Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that there are minimal delays at the border due to non-tariff barriers to trade.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Government has provided comprehensive guidance on the new arrangements for trade with the EU. We are working closely with the devolved administrations, operational partners, industry groups and transporters to minimise any potential disruption. The Border Operating Centre is operating around the clock to pull together all the necessary sources of information to track what is happening at the border.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of non-UK born EU citizens that have left the UK since 23 of June 2016.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consultations his Department had with (a) the Scottish Prison Service, (b) Scottish Ministers and (c) the Prison Officers Association on the transfer of Prison Officers' Pensions from Classic to the Alpha Pension Scheme.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Prison Officers employed in the Scottish Prison Service are members of the Civil Service. All members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) who transitioned into the Civil Service (and Others) Pension Scheme (CSOPS, also known as alpha) were notified by letter to inform them of the change, in accordance with the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations. In addition, relevant Employers were provided with a variety of communication products to inform their staff and support those who needed to make decisions. These were also held on the Civil Service Pensions website.
Between 2011 and 2015 Cabinet Office Ministers and officials held extensive discussions with all of the Civil Service unions, including the Prison Officers’ Association, on the detail of the pension reforms. There was also discussion with both the Scottish Prison Service and National Offender Management Service on the detail of the pension offer to operational staff in Prisons.
The Civil Service is a Reserved Matter and this includes pensions for all Civil Servants. Representations on the pension age of Scottish Prison Officers were made to me by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice in July last year. I replied later that month.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department took to inform prison officers in Scotland of the transfer of Civil Service Employee Pensions from the Classic to the Alpha Scheme.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Prison Officers employed in the Scottish Prison Service are members of the Civil Service. All members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) who transitioned into the Civil Service (and Others) Pension Scheme (CSOPS, also known as alpha) were notified by letter to inform them of the change, in accordance with the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations. In addition, relevant Employers were provided with a variety of communication products to inform their staff and support those who needed to make decisions. These were also held on the Civil Service Pensions website.
Between 2011 and 2015 Cabinet Office Ministers and officials held extensive discussions with all of the Civil Service unions, including the Prison Officers’ Association, on the detail of the pension reforms. There was also discussion with both the Scottish Prison Service and National Offender Management Service on the detail of the pension offer to operational staff in Prisons.
The Civil Service is a Reserved Matter and this includes pensions for all Civil Servants. Representations on the pension age of Scottish Prison Officers were made to me by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice in July last year. I replied later that month.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government has spent on debt collection activity in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Matt Hancock
This information is not held centrally. Individual departments are responsible for managing their own debt.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate how many people working in front-line public sector jobs in 2014 were not able to speak fluent English.
Answered by Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.