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 any complaints regarding the former Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union's conduct between July and November 2018.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Prime Minister has appointed Adam Tolley KC to conduct an independent investigation into formal complaints which have been made about the conduct of the Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP, the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.
The Terms of Reference for the investigation have been published on gov.uk. [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/terms-of-reference-investigation-into-formal-complaints/terms-of-reference-for-the-investigation-into-formal-complaints-about-the-conduct-of-the-deputy-prime-minister-html]
Following the establishment of the independent investigation, and the Cabinet Office receiving a further formal complaint relating to Mr Raab's conduct at the Department for Exiting the European Union, the Prime Minister has additionally asked the investigator to establish the specific facts surrounding this complaint, in line with the Terms of Reference for the existing investigation.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on recruitment for Non-Executive Director appointments in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Assuming the Rt Hon Lady's question refers to the appointment of non-executive directors to Arms Length Bodies, the Cabinet Office does not hold specific information on the recruitment costs.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff worked for the Department for Exiting the European Union in June 2018.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The National Statistics show that at 30 June 2018, there were 560 staff on a headcount basis and 550 staff on an FTE basis working at the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU). There were approximately 110 staff in addition to this figure who remained on the payroll of their home department whilst on loan to DExEU.
This information was published by ONS as part of their Public Sector Employment Statistics release and is available at the following ONS web address:
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on external recruitment consultants in (a) 2020, (b) 2019 and (c) 2018.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020 Cabinet Office spent £5.016 million on external recruitment services (consultancy). Included within this total figure is expenditure totalling £3.082 million, attributed to the Government Recruitment Service (GRS) for external recruitment services (consultancy) which was incurred by the Cabinet Office and recharged to other Government Departments.
The breakdown per calendar year is as follows.
In the 2020 calendar year, Cabinet Office spent £2.507 million on recruitment services (consultancy), of which £2.036 million was attributed to GRS and recharged to other Government Departments.
In the 2019 calendar year, Cabinet Office spent £1.556 million on recruitment services (consultancy), of which £1.042 million was attributed to GRS and recharged to other Government Departments.
In the 2018 calendar year, Cabinet Office spent £0.953 million on recruitment services (consultancy), of which £0.004 million was attributed to GRS and recharged to other Government Departments.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Public Sector Fraud Authority Enforcement Unit has been established.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Enforcement Unit is currently being designed by experts within the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) and across government. The design phase will be completed by the end of April 2023 and it will be operational by the end of the 2023/24 financial year. It will have the ability to conduct investigations and enforcement recovery activity on a targeted basis across departments and public bodies to pursue those who seek to defraud vital public services.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of changes resulting from the Autumn Statement to the FTE headcount of his Department in November 2022.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
No final estimate has yet been made of the FTE implications of the Autumn Statement.
The Cabinet Office will make efficiencies and reprioritise so that it can deliver its priorities within its available funding as confirmed by the Autumn Statement. This will include managing inflationary pressures. Our approach will be informed by plans for a smaller, more agile, and more efficient centre of government.
These plans will deliver significant financial savings and put the department in a strong position to manage within our budget. Our FTE will be published as usual in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts, available here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November to Question 86502 on Former Ministers: Complaints, what progress his Department has made on Appointing an Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the Rt. Hon Member to my earlier response (PQ79302).
The Prime Minister has confirmed that he intends to appoint an Independent Adviser and that further details will be announced in due course.
The process to appoint an Independent Adviser is already taking place. It is an important role which needs to be considered carefully; this is happening at pace.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is his policy to appoint new Non-Executive Directors.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Governance Code on Public Appointments has been in place since December 2016 and states that appointments, reappointments and extensions for Non Executive Directors require the agreement of Ministers.
Subject to any statutory provisions relating to the body to which the appointment is being made, it is for Ministers to decide on length of tenure. However there is a strong presumption that no individual should serve more than two terms or serve in any one post for more than ten years. This remains government policy.
The regulation of public appointments against the requirements of this Code is carried out by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the public appointments that have been made by his Department since 25 October 2022.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Since 25th October 2022, one public appointment has been made by Cabinet Office as the sponsoring department:
Phillipa Herd was appointed an interim member of the Senior Salaries Review Body. The appointment was announced publicly on 10 November 2022.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the minutes of the meeting of the then Prime Minister with Shell plc on 5 May 2022 as listed in the Ministerial Transparency returns.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
On 5 May, my Rt Hon Friend (the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip) attended a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Business Council in Downing Street. Following the Roundtable a short meeting took place between my Rt Hon Friend and the CEO of Shell who was also in attendance at the Roundtable. The record of the discussion is as follows:
The PM and Ben van Beurden discussed the global energy market and Shell’s investments in the UK.