Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent in each of the last twelve months on polling the general public on their perception of the strength of the union.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Cabinet Office expenditure over £25,000 is published on GOV.UK, alongside our regular
transparency reporting.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has contracted Ipsos Mori to carry out polling on the public perception of the state of the union in the last six months.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government regularly contracts research to understand public perceptions towards government policy. Government contracts can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has commissioned any research on the public perception of the state of the union in the last three months.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government regularly contracts research to understand public perceptions towards government policy. Government contracts can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff from each Government Department are employed in Scotland; and what the office locations are for those staff.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
As at 31 March 2018 there were 43,120 Civil Servants employed in locations in Scotland.
A breakdown by Government department is available in Table 12 ‘Civil Service employment; regional distribution by government department’ as part of the annual National Statistics publication ’Civil Service Statistics’, at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/civilservicestatistics.
Further information on the location of Civil Servants is also available through the ONS query tool, nomis, available at this link: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/. Using nomis we have produced a table of Civil Service Headcount by Department at NUTS3 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics Level 3 i.e. council areas) for the above staff. A copy of this table has been placed in the Library.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has in place for his work stream on electoral reform in preparation for the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government will continue to keep the electoral system under review and where appropriate will consider what changes, if any, may be necessary in preparation for and as a consequence of the UK leaving the European Union.
As the UK will cease to be a member of the European Union on 29th March 2019, we will not be taking part in future European Parliamentary elections, including those which are currently scheduled to be held from 23rd to 26th May 2019.
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 repeals the underlying pieces of legislation providing for the holding of European Parliamentary elections in the UK, and we have made a Statutory Instrument under powers in the Act that repeals all associated legislation.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has had discussions with the Treasury on the National Audit Office report on improving the Government's planning and spending framework; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Discussions on the NAO's report on improving the Government's planning and spending framework would be undertaken by senior officials in both Departments. The report is then signed and agreed by both Departmental Permanent Secretaries.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, from which departmental budgets the cost of constructing UK Government offices at New Waverley is being allocated; and how much money has been allocated to that project in each month since its commencement.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The amount spent by HMRC in each of the last five years on office accommodation for staff who will be relocating to its Edinburgh Regional Centre, which is currently being constructed at 1 Sibbald Walk, Edinburgh is as follows:
2018-19, £13 million
2017-18, £12 million
2016-17, £13 million
2015-16, £13 million
2014-15, £14 million
HMRC has signed an agreement for lease for 1 Sibbald Walk, Edinburgh, which will become its Edinburgh Regional Centre and it has so far spent around £0.5 million from HMRC’s budget.
Construction is under way and it is the responsibility of the developer to deliver the building to an agreed specification, which HMRC will then lease. HMRC will occupy 90 per cent of the building and will commence payments during 2019-20 in accordance with the terms of the lease.
HMRC’s move to regional centres will save around £300 million up to 2025. It will deliver annual cash savings of £74 million in 2025-26, rising to around £90 million from 2028, while modernising how HMRC work and helping to improve customer service.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much money has been spent from the public purse on office accommodation for staff that will be relocated to HMG New Waverley in each of the last five years.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The amount spent by HMRC in each of the last five years on office accommodation for staff who will be relocating to its Edinburgh Regional Centre, which is currently being constructed at 1 Sibbald Walk, Edinburgh is as follows:
2018-19, £13 million
2017-18, £12 million
2016-17, £13 million
2015-16, £13 million
2014-15, £14 million
HMRC has signed an agreement for lease for 1 Sibbald Walk, Edinburgh, which will become its Edinburgh Regional Centre and it has so far spent around £0.5 million from HMRC’s budget.
Construction is under way and it is the responsibility of the developer to deliver the building to an agreed specification, which HMRC will then lease. HMRC will occupy 90 per cent of the building and will commence payments during 2019-20 in accordance with the terms of the lease.
HMRC’s move to regional centres will save around £300 million up to 2025. It will deliver annual cash savings of £74 million in 2025-26, rising to around £90 million from 2028, while modernising how HMRC work and helping to improve customer service.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) location and (b) lease expiry dates of Government offices in Scotland that are used by Departmental staff.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The location information for all the Civil Estate, including Scotland, is published online at data.gov.uk as part of Government transparency commitments. Details of Government property to let or for sale can be found via the Government Property Finder website.
The Government does not publish lease expiry dates for Government offices used by Departmental staff due to the commercially sensitive nature of this information.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the October 2018 letter from Sir Brian Langstaff, Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, what plans he has to he has to enhance financial and psychological support to those affected by infected blood and blood products; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Lidington
It is for the Department of Health and Social Care to consider the issue of financial support raised by Sir Brian Langstaff in his letter. The Minister for Minister for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention has expressed her willingness to meet the Inquiry team and other discussions may follow.