Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on (a) communications, (b) advertising and (c) marketing in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Northern Ireland, (iv) Scotland and (v) Wales in each month from (A) August 2020 to (B) December 2020.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Cabinet Office publishes expenditure on government communication spend, including our national campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements at the link below:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-spend-data(opens in a new tab).
We work closely across all four nations to ensure that our communication activity reaches the intended audiences effectively.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on (a) communications, (b) advertising and (c) marketing in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Northern Ireland, (iv) Scotland and (v) Wales in each month from (A) August 2020 to (B) December 2020.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Cabinet Office publishes expenditure on government communication spend, including our national campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements at the link below:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-spend-data.
We work closely across all four nations to ensure that our communication activity reaches the intended audiences effectively.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the additional costs to (a) businesses in (i) Midlothian and (ii) Scotland and (b) British exporters to Northern Ireland of trading arrangements made as a result of the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
This is the first free trade agreement the EU has ever reached based on zero tariffs and zero quotas. The Agreement ensures there will be zero tariffs or quotas on trade between the UK and the EU, where goods meet the relevant rules of origin, and includes provisions to facilitate trade and address non-tariff barriers for UK exports to the EU and vice versa. This will benefit businesses across the UK.
On the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, the UK-EU Joint Committee agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol complements the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to ensure trade is as streamlined as possible and minimises burdens for businesses.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to ensure that all new procurements take account of social value.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Through our work to extend the use of the Social Value Act we will ensure that all major central government procurements will, where appropriate, explicitly evaluate social value.
In terms of the Government's approach to procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic, I refer to the answers I gave in Cabinet Office oral questions on 17 December.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is Government policy that personal connections may play a formal role in the awarding of contracts during a procurement process.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Through our work to extend the use of the Social Value Act we will ensure that all major central government procurements will, where appropriate, explicitly evaluate social value.
In terms of the Government's approach to procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic, I refer to the answers I gave in Cabinet Office oral questions on 17 December.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) Ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) Special advisors to declare potential sources of (i) influence or (ii) conflict of interest from foreign states.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code (including the Civil Service Management Code), and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers set out the requirements on declaring and managing conflicts of interest. The various Codes are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policies of the Electoral Reform Society’s Democracy in the Dark: Digital Campaigning in the 2019 General Election and Beyond report.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is committed to upholding and protecting the integrity of elections. We are taking forward a programme of work that will strengthen and update the UK’s electoral regulation to ensure it is fit for the modern age; provides a robust framework for campaign finance; and supports public confidence in our processes.
We have already launched a consultation on digital imprints which will require political parties, campaigners and others to clearly show who they are when promoting campaign content online. We continue to work closely with social media companies, and welcome steps they have taken to improve transparency.
Across all of this work the intention is to improve transparency to ensure voters can make informed choices, and to enforce spending rules that ensure an even playing field. Policy or political arguments which can be rebutted by rival campaigners or an independent free press as part of the normal course of political debate are not regulated.The Government does not support creating a regime which would seek to police the accuracy or truthfulness of content.