Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the results of the zero based review taking place in different business units in his Department; and whether the Government plans to undertake those reviews in each Department.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As has been the case under successive administrations, ministers routinely review their departments to ensure they are delivering the Government’s agenda in the most effective and efficient way. Significant changes are communicated to the House in the usual way.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the policy paper of 9 June 2020 entitled Procurement Policy Note 04/20: Recovery and Transition from COVID-19, what assessment he has made of the (a) potential merits of continuing to provide contractual relief as a result of covid-19 in line with Procurement Policy Notice 02/20, (b)(i) companies and (ii) work areas that will be affected by a change in contractual relief and (c) timetable for those changes.
Answered by Chloe Smith
As the Government moves into the next phase of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the supplier relief provisions set out in PPN 02/20 may still be appropriate and contracting authorities have the final decision on whether they deem a supplier at risk and the form of any relief.
PPN 04/20 allows Contracting Authorities to continue paying in full for services if suppliers are deemed at risk.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect on business confidence in Northern Ireland of the backstop provisions in the Government's proposed EU Withdrawal Agreement.
Answered by David Lidington
The Northern Ireland Protocol guarantees that even in the event that the UK’s future relationship with the EU is not in place by the end of the implementation period, there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland and no splitting of the UK’s customs territory. In so doing, the agreement preserves the economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom, upholds the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, and ensures people and businesses that rely on an open border between Northern Ireland and Ireland can continue living their lives and operating as they do now.
Northern Ireland’s business community, in particular, has been very supportive of the deal. More than 93% of Manufacturing Northern Ireland members back this deal, as do other business and farming representative bodies such as the Federation of Small Business, the Institute of Directors and the Ulster Farmers’ Union.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the change in the number of people working in the public sector has been since 2010.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will publish the names of the regulatory bodies that (a) report to and (b) are overseen by each Government department.
Answered by Chloe Smith
From summer 2017 all Departments are required to publish Accounting Officer System Statements containing the names of bodies operating at arm’s length from central government departments, including those with regulatory functions. These statements are to be reviewed annually and republished when there are any material changes.
The statements can be found at :
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/accounting-officer-system-statements
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Official Receiver for Carillion is not allowed to sell existing PFI contracts.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
It is the responsibility of the Insolvency Service and the Official Receiver to secure the best outcome for the delivery of public sector services and projects.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will undertake an official investigation in to his Department's management of Carillion's performance in relation to public sector contracts.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
We have not had any significant performance issues on direct government contracts.
Departments continually monitor the operational performance of contracts to ensure the best outcome for taxpayers.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to undertake an inquiry into the (a) circumstances leading to the liquidation of Carillion and (b) potential range of costs to the tax payer of that liquidation.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Official Receiver has a statutory duty to identify the cause of the company failure and will investigate directors’ behaviours as part of this. More details can be found on their website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/insolvency-service
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been paid from the public purse to Carillion in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Information on Carillion’s public sector revenue can be found in their annual reports, which are publicly available.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, If he will (a) publish the Government's contracts with Carillion and (b) place copies of those contracts in the Library.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:
https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive
Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search