Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions Ministers have settled defamation or libel proceedings in their official capacity as a Minister of the Crown since 2001; and whether there has been a cost to the public purse of settlements in such cases.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer on 12th March 2024 (UIN 17709).
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Government's policy papers entitled (a) Summary of the UK Government Legal Position: The legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 12 January 2024, published on 12 January 2024 and (b) Summary of the UK Government Legal Position: The legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 22 January 2024, published on 23 January 2024, if the Government will publish the full legal advice on the military action of (i) 11 and (ii) 22 January 2024.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government published a summary of its legal position on the legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 12 January 2024. It published a further summary on 23 January 2024 following further military action, which confirmed that the legal basis for the further military action remains the same. These are available on the gov.uk website and I have placed a copy in the Libraries of the House.
We acted fully in line with international law, in self-defence and in response to a persistent threat. The strikes were limited to carefully selected targets, with maximum care taken to protect civilian lives.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 23 January 2024 on Action against Houthi Maritime Attacks, Official Report, column 155, when the Government plans to publish the legal advice.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government published a summary of its legal position on the legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 12 January 2024. It published a further summary on 23 January 2024 following further military action, which confirmed that the legal basis for the further military action remains the same. These are available on the gov.uk website and I have placed a copy in the Libraries of the House.
We acted fully in line with international law, in self-defence and in response to a persistent threat. The strikes were limited to carefully selected targets, with maximum care taken to protect civilian lives.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what procurement rules apply to a (a) devolved and (b) commissioning authority seeking to tender for the construction of lifeline ferries.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Reserved Public Procurement in the UK, as well as devolved Welsh and transferred Northern Ireland procurement, is regulated in the UK by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 and, in some cases, specific rules relating to specialist sectors.
While the provisions in these main regulations extend to the whole of the UK, they do not cover procurement by devolved Scottish authorities in respect of devolved matters. Legislation governing devolved Scottish procurement includes the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 in combination with the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department is taking steps to compile a list of public buildings affected by construction with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office’s Office of Government Property is establishing a Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Working Group. Objectives include understanding the scale of the issue, developing a register of Government buildings impacted, and sharing remedial best practices. Responsibility for safety of individual buildings remains with departments, their arms-length bodies and wider organisations.
To address property condition and safety issues such as RAAC more widely, in September 2022 the Office of Government Property established the Better Buildings programme on behalf of the Government Property Function.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data his Department holds on (a) the number of people working in civil service roles in each Department who are on secondment from business and (b) the sectors and industries from which those people have been seconded.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Secondments into the Civil Service from other sectors are encouraged as a means of bringing in high demand skills, enabling talented individuals from outside the Civil Service to contribute to the work of Government by sharing critical capabilities and innovative thinking for a set period of time.
Although work is ongoing to increase data flow in this area, the Cabinet Office does not at present hold detailed data on the total number of people in the Civil Service on secondment from business nor the sectors and industries from which those people have been seconded.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, when he plans to respond to the letter of 14 February 2023 from members of both Houses of Parliament on ongoing human rights concerns in Bahrain.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
A reply has been sent. The United Kingdom opposes human rights abuses and the death penalty in all circumstances and in all countries, and we continue to reiterate this to the Government of Bahrain. Our long-standing bilateral relationship with Bahrain allows us to assist and encourage continuing human rights reforms.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2022 to Question 89037 on Julian Assange, when and what was the nature of the work that his officials were involved in.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Operation Pelican was the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) response to the continued presence of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and the maintenance of a police presence in the vicinity. Officials in the Cabinet Office, along with other relevant departments, liaised on that response, the operational details of which are a matter for the MPS.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) he or (b) officials in his Department have met with US officials to discuss Julian Assange.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I have not met with US officials to discuss Julian Assange.
The Government has discussed aspects of this matter as part of our routine diplomatic engagement with a number of countries, including the US. Cabinet Office officials routinely meet with US counterparts to discuss a range of issues, which may, in the past, have included Mr Assange. The Cabinet Office does not hold a central record of meetings between officials and their US counterparts.
Extradition cases are handled by the Home Office.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether anyone employed by his Department were involved in Operation Pelican.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Seven officials in the Cabinet Office were involved in Operation Pelican.