Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2023 to Question 190517 on Cabinet Office: Official Hospitality, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing the hospitality expenditure of business units in his Department.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
We do not routinely publish this data, as has been the case under successive administrations. All Business Units within the Cabinet Office have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the proposed border target operating model will apply to the movement of (a) pet reptiles, (b) amphibians and (c) invertebrates from the EU to the UK.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The draft Border Target Operating Model covers the commercial import of live animals. It would apply to these species if they were commercially imported, for example for onward sale. However, non-commercial imports of these species as pets are out of scope and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs will confirm the policy in due course.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2023 to Question 189511 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Civil Servants, where the information on the number and grades of civil servants who were working in the private office of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs on 15 May 2023 is published.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
Statistics on the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including regional, diversity and earnings data, are published every year on gov.uk, the last updated version was published in March 2023. On 15 May 2023, there were 4 members of private office staff to support the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184899 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Civil Servants, how many civil servants work in the Office for Veterans' Affairs as of 22 June 2023; and at what grades.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
As of 22 June 2023 there were 23 Full Time Employees (FTE) in the Office of Veterans’ Affairs (OVA). In order to increase support to veterans, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the OVA over the next three years.
It is optional for employees to disclose their ethnicity and sexual orientation and disclosing this data could breach the confidentiality of the individuals working in the OVA due to the size of the unit.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the number of (a) BAME and (b) LGBT+ staff working in the Office for Veterans' Affairs.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
As of 22 June 2023 there were 23 Full Time Employees (FTE) in the Office of Veterans’ Affairs (OVA). In order to increase support to veterans, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the OVA over the next three years.
It is optional for employees to disclose their ethnicity and sexual orientation and disclosing this data could breach the confidentiality of the individuals working in the OVA due to the size of the unit.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2023 to Question 185881 on Cabinet Office: Staff, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of employing two Digital Media Officers in financial year 2023-24.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The two digital media officers are full time civil servants and are currently employed at HEO grade.
Please see below for the salary bands for HEOs within the Cabinet Office.
London - £35,241 - £39,352
National - £32,640 - £36,510
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether digital content produced by Cabinet Office communications officers has been reproduced on Ministers' personal (a) social media channels and (b) websites in the last six months.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
After digital content is published online it may be shared and reproduced by anyone.
All material produced by civil servants, ministers, government departments and agencies in the course of their work belongs to the Crown and is Crown copyright. The Cabinet Office digital team would not create bespoke content related to a Minister’s constituency work, their personal life or any party political events. In line with the civil service code, Cabinet Office officials do not work on Ministerial events that are deemed to be political or personal in nature.
We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff work in his Private Office.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
My Private Office currently has six staff to support me in my role as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, attending Cabinet.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2023 to Question 189762, if he will provide a list of (a) all Business Units in the Cabinet Office and (b) the hospitality expenditure for each unit in the last four financial years.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
a) The following list provides the business units that make up the Cabinet Office at the time of answering the question. This is limited to the core department and does not reflect any arms length bodies or executive agencies. The makeup of the department is subject to change following shifts in ministerial priorities and objectives. This has changed over the course of the four years in scope of this question.
Prime Minister's Office
Propriety and Constitution Group
Government in Parliament
Economic and Domestic Secretariat
Intelligence and Security Committee
National Security Secretariat
Joint Intelligence Organisation
Cabinet Secretary Group
Government Digital Service
Central Digital and Data Office
Government Communication Service
Office of Government Property
Infrastructure and Projects Authority
Civil Service Human Resources
Government Business Services
Government Commercial Function
Government Security Group (Includes UKSV)
Borders
Geospatial Commission (MOG Pending)
Public Sector Fraud Authority
Equality Hub
Commercial Models (GCF)
COP Presidency
Chief Operating Officer's Office
People and Places
Strategy, Finance, and Performance
Central Budgets
CO Commercial
CO Digital
Public Bodies and Priority Projects Unit
Public Inquiry Response Unit
Modernisation and Reform Unit
Office for Veterans' Affairs
Delivery Group
CO HMT Commercial
Infected Blood Inquiry
Grenfell Inquiry
Covid Inquiry
b) We do not routinely publish this financial data, as has been the case under successive administrations.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with what organisations the Minister for Veterans' Affairs has met in the last six months.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
Details of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Details of meetings for the period of January - March 2023 will be available shortly.