Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's National Procurement Policy Statement published on 13 February 2025, whether he has made an estimate of compliance costs for contracting authorities in implementing the (a) updated statement and (b) the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Contracting authorities must have regard to the NPPS when undertaking their procurement activities, as set out in the Procurement Act 2023. An Impact Assessment in relation to the Procurement Act was published in May 2022 and can be found at https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/46429/documents/1767. Impact assessments for the Employment Rights Bill led by the Department for Business and Trade can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the National Procurement Policy Statement published on 13 February 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) the updated statement and (b) the Employment Rights Bill on public sector procurement timelines.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Contracting authorities must have regard to the NPPS when undertaking their procurement activities, as set out in the Procurement Act 2023. An Impact Assessment in relation to the Procurement Act was published in May 2022 and can be found at https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/46429/documents/1767. Impact assessments for the Employment Rights Bill led by the Department for Business and Trade can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what training programmes his Department has put in place to help procurement officials navigate the (a) recently updated National Procurement Policy Statement and the (b) Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Contracting authorities must have regard to the NPPS when undertaking their procurement activities, as set out in the Procurement Act 2023. An Impact Assessment in relation to the Procurement Act was published in May 2022 and can be found at https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/46429/documents/1767. Impact assessments for the Employment Rights Bill led by the Department for Business and Trade can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many public procurement contracts issued by the Crown Commercial Service have included mandatory commitments to trade union recognition since July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for defining their relationships with trade unions.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
To qualify for statutory Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP), both parents (mother/primary adopter and their partner/secondary adopter) must meet an economic activity test relating to employment and earnings and an individual test relating to duration of service as well as having main caring responsibility for the child.
In line with legislation, to be eligible for SPL Cabinet Office policy requires each parent to have at least 26 weeks continuous employment with their respective employer by the end of the 15th week, before the child’s due date or adoption matching date. They must also still be working for the same respective employer when they intend to take the leave.
To be eligible for SPL and ShPP at the statutory rate, an employee must have been employed within the Civil Service continuously during the 26 week period before the end of the 15th week before the child’s due date or adoption matching date.
If an employee has been employed in the Civil Service for this duration, although not in the Cabinet Office, they may still be eligible for SPL and ShPP so long as they meet all the qualifying criteria.
As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in line with the Government’s legislation on employment rights.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many applications his Department received for the Second Permanent Secretary for European Union and International Economic Affairs role advertised in November 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Applications have closed for the Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary for European Union and International Economic Affairs role. As was practice under the previous administration we do not comment on competitions underway.