Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many ministerial red boxes belonging to her Department have (a) been reported missing or lost or (b) had their security features removed in order that they can be purchased for personal use by former ministers from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2023.
Answered by John Whittingdale
There have been no missing or lost ministerial red boxes from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and no red boxes which have had their security features removed between 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2023.
The departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries.
It is a long standing convention under successive administrations that Ministers may pay to retain red boxes as a memento of their time in their role, as long as the security features are removed.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from her Departmental estate in Financial Year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to 31 December 2022.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS does not hold the figures for this as all the food waste in our main offices is handled by contractors, and we share our buildings with fellow tenants.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many reams of A4 paper were purchased by her Department in Financial Years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS is committed to the Greening Government Commitments target of reducing government’s paper use by at least 50% from a 2017 to 2018 baseline.
Our paper purchasing for the financial year 2019-2020 was published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report which is available on gov.uk
Our paper purchasing for the financial year 2020-2021 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2020-2021, in early 2023.
Our paper purchasing for the financial year 2021-2022 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2021-2022.
GGC annual reporting is delayed due to Covid-19 impacts, but the government remains committed to reducing the environmental impact of its estate and operations.
Established in 2010, the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) set out the actions that the government will take to improve the environmental impact of the government estate and its operations. They demonstrate how the UK government is leading by example and working to improve the environmental performance of its own estate and operations, in line with our 25 Year Environment Plan commitments to improve the environment within a generation.
Since the inception of the GGCs, the government has halved its greenhouse gas emissions and waste, in addition to making many other efficiencies. Progress against the commitments is published in GGC annual reports.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2022 to Question 110636 on Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, if she will publish the unique inventory numbers assigned to the Government Art Collection works (a) removed from and (b) added to 11 Downing Street in November 2021.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As outlined in the previous answer, this relates to the relocation of art within the offices of 11 Downing Street whilst refurbishment was taking place. A list of the items temporarily moved will be placed in the Library of the House.
This includes safely transferring the political cartoons donated by former Chancellors, including Alistair Darling's from 2007, “With hindsight, that wasn’t the best time to ask the Chancellor which music he prefers – Johnny Cash or Northern Rock.”
I hope the Rt Hon Member and her staff will appreciate the importance of preserving such moments from history of the last Labour Government.
The full activity schedule is attached, with lists A,B,C and D on the following pages. I will place a copy of the schedule in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department’s publication of Government procurement card spending over £500 for November 2022, what the (a) nature and (b) purpose was of the taxi services for which Imperial Transportation was paid £952.02 on 17 November 2022.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The taxi services of Imperial Transportation were procured to transport officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, over 250 miles during a visit to Ottawa and Montreal, Canada for a UK-Canada Public Policy Forum. This was on the official advice of the High Commission in Ottawa, as no government cars were available and the use of public transport was impractical.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 107078 on Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, how many purchases with a value less than £500 were made against her Department’s budget through a Government procurement card in 2021.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In accordance with the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 107078, the Department made 572 transactions for the purchase of goods and services with a value less than £500, using a Government Procurement Card.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her Department’s publication of spending over £500 with an electronic purchasing card for May 2022, for the accommodation of which individuals was £1,193.42 paid to the Hilton Back Bay Boston on 19 May 2022, and what was the purpose of that visit.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In May 2022, officials from the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) were invited to speak at the Privacy-Enhancing Technology Summit in Boston, USA. The purpose of the trip was to support the CDEI's work programme on Responsible Data Access, including the delivery of the UK-US Privacy-Enhancing Technologies prize challenges. In line with departmental policy, value for money was assessed prior to confirming the visit and the Government Procurement Card was utilised to accommodate individuals during an official visit.
In accordance with the Data Protection Act, the Department will not disclose the names of the individual officials.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her Department’s publication of spending over £500 with an electronic purchasing card for September 2022, what item her Department purchased from Click Netherfield Ltd. on 1 September 2021, and for what purpose that item is used by her Department.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In September 2021, the Department hired a glass vitrine to display a ceramic cockerel in the Scottish Parliament building during the Edinburgh International Culture Summit. The ceramic was a gift from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Boris Johnson during a visit to Ukraine.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what their Department spent in 2021 on purchasing goods and services with a value of less than £500 on a government procurement card.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department utilises Government Procurement Cards to purchase low-value goods and services as an efficient method of payment. In 2021, the Department spent £67,757.40 on goods and services, with a value of less than £500, using a Government Procurement Card. The majority of purchases using a Government Procurement Card, based on the total value of spend, are above £500 and published to GOV.UK on a monthly basis as part of the Department’s commitment to transparency.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her Department’s publication of spending over £500 with an electronic purchasing card, for the accommodation of which individuals was (a) £1,688.99 paid to Meruorah Komodo on 8 July 2022, and (b) £3,426.84 paid to TheMulia.Com on 24-25 August 2022; and what was the purpose of each of those visits.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department represents the UK in delivering its international digital and technology objectives within a number of multilateral forums.
As part of the Indonesian G20 Presidency, Department officials attended the third and fourth Digital Economy Working Group in July and August 2022. G20 venues were designated by the Indonesian G20 Presidency for all Digital Economy Working Group meetings and the Ministerial Meeting - with the expectation that all delegations stayed in the same hotel where the G20 meetings took place. The purpose of this spend was therefore to pay for the accommodation of officials negotiating on behalf of the UK during the third G20 Digital Economy Working Group meetings in July 2022 and the fourth G20 Digital Economy Working Group meeting in August 2022, leading into the G20 Digital Ministerial.
In accordance with the Data Protection Act, the Department will not disclose the names of the individual officials.