Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities during the Urgent Question on 27 April 2023 on Voter ID, in response to the question from the hon. Member for Aberdeen North, if he will provide details of the research demonstrating that 99% of people from black and ethnic minority communities already have an acceptable form of voter ID.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 180947 on 20 April 2023.
Regarding the review of the introduction of voter identification, I refer to the answer I gave to Question UIN 162192 on 14 March 2023.
It is for Returning Officers and Presiding Officers to ensure that suitable arrangements are in place for checking the identity of disabled and immunocompromised people who are vulnerable to COVID-19. This may include checking identification outside the polling place where appropriate.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish his Department's guidance on vetting social media accounts of potential speakers.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Civil Service Human Resources who sit within the Cabinet Office developed the Due Diligence and Impartiality guidance for all Cross-Government Diversity networks, and this requires the networks to carry out checks on external speakers prior to inviting them to participate in Civil Service events.
The revised guidance advises that cross-Government Diversity Networks conduct checks to avoid invitations being issued to individuals and/or organisations that have provided adverse commentary on government policy, political decisions, approaches or individuals in government that could undermine the Civil Service’s position on impartiality and create reputational damage.
The guidance emphasises that it is imperative that we retain impartiality across the Civil Service, avoiding any politicised events or groups impacting on the working life of civil servants and distracting from the excellent work delivered on Diversity and Inclusion.
The guidance was introduced in November 2021.
This helps to ensure when Cross-Government Diversity Networks organise events the Civil Service is not prejudiced by political views but helps deliver efficient public service for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which companies were contracted and sub-contracted to deliver the Emergency Alert System; and how much each of those companies were paid for their services relating to that purpose.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Emergency Alerts contract was awarded to Fujitsu in line with procurement regulations and transparency guidelines through Crown Commercial Services.
The contract was let on 10th October 2022 and runs until 9th October 2025. The estimated contract value for Year 1 is £1,013,200, with a contingency to increase the value up to £1,600,000 (excluding VAT). Subject to further approval, the total contract value may be uplifted to £5,000,000.00 (excluding VAT) for years 2 and 3 of the contract, if the provider meets the performance objectives specified.
The Cabinet Office operates a triple gateway process of approvals to ensure compliance and transparency in procurements. All contracts are reviewed and approved by delegated Cabinet Office Commercial Heads and then published. All procurements over £10,000 are subject to Commercial approvals. All contracts are then managed by accredited Contract Managers in accordance with Cabinet Office Commercial guidance.
Contract agreements are published within 30 days in accordance with our obligations.
The Government’s number one job is to keep people safe. Emergency Alerts are a critical new tool in the Government’s toolkit for warning and informing people where their lives are at risk, such as flooding and extreme weather.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Pakistani authorities on reports of attacks and harassment directed towards peaceful protesters since the change of Government in Pakistan in 2022.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Political protests are an internal matter for the Government of Pakistan. There is no place for violence in politics and the UK regularly engages the Government of Pakistan at a senior level on the need to uphold the rule of law and respect human rights.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many concerns relating to offshore employment (a) met the criteria for follow-up and (b) were investigated in the first six months of 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the first six months of 2022:
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the report by MMI Engineering Ltd for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) entitled Study and development of a methodology for the estimation of the risk and harm to persons from wind turbines, RR968, published in 2013, is the most recent HSE study on the methodology for the estimation of the risk and harm to people from wind turbines.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) research report ‘RR968’ remains one of a range of studies, guidance and industry data used to assist in the evaluation of risk to people from wind turbines and operations.
Further, HSE continues to support industry in the development of industry specific guidance for this rapidly developing sector.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of offshore renewable incidents (a) met the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Incident Selection Criteria and (b) were investigated by HSE in the first six months of 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the first six months of 2022:
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many dangerous occurrences relating to the offshore renewables industry were reported to the Health and Safety Executive between January and June 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the first six months of 2022:
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many offshore renewable incidents met the Health and Safety Executive's Incident Selection Criteria in the first six months of 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the first six months of 2022:
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many planned inspections of offshore renewable energy installations were made in the first six months of 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the first six months of 2022: