Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the restrictions contained within the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 are a factor in their consideration of recommendations for the appointment of new peers.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
It is against the law to 'sell' honours or peerages - offering cash for awards - under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. Life peerages are vetted by the House of Lords Appointments Commission for matters of propriety, who seek advice from Government Departments and Agencies where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which recommendations from the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction have so far been implemented; and which they plan to implement in the future.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (the Framework) was agreed and adopted in March 2015. Many of the principles underpinning the Framework are integral to ongoing UK work on resilience as part of integrated emergency management and the UK has a range of robust mechanisms in place for planning, responding and recovering from emergencies. The UK continues to play a leading role in the international risk reduction agenda through FCDO and the UK is committed to helping the most vulnerable anticipate and prepare for shocks and access support in disasters.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister's flight to Ukraine on 17 June was (1) a special charter flight, or (2) a regular commercial flight.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Details of the Prime Minister’s overseas travel are published quarterly and will be made available on GOV.UK in due course.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of the Prime Minister's flight to Ukraine on 17 June.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Details of the Prime Minister’s overseas travel are published quarterly and will be made available on GOV.UK in due course.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the 91,000 civil service jobs that they intend to cut are based in the Home Office.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Prime Minister has tasked the Chancellor, CDL, the Minister for Government Efficiency and the Cabinet Secretary to work together on producing a plan for returning the Civil Service workforce numbers to 2016 levels over the next three years. This work will be overseen by the Efficiency and Value for Money Cabinet Committee. Secretaries of State will lead the drive for reductions within their departments and the Civil Service organisations for which they have responsibility.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister is planning to visit Rwanda; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Our new migration and economic development partnership is a world first, which will tackle head-on the imbalance between illegal and legal migration routes. It will ensure that those who are in genuine need of protection will be safe and secure in a host country recognised globally for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants. And it will disrupt the business model of organised crime gangs and deter migrants from putting their lives at risk.
As has been the practice under successive Administrations, for security reasons, future engagements by the Prime Minister are announced as and when appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the full Sue Gray report into alleged gatherings on government premises during the period of COVID-19 restrictions.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
I refer the noble Lord to the Cabinet Office update from the Second Permanent Secretary which has been published on GOV.UK and placed in the Library of the House.
It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment further while the Metropolitan Police Service’s investigation is ongoing. At the end of the process, the Prime Minister will ask the Second Permanent Secretary to update her findings, which will be published in line with the Terms of Reference.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what processes they have in place to ensure that ministerial statements have support across Government.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The principle of collective responsibility applies to all Government Ministers. The Ministerial Code sets out the expectations for ministers with regards to both collective responsibility and making announcements to Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they take to ensure that ministerial statements are checked for accuracy.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Civil servants support Ministers in providing information to Parliament. When providing advice and briefing, civil servants are subject to the professional standards set out in the Civil Service Code and internal clearance procedures.
Ministers are accountable to Parliament for the statements they make to the House. Parliament has long-established mechanisms for the record to be corrected should any errors be identified.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what cyber security precautions organisations are required to take when selling software or providing software as a service to the Government.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Each government department is responsible for managing security risk when procuring any service based on their own risk appetite. Cabinet Office and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides guidance on how to do this including through the provision of commercial frameworks which include cyber security clauses. This is made clear in the Minimum Cyber Security Standard for Government which state that “Departments shall understand and manage security issues that arise because of dependencies on external suppliers or through their supply chain”.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides extensive guidance and recommended security frameworks that apply to a wide range of digital services. Buying organisations are encouraged to use these in determining their requirements to ensure that appropriate security controls are specified according to risk.