Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) complaints and (b) formal grievances made by staff in his Department’s arms-length bodies as a result of (i) race, (ii) disability and (iii) gender discrimination resulted in an employment tribunal in each year from 2010-11.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Employment tribunal decisions are published on GOV.UK. Whether an employment tribunal case followed an internal procedure is not held centrally by Cabinet Office and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) complaints and (b) formal grievances made by staff in his Department as a result of (i) race, (ii) disability and (iii) gender discrimination resulted in an employment tribunal in each year from 2010-11.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Employment tribunal decisions are published on GOV.UK. Whether an employment tribunal case followed an internal procedure is not held centrally by Cabinet Office and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether public funds were used to purchase refrigerators for use on the Downing Street estate in the financial year 2020-21.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Downing Street is a working building, including catering facilities and offices for staff; as is common in workplaces including the House of Commons, refrigerators are provided for general staff use.
One refrigerator was purchased in the financial year for a Downing Street meeting room, and one to replace an existing refrigerator that had reached the end of its working operation.
Notwithstanding, I can confirm that no such public expenditure was accrued in relation to the matters considered in the investigations by the Second Permanent Secretary or connected with associated media reports on this matter.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is Civil Service policy that staff who have been homeworking must have an individual risk assessment before returning to the workplace.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Throughout the pandemic, the Government has published guidance on GOV.UK: Working Safely During Coronavirus (Covid-19) which supports all employers, including Civil Service employers, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the workplace and to keep people safe. All employers are required to conduct a health and safety risk assessment that includes the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace. Within the Civil Service managers are also encouraged to conduct an individual risk assessment with their employees, ensuring that personal risk factors are considered and, where identified, control measures are put in place to reduce their level of risk when returning to the workplace.
A decision on whether it is safe for an employee to return to the workplace will be based on the outcomes of those risk assessments.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a member of Civil Service staff is expected to return to the workplace in the event that a risk assessment for them shows that, even with mitigations, it is more hazardous for them to return to the workplace than to continue working from home.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Throughout the pandemic, the Government has published guidance on GOV.UK: Working Safely During Coronavirus (Covid-19) which supports all employers, including Civil Service employers, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the workplace and to keep people safe. All employers are required to conduct a health and safety risk assessment that includes the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace. Within the Civil Service managers are also encouraged to conduct an individual risk assessment with their employees, ensuring that personal risk factors are considered and, where identified, control measures are put in place to reduce their level of risk when returning to the workplace.
A decision on whether it is safe for an employee to return to the workplace will be based on the outcomes of those risk assessments.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the public purse funded any of the party refreshments consumed within No.10 Downing Street on 20 May 2021.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The report undertaken by the Second Permanent Secretary - available in the Library of the House - did not identify any allegations relating to staff gatherings on this date.
For the avoidance of doubt, there was no such expenditure on 20 May 2020 either.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2021 to Question 107597 on Government Departments: Coronavirus, if he will list each piece of additional assorted guidance that has been issued to Cabinet Office staff to support them in relation to managing the risk of covid-19 in the workplace.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave on 24 January to PQ107597.
A list of every piece of guidance issued to Cabinet Office staff relating to managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace cannot be provided due to the disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any vehicles were ordered on Downing Street's mini-cab account to take Downing Street staff to their homes or other locations between 8pm and 4am on the night of 16 April 2021.
Answered by Michael Ellis
In line with travel policy guidance, one journey took place in relation to an overnight shift worker travelling from Whitehall, having undertaken their staff duties.
But otherwise, no such vehicles were ordered to take staff from Downing Street in this period.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a Government procurement card was used by Downing Street staff to order deliveries of pizza with a value lower than £500 on the night of 16 April 2021.
Answered by Michael Ellis
No.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants in his Department are working on matters to do with (a) the EU and (b) the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The EU Secretariat in Cabinet Office is responsible for UK-EU relations and implementation of the TCA. At full capacity, there are 86 members of staff. Additionally, the Cabinet Office employs 59 people in the NI Protocol Taskforce who work on related matters.