Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps their Department is taking to improve response times to written parliamentary questions.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Written Parliamentary Questions and every effort is made to reply within the original deadline. However, if the matters raised in the question require substantial investigation, it might not be possible to provide a substantive reply to a case within the departmental deadline. To instil best practice in the Cabinet Office, we host regular departmental training sessions for parliamentary, private office and policy leads.
The Cabinet Office’s Guide to Parliamentary Work sets out the timelines departments should seek to meet. This can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1116933/2022-10-11_-_Guide_to_Parliamentary_Work___1_.pdf
Departmental performance on Written Parliamentary Questions is published at the end of each session by the Procedure Committee and is therefore publicly available. You can find details of the last session's PQ performance here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmproced/385/report.html
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data their Department holds on the average response time to written parliamentary questions in the last six months; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of that response time.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Written Parliamentary Questions and every effort is made to reply within the original deadline. However, if the matters raised in the question require substantial investigation, it might not be possible to provide a substantive reply to a case within the departmental deadline. To instil best practice in the Cabinet Office, we host regular departmental training sessions for parliamentary, private office and policy leads.
The Cabinet Office’s Guide to Parliamentary Work sets out the timelines departments should seek to meet. This can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1116933/2022-10-11_-_Guide_to_Parliamentary_Work___1_.pdf
Departmental performance on Written Parliamentary Questions is published at the end of each session by the Procedure Committee and is therefore publicly available. You can find details of the last session's PQ performance here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmproced/385/report.html
Report May. 13 2024
Committee: Procedure CommitteeFound: Second Report - Written Parliamentary Questions: Departmental Performance in Session 2022–23 HC 676 Report
Correspondence May. 22 2024
Committee: Procedure CommitteeFound: from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing relating to the quality of responses to Written
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in her Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government has audited the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June.
On 14 May, the Minister without Portfolio made a written statement on the latest findings from the review. This can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-05-14/hcws464.
In response to these findings, the Cabinet Office is publishing the Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance. This includes an end to all external spending on EDI activity, unless cleared and authorised by Ministers.
Further guidance on diversity staff networks is being developed, and the department will seek to publish additional data on historic spending to assist transparency in this area.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost to the public purse was of legal (a) support and (b) representation to Ministers in his Department in relation to their official conduct in each of the last three years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Such information is not centrally recorded or collated in the form requested. More generally, I would refer the honourable Member to the long-standing policies on legal expenditure, as set out recently by Cabinet Office Ministers on 12 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 17709 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament and 12 March 2024, Official Report, House of Lords, Cols. 1901-1904. Ministers: Legal Costs - Hansard - UK Parliament.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the (a) Minister for Veterans Affairs and (b) Minister for Trade Policy has attended any meetings with (i) Stoll Foundation and (ii) Stoll veterans on the sale of Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions and the support provided to residents during the transition period.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to the reply given to his question on 8 May 2024 (PQ UIN 23983)
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to the public purse was of legal (a) support and (b) representation to Ministers in her Department in relation to their official conduct in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held centrally or collated in the format requested. More generally, I would refer the hon. Member to the long-standing policies on legal expenditure, as set out recently by Cabinet Office Ministers on 12 March 2024, Official Report, Question 17709 and 12 March 2024, Official Report, House of Lords, Cols. 1901-1904.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the pay ranges at each grade are for Food Standards Agency staff based (a) in and (b) outside London.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Food Standards Agency salary structure and ranges for 2023/24 effective from 1 August 2023 are available at the following link:
https://www.food.gov.uk/about-us/fsa-salary-structure
The then Minister for the Cabinet Office and HM Paymaster General, the Rt Hon Jeremy Quin MP laid a written statement (HCWS940) on 13 July 2023 which outlined the pay ranges for senior civil servants from 1 April 2023.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what the total cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has audited the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June. On 14 May the Minister without Portfolio made a written statement [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-05-14/hcws464] on the latest findings from the review. In response to these findings, the Cabinet Office is publishing the Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance. This includes an end to all external spending on EDI activity, unless cleared and authorised by Ministers. Further guidance on diversity staff networks is being developed, and we will seek to publish additional data on historic spending to assist transparency in this area.