Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in the Government Digital and Data profession on 11 March (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Digital and Data profession issues a Workforce Planning data Commission twice a year in April and October. Below are the number of full-time Civil Servant professionals in filled positions for the years 2022 and 2023:
a) 2022, April commission: 16,662
b) 2023, April commission: 20,163
c) 2023, October commission: 21,366
The 2024 April commission is being issued this month (March 2024), workforce data is therefore not yet available. We are firmly on track to reach its target 6% of the overall civil service workforce by 2025.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government publishes, on GOV.UK, details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals).
As has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 17349 on 11 March 2024.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (vias, accommodation, meals).
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals).
But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (vias, accommodation, meals).
But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three financial years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Reports and guidance that the department has published can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All departments in central government, including arm’s lengths bodies, apply the published guidance: Non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). Defra uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many domestic overnight visits Ministers within his Department have taken in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost to the public purse was of these visits.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (vias, accommodation, meals).
But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by her Department and predecessor Departments in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.
Due to the Machinery of Government changes, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have not yet produced fraud and error estimates, but this will be published in the 23/24 annual report and accounts.
The latest Government figures for former BEIS can be found in the BEIS Annual Report and Accounts (2022/2023).