Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to on the Transparency of the Integrated Fund on 22 October 2020, to clarify (a) for which financial and/or calendar year(s) they will provide summaries of activities funded by the Integrated Activity Fund/Gulf Strategy Fund, (b) when these summaries will be published, and (c) what information will these summaries contain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We will publish a Programme Summary of the Gulf Strategy Fund for 2020/21 in March 2021. This is in line with the timetable for publication of summaries of other programmes under the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office International Programme. The Programme Summary will set out how the Fund has been used in each country and the amounts allocated.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the Government has not disclosed its evaluations and Overseas Justice and Security assessments of activities delivered through the Integrated Activity Fund; and what assessment he has made of the implications of that decision for Government policy on transparency of public spending.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The FCDO's general policy is to not publish OSJA assessments or the information contained in these assessments. This ensures that officials are able to be fully candid in their assessments and accurately assess the risks associated with the proposed assistance.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking to steps to prevent Government departments from spending UK aid that do not achieve a (a) good or (b) very good at the next assessment by the Aid Transparency Index.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is globally recognised for its expertise and transparency in aid spending and continues to be committed to improving transparency of aid globally and maintaining our own high standards for overseas spending. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will use this expert knowledge to work with aid spending Government departments to improve their aid transparency.
As with all public expenditure, HM Treasury allocates ODA funding to departments at each spending review. FCDO then provides support to these government departments through the HMG Transparency Community of Practice. This group has been used to champion aid transparency and has supported the majority of government departments to publish to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard. The assessment of 10 UK aid spending departments (Aid Transparency Review) which was published in 2020 provided a set of recommendations for future improvement which FCDO is helping them implement.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to ensure that all UK aid spending Government departments achieve a (a) good or (b) very good at the next assessment by the the Aid Transparency Index.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The FCDO will use the recommendations made in the UK Aid Transparency Review, carried out by the Aid Transparency Index in 2020, to work with other Government departments to make progress on UK Government transparency in our next assessment. This will take place through the HMG Transparency Community of Practice which has championed aid transparency and supported government departments to publish to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard.
The UK is globally recognised for its expertise and transparency in aid spending and continues to be committed to improving transparency of aid globally, maintaining our own high standards for overseas spending. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will use this expert knowledge to work with aid spending Government departments to ensure good aid transparency.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the transparency of Official Development Assistance spending.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) remains committed to meeting the target for Official Development Assistance (ODA) Transparency laid down in the UK Aid Strategy, ie, to achieve a rating of Good or Very Good in the International Aid Transparency Index by 2020. We continue to make improvements to the way ODA expenditure is accounted for in our financial and programme management systems and processes. An independent audit by Publish What You Fund is underway and due to report on FCO ODA transparency in June 2018. The FCO will use the recommendations made in this review to make further improvements to its ODA transparency.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which government departments' executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are participating in the next generation Civil Service human resources programme; what the basis is for cost-sharing arrangements for set-up and running costs of that programme; and what human resources functions that programme undertakes.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
The Next Generation HR programme started in 2010 and has delivered significant savings - in 2010 annual spend on HR in the Civil Service was £524million, in 2014 annual spend was £257.5 million.
Services provided cover the range of human resources activity, including learning, employee policy, recruitment and organisational design and Departments share the full cost of the core services provided. Those services that are volume related (such as bulk recruitment) are paid for on the basis of usage. More information is available onhttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-human-resources-profession/about
The list below details those organisations who take services from the shared expert services created as part of the Next Generation HR Programme.
Attorney General's departments
Attorney General's Office
Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate
Treasury Solicitor
Crown Prosecution Service
Serious Fraud Office
Business, Innovation and Skills
Companies House
Insolvency Service
Land Registry
Met Office
National Measurement Office
Ordnance Survey
Skills Funding Agency
UK Intellectual Property Office
UK Space Agency
Capital for Enterprise
Technology Strategy Board
UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Office of Gas and Electricity Market
Cabinet Office
Government Procurement Service
Government in Parliament
Charity Commission
Department for Communities and Local Government
Planning Inspectorate
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Homes and Community Agency
Leasehold Advisory Service
West Northamptonshire Development Corporation
Competition & Markets Authority
Department for Culture Media and Sport
Royal Parks
National Portrait Gallery
Sports Grounds Safety Authority
Ministry of Defence
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Defence Support Group
UK Hydrographic Office
Department for Education
Education Funding Agency
National College for Teaching and Leadership
Standards & Testing Agency
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Committee on Climate Change
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency
Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
Food and Environment Research Agency
Rural Payments Agency
Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Consumer Council for Water
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Marine Management Organisation
National Forest Company
Natural England
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Gangmasters Licensing Authority
The Sea fish Industry Authority
The Water Services Regulation Authority (OFWAT)
Office of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (Estyn)
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Food Standards Agency
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
FCO Services
Locally Engaged staff
Overseas Territories
Wilton Park Executive Agency
Great Britain in China (GBCC)
Department of Health
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
Public Health England
Human Tissue Authority
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
Health and Social Care Information Centre
HM Revenue and Customs
Valuation Office
HM Treasury
Office for Budget Responsibility
Chancellor's other departments
Debt Management Office
Government Actuary's Department
National Savings and Investments
Home Office
Identity & Passport Service
National Fraud Authority
Disclosure and Barring Service
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Office of Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC)
Department for International Development
Ministry of Justice
Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service
National Offender Management Service
Legal Aid Agency
The Office of the Public Guardian
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Family Justice Council
HM Inspectorate of Prisons
HM Inspectorate of Probation
Independent Advisory Council on Deaths in Custody
Independent Monitoring Boards
Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman
Commission for Judicial Appointments
Judicial Office of England and Wales
Lancashire Probation Trust
Law Commission
Legal Services Ombudsman
Legal Services Board
Legal Services Consumer Panel
Office for Judicial Complaints
Office for the Accountant General
Official Solicitor
Parole Board
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Youth Justice Board for England and Wales
The National Archive
Northern Ireland Office
Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED)
Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (OFQUAL)
Scotland Office (incl. Office of the Advocate General for Scotland)
Security Community
Department for Transport
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Driving Standards Agency
Highways Agency
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Vehicle Certification Agency
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
British Transport Police Authority
High Speed 2 Ltd
Northern Lighthouse Board
Passenger Focus (Rail Passengers' Council)
Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
UK Statistics Authority
UK Supreme Court
Wales Office
Department for Work and Pensions
Independent Living Fund
National Employment Savings Trust Corporation
Office of the Pensions Ombudsman
The Pensions Advisory Service Ltd
The Pensions Regulator
Health and Safety Executive
Scottish Government
Accountant in Bankruptcy
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
Disclosure Scotland
Education Scotland
Registers of Scotland
Scottish Housing Regulator
Student Awards Agency
Transport Scotland
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
Scottish Public Pensions Agency
National Records of Scotland
Crofting Commission
Architecture and Design Scotland
The Scottish Funding Council for Further and Higher Education
Welsh Government
House of Lords Administration
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
National Assembly for Wales
National Audit Office