Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
No ministerial directions were issued to my department in the years 2015, 2016 or 2017.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps his offices are taking to implement the guidance set out by the Government Commercial Function in its paper entitled Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments, published in November 2017, in respect of (a) using market engagement, (b) setting up disaggregation work, (c) risk assessment, (d) developing a programme plan through the transition, (e) identifying the skills and capabilities that will be needed in the future and (f) any other work related to that guidance.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The CPS is fully aligned with the Government Commercial Function paper "Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments”.
The programme to disaggregate and replace ICT services delivered through a PFI contract with CGI (formally Logica) since 2002 is well advanced and will complete in 2019. Throughout the programme the CPS has worked in partnership with the Government Digital Service and the Crown Commercial Service, securing spending control approval from Cabinet Office and HM Treasury where appropriate. The CPS’s strategy ensures that it is aligned with the government’s Technology Code of Practice including the principle of cloud-first services.
In 2015 the CPS carried out a major review of its internal capability across all aspects of ICT including technical, service management, commercial and programme management. As a result a new separate ICT Commercial Team was established and a number of new roles were established and filled in its Digital Technology Services Directorate.
The CPS operates detailed programme plans and associated risk logs to manage each phase of the disaggregation including pre-market engagement, procurement, service transition and service exit.
The CPS has used pan-government frameworks, let and managed by the Crown Commercial Service to replace network, telephony, print and applications hosting and management services. It is planning to use these frameworks to replace service desk and end user computing services in 2018. As part of each procurement process, it undertakes market engagement, the extent of which is dependent on the size and complexity of the contract to be awarded.
The CPS provides ICT services to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HMCPSI.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) does not have any large outsourced single vendor IT contract in place.
It uses a multi-vendor approach, selecting suppliers based on their ability to support their specialised systems, and that is combined with in-house teams, which have grown in size in recent years as they reduce their reliance on external providers.
The SFO regularly reviews all its IT contracts taking into account the potential for disaggregation, benefits, costs, timing, risks, and overall value for money, in line with the guidance provided by the Government Commercial Function.
The largest contract currently in place is with Capita, and that contract is due to expire in July 2019. Ahead of that, a full review will take place, to determine whether it continues to outsource this service to Capita or another provider, or bring the service in house.
The Government Legal Department (GLD) does not hold any large single provider contracts worth over £20 million per year which fall within the guidance published in November 2017. GLD uses its own in-house IT services as well as using a multi provider approach when delivering any IT services. It is committed to following the principles contained within the guidance where applicable.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many data incidents his Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Neither the AGO or HMCPSI recorded any data incidents in 2015-16 or 2016-17.
The CPS recorded 183 data incidents in 2015-16 and 242 in 2016-17. Three of the incidents in 2015-16 were referred to the ICO and seven of the incidents in 2016-17.
The SFO recorded nine data incidents in 2015-16 and 17 in 2016-17. None of these were deemed serious enough to require reporting to the ICO.
The GLD recorded 63 security incidents in 2015-16 and 45 in 2016-17. None of the incidents in 2015-16 was deemed serious enough to require reporting to the ICO; one was reported to the ICO in 2016-17. The GLD does not specifically record ‘data incidents’ as a reporting category; the figures for ‘security incidents’ include physical and personal security, as well as information security.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many times the Law Officers' Departments Senior Information Risk Officer roles has been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
In the event of any Senior Information Risk Officer (SIRO) vacancy, a deputy SIRO or appropriate senior individual is appointed to temporarily cover the role.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.
Members of staff across the Law Officers’ Departments provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Departments’ other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, which public telephone lines for the Law Officers Departments' services are charged at higher rates; and how much was taken by each such telephone line in the last 12 months.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Law Officers’ Departments have no public telephone lines charged at higher rates.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether the Law Officers' Departments hold a central list of the IT and digital assets of arm's-length bodies.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Law Officers’ Departments do not hold a central list of IT and digital assets of arm’s-length bodies.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments are part of the Government Commercial Function; and how many of those civil servants have been seconded (a) outside Government and (b) in from outside the government in each year since 2012.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Since 2012 there have been no civil servants in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who are employed by the Government Commercial Function.
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Government Legal Department (GLD), Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) do not have any staff who are part of the Government Commercial Function.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) men and (b) women have left the Law Officers' Departments under exit schemes since 31 March 2016.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The information requested is containing in the following tables, broken down into the different Law Officers' Departments.
SFO
Individuals leaving the SFO under exit schemes since 31 March 2016 | ||
Gender | Number | Total payment |
Women | 6 | £281k |
Men | 10 | £324k |
Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Government Legal Department (GLD) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI)
Individuals leaving the AGO, GLD and HMCPSI under exit schemes since 31 March 2016 | ||
Gender | Number | Total payment |
Women | Fewer than 5 | £172,148 |
Men | Fewer than 5 | £317,933 |
Since 31 March 2016, there have been 5 or fewer men and 5 or fewer women who have left the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Government Legal Department (GLD) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) under an early exit scheme.
CPS
Individuals leaving the CPS under exit schemes since 31 March 2016 | ||
Gender | Number | Total payment |
Women | 18 | £1,024,651 |
Men | 6 | £500,040 |
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how much has been paid to (a) men and (b) women who left the Law Officers' Departments under exit schemes since 31 March 2016.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The information requested is containing in the following tables, broken down into the different Law Officers' Departments.
SFO
Individuals leaving the SFO under exit schemes since 31 March 2016 | ||
Gender | Number | Total payment |
Women | 6 | £281k |
Men | 10 | £324k |
Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Government Legal Department (GLD) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI)
Individuals leaving the AGO, GLD and HMCPSI under exit schemes since 31 March 2016 | ||
Gender | Number | Total payment |
Women | Fewer than 5 | £172,148 |
Men | Fewer than 5 | £317,933 |
Since 31 March 2016, there have been 5 or fewer men and 5 or fewer women who have left the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Government Legal Department (GLD) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) under an early exit scheme.
CPS
Individuals leaving the CPS under exit schemes since 31 March 2016 | ||
Gender | Number | Total payment |
Women | 18 | £1,024,651 |
Men | 6 | £500,040 |