Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total cost to the public purse was of legal (a) support and (b) representation to Ministers in her Department in relation to their official conduct in each of the last three years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Such information is not centrally recorded or collated in the form requested. More generally, I would refer the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East to the long standing policies on legal expenditure, as set out recently by Cabinet Office Ministers on 12 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 17709 and 12 March 2024, Official Report, House of Lords, Cols. 1901-1904.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, to which domestic destinations Ministers in her Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East to the answer of 12 March 2024 to Question 17517.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department and has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department provides details of the funding spent on advertising and publicity as part of its annual reports and accounts, which are published in the usual way on GOV.UK:
The department uses marketing to support the delivery of strategic aims and government priorities, including to recruit teachers, reform the skills landscape, and drive take up of products and services like apprenticeships, T Levels and childcare entitlements. Since 2010, there are now 27,000 more teachers working in state-funded schools across the country, 5.4 million apprenticeship starts and the department is delivering the largest ever expansion of free childcare in England.
Spend includes different types of marketing activity, including advertising. Figures for the last three financial years are:
Financial Year | Total Department Spend on Marketing |
2020/21 | £20 million |
2021/22 | £26 million |
2022/23 | £40 million |
The department does not hold complete records of budget profiles for marketing and communications compared to final confirmed spending.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by her Department in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. The government established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.
The PSFA produces a ‘Fraud Landscape Report’ This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022. .
Information regarding the department’s detected fraud and error can be found in the department’s Annual Reports and Accounts which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department adheres to the published Cabinet Office guidance on use of non-corporate communication channels, which is incorporated into the department’s IT acceptable use policies. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-corporate-communication-channels-for-government-business/using-non-corporate-communication-channels-eg-whatsapp-private-email-sms-for-government-business-html.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in her Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government publishes details of the costs of overseas ministerial travel, including costs of travel and other costs (visas, accommodation and meals) on GOV.UK.
But as has been the case under successive administrations, the government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reports and guidance her Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not specifically hold data for the types of publications listed in this question.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department and (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not specifically hold data for the types of publications listed in this question.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Based on the information currently available, there are 37 digital vacancies that have been approved for recruitment. This is 29% of overall digital roles. These vacancies sit in the core digital directorate and may not reflect all digital vacancies across the department.