Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
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, how is work allocated to digital media officers within the Department; and who determines which events they attend.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Digital officers' work is allocated in discussion between the Cabinet Office Communications team, policy teams and ministerial private offices. Allocation depends on a range of factors including subject, location and staff availability.
As a result, digital media officers attend various events with Ministers as and when needed.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a Cabinet Office digital media officer accompanied the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to an event in Parliament on 12 June 2023.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Digital officers' work is allocated in discussion between the Cabinet Office Communications team, policy teams and ministerial private offices. Allocation depends on a range of factors including subject, location and staff availability.
As a result, digital media officers attend various events with Ministers as and when needed.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186306 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography, what was the budget for the Cabinet Office Communications team in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Setting out the budget may lead to inaccurate figures due to in-year budget changes. Instead, I can provide the actual spend.
The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience, such budgets have existed under successive administrations.
The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.
The total actual expenditure for the Cabinet Office Communications cost centre, for the periods in question is as follows:
FY | Total expenditure (£) |
18/19 | 2,105,850.23 |
19/20 | 2,018,372.96 |
20/21 | 2,077,533.20 |
21/22 | 2,124,742.32 |
22/23 | 2,659,096.71 |
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184900 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography and Social Media, how the budget for cross-government photography services is accounted for.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.
The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184900 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography and Social Media, who is the budget holder for cross-government photography services.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.
The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184900 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography and Social Media, whether the Office for Veterans’ Affairs has a dedicated photographer.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs does not have a dedicated photographer and draws on resources from the Cabinet Office Communications team who support all Ministers in the Department.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184900 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography and Social Media, how many photographers and videographers work in the Cabinet Office as of 18 May 2023.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants work in the Office for Veterans' Affairs as of 15 May 2023; and at what grades.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is located in the Cabinet Office and works with all UK Government departments and a large range of other private, charity and public sector organisations who collectively deliver support and services to veterans.
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is headed by a Director and has approximately 23 staff, in addition to receiving support from colleagues in the Cabinet Office communications and external affairs team, as well as the Minister’s private office.
As announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Budget 2023, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the Office for Veterans’ affairs over the next three years. This will allow for a significant expansion of the team in order to increase the service provided to veterans.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much from the public purse the Office for Veterans' Affairs has spent on (a) photography, (b) videography and (c) social media promotion in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
We are in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government. Photographers are a cross-government resource, supporting departments and Ministers, and play a critical role in the support of the Government’s digital communications activity and in progressing key policy areas.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how long the major projects leadership academy for senior responsible owners is.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA) is an 18 month programme aimed at senior leaders, SCS1 and above, of the projects in the Government's Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).