Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on decorations, hospitality or refreshments for Christmas activities in 2014.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
Refreshments for Christmas celebrations were funded by ministers and/or officials - and were not at taxpayers' expense. The Cabinet Office has paid £80.50 for decorations and a central Christmas tree in the main building of 70 Whitehall. Cabinet Office also contributed towards the cost of the Christmas tree for the building it shares with HM Treasury. In addition, my office purchased at personal expense a discounted Christmas tree from Argos.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost was of (a) fraud and (b) error across government in the last year.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
The latest audited fraud and error figures available are for 2012/13. During this year DWP reported £3.5 billion on benefits and pensions and HMRC reported £2.01 billion on tax credits. Reported fraud and error across the rest of central government was £70 million, however this figure does not include all arm’s length bodies.
In 2011 this Government established the Fraud, Error and Debt Taskforce to develop and coordinate the delivery of initiatives across government as previously no systematic attempt had been made. It has achieved significant improvements, including the appointment at Departmental board level of an accountable individual with responsibility for identifying and reducing fraud and error losses in their department.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Government contracts of what value were allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises based in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
At the time of the last General Election there was no consistent monitoring of Government spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We have put in place a raft of policies to overhaul procurement, reduce bureaucracy and increase transparency. Our work has significantly increased the proportion of spend going to SMEs.
Information on Government contracts over £10,000 is now published on contracts finder. A new version on Contracts Finder will be launched shortly which will allow users to search by area.
The Government Digital Service publishes information on their supplier spend. This shows the success of our work to diversify our supplier base for digital technology and services. £189m of business through G-Cloud has gone to SMEs. See link: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/image_data/file/28167/org-landscape-09.png
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech of 15 August 2011 calling for a family test to be applied to all domestic policy, which policies of his Department have been so assessed to date.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
On 18 August 2014 the Prime Minister announced that the family test was being formalised as part of the impact assessment for all domestic policies. From October 2014, every new domestic policy will be examined for its impact on the family.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many jobs have been transferred from the public to private sector from (a) his Department and (b) the Office of the Leader of the House as a result of privatisation or outsourcing since May 2010.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
The Leader of the House's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
Since May 2010, twenty-two jobs have been transferred to the Private Sector.
Six posts through the SWIRL joint venture and 16 posts with the mutual joint venture of the Behavioural Insights Team.
We know that joint ventures and mutuals can help drive up productivity and we will continue to support innovative business models.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics includes in its estimate of newly-created private sector jobs those which have been reclassified from public to private sector as a result of privatisation or outsourcing.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of employees in his Department of each (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
Some of the information requested is not held centrally. However, all of these options are available to employees subject to business needs.
Fewer than five employees are currently recorded as working (iii) from home in a formal arrangement.
The proportion of employees by Pay Grade who work part-time hours as at 28 February 2014 is shown in the table below:
CO Payband (CS Equivalent) | % Part Time |
PERM SEC | 0% |
SCS3 | 14% |
SCS2 | 5% |
SCS1 | 8% |
A/BAND A (Grade 6/7) | 5% |
B2/BAND B2 (HEO/SEO) | 6% |
B/Faststream | 0% |
B1/BAND B1 (EO) | 9% |
C/BAND C (AA/AO) | 10% |
The proportion of employees by gender who work part-time hours as at 28 February 2014 is shown in the table below:
Gender | % Part Time |
Female | 12% |
Male | 1% |
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of employees in No. 10 Downing Street of what (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
Some of the information requested is not held centrally. However, all of these options are available to employees subject to business needs.
Fewer than five employees are currently recorded as working (iii) from home in a formal arrangement.
The proportion of employees by Pay Grade who work part-time hours as at 28 February 2014 is shown in the table below:
CO Payband (CS Equivalent) | % Part Time |
PERM SEC | 0% |
SCS3 | 14% |
SCS2 | 5% |
SCS1 | 8% |
A/BAND A (Grade 6/7) | 5% |
B2/BAND B2 (HEO/SEO) | 6% |
B/Faststream | 0% |
B1/BAND B1 (EO) | 9% |
C/BAND C (AA/AO) | 10% |
The proportion of employees by gender who work part-time hours as at 28 February 2014 is shown in the table below:
Gender | % Part Time |
Female | 12% |
Male | 1% |
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
The Government's childcare offer will provide flexible support for all eligible working families while maintaining a free, universal early education support. Alongside this, the Government is also taking action to drive up the supply of high quality childcare provision and to open up more choice for parents.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West on 3 March 2014 (Official Report) Column Ref: 664W.