Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have been working from home more than 50 per cent of their working hours by constituency as of 24 May 2022.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
This is not information that is centrally held.
Civil servants played a vital role in supporting the Government’s response to the pandemic, alongside delivering essential public services.
Following the removal of all pandemic restrictions, I have written to departments to underline the importance of workplace attendance. Civil servants, who had necessarily been working from home during the pandemic, are increasingly returning to regular working in the office
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants were working from home by constituency on average during 2020.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
This is not information that is centrally held.
Civil servants played a vital role in supporting the Government’s response to the pandemic, alongside delivering essential public services.
Following the removal of all pandemic restrictions, I have written to departments to underline the importance of workplace attendance. Civil servants, who had necessarily been working from home during the pandemic, are increasingly returning to regular working in the office
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many external consultants have been hired by each Government department since 2020; and what the cost to the public purse has been of those consultants in each of those years.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
Government Departments draw on the advice of external specialists for a range of services. Consultancy includes staff who provide objective advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of an organisation and may include the identification of options with recommendations.
The Consultancy Playbook was published in May 2021 alongside the Sourcing Playbook, to provide additional guidance when sourcing consultancy services. This supports our agenda to commission and engage with consultants more effectively, achieving better outcomes, better value for money, and improved civil service capability through the transferral of knowledge and skills.
Consultancy is bought as a service, not by the number of individuals required, therefore the number of consultants hired is not held centrally. Consultancy spend, including ALB spend, is published in departmental annual reports and accounts and is reproduced below.
Department |
| 2019/20 |
| 2020/21 |
BEIS |
| 55,700,000 |
| 137,300,000 |
CO |
| 38,841,000 |
| 79,779,000 |
DCMS |
| 32,900,000 |
| 46,100,000 |
DFE |
| 12,700,000 |
| 8,700,000 |
DEFRA |
| 33,299,000 |
| 36,337,000 |
DFT |
| 168,390,654 |
| 175,720,840 |
DHSC |
| 290,206,000 |
| 485,997,000 |
DIT |
| 897,000 |
| 5,782,000 |
DWP |
| 28,500,000 |
| 29,000,000 |
FCDO |
| 2,936,902 |
| 2,742,044 |
HMRC |
| 1,700,000 |
| 8,600,000 |
HMT |
| 18,000,000 |
| 17,000,000 |
HO |
| 33,700,000 |
| 32,402,000 |
MHCLG |
| 5,229,000 |
| 20,148,000 |
MOD |
| 134,627,000 |
| 109,668,000 |
MOJ |
| 14,962,000 |
| 15,742,000 |
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions (a) he or (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury regarding ongoing funding of the Infected Blood support scheme payments; and what discussions his Department has had with interested parties regarding financial settlements recommended by Sir Robert Francis in his report.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Ongoing funding of the Infected Blood support scheme payments is a matter for the Department of Health and Social Care.
I recognise how important it is that the views of infected and affected people are reflected in Sir Robert’s study. It is for this reason that infected and affected core participants to the Inquiry, and their Recognised Legal Representatives were consulted not only on the Terms of Reference of the study, but also contributed significantly to Sir Robert’s information gathering process. It is my intention to publish the Study and the Government response, in time for the Inquiry and its core participants to consider them before Sir Robert gives evidence to the Inquiry.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the chair of the Infected Blood compensation framework has been given budget boundaries for that framework.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The purpose of this study is to provide the Paymaster General with advice on potential options for compensation framework design and solutions for victims of infected blood. Following public consultation, the study’s terms of reference will be finalised. It is important that the independent reviewer, Sir Robert Francis, is able to examine all options and design solutions. No budget boundaries have been set in respect of his considerations.