Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the document entitled An introduction to the Government Consulting Hub, published in August 2022, if he will make an estimate of how much Government expenditure on external consulting has reduced because of the work of Government Consulting Hub.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government Consulting Hub (GCH) opened in May 2021, and operated on a cost neutral basis for the Cabinet Office, charging government departments for consultancy work undertaken and collecting a subscription fee for training and other services. It was tasked with helping to develop capability and ownership of consulting work within each department, triaging consulting requirements and establishing a “Consultancy Playbook” to establish best practice. A key focus of GCH was to develop capability and ownership of consultancy work within each department.
GCH enhanced the skills of a total of 526 civil servants across a variety of programmes. In FY 2020-21, the capability offer was stood-up. 189 received training in FY 2021-22 and 337 in FY 2022-23. In total, 414 civil servants received training via the main offer “Core Consulting Skills for Government”; this included 96 Fast Streamers and 14 Director Generals via a Senior Leaders workshop.
These skills continue to be deployed through the Civil Service.
The estimated fee differential associated with Government Departments using GCH for consultancy rather than external suppliers was £4.3 million.
The triage service has (since GCH was wound down on 31st January 2023) transferred to the Crown Commercial Service, building on the work done by GCH with each department. This transition is a recognition of the maturity level of the service, which means it can now integrate with CCS work on consultancy procurement strategies across Whitehall.
The GCH capability programme, supporting civil servants to adopt consultancy type skills where appropriate, has now onboarded to Civil Service Learning, and will continue to be available to all civil servants. By improving these skills in the public sector, we can continue to ensure the Government is only using consultants when absolutely necessary.
The Consultancy Playbook was well-received and set a new bar for how we get best value from external firms. It will now be integrated into the suite of playbooks owned by the Commercial Function.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff were trained by the Government Consulting Hub in financial years (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and c) 2022-23.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government Consulting Hub (GCH) opened in May 2021, and operated on a cost neutral basis for the Cabinet Office, charging government departments for consultancy work undertaken and collecting a subscription fee for training and other services. It was tasked with helping to develop capability and ownership of consulting work within each department, triaging consulting requirements and establishing a “Consultancy Playbook” to establish best practice. A key focus of GCH was to develop capability and ownership of consultancy work within each department.
GCH enhanced the skills of a total of 526 civil servants across a variety of programmes. In FY 2020-21, the capability offer was stood-up. 189 received training in FY 2021-22 and 337 in FY 2022-23. In total, 414 civil servants received training via the main offer “Core Consulting Skills for Government”; this included 96 Fast Streamers and 14 Director Generals via a Senior Leaders workshop.
These skills continue to be deployed through the Civil Service.
The estimated fee differential associated with Government Departments using GCH for consultancy rather than external suppliers was £4.3 million.
The triage service has (since GCH was wound down on 31st January 2023) transferred to the Crown Commercial Service, building on the work done by GCH with each department. This transition is a recognition of the maturity level of the service, which means it can now integrate with CCS work on consultancy procurement strategies across Whitehall.
The GCH capability programme, supporting civil servants to adopt consultancy type skills where appropriate, has now onboarded to Civil Service Learning, and will continue to be available to all civil servants. By improving these skills in the public sector, we can continue to ensure the Government is only using consultants when absolutely necessary.
The Consultancy Playbook was well-received and set a new bar for how we get best value from external firms. It will now be integrated into the suite of playbooks owned by the Commercial Function.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has taken recent steps to reduce the use of private consultancies.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government Consulting Hub (GCH) opened in May 2021, and operated on a cost neutral basis for the Cabinet Office, charging government departments for consultancy work undertaken and collecting a subscription fee for training and other services. It was tasked with helping to develop capability and ownership of consulting work within each department, triaging consulting requirements and establishing a “Consultancy Playbook” to establish best practice. A key focus of GCH was to develop capability and ownership of consultancy work within each department.
GCH enhanced the skills of a total of 526 civil servants across a variety of programmes. In FY 2020-21, the capability offer was stood-up. 189 received training in FY 2021-22 and 337 in FY 2022-23. In total, 414 civil servants received training via the main offer “Core Consulting Skills for Government”; this included 96 Fast Streamers and 14 Director Generals via a Senior Leaders workshop.
These skills continue to be deployed through the Civil Service.
The estimated fee differential associated with Government Departments using GCH for consultancy rather than external suppliers was £4.3 million.
The triage service has (since GCH was wound down on 31st January 2023) transferred to the Crown Commercial Service, building on the work done by GCH with each department. This transition is a recognition of the maturity level of the service, which means it can now integrate with CCS work on consultancy procurement strategies across Whitehall.
The GCH capability programme, supporting civil servants to adopt consultancy type skills where appropriate, has now onboarded to Civil Service Learning, and will continue to be available to all civil servants. By improving these skills in the public sector, we can continue to ensure the Government is only using consultants when absolutely necessary.
The Consultancy Playbook was well-received and set a new bar for how we get best value from external firms. It will now be integrated into the suite of playbooks owned by the Commercial Function.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Office spent on the Government Consulting Hub in financial years of (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government Consulting Hub (GCH) opened in May 2021, and operated on a cost neutral basis for the Cabinet Office, charging government departments for consultancy work undertaken and collecting a subscription fee for training and other services. It was tasked with helping to develop capability and ownership of consulting work within each department, triaging consulting requirements and establishing a “Consultancy Playbook” to establish best practice. A key focus of GCH was to develop capability and ownership of consultancy work within each department.
GCH enhanced the skills of a total of 526 civil servants across a variety of programmes. In FY 2020-21, the capability offer was stood-up. 189 received training in FY 2021-22 and 337 in FY 2022-23. In total, 414 civil servants received training via the main offer “Core Consulting Skills for Government”; this included 96 Fast Streamers and 14 Director Generals via a Senior Leaders workshop.
These skills continue to be deployed through the Civil Service.
The estimated fee differential associated with Government Departments using GCH for consultancy rather than external suppliers was £4.3 million.
The triage service has (since GCH was wound down on 31st January 2023) transferred to the Crown Commercial Service, building on the work done by GCH with each department. This transition is a recognition of the maturity level of the service, which means it can now integrate with CCS work on consultancy procurement strategies across Whitehall.
The GCH capability programme, supporting civil servants to adopt consultancy type skills where appropriate, has now onboarded to Civil Service Learning, and will continue to be available to all civil servants. By improving these skills in the public sector, we can continue to ensure the Government is only using consultants when absolutely necessary.
The Consultancy Playbook was well-received and set a new bar for how we get best value from external firms. It will now be integrated into the suite of playbooks owned by the Commercial Function.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department holds any record of a complaint made by a civil servant about the conduct of a Minister in March 2021.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
HR processes are confidential and therefore we do not comment on complaints, including whether they are received or not received.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his Oral Answer to the Hon. Member for Rhondda of 2 February 2023, Official Report column 453, what steps is he taking to move to more rapid declarations of ministerial interests so that they align more closely with the declarations of Members of Parliament; and will he make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
My right honourable friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, responded to a question from the honourable member for Rhondda during Cabinet Office Oral Questions on 2 February 2023 regarding transparency in ministerial interests. A correction to this was identified and a formal request has been sent to the Hansard Editors. I would therefore refer the Rt Hon Lady to the Official Record in due course for the updated wording.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department provided legal assistance to Cabinet Ministers between January 2022 and January 2023.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
During this period, Cabinet Office ministers and officials were provided with legal support on their departmental responsibilities by lawyers from the Government Legal Department, supplemented by external legal firms and counsel where appropriate.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department received written communications from the Propriety and Ethics Team on the Rt. hon Member for Stratford-upon-Avon prior to his appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Successive governments have preserved the ability for officials to provide advice to Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in confidence. In order to protect the ability to provide such advice effectively, it is not appropriate to comment on either specific information or advice provided in relation to ministerial appointments, or on the procedures used to provide that advice.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether discussions took place between HM Revenue and Customs and the Cabinet Office's Propriety and Ethics team on the appointment of Ministers in 2022.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Successive governments have preserved the ability for officials to provide advice to Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in confidence. In order to protect the ability to provide such advice effectively, it is not appropriate to comment on either specific information or advice provided in relation to ministerial appointments, or on the procedures used to provide that advice.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department's procedure is for conducting due diligence prior to the appointment of Ministers.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Successive governments have preserved the ability for officials to provide advice to Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in confidence. In order to protect the ability to provide such advice effectively, it is not appropriate to comment on either specific information or advice provided in relation to ministerial appointments, or on the procedures used to provide that advice.