Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what authority set down in the statutes of the Commissioners enabled the payment of £29,800 to meet damages and costs relating to the case of Bishop George Bell; and what steps the Commissioners took to scrutinise that settlement before they made over those funds.
Answered by Caroline Spelman
The Church Commissioners have a discretion under the Episcopal Endowments and Stipends Measure 1943, assessed on a case by case basis, to pay the costs of a bishop’s office, including costs in connection with legal claims. Requests to the Church Commissioners for assistance with legal costs are subject to scrutiny by the First Church Estates Commissioner and the QC Commissioner, assisted by staff, to ensure that costs are reasonable in the circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many (a) direct employees, (b) agency staff and (c) outsourced staff working for (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department are paid less than the living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right and has no direct employees, nor does it contract for outsourced staff. Staff at the Wales Office are Ministry of Justice (MoJ) employees and agency staff are engaged through MoJ contracts. No MoJ direct employees or any agency staff working at the Wales Office are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether his Department has a carer's policy for its employees; and what other steps his Department has taken to support employees with caring responsibilities.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right; our staff are employed under Ministry of Justice contracts. We therefore follow the carer policy commitments of the Ministry of Justice. The Wales Office offers supportive inclusive practices for staff with caring responsibilities which include special leave and flexible working options tailored to individual needs; access to a carers’ network; and provision of advice and counselling through the Employee Assistance Programme.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what his Department's estimate is of the amount of EU legislation and regulation that can be incorporated into UK law without amendment.
Answered by Alun Cairns
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will convert European Union law into UK law as it applies in the UK at the moment of exit. This will ensure that, wherever possible, the same rules and laws will apply the day after exit as they did before.
The Government is making a detailed assessment of what corrections will be required to make that law function appropriately on exit day. The Department for Exiting the European Union are working closely with departments across Government to ensure we make the changes required to deliver a functioning statute book on exit in the most efficient manner possible.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people working for his Department on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.
Answered by Guto Bebb
The Wales Office has no direct employees or contracted workers. Staff at the Wales Office are subject to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) policies for pay and agency contract purposes. No permanent staff working at the Wales Office are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. We have less than five agency staff and none are paid less than the national living wage. No staff are on zero hours contracts.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many (a) direct employees, (b) agency staff and (c) outsourced staff working for his Department are paid less than the living wage.
Answered by Alun Cairns
The Wales Office has no direct employees or contracted workers. Staff at the Wales Office are subject to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) policies for pay purposes. No Wales Office staff, or agency staff working for the department, is paid less than the living wage.