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.
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 - Shadow Secretary of State 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 - Shadow Secretary of State 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 - Shadow Secretary of State 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
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.