Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have conditions of employment which impose (a) no and (b) a four day limit on the number of days each week that they can work from home; and whether he has made a comparative assessment of the productivity of those who work from home for four days or more each week and those who do not.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There is no information available centrally on how many civil servants have conditions of employment that impose no, and a four day limit on the number of days each week they can work from home. Decisions on terms and conditions of employment are made by the employing department, depending on their specific business requirements and nature of the role. Where business requirements allow for it, departments will operate flexible working arrangements.
Civil servants are expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office with decisions on implementing and evaluating this expectation made by departments. A small number of home working contracts are in place but these are not routinely approved other than for a very small number of roles, or where a workplace adjustment is agreed for conditions recognised under the Equality Act. Equally, there are also employees who work only from the workplace, due to the nature of their roles, or through personal choice.
There have been no specific central comparative assessments within the civil service of productivity of those who work from home for four days or more each week. It is recognised within departments that there are clear benefits of face-to-face working, including productivity, with complex tasks and problem solving undertaken more efficiently.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2023 to Question 153687 on Disinformation, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Christchurch.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
All requested documentation has now been collated and assessed. A response letter has now been issued and deposited in the House Library.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March to Question 148800 on Rapid Response Unit, on what date the Rapid Response Unit was disbanded; what has happened to the information which that Unit collected and stored; and how many of that Unit's staff were made redundant.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Rapid Response Unit was disbanded in August 2022.
None of the staff were made redundant as they were all redeployed.
The information collected has now been archived and will be retained in line with the Cabinet Office Information Retention Policy.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Cabinet Office Rapid Response Unit (a) collected and (b) stored personal data on the content of each of the interviews given by the hon Member for Christchurch on (a) 3 November 2020 with LBC, (b) 4 February 2021 with Newsnight, (c) 28 June 2021 with Times Radio, (d) 13 September 2021 with the BBC, (e) 1 December 2021 with The Daily Telegraph and (f) 6 December 2021 with Talk Radio.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon. member to the answers given to PQs 148800, 148801, 148802 on 28 February 2023.
The Rapid Response Unit was used to understand the spread of information and potential disinformation, and help inform how the Government communicates effectively with the public.
Online disinformation is a serious threat to the UK, which is why we brought together expertise from across government to monitor disinformation, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. These units used publicly available data, including material shared on social media platforms, to assess UK disinformation trends and narratives. They have since been disbanded and the learning and expertise is now being replicated across the wider Government Communications Service.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he publish the following documents referencing the hon. Member for Christchurch: (a) Covid Comms: Afternoon Note - 25th September, (b) Fwd: Checking receipt - Priorities for tackling fake news and improving media literacy - Morning, Tuesday 8th February 2022, (c) Covid: Morning Update - Wednesday 1 December 2021 and (d) Re: No10 Xmas party - RRU analysis; for what reason those documents were created; and if he will place a copy of them in the Library.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Cabinet Office officials are working to collate the necessary information to answer this question. I will write to the hon. Member shortly, and a copy of this letter will be deposited in the House Libraries.
Please note that any release of documentation will be subject to classification.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide the content of the reference to the hon Member for Christchurch contained in the email minutes of the Health Counter Disinformation Working Group of 7 June 2022; for what reason those minutes were stored; and if he will place a copy of those minutes in the Library.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Cabinet Office officials are working to collate the necessary information to answer this question. I will write to the hon. Member shortly, and a copy of this letter will be deposited in the House Libraries.
Please note that any release of documentation will be subject to classification.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to the consultation on the draft Digital Government (Disclosure of Information) (Identity Verification Services) Regulations 2023, published on 4 January 2023.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The public consultation is due to run until 1 March 2023. Following this, the Cabinet Office will publish a government response and written ministerial statement to the public consultation within the period set out in Cabinet Office consultation principles guidance.