Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Government decided to publish Lord Pannick KC’s legal opinion on the Privileges Committee investigation into the Rt Hon Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the Hon. Lady to my response of 20 March, PQ 166245, to her colleague, the Rt Hon Lady, the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department's Accounting Officer was consulted on the decision to award legal services contract reference C2298 to Peters & Peters.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
As set out by Alex Chisholm, the Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer of the Cabinet Office at the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting on 26 January 2023, the contract award has followed the proper procurement process.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what recent steps the Government is taking to prevent potential conflicts of interest that may result from Ministers and MPs being on the boards of private energy companies.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the Hon. Member to the Ministerial Code (Section 7 and Annex B) which can be found on gov.uk.
The conduct and interests of Members of Parliament who are not Ministers is a matter for the House, not the Government.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require that (a) former Prime Ministers must have served a minimum of 12 months in post before becoming eligible for the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA), (b) the PDCA can only be claimed for 10 years and (c) claims for the PDCA are published.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Public Duty Costs Allowance was introduced to assist former Prime Ministers who are still active in public life. It has operated under successive administrations and continues to support Prime Ministers who formed previous governments.
It is not a form of salary; payments are made only to reimburse actual administrative costs incurred in the fulfilment of public duties. Generally, these costs can include managing an office (staffing, payroll and administration); handling correspondence as a former Prime Minister; and support with visits and similar activities.
The allowance has an annual limit of £115,000, which has remained frozen since 2011. The amount received by each claimant is published annually in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.
The Government keeps the allowance under review.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of staff his Department currently employs in the National Resilience Framework Team in the Cabinet Office; and at which grades those staff are employed.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Resilience Directorate in the Cabinet Office owns and drives implementation of the UK Government Resilience Framework. The Directorate was established last year as part of wider strengthening of Cabinet Office structures, and works, alongside the COBR Unit which leads on national crisis response and contingency planning.
The Directorate is also responsible for the Emergency Planning College, which is the national centre for resilience learning and development, based at the Hawkhills Estate near York.
The Resilience Directorate is headed by a Director, and consists of five teams covering critical systems and sectors, national risks, training and exercising, legislation and capabilities, and strategy and planning.
The Resilience Directorate has approximately 65 staff, including a small number of staff based on site at the Emergency Planning College, responsible for contract and learning management, as well as curriculum development. These staff are at a variety of grades, ranging from senior civil servants to executive officers.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of staff his Department currently employs in its Planning and Analysis Secretariat; and at which grades those members of staff are employed.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Planning and Analysis Secretariat was absorbed into the Economic and Domestic Secretariat as part of a consolidation of Cabinet Office secretariat structures in September 2022.
The functions of the Planning and Analysis Secretariat now sit in two directorates of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat - the Resilience Directorate and the Joint Data and Analysis Centre (JDAC).
The Resilience Directorate was established last year to take a more strategic approach to national resilience and drive work across the system to strengthen it. The Directorate currently has approximately 65 staff.
The Joint Data and Analysis Centre (JDAC) was established to support emergency response and strategic policy choices at the heart of Government. The multidisciplinary team of analysts, economists, technologists and data scientists aim to ensure key Government decisions are based on the best possible data and strategic analysis. JDAC includes the National Situation Centre, which brings timely data analysis and insights from across and beyond Government to support situational awareness on crisis and national security issues, drawing upon lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. JDAC currently has approximately 70 staff.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff and at what grades are employed in the Emergency Planning College.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Resilience Directorate in the Cabinet Office owns and drives implementation of the UK Government Resilience Framework. The Directorate was established last year as part of wider strengthening of Cabinet Office structures, and works, alongside the COBR Unit which leads on national crisis response and contingency planning.
The Directorate is also responsible for the Emergency Planning College, which is the national centre for resilience learning and development, based at the Hawkhills Estate near York.
The Resilience Directorate is headed by a Director, and consists of five teams covering critical systems and sectors, national risks, training and exercising, legislation and capabilities, and strategy and planning.
The Resilience Directorate has approximately 65 staff, including a small number of staff based on site at the Emergency Planning College, responsible for contract and learning management, as well as curriculum development. These staff are at a variety of grades, ranging from senior civil servants to executive officers.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff and at what grades are employed in the Cabinet Office's Resilience Directorate.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Resilience Directorate in the Cabinet Office owns and drives implementation of the UK Government Resilience Framework. The Directorate was established last year as part of wider strengthening of Cabinet Office structures, and works, alongside the COBR Unit which leads on national crisis response and contingency planning.
The Directorate is also responsible for the Emergency Planning College, which is the national centre for resilience learning and development, based at the Hawkhills Estate near York.
The Resilience Directorate is headed by a Director, and consists of five teams covering critical systems and sectors, national risks, training and exercising, legislation and capabilities, and strategy and planning.
The Resilience Directorate has approximately 65 staff, including a small number of staff based on site at the Emergency Planning College, responsible for contract and learning management, as well as curriculum development. These staff are at a variety of grades, ranging from senior civil servants to executive officers.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to launch the new Emergency Alerts capability announced in August 2022 and outlined in the National Resilience Framework in December 2022; and whether his Department is taking steps to put in place a public information strategy on the introduction of emergency alerts.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Emergency Alerts capability is due to be trialled nationally this year with an initial focus on flooding and extreme weather-related events. Subject to the outcome of an evaluation, its scope will likely be widened to other use cases.
Emergency Alerts offer the ability to rapidly disseminate life-saving information to the public via their mobile phones. It is rapid, targeted to those in an affected area, and has no data or privacy implications (no information on a recipient or their location is gathered or shared).
The launch will be preceded by a public information campaign culminating in a UK-wide test message - a nationwide simultaneous alert sent to all compatible mobile phones across the United Kingdom. This approach has been found elsewhere to maximise awareness and understanding on how recipients should react on receiving alerts.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of the flight taken by the Prime Minister and officials from London to Leeds on 9 January 2023.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
All Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
As a whole, domestic flights within the United Kingdom allow Ministers to visit more parts of the United Kingdom in the time available, particularly areas further away from London, and reduce the need for overnight accommodation for Ministers and accompanying staff. Security considerations are also taken into account.
Details of departmental business travel are published in the Cabinet Office audited annual report and accounts.