Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press notice entitled Pat McFadden vows to make the state more like a start up as he deploys reform teams across country, published on 9 December 2024, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on sharing the lessons learned from his Department’s temporary accommodation pilot with the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In December the Government launched the £100 million Innovation Fund to pioneer Public Service Reform by deploying new test-and-learn teams around the country to find innovative ways to fix some of our biggest challenges, including temporary accommodation.
My officials are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on this programme, ensuring they build on and complement the extensive programme of work the Secretary of State is taking forward on temporary accommodation and homelessness, including the Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots announced on 18 December 2024. I am a member of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Inter Ministerial Group on homeless and temporary accommodation. I have also met with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping and we have jointly met with council leaders to discuss this issue.
Trialling new, innovative ways of doing government is right at the heart of the Public Service Reform agenda, and we will be sharing the lessons learned from our pilots across government, including with the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had discussions with local authorities on the provision of temporary accommodation for test-and-learn pilots.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Test & Learns are a new way of working. The Cabinet Office, in close partnership with MHCLG, will be working across government and with local partners to codesign the detailed approach to the allocation of the Public Services and Innovation Fund in early 2025. We will partner with the Local Government Association (LGA) on this process. The initial projects include work on temporary accommodation with Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Essex County Council.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what due diligence checks the Honours committee conducted before Paula Vennells received an award in the 2019 New Year Honours list.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Names of honours committee members are published within the Government’s reports on the operation of the honours system, and are a matter of public record.
The process relating to individual honours nominations are conducted in confidence. There is an expectation that this remains so, in order to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the honours system. The Government has previously published information relating to routine checks carried out prior to the awarding of honours, which is available online.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the members of the Honours committee that approved the CBE for Paula Vennells in the 2019 New Year Honours list.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Names of honours committee members are published within the Government’s reports on the operation of the honours system, and are a matter of public record.
The process relating to individual honours nominations are conducted in confidence. There is an expectation that this remains so, in order to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the honours system. The Government has previously published information relating to routine checks carried out prior to the awarding of honours, which is available online.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what was the cost to the public purse of lecterns used by each Prime Minister since 7 May 2015.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to the Hon Member for Warwick and Leamington on 2 November 2022 (UIN 73117).
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the use of artificial intelligence on future levels of employment in the civil service.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, is working with departments to understand the full potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation and service optimisation.
In June 2022 as part of the Government Roadmap for Digital and Data, the government published our commitment to “systematically identify and capture opportunities arising from emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum computing”. CDDO has convened external experts and digital leaders across government to rapidly respond to developments in this area.
CDDO is working with departments to establish the frameworks and policies to guide the responsible adoption of new technologies, including AI, and is already working with departments to realise opportunities in service delivery and optimisation. We are working to build a greater understanding of the potential impact of AI on Government work and efficiency which will further enhance our ability to plan future levels of employment in the civil service. Individual departments, within their own delegated authority, will be the ultimate decision maker as to the impact AI (or any other technology) has on their own levels of employment.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of covid-19 vaccine certificates; and what plans the Government has to introduce such certificates to access certain amenities.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by The Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment, Minister Nadhim Zahawi on 8 September 2021.
“Our vaccination programme has given this nation a wall of protection against this deadly virus. Data from Public Health England estimates that two doses of a covid-19 vaccine offers protection of around 96% against hospitalisation and that our jabs have prevented over 100,000 deaths, over 143,000 hospitalisations and around 24 million infections. It is this protection that allowed us to carefully ease restrictions over the past few months. However, we must do so in a way that is mindful of the benefits that both doses of the vaccine can bring.
On 19 July, the Prime Minister announced that:
“by the end of September—when all over 18s will have had the chance to be double jabbed—we are planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather. Proof of a negative test will no longer be sufficient.”
We will be confirming more details in due course.”
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of (a) recent trends in crime in urban centres and (b) whether the current recruitment targets are adequate to tackle crime in cities.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average working days lost was for (a) civil servants who have and (b) have not declared themselves as having a disability in (i) 2019 and (ii) 2020.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The latest sickness absence data for the Civil Service was published on 4 February 2021 at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-sickness-absence and includes average working days lost by sex and age for years ending 31 March 2019 and 2020. Sickness absence data by ethnicity and disability is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average working days lost was for civil servants aged (a) 30 and younger, (b) 30 to 50 (c) 50 to 60 and (d) over 60 in (i) 2019 and (ii) 2020.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The latest sickness absence data for the Civil Service was published on 4 February 2021 at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-sickness-absence and includes average working days lost by sex and age for years ending 31 March 2019 and 2020. Sickness absence data by ethnicity and disability is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.