Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the report entitled Cross-Government Fraud Landscape: Annual Report 2022, published on 21 March 2023, what the basis is of the increase in detected error in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from £13.4m in 2019/20 to £160.7m in 2020/21.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Cross-Government Fraud Landscape: Annual Report 2022, published on 21 March 2023 does not mention Department for Business and Trade.
The Fraud Landscape Report figures were reported to the Public Sector Fraud Authority (formerly the Counter Fraud Centre of Expertise) as part of established reporting cycles.
The government defines error as losses arising from unintentional events, processing errors and official government errors - such losses are judged as without fraudulent intent.
Since 2014, Fraud Landscape Reports show an increase in both detected fraud and error across government. This is in line with the government's explicit objective to find more fraud in the system. By detecting more, we can understand fraud better - and deal with it better.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy detected error was £13.4m in 2019/20 as published in the Fraud Landscape Bulletin and increased to £160.7m in 2020/21 as published in the Fraud Landscape Report.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department spent on external recruitment consultants in each of the financial years (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22, and (c) 2022-23.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade was created on 7 February in a Machinery of Government change. During the period in question, the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) were operating as two separate Departments.
DIT expenditure as below.
It is not possible to disaggregate the BEIS expenditure.
DIT spend
Year | Total Spend |
20/21 | £183,480.00 |
21/22 | £161,970.70 |
22/23 | £377,336.77 |
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help promote flexible working.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade works with a number of other Departments to promote flexible working. Several of them are members of the Department for Business and Trade / Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development co-chaired Flexible Working Taskforce, alongside business and family representative groups. In December 2022 the Government announced plans[1] to make the right to request flexible working a day one right, alongside other changes to make flexible working more accessible to all employees. The Government is pleased to support the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Private Members’ Bill[2] which will deliver several of these changes.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-flexible-working-the-default
[2] https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3198