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Written Question
Civil Servants: Incentives
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have been paid bonuses in each of the last five years.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As part of the Government’s commitment to transparency, departments have published aggregated annual information on their bonus spend on their own websites since 2011. This promotes scrutiny of how taxpayers’ money is spent. The latest data, which covers the 2021/22 performance year, was published on Government Departments’ websites on 31 March 2023. This data includes information on total bonus spend, the number of civil servants receiving bonuses, and the size of payments.


Written Question
Import Controls: Fees and Charges
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11319 on Import Controls, whether consignments requiring a Safety and Security declaration but not subject to SPS requirements will be required to pay the Common User Charge.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

The forecast number of Safety & Security (S&S) declarations includes declarations for those goods which will also be subject to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements. The numbers referred to by the Hon Lady are not directly comparable, as a single S&S declaration may correspond with multiple SPS requirements for the same shipment.

All goods, including those not subject to SPS requirements, will be subject to occasional intelligence-led checks by Border Force. S&S declarations are an important part of Border Force’s frontier risk assessment processes. The data gathered informs intelligence-based checks to identify and seize illicit goods. Increased S&S data will help us better target illicit goods, and allow legitimate goods to continue to move freely.

If a consignment is not subject to SPS requirements, it will not be subject to the Common User Charge.


Written Question
Import Controls
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11319 on Import Controls, whether the 17.4m additional safety and security declarations projected to be required is inclusive of the 4.5m consignments subject to sanitary and phytosanitary checks.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

The forecast number of Safety & Security (S&S) declarations includes declarations for those goods which will also be subject to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements. The numbers referred to by the Hon Lady are not directly comparable, as a single S&S declaration may correspond with multiple SPS requirements for the same shipment.

All goods, including those not subject to SPS requirements, will be subject to occasional intelligence-led checks by Border Force. S&S declarations are an important part of Border Force’s frontier risk assessment processes. The data gathered informs intelligence-based checks to identify and seize illicit goods. Increased S&S data will help us better target illicit goods, and allow legitimate goods to continue to move freely.

If a consignment is not subject to SPS requirements, it will not be subject to the Common User Charge.


Written Question
Import Controls
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11319 on Import Controls, what checks will be carried out on consignments which require a safety and security declaration but which are not subject to sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

The forecast number of Safety & Security (S&S) declarations includes declarations for those goods which will also be subject to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements. The numbers referred to by the Hon Lady are not directly comparable, as a single S&S declaration may correspond with multiple SPS requirements for the same shipment.

All goods, including those not subject to SPS requirements, will be subject to occasional intelligence-led checks by Border Force. S&S declarations are an important part of Border Force’s frontier risk assessment processes. The data gathered informs intelligence-based checks to identify and seize illicit goods. Increased S&S data will help us better target illicit goods, and allow legitimate goods to continue to move freely.

If a consignment is not subject to SPS requirements, it will not be subject to the Common User Charge.


Written Question
Customs: Digital Technology
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2024 to Question 14056 on Customs: Digital Technology, when he will publish the Government's response to the UK Single Trade Window: Consultation on Features to Inform Design and Legislation.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

The Government published full details of the Border Target Operating Model in August 2023 and the third stage, which involves the single trade window, is scheduled for 30 October, with the arrangements being made by Statutory Instrument rather than primary legislation. The Cabinet Office is considering whether a response to the UK Single Trade Window: Consultation on Features to Inform Design and Legislation should be published and when that would be most useful to all concerned.


Written Question
Blood: Contamination
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a draft amendment on infected blood compensation at Report Stage in the House of Lords for the Victims & Prisoners Bill in advance of that Report Stage.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

During Committee Stage of the Victims and Prisoners Bill, the Government committed to tabling amendments at Report Stage and this remains the Government’s intention. Amendments tabled by the Government will be publicly available in advance of the relevant stage of the Bill, as is standard procedure.


Written Question
Veterans: Housing
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on accommodation for veterans in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23.

Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)

This Government is committed to supporting all veterans with securing appropriate accommodation.

In 2023, we launched Op FORTITUDE, the dedicated referral scheme for veterans facing homelessness and rough sleeping, which is part of a broader £8.55 million of funding for specialist help and wrap-around support for veterans in more than 900 supported housing units.

This is in addition to establishing the Veteran Capital Housing Fund, which is dedicating £20 million over three years to fund the refurbishment of existing affordable and social rental properties and the development and delivery of new build projects.

Through these programmes, the Government is not only supporting the sustainable supply of veteran housing, but also ensuring that no veteran is forced to sleep rough due to a lack of provision.


Written Question
Blood: Contamination
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has taken steps to (a) identify and (b) contact people in Morley and Outwood constituency who were (i) infected and (ii) affected by contaminated blood as part of Government preparations for responding to Infected Blood Inquiry recommendations on compensation.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Statistical Expert Group, established by the Infected Blood Inquiry, has provided valuable insight into the numbers of infections from blood and blood products in the UK between 1970 and 1991 and subsequent survival rates. However, the requested information is not available by Parliamentary constituency. There is also considerable uncertainty over the number of people, especially those affected, who might be eligible under Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations. Therefore I am not able to provide a substantive response to the Honourable Member’s questions on her constituency. Since October 2022, the Government has paid over £400 million in interim compensation payments to those infected or bereaved partners registered with the UK Infected Blood Support Schemes, totalling over 4000 individuals.


Written Question
Blood: Contamination
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people that would be eligible for compensation under the terms of the recommendations of the second interim report of Infected Blood Inquiry, published on 5 April 2023, in Morley and Outwood constituency.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Statistical Expert Group, established by the Infected Blood Inquiry, has provided valuable insight into the numbers of infections from blood and blood products in the UK between 1970 and 1991 and subsequent survival rates. However, the requested information is not available by Parliamentary constituency. There is also considerable uncertainty over the number of people, especially those affected, who might be eligible under Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations. Therefore I am not able to provide a substantive response to the Honourable Member’s questions on her constituency. Since October 2022, the Government has paid over £400 million in interim compensation payments to those infected or bereaved partners registered with the UK Infected Blood Support Schemes, totalling over 4000 individuals.


Written Question
Blood: Contamination
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in Morley and Outwood constituency have received interim compensation payments as a result of (a) their infection and (b) a family member’s infection resulting from contaminated blood or blood products.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Statistical Expert Group, established by the Infected Blood Inquiry, has provided valuable insight into the numbers of infections from blood and blood products in the UK between 1970 and 1991 and subsequent survival rates. However, the requested information is not available by Parliamentary constituency. There is also considerable uncertainty over the number of people, especially those affected, who might be eligible under Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations. Therefore I am not able to provide a substantive response to the Honourable Member’s questions on her constituency. Since October 2022, the Government has paid over £400 million in interim compensation payments to those infected or bereaved partners registered with the UK Infected Blood Support Schemes, totalling over 4000 individuals.