Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of job applications to the civil service in the last 12 months.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The number of vacancies advertised via the Civil Service (CS) Jobs website has decreased over the past full financial year and applications received via CS Jobs have increased.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the (a) number and (b) cost of arms length bodies; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland on this issue.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The government is conducting a full line-by-line Spending Review which will cover the costs of proposed and existing ALBs to ensure value for money is being delivered for the taxpayer.
On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all UK government arm’s length bodies to drive efficiency and reduce bureaucracy and duplication as part of Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.The review is ongoing. I have not held any ministerial discussions with my devolved counterparts about this review.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate the number of high street job vacancies filled over the last 12 months.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 13th May is attached.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether she plans to implement a youth mobility scheme deal with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I am not going to give a running commentary on our talks with the EU. This Government is taking action to reduce net migration, but supports the 13 existent controlled schemes which create opportunities for young people to experience different cultures, travel, and work.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of sexual assaults that occur in the workplace.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 29th April is attached.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects the permanent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to be appointed.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The House of Commons leads on the recruitment of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which is ongoing. We expect that further information will be made available shortly.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of drug deaths in the last 12 months.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 17th March is attached.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to improve national resilience to global events.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The first duty of the Government is to keep the country safe and we are working to strengthen our national resilience, including by working with international partners.
In April the UK Resilience Academy will be launched and will train over 4000 people a year and later this year we will undertake a full national pandemic response exercise.
The review of national resilience continues. Updates will be given in due course.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information he holds on the number of workers who work full-time from home.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th March is attached.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the devolved nations will receive their redress payments for the infected blood scandal.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is a UK-wide body, established by the Victims and Prisoners Act to administer the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme to victims of the infected blood scandal across the UK. IBCA began making payments to people impacted by the infected blood scandal last year. As of 21 February, IBCA has invited 204 people to start their compensation claim, and 149 of those have started the claim process. 38 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £48 million, and so far 22 people have accepted their offers with more than £25 million paid in compensation. IBCA are increasing the number of people invited to make their claim and help test the service, and they aim to reach around 250 claims by the end of March 2025.