 13 October 2023, procurement reference CCZX23A03, if he will publish the Schedule 20 annexes specifying the services to be delivered under each of those contracts.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In response to the detail requested relating to procurement reference CCZZ23A21 and CCZX23A03, and under section 43 of the FOIA, this information will not be disclosed as it is deemed commercially sensitive at this time. We have taken this approach as disclosing such information may undermine businesses' trust in us as a commercial partner.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on outside catering services for events across the Downing Street and 70 Whitehall estate in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2021-22, (c) 2022-23 and (d) from 1 April to 19 September 2023.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information is not centrally held in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2022 to Question 4522 on District Heating: Whitehall, how much was charged to Government Departments by the Government Property Agency for the provision of heating from the Whitehall boiler system in 2022-23.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A number of departmental buildings have transferred ownership to the Government Property Agency and the details of buildings served by the Whitehall Boiler System are provided in the table below.
Building | Department |
MOD Main Building | Ministry of Defence |
Government Office Great George Street | Government Property Agency |
70 Whitehall | Government Property Agency |
10 Downing Street | Government Property Agency |
Admiralty House | Government Property Agency |
King Charles Street | Government Property Agency |
Old Admiralty Building | Government Property Agency |
Horse Guards | Ministry of Defence |
Dover House | Government Property Agency |
22-26 Whitehall | Government Property Agency |
55 Whitehall | Government Property Agency |
Gwydyr House | Government Property Agency |
36 Whitehall | Government Property Agency |
The total costs that were charged to Government Departments by the Government Property Agency for the provision of heating from the Whitehall Boiler System is as follows;
(a) 2022 - 23: £4.8m
These costs include standing charges for the operation and maintenance of the Whitehall Boiler System along with the cost of actual heat consumed by each building.
Meeting the Greening Government agenda objectives has been a key consideration for the Government Property Agency as the Whitehall Boiler System undertakes a decarbonisation project to support reaching Net Zero. This has involved works to insulate pipework and decommissioning assets that do not support the future operating system. Future phases include works to allow the operating temperature to be lowered to further reduce carbon emissions.
The Whitehall Boiler System energy centre is considering options to achieve Net Zero through a federated approach which may include connecting to district heating networks for an external low carbon heat source. This option can be implemented when the system is operating at a medium temperature. The best source of external low carbon heat for the Whitehall Campus is likely to be achieved by connection to an external low carbon heat source similar to that as proposed under ‘South Westminster Area Network’ (Project SWAN) or a variant on this project.
Currently the project is at development stage and it is proposed that, subject to the required budget being available, works will commence in 2026.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2022 to Question 97501, what was the total value of non-cash vouchers awarded to staff working for his core Department as performance-related bonuses in 2022-23.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Bonuses paid out as non-cash vouchers is a standard practice across Government and has been for many years.
Attracting, retaining and motivating highly skilled individuals is essential for the Civil Service to deliver for the British people. This is why pay must be fair and competitive as well as affordable to the taxpayer. Performance-related bonuses and vouchers are a key part of this.
The total value of non-cash vouchers issued to Cabinet Office staff in 2022-23 was £920,190.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the figure of 275 tonnes for CO2e emissions from domestic flights in 2021-22 on page 68 of his Department's Annual Report for 2021-22 and to the figure of 230 tonnes for CO2e emissions from domestic flights on page 43 of his Department's Annual Report for 2022-23, what the evidential basis is for the statement on that page of the Annual Report for 2022-23 that CO2e emissions from domestic flights in 2022-23 had increased from 2021-22.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The two sections in the respective annual reports referenced use different methodology and are not comparative.
The chart on page 41 of the 2022-23 annual report provides comparative Scope 3 emission data for all official domestic business travel from 2017-18 (baseline) to 2022-23 (showing a reduction of 72% compared to baseline).
Page 43 of the 2022-23 annual report provides commentary on the broader trends between the two years.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office,with reference to page 25 of the Department for Education's consolidated annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 published 18 July 2023, how many occasions did the Civil Service Board meet to discuss the risks arising from the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across the public estate in (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service Board comprises senior civil servants from a range of Departments. It had deep dive discussion on property issues in which the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) was raised on one occasion in 2022 and a further occasion in 2023.