Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all those affected by contaminated blood receive appropriate compensation; and what is his planned timetable for finalising the compensation framework.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I recognise that the use of Infected Blood and blood products was an appalling tragedy. Clinical, legal and social care experts are being appointed to advise the Cabinet Office on technical considerations to inform the Government’s response to the Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation. The Inquiry will publish its final report on 20th May and I have committed to updating Parliament within 25 sitting days of its publication.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have their (a) payroll and (ii) pensions managed by private limited company Shared Services Connected Ltd; what was the cost to the public purse of using this company in (i) 2020-21 (ii) 2021-22 and (iii) 2022-23; and whether he plans to take steps to administer the payroll and pensions of all civil servants in-house.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Shared Services Connected Ltd (SSCL) services are provided to approximately 260,000 civil servants across the Health and Safety Executive, Office for Nuclear Regulation, Ministry of Justice, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions and Cabinet Office. SSCL costs for all Independent Shared Services Centre Two (ISSC2) departments in calendar year 2020 were £171m and for calendar year 2021 were £206m. This change was due to a surge of short term and catch up volumes as a result of the COVID pandemic and project start ups.
2022 calendar year costs have not yet been published. SSCL are contracted to perform as-is services until October 2025. Future service provision, beyond this date, is currently being considered for the whole of the civil service.
This system saves duplication of effort across government departments, enabling them to focus work and resources on the British people’s priorities.
The costs stated are for all services provided by SSCL which include HR, Finance, Recruitment and Procurement Services. Across all streams, they process approximately 6 million transactions per annum.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of (a) exports and (b) imports between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the hon. Member's Parliamentary Questions of 18 February 2022 is attached.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, what the scientific basis is for lifting remaining covid-19 restrictions as announced on 21 February 2022.
Answered by Boris Johnson
I refer the Hon. Member to both my statement to the House and press conference of 21 February.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of knife crime in the last 10 years.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether behavioural scientists are involved in implementing national lockdown guidance and messaging.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Behavioural science has been fully embedded in Covid-19 communications since the start of the pandemic. The evidence-based principles from this field have been applied across all key campaigns, including the decision to enter national lockdown. Behavioural science support during the pandemic has been provided by internal government teams and academic experts, including those who are members of SPI-B.
The Government constantly monitors and gains insight on public awareness. We use regular evaluations to maximise the impact of our campaigns across the UK. Recall of Government communication has remained extremely high.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of public health messaging in saving lives during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Behavioural science has been fully embedded in Covid-19 communications since the start of the pandemic. The evidence-based principles from this field have been applied across all key campaigns, including the decision to enter national lockdown. Behavioural science support during the pandemic has been provided by internal government teams and academic experts, including those who are members of SPI-B.
The Government constantly monitors and gains insight on public awareness. We use regular evaluations to maximise the impact of our campaigns across the UK. Recall of Government communication has remained extremely high.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to implement AI infrastructure at EU-UK borders.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Cabinet Office published on 22 July a consultation document on the 2025 Border Strategy. This set out the Government’s intention to create a highly digitised and automated border. As part of this approach, we will explore the potential to use artificial intelligence at the border. We will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria is used by Government Departments when granting public contracts to private companies.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Public sector purchasing authorities are required to purchase products and services in accordance with public procurement legislation. Against this background, UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an automated traffic light system to control the number of people entering and leaving government buildings.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The guidance designed for Government workplaces does not currently consider the use of such traffic light systems. Current advice includes consideration of staggered arrival and departure times to reduce crowding.
Additional measures will be considered as necessary.