Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil service appointments have been made in pay band 2 and above as exceptions to the Recruitment Principles of the Civil Service Commission in each Department (a) in each of the last 10 years and (b) since January 2020.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Details of exceptions to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles at and above Payband 2 are published by the Civil Service Commission and available on their website. Details for the financial year 2020/2021 will be published in due course.
Details of the proportion of exception requests which are refused are not held centrally.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many applications have been made to the Civil Service Commission to make appointments in pay band 2 which would be exceptions to the Recruitment Principles of the Civil Service Commission in each Government Department (a) in each of the last 10 years and (b) since January 2020; and what proportion of those applications have been (a) approved and (b) refused.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Details of exceptions to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles at and above Payband 2 are published by the Civil Service Commission and available on their website. Details for the financial year 2020/2021 will be published in due course.
Details of the proportion of exception requests which are refused are not held centrally.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts the Government has awarded to Public First Ltd in each year since 2016.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Further to my answer on 01 October 2020, competitive tenders are used across government, including by the Cabinet Office. It is also the case that there are certain circumstances where regulations permit that contracts can be awarded without a competition, including where there is extreme urgency.
As has been the case under successive administrations, this Government works with a number of suppliers to provide polling and focus group work. Public First was engaged by the Cabinet Office to test public opinion and reaction to government messaging, including focus groups for COVID-19 research. Details of this contract have been published on GOV.UK in the usual way.
No ministerial sign off was sought for the award of a contract to Public First. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
A claim for Judicial Review was issued by the High Court on 10 July 2020 in relation to the award of this contract. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to make further comment whilst this is subject to ongoing legal proceedings.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the nature is of the on-site resources provided by Public First Ltd to support Number 10 communications.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Further to my answer on 01 October 2020, competitive tenders are used across government, including by the Cabinet Office. It is also the case that there are certain circumstances where regulations permit that contracts can be awarded without a competition, including where there is extreme urgency.
As has been the case under successive administrations, this Government works with a number of suppliers to provide polling and focus group work. Public First was engaged by the Cabinet Office to test public opinion and reaction to government messaging, including focus groups for COVID-19 research. Details of this contract have been published on GOV.UK in the usual way.
No ministerial sign off was sought for the award of a contract to Public First. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
A claim for Judicial Review was issued by the High Court on 10 July 2020 in relation to the award of this contract. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to make further comment whilst this is subject to ongoing legal proceedings.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Operation Yellowhammer Reasonable Worst Case Planning Assumptions coinciding with a potential second wave of covid-19 on (a) civil service capacity and (b) civil service preparedness.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Operation Yellowhammer has been stood down.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to carry out further testing of Operation Brock following the (a) announcement to remove the Operation Brock barrier of 10 January 2020 and (b) potential use of the Smart Freight System outlined on page 134 of his Department's document entitled, Border Operating Model, published on 13 July 2020.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
A consultation on the proposed legislative amendments on enforcing Operation Brock, including regarding the use of Smart Freight, ran from 3 August 2020 to 23 August 2020. A summary of the responses will be published within three months of the consultation closing. The Government has invited businesses to participate in discussions on design and user testing of the Smart Freight IT service. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to The Border with the European Union: Importing and Exporting Goods, published on 13 July 2020, what his timescale is for the consultation on on the use of the Smart Freight Service in Kent this summer.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
A consultation on the proposed legislative amendments on enforcing Operation Brock, including regarding the use of Smart Freight, ran from 3 August 2020 to 23 August 2020. A summary of the responses will be published within three months of the consultation closing. The Government has invited businesses to participate in discussions on design and user testing of the Smart Freight IT service. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his timetable is for introduction of the Smart Freight Service before the end of the transition period.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
A consultation on the proposed legislative amendments on enforcing Operation Brock, including regarding the use of Smart Freight, ran from 3 August 2020 to 23 August 2020. A summary of the responses will be published within three months of the consultation closing. The Government has invited businesses to participate in discussions on design and user testing of the Smart Freight IT service. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Unlocking the Power of Location, the Government’s Geo-Spatial Strategy 2020-2025, how much funding the Government has allocated to the delivery of the National Underground Assets Register.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 55137 on 10 July 2020.
Details of Cabinet Office expenditure are published online and available in annual reports. Future funding allocations will be determined in the usual way.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Unlocking the Power of Location, the Government’s Geo-Spatial Strategy 2020-2025, what the timescale is for the (a) commencement and (b) completion of the establishment of a National Underground Assets Register.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 55137 on 10 July 2020.
Details of Cabinet Office expenditure are published online and available in annual reports. Future funding allocations will be determined in the usual way.