Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the number of workers on zero-hours contracts.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the unemployment rate for people with epilepsy.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of civil servants working in posts relating to the UK leaving the EU since the Government's recent decision to stand down Operation Yellowhammer.
Answered by David Lidington
The Government is equipping itself with the right people with the right skills for the UK to successfully exit the European Union. There are almost over 17,000 people now working on EU exit related policy and programmes across government. Workforce plans will continually be reviewed to ensure the Civil Service can respond to emerging capacity and capability requirements as we accelerate preparations.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the due diligence undertaken by the Government in advance of awarding public contracts to private sector providers as a result of the collapse of Carillion.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Contracts are never awarded lightly: each has an agreed and robust process. Government has always been compliant with public procurement regulations and follows these diligently when assessing the suitability of suppliers to deliver a particular contract.
As noted by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s speeches in June and November 2018, the Cabinet Office is currently taking forward a package of reforms to Government outsourcing policy. This includes creating a ‘playbook’ of guidelines, rules and processes for departments to follow when they outsource.
We are also reviewing how we assess suppliers’ financial health and what financial information we should seek during the procurement process. This will enable the Government to assess the level of risk that should be accepted, the extent to which we rely on historical financial information as an indicator of future financial health, and whether it is appropriate to seek and rely on forecast information. We will be issuing new guidance for departments on assessing the financial and economic standing of bidders in the coming months.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the cost-effectiveness of implementing a voter ID scheme throughout the UK.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is committed to making sure that our electoral system is fit for the future. Vulnerabilities cannot be allowed to undermine the integrity of our democracy.
As part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to ensure that a form of identification must be presented before voting, five voter ID pilots took place at the local elections on 3 May 2018. In order for us to have a deeper understanding of how voter ID will work on a wider scale and what works best for voters, we plan to continue to pilot voter ID at next year’s local elections.
Part of our evaluation of the 2018 pilots and that of the Electoral Commission has been to understand the cost impact of voter ID. That analysis will be developed further when voter ID is piloted in 2019 and will help to inform decisions on voter ID in the future and ensure its cost effectiveness.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the capacity of strategic suppliers to fulfil their Government contracts.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Contracting Authorities assess the performance of strategic suppliers as a regular part of contract management. In accordance with the published Cabinet Office Strategic Supplier Risk Management (SSRM) policy, the Commercial Relationships Board (CRB) meets regularly to monitor overall performance and assess risk ratings for strategic suppliers.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on Clause 11 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office has held regular discussions with the Scottish Government on clause 11 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill (clause 15 in the current print of the Bill). This matter was discussed with the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government, at the Joint Ministerial Committee on European Negotiations on 22 February, 8 March and 2 May 2018, at the Joint Ministerial Committee (Plenary) on 14 March and at a separate trilateral meeting on 16 April 2018.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has also met with or spoken to Michael Russell, the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland's Place in Europe in the Scottish Government, about clause 11 on a number of occasions as well as exchanging letters on the matter.
In addition, further intensive discussions have taken place at official level between the UK and Scottish Governments.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that appointments to the Grenfell Tower inquiry panel have the confidence of survivors and bereaved families.
Answered by David Lidington
I refer the Honourable Member to the 11 May letter that the Prime Minister wrote to the Inquiry Chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, confirming her decision to appoint additional panel members gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/grenfell-tower-inquiry-update
The Prime Minister will make the appointments in accordance with sections 4,7(1)(b) and 7(2)(b) of the Inquiries Act 2005
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, how many times she has (a) met and (b) spoken to Mrs Arlene Foster since June 2017.
Answered by Theresa May
Details of my Official meetings are in the public domain and can be found on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, how many times she has spoken to Michelle O'Neill since June 2017.
Answered by Theresa May
Details of my Official meetings are in the public domain and can be found on the gov.uk website.