Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for June 2021, what services were supplied by Speakers Corner on 3 June 2021; to what team within his Department were they supplied; and for what purpose they were required.

Speakers Corner supplied a speaker for a reception event for of the annual internship programmes run by the Civil Service Fast Stream.

The speaker was paid to offer their perspective on successful career strategies and skills development, complementing internal Civil Service inputs. They were hired to demonstrate that the Civil Service is keen to incorporate a wider, outward looking viewpoint.

Although the Civil Service Fast Stream used external speakers to support its internship programmes - as in this instance - this is no longer the case and the Fast Stream now sources all speakers internally.