Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) minimum durability standards are and (b) average replacement frequency is for (i) computers and (ii) laptops in each Department; and if he will publish each Department's policy on replacing computer and information technology equipment.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Central Digital and Data Office have advised that it is for each department to make decisions individually.
The Cabinet Office, like all Government departments and employers, needs to provide modern equipment to its staff to ensure that they can work efficiently, effectively and securely.
As laptops/computers age they will become slower, due to upgrades to the operating systems (e.g. Microsoft Windows) and more complex software, which will reduce the efficiency of those using them. The operating systems will also eventually become out of date and the vendors will not supply security patches, thereby making them obsolete (due to being insecure). There are no fixed timelines to these changes. We therefore have to assess on a regular basis to determine whether change is needed.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage of the government estate is on a renewable energy tariff.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
8.23% of the government estate (Central Government & Arm's-length bodies) electricity volume is on a renewable or renewable blend tariff.
52.2% of the government estate (Central Government & Arm's-length bodies) electricity volume is being supplied from a zero carbon (nuclear) tariff.
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is developing a route to market to contract directly with generators of renewable power and source an increasing amount of renewable power for the estate demand. The current timetable will see the agreement in place by the end of 2023.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage of Government owned buildings have (a) solar panels and (b) wind turbines; and how many (i) solar panels and (ii) wind turbines were installed on Government buildings in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Data on the total number of solar panels and wind turbines across the government estate, and how they are distributed, is not held centrally. However, the government is committed to driving forward the renewable energy agenda, both on its own estate and beyond. As set out in the Net Zero Strategy, the government aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037. To support this, £2.5 billion is being invested through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme over the financial years 2020/21 to 2024/25 to provide grants for public sector bodies in England to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures, including renewable electricity generation.
The Office of Government Property has published the Net Zero Estate Playbook providing guidance to support government property organisations to decarbonise their estate. This includes recommendations of how to reduce operational energy use, such as through improving renewable energy generation where appropriate through multiple channels.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) his Department, (b) other Government Departments and (c) other relevant organisations take steps to assess the effectiveness and impact of Carbon Reduction Plans in the context of Procurement Policy Note 06/21.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In June 2021, the Government published Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/21 - Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts - requiring suppliers bidding for contracts above £5 million per annum to commit to the Government’s 2050 Net Zero target and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan.
Suppliers who fail to make such a commitment and publish their Carbon Reduction Plan risk being excluded from the procurement process.
In FY 2020/21, 5% (578) of all procurements awarded were above £5m per annum. These accounted for over 90% of the total value of procurements in the same period. Over 2,500 suppliers have submitted compliant Carbon Reduction Plans in response to PPN 06/21, and 40 bids have been rejected for failing to provide a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan since the policy was launched. We do not hold centrally the number of contracts terminated as a result of failure to comply with PPN 06/21.
Individual departments are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of Carbon Reduction Plans submitted by suppliers as part of their commercial activity. We do not hold this data centrally.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Procurement Policy Note 06/21, entitled Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts, how many and what proportion of public suppliers have a Carbon Reduction Plan.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In June 2021, the Government published Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/21 - Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts - requiring suppliers bidding for contracts above £5 million per annum to commit to the Government’s 2050 Net Zero target and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan.
Suppliers who fail to make such a commitment and publish their Carbon Reduction Plan risk being excluded from the procurement process.
In FY 2020/21, 5% (578) of all procurements awarded were above £5m per annum. These accounted for over 90% of the total value of procurements in the same period. Over 2,500 suppliers have submitted compliant Carbon Reduction Plans in response to PPN 06/21, and 40 bids have been rejected for failing to provide a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan since the policy was launched. We do not hold centrally the number of contracts terminated as a result of failure to comply with PPN 06/21.
Individual departments are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of Carbon Reduction Plans submitted by suppliers as part of their commercial activity. We do not hold this data centrally.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) bids have been rejected and (b) contracts have been terminated for failure to comply with Procurement Policy Note 06/21 as of 15 May 2023.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In June 2021, the Government published Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/21 - Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts - requiring suppliers bidding for contracts above £5 million per annum to commit to the Government’s 2050 Net Zero target and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan.
Suppliers who fail to make such a commitment and publish their Carbon Reduction Plan risk being excluded from the procurement process.
In FY 2020/21, 5% (578) of all procurements awarded were above £5m per annum. These accounted for over 90% of the total value of procurements in the same period. Over 2,500 suppliers have submitted compliant Carbon Reduction Plans in response to PPN 06/21, and 40 bids have been rejected for failing to provide a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan since the policy was launched. We do not hold centrally the number of contracts terminated as a result of failure to comply with PPN 06/21.
Individual departments are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of Carbon Reduction Plans submitted by suppliers as part of their commercial activity. We do not hold this data centrally.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of public procurement contracts have an annual value above £5 million excluding VAT.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In June 2021, the Government published Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/21 - Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts - requiring suppliers bidding for contracts above £5 million per annum to commit to the Government’s 2050 Net Zero target and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan.
Suppliers who fail to make such a commitment and publish their Carbon Reduction Plan risk being excluded from the procurement process.
In FY 2020/21, 5% (578) of all procurements awarded were above £5m per annum. These accounted for over 90% of the total value of procurements in the same period. Over 2,500 suppliers have submitted compliant Carbon Reduction Plans in response to PPN 06/21, and 40 bids have been rejected for failing to provide a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan since the policy was launched. We do not hold centrally the number of contracts terminated as a result of failure to comply with PPN 06/21.
Individual departments are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of Carbon Reduction Plans submitted by suppliers as part of their commercial activity. We do not hold this data centrally.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister will Chair the Climate Action Strategy Committee.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
GOV.UK is updated regularly with the list of Cabinet Committees, their terms of reference, membership and who chairs each Committee.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, whether she plans to attend the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Summit in Sharm el Sheikh.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
My Rt Hon. Friend the COP26 President is working closely with Egypt in the run up to COP27. The composition of the UK Government's delegation will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department have been assigned to work on the Convention of Biological Diversity; and how many Ministers in his Department plan to attend the conference from 25 April to 8 May 2022.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity represents an historic opportunity to secure an agreement to ambitious global action over the next decade. The UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at COP15. The COP is due to take place in Kunming, China, later this year; though, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we expect a delay to the planned dates of 25 April to 8 May. Minister Lord Goldsmith will head the UK delegation.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the lead department for the Convention on Biological Diversity, working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Cabinet Office. A core team is in place in DEFRA, drawing on expertise across DEFRA, its specialist arms-length bodies, working with other Government departments, civil society organisations and society at large. This includes working with the FCDO and our Posts across the diplomatic network, through which we are engaging host governments to support the delivery of our objectives. Nature is one of the key priorities in the UK’s COP26 Presidency, and so the Cabinet Office COP26 Unit is also supporting preparations for COP15 to ensure successful delivery of our COP26 objectives.