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.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department have been assigned to work on the Convention of Biological Diversity; and how many Ministers in his Department plan to attend the conference from 25 April to 8 May 2022.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity represents an historic opportunity to secure an agreement to ambitious global action over the next decade. The UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at COP15. The COP is due to take place in Kunming, China, later this year; though, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we expect a delay to the planned dates of 25 April to 8 May. Minister Lord Goldsmith will head the UK delegation.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the lead department for the Convention on Biological Diversity, working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Cabinet Office. A core team is in place in DEFRA, drawing on expertise across DEFRA, its specialist arms-length bodies, working with other Government departments, civil society organisations and society at large. This includes working with the FCDO and our Posts across the diplomatic network, through which we are engaging host governments to support the delivery of our objectives. Nature is one of the key priorities in the UK’s COP26 Presidency, and so the Cabinet Office COP26 Unit is also supporting preparations for COP15 to ensure successful delivery of our COP26 objectives.
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 staff of his Office 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: 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 his Office'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
No.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total spending by each Department was on outside consultants in each of the last three years for which records are available.
Answered by Michael Ellis
It is standard for Government Departments to draw on the advice of external specialists for a range of services. Consultancy includes staff who provide objective advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of an organisation and may include the identification of options with recommendations.
Cabinet Office net spend on Consultancy is published in annual reports and accounts on GOV.UK.
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 make purchases with a value lower than £500 from the Co-Op convenience store at 456-459 Strand on the night of 16 April 2021.
Answered by Michael Ellis
No.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 17 January to Question 100698,UK Trade with EU: VAT, how many fulltime equivalent staff are dedicated to engaging with counterparts in EU Member States on issues relating to the interpretation by those countries’ custom officials of the VAT rules being applied to UK traders and hauliers.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Officials in a number of different Government Departments work on the full range of issues relating to trade with the EU under the new arrangements set out in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement. It is not possible to disaggregate the level of full time equivalent staff resource involved specifically in engaging with EU Member States on the interpretation of their VAT rules which is one issue among many.