Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has held discussions with the Home Secretary on the news organisations that attended her 2023 visit to Rwanda.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
No.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation to ensure that (a) former Prime Ministers and (b) former Ministers must have served a minimum of 12 months in post before becoming eligible to access the Public Duty Costs Allowance.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Only former Prime Ministers are eligible to claim against the Public Duty Costs Allowance. The allowance assists former Prime Ministers who are still active in public life and payments are made only to reimburse incurred expenses, such as office and secretarial costs, arising from the fulfilment of public duties. The allowance has been frozen at an annual limit of £115,000 since 2011 and the Government has no current plans to change its eligibility requirements.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) increasing the Treasury pay remit and (b) refunding the overpaid pension contributions.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Pay for grades below the Senior Civil Service is delegated to departments. Pay awards are made by individual departments, in consideration of their own priorities and affordability, and discussed with their trade unions.
The pay remit guidance is a cost control document and allows departments to seek further flexibility for a pay award above the headline range for pay awards.
It is important that pay awards for civil servants are affordable, as well as fair to both staff and the taxpayer. The pay remit guidance considers economic conditions while balancing the need for sustainable public finances. The 2023/24 guidance will be published next year.
Civil servants are not overpaying pension contributions. Member contribution rates are set via the Cost Control element of the Valuation. The 2016 Valuation was completed on 17 December 2021. It found that there was no ‘breach’ in the Cost Control element, meaning there was no need to adjust benefits or contributions. The valuation process ensures that members receive generous benefits linked to their contributions. The 2020 valuation is ongoing.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will undertake a review of the Government’s plan to cut 19,000 jobs from the civil service over the next 3 years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is firmly committed to the delivery of high quality public services at an affordable cost. Earlier this year, the former Prime Minister tasked Secretaries of State and Permanent Secretaries to work together on producing a plan for returning the Civil Service workforce numbers to 2016 levels over the next three years. This work remains ongoing and, as plans are still in development, no decisions have yet been made.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total costs were of the Prime Minister's trip to Ukraine in June 2022; and which Department met those costs.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Details of the Prime Minister’s overseas travel are published quarterly and will be made available on GOV.UK in due course. As per the Ministerial Code, when Ministers travel on official business, their travel expenses should be borne by the departmental vote.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister's office organised a meeting with the Second Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office to discuss the Investigation into Alleged Gatherings on Government Premises during covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I have been asked to reply. The Prime Minister discussed the process and procedure on timings and publication arrangements. The findings and contents of the Second Permanent Secretary’s independent report was a matter for her, as the Prime Minister made clear in his oral statement yesterday.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings the Prime minister has had with the Second Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office on the Investigation into Alleged Gatherings on Government Premises during Covid Restrictions; and when those meetings took place.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I have been asked to reply. The Prime Minister discussed the process and procedure on timings and publication arrangements. The findings and contents of the Second Permanent Secretary’s independent report was a matter for her, as the Prime Minister made clear in his oral statement yesterday.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions the Prime Minister has had with the Second Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I have been asked to reply. The Prime Minister discussed the process and procedure on timings and publication arrangements. The findings and contents of the Second Permanent Secretary’s independent report was a matter for her, as the Prime Minister made clear in his oral statement yesterday.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to ensure that the Minister for Brexit Opportunities has no conflict of interest in taking up his role.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Ministerial Code sets out the process by which, following appointment, Ministers should declare their interests, and take advice from their Permanent Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests about any action that may be needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of a conflict.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 of the potential effect of the proposed removal of prosecutorial powers from the Electoral Commission on the (a) accountability of the executive, (b) integrity of elections and (c) transparency of political party funding.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Electoral Commission does not currently, and has never in over 20 years, brought criminal prosecutions. The Government intends to maintain the status quo by providing clarity in law that the Commission should not bring criminal prosecutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The proper place for criminal investigations and prosecutions relating to electoral law is with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (and the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland) who are experts in this domain. Having the Commission step into this space would risk wasting public money. The Electoral Commission will continue to have a wide range of investigatory and civil sanctioning powers available to it and, as is currently the case, is able to refer more serious matters to the police.
The Government is committed to protecting our democracy and ensuring that it remains secure, modern, transparent and fair. The Elections Bill will further strengthen the integrity of UK elections by updating electoral law, including the rules on the transparency of digital campaigning and political finance, the introduction of voter identification and measures improving the integrity of postal and proxy voting.