Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of whether the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments takes sufficient account of the potential risk of (a) an employer gaining an improper advantage by appointing a former official who holds information about its competitors or about impending government policy and (b) a former official or Minister improperly exploiting privileged access to contacts in government.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is an independent body whose role is to provide advice on applications under the Business Appointment Rules for former Ministers and Senior Civil Servants. In providing this advice, the Committee carefully considers a wide range of information and takes a number of factors into account, including those referred to by the Honourable Member.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments in scrutinising the suitability of business appointments for former Ministers in government.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Government believes that the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments discharges its remit effectively and efficiently.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will undertake an Equality Impact Assessment of the proposed changes to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Government consulted on its reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and considered the responses it received from civil servants and others carefully. It held several meetings with unions during the consultation and then further meetings with unions that agreed to participate. An equalities impact assessment was published on 26 September alongside the Government’s consultation response.
The Government believes its proposed reforms will provide a firm foundation for the management of the Civil Service and its people for a generation. The new terms compare favourably with exit terms in the wider economy and will align the Civil Service Compensation Scheme with reforms across the public sector. It will support employers in managing their workforce and simplify the exit process while treating employees respectfully and fairly.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of staff employed by his Department are non-UK nationals.
Answered by Ben Gummer
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 45594, on public sector: procurement, where the Crown Commercial Service analysis can be found that is referred to in that Answer.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Crown Commercial Service analysis referred to was undertaken internally to facilitate answering the Hon Member's previous question. The key data is reproduced below.
UK Tenders on Tenders Electronic Daily (Official journal of the EU) and Contracts Finder
MONTH | TED | CONTRACTS FINDER |
January 2016 | 812 | 2,577 |
February 2016 | 760 | 3,080 |
March 2016 | 987 | 3,256 |
April 2016 | 958 | 2,865 |
May 2016 | 881 | 2,960 |
June 2016 | 907 | 931 |
July 2016 | 1,033 | 2,853 |
August 2016 | 1,027 | 3,570 |
This clearly illustrates both the deferment in “Contract Finder” tenders during the EU referendum purdah period, and the lack of any significant change in the number of “Tenders Electronic Daily” opportunities.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the large increase in public sector contracts going out to tender since the EU referendum.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The overarching principle behind all public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of achieving the best value for money for the taxpayer.
It is the responsibility of the individual contracting authorities to decide whether, how and when to go to market for the procurement of goods and services.
Analysis by the Crown Commercial Service shows no significant variation in the number of above threshold opportunities advertised in the Official Journal of the EU. Analysis of opportunities over £10k advertised on Contracts Finder show a drop in the levels of procurement activity prior to the referendum, consistent with deferring advertisements during the Civil Service’s period of “purdah”, rather than a sudden increase in new activity since the referendum.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of all government departments adopting the same practice of informal monthly performance reviews which has been implemented by the Valuation Office Agency.
Answered by Ben Gummer
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on Wednesday 7 September 2016 to UIN: 44500.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, whether she plans to attend the UN General Assembly meetings on refugees and migrants on 19 and 20 September 2016.
Answered by Theresa May
I refer the hon. Member to the Oral Statement I gave to the House on 7 September 2016, Official Report, column 336.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on reform to the performance management systems used in the Civil Service; and if he will abolish the guided distribution model of performance markings.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Civil Service currently operates within a Performance Management framework, introduced in 2012, which has helped to improve performance management practice and culture by focussing on regular conversation and assessment of both ‘what’ people do and ‘how’ they do it. The current approach has brought consistency and helped improve managers’ ability to differentiate between levels of performance.
The Civil Service is currently reviewing its approach to performance management to ensure that we are keeping up with external best practice and internal changes. As part of this, we are in the process of trialling ways in which we can build on the success of the current system. We will reflect on the outcomes of these trials upon the conclusion of the 2016-17 performance year to inform an evidence-based decision on the future of performance management in the Civil Service from 2018/19; this will include how the Civil Service will take forward the guided distribution element of the current system.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the proposals in Early Day Motion 278, on Office of Electoral Integrity, are not incorporated into the roles and responsibilities of the Electoral Commission; and if he will take steps to incorporate such proposals in the Electoral Commission's remit.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The accuracy of arguments advanced in the course of referendum and election campaigns is not subject to regulation.
The Government will consider this and other issues relating to the regulation of political campaigning, following the publication of the Electoral Commission’s report on the administration of the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union which is expected shortly.
Creating a new body to regulate what candidates and political campaigners could say would have an effect on freedom of speech within the law. Moreover, the proposed regime would be likely to fuel malicious and partisan complaints (and counter-complaints), which would undermine, rather than strengthen, confidence in the democratic process.