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 audit process his Department undertakes on claims made under the Public Duty Cost Allowance by former prime ministers; and what steps his Department takes to ensure that those claims meet the criteria for funding from that allowance.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As with any other Cabinet Office financial transaction, PDCA payments are subject to inspection by the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) and the National Audit Office (NAO). The amount paid to each former Prime Minister is disclosed each year in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts following full audit.
The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office and secretarial costs. These costs can include diary support, Met Police protection on public visits, correspondence, staffing at public visits, support to charitable work, social media platforms and managing and maintaining ex-PMs office (staff, payroll, admin).
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 recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of including British Sign Language interpreters at all Downing Street press briefings.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As a matter of practice, the BBC has, since March 2020, provided BSL interpretation on its News Channel in respect of the vast majority of Covid media briefings, and continues to do so. A clean feed of the BSL interpretation has, since May, been made available for use on government social media channels.
In the relatively rare event that the BBC chooses not to provide BSL interpretation, we will be notified in advance of the briefing. We will then arrange for an independent organisation to provide BSL interpretation of the briefing in question, further to an arrangement that came into effect on 26 November. That BSL interpretation will be made available on government social media channels (including the No 10 YouTube channel). It will also be made available to broadcasters and other media outlets for TV and social media channels.
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, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of recognising 23 March as an annual day of memorial in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chloe Smith
While the Government’s immediate focus is on protecting the lives and livelihoods of the nation, the appropriate way to remember those who have lost their lives and to recognise those involved in the unprecedented response is something the Government is considering very carefully. We will set out the Government’s proposed approach to this important matter in due course.
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, if he will publish a (a) detailed cost breakdown of the £2.6 million spent on the television studio in 9 Downing Street and (b) cost-benefit analysis of that spending.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
(a)
A breakdown of the figures given out in response to a Freedom of Information Act request on 06/01/2021 is as follows” -
The Government is establishing facilities within 9 Downing Street which will be used for daily broadcasting by a number of news organisations. This will necessarily require one-off capital works, including audio-visual equipment, internet infrastructure, electrical works and lighting.
This spending is in the public interest as the new broadcasting of lobby briefings will increase public accountability and transparency about the work of this Government now and in the future.
Such spending on maintenance and technical facilities reflects that 9 Downing Street (the Privy Council Office) is a Grade 1 listed building.
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1267063
All such listed buildings must be maintained to high heritage standards, reflecting the buildings’ important role in the cultural fabric of our nation.
A breakdown of the costs which we hold are below.
Media centre Ph1 fees | £96,157.67 ex vat |
Media centre Ph1 enabling works. | £135,201.85 ex vat |
Media centre Broadband equipment | £33,394.63 ex vat |
LBC application | £9,050.30 ex vat |
Core drill | £1,456.06 ex vat |
Enabling order 2 | £285,788.29 ex vat |
Main works ph1 | £1,848,695.12 ex vat |
Media Centre Ph1 Long Lead items | £198,023.75 |
Annual figures on expenditure on property, plant and equipment by the Cabinet Office can be found in the departmental annual report and accounts.
(b)
In assessing the business case for the spending (i.e. the costs and the benefits), it was noted that No 9 Downing Street is a Grade 1 listed building which has not been updated or modernised for over 50 years. Over half of the cost of this project provides for modernisation to a substantial part of the building in line with the Cabinet Office’s statutory duties to preserve and maintain it, through making the roof sound, strengthening the floor, new heating and cooling, and electrical wiring replacement. The space being converted was idle and dilapidated and this project maximises the capability of the building. It was also deemed necessary to the success of the project to bring in technical expertise from specialist contractors.
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 recent steps he has taken to simplify trading arrangements between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Hon Members to the answers given in Cabinet Office orals on 11 February. Guidance and published information are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to co-ordinate the Government's response to the covid-19 outbreak; and what steps he is taking to ensure that holistic person-centred support is provided to all shielded and non-shielded vulnerable individuals affected by covid-19.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Four ministerial implementation committees focusing on health, public sector preparedness, economy, and our international response, have been established to coordinate, prioritise, and respond to the pandemic.
Shielding of the extremely vulnerable - those who suffer from the most serious underlying health conditions - is one of the Government’s top priorities. This work is being led by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The Communities Secretary outlined some of this support recently and details are available here (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/communities-secretarys-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-2-may-2020--2)
In terms of our work to support other vulnerable people, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster outlined some of this work to the House of Commons last week, details of which are available here https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-04-28/debates/6B80ADC6-5AE0-404A-BF91-3924FAD111CE/PublicServices.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the report by the Intelligence and Security Committee on Russian involvement in UK democracy.
Answered by Chloe Smith
We acknowledge the public’s interest in the publication of the report, however the report itself is the property of the independent ISC. As such it is not for the Government to publish ISC reports; it is for the ISC to lay them before Parliament. Once a new Committee has been established, it will be up to them to choose when they wish to publish it.
Members are appointed by the Houses of Parliament (having been nominated by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition). The Committee is being formed in the normal way and as quickly as current circumstances allow.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
What estimate he has made of the number of voters at risk of becoming disenfranchised as a result of the proposals for voter ID requirements contained in the Queen’s Speech.
Answered by Chloe Smith
No one will be disenfranchised by confirming who they are. These are sensible plans to make our elections more secure. Everyone registered to vote will have the opportunity to do so. Any voter who does not have an approved form of ID will be able to apply, free of charge, for an electoral ID from their local authority.
Both the pilots and the Northern Irish experience demonstrate that showing ID does not reduce participation.
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, whether he plans to review the criteria for transferring a proxy vote from one person to another in the case of an emergency.
Answered by Chloe Smith
There is currently no provision to transfer proxy votes between people. Emergency proxy votes are granted in limited circumstances, to maintain the integrity of the electoral process. The Government has announced it will consider the process of emergency proxy applications and the circumstances in which they can be issued, when time allows.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many individuals with ADHD have been given security clearance and then had that clearance withdrawn in each of the last five years.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Civil Service do not gather information on individual medical conditions.
United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV), the UK’s centralised vetting provider, does not collate or report on specific medical conditions. This is due to vetting confidentiality. While medical conditions may be collected as part of vetting processes, these are recorded in narrative form. Reviewing the narrative data would require individual examination of many thousands of records. Similarly, it is not possible to collate data for withdrawals or suspensions citing medical factors, due to how this is recorded. Regardless, individuals are not denied clearance, or have clearances revoked, solely on the basis of possessing a particular medical condition. Rather, Vetting Officers, Medical Advisers and other staff build a holistic understanding of each candidate to assess any vulnerabilities or risk factors and make a judgement accordingly.