Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Ministers were required to self-isolate on 21 July 2021.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
This information is not held by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Smart Freight system will be available for testing by road haulage drivers.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Further to the statement by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 23 September, details of external ministerial meetings are published on gov.uk
Regarding the 'Check an HGV is ready to cross the border' service (formerly known as 'Smart Freight'), I refer to the answer given to PQ 92707.
It is vital businesses, including those who rely on seasonal work, and workers prepare for the end of the Transition Period. That is why the Government has launched a public information campaign to ensure those affected are ready for the changes this will bring.The campaign uses a range of communication channels and events to help employers understand and prepare. Guidance for businesses is available on gov.uk/transition.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans for the Kent Access Permit to be (a) ready for trialling and (b) operational.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Further to my answer given to PQ92705 on 2 October 2020, the ‘Check an HGV is ready to cross the border’ service will be the mechanism for issuing Kent Access Permits. Government will soon publish its response to the consultation exercise regarding necessary legislative changes.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans for the Smart Freight facility to be (a) trialled and (b) operational.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Further to my answer given to PQ92705 on 2 October 2020, the ‘Check an HGV is ready to cross the border’ service will be the mechanism for issuing Kent Access Permits. Government will soon publish its response to the consultation exercise regarding necessary legislative changes.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of UK nationals working as contractors who have been replaced by specialists from overseas in the latest period for which figures are available.
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: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, what progress he has made on appointing the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Answered by Boris Johnson
Further to my Written Ministerial Statement of 20 January 2020, the Hon. Member for Bridgwater and West Somerset (Ian Liddell-Grainger) has also been appointed as a full member of the United Kingdom Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether all payments of pensions payable to retired civil servants resident overseas are up to date; and whether the MyCSP mutual venture system and its associated information technology are working efficiently.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
MyCSP Ltd took over administration of the Civil Service pensioner payroll in September 2014. The majority of the 658,000 pensioners - 14,000 of them are overseas - have been paid accurately and on time since September.
During the transfer MyCSP unexpectedly inherited 5,579 cases from the previous supplier where payments had been delayed or missed. MyCSP has now cleared all but 740 of these. 109 of the remaining cases are overseas pensioners awaiting payments because new banking mandates need to be completed to allow processing by the new paying bank. MyCSP is working to clear the remaining cases where payments are due before Christmas (but are in some cases dependent on employers or pensioner members for the necessary information to do so). Where delayed payment is causing hardship MyCSP has been making emergency interim payments to members.
The recent service issues are not a result of the mutual joint-venture (MJV) model. In fact, the mutual joint venture has enabled investment in new technology to replace legacy systems. This transformation will allow MyCSP to deliver a wider range of services (including online services) to higher standards whilst almost halving the cost of pensions administration over 10 years.
Since mutualisation, MyCSP has improved productivity by 15% year-on-year, driven down staff absenteeism and has improved both staff engagement and customer satisfaction, despite inheriting legacy systems.