Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 9065 on Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Ministers' Private Offices, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in her Department between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and on what items this was spent.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
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
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many government procurement cards were held by staff within (a) her core Department and (b) executive agencies of her Department at the end of calendar years (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.
Answered by Janet Daby
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.
| 31 December 2022 | 31 December 2023 |
Department for Education (DfE) – Core Department | 58 | 84 |
Arms-Length Bodies (including Executive Agencies). | 19 | 17 |
Total | 77 | 101 |
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.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many government procurement cards were held by staff within (a) her core Department and (b) executive agencies of her Department, at the end of calendar years (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The volumes of government procurement cards held by core Home Office and executive agencies (ALBs) on 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023 are:
2022
HO 1061
ALB 34
2023
HO 1052
ALB 36
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many government procurement cards were held by staff within (a) his core Department and its predecessor departments and (b) executive agencies of those departments at the end of calendar years (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2024 to Question 9288 on Department for Work and Pensions: Ministers' Private Offices, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in her Department between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and on what items this was spent.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.
Answered by Janet Daby
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.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2024 to Question 9824 on Northern Ireland Office: Ministers' Private Offices, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in his Department between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and on what items this was spent.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office has not spent any money on new furniture and fittings, or other refurbishment of Ministerial offices between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many government procurement cards were held by staff within (a) her core Department and (b) executive agencies of her Department at the end of calendar years (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.
Answered by Mike Kane
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.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 9281 on Department for Transport: Ministers' Private Offices, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in her Department between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and on what items this was spent.
Answered by Mike Kane
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.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many government procurement cards were held by staff within (a) HM Treasury and (b) HMRC at the end of calendar years (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Procurement cards assist with the reduction in procurement bureaucracy, boost efficiency and support the Government’s prompt payment initiative for Small and Medium businesses.
Controls are in place that limit purchase types and values in line with individual departmental controls.
The number of procurement cards held by HM Treasury staff were
(i) 68 at the end of 2022
(ii) 68 at the end of 2023
The number of procurement cards held by HMRC Staff were
(i) 161 at the end of 2022
(ii) 159 at the end of 2023.