Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) transport, (b) venue hire and accommodation, (c) printed materials including backdrops, (d) security, (e) staffing, (f) filming and photography and (g) other costs of each public meeting since her appointment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is a business unit of the Cabinet Office and, as such, its administrative costs are part of the Cabinet Office’s wider administrative costs.
Information for 2022-23 can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-23), copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Information for the last financial year will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 in due course.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what the administration costs of her office were in each year since her appointment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is a business unit of the Cabinet Office and, as such, its administrative costs are part of the Cabinet Office’s wider administrative costs.
Information for 2022-23 can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-23), copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Information for the last financial year will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 in due course.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of households in receipt of Carer’s Allowance living in food insecurity in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Midlothian constituency.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on the number of individuals living in households that are food insecure by receipt of state support in the UK are published annually in the “Family Resources Survey” publication in “table 9_7” of “household food security tables” found here.
The latest statistics published on 21 March 2024 are for the financial period 2022/23. The
latest available data can also be found on Stat-Xplore here.
No such assessment can be made for Scotland and the Midlothian constituency due to sample sizes and availability of data.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the administration costs of his Department were in each year since his appointment.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office and Office for the Advocate General publish an Annual Report and Accounts which contains the information requested. The latest version can be found at Scotland Office Annual Report 2022-23. Prior year Annual Reports and Accounts for the Scotland Office and Office for the Advocate General are available online or can be obtained from the Library of the House.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the cost to the public purse was of (a) staff and (b) running costs for his Department in financial year 2023-24; and how much he has allocated for 2024-25.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office and Office for the Advocate General are currently in the process of finalising the department’s figures for financial year 2023-24. These figures are subject to external audit and the department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24 are expected to be available later this year. The budget for the department for financial year 2024-25 as agreed in Spending Review 2021 is £13.354m.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason does Defence Business Services not publish its annual plan.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence Business Services is an integral part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), not an arm's length body (ALB). Its annual business plan is approved by the MOD Chief Operating Officer and, in common with many other annual business plans written by other parts of the Department, is for internal use.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) lawyers and (b) paralegals are employed by Veterans UK as of 4 March 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Veterans UK is the public facing name given to the administration and payment by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) of Armed Forces Pensions and the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Schemes, and Veterans Welfare Service. It does not exist as an executive agency or standalone entity and consequently does not employ any lawyers or paralegals.
Legal advice and representation on Veterans related matters is provide by the MOD Legal Advisors and the Government Legal Department and I refer to the answer I gave to Question 1803, Tabled on 14 November 2023.
The MOD Legal Advisors' lawyers - as Government Legal Department employees - do not distinctly record time involved on veteran-related matters and, therefore, the MOD cannot specify how much work was undertaken.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish any (a) performance reports, (b) business plans, (c) annual reviews and (d) other documents relating to the (i) performance of and (ii) relationship between Defence Business Services and Serco in the years between 2011 and 2016.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There are no plans to publish material relating to the performance of Defence Business Services or the commercial relationship with SERCO during the period 2011-2016.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the roles Commonwealth soldiers are eligible to apply for while serving in the British Army.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Commonwealth citizens are eligible to apply to join the UK Armed Forces. Like their British and Irish counterparts, they must meet the required eligibility criteria including age, educational, fitness and medical, as well as UK residency for security vetting purposes which varies depending on rank and role. In addition, since November 2018 there has been an annual limit of up to 1,350 Commonwealth citizens who can be recruited each year by the Armed Forces. The Army also has a 15% limit on the number of Commonwealth citizens serving in each cap badge. These requirements can limit the number of roles available at a particular time.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of armed forces recruitment since 2020.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces continue to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe. The Government remain committed to ensuring that this country has the world class Armed Forces that it needs and deserves.
Defence is firmly focused on responding to the current recruitment challenges faced across the western world, with a range of measures now, anticipating the successor Armed Forces Recruitment Programme.