Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
All Departments in central government, including arms-length bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Wales Office uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
All Departments in central government, including arms-length bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Scotland Office uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
All Departments in central government, including arms-length bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Northern Ireland Office uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.
The Northern Ireland Office provides additional advice to supplement the central guidance which is published on the departmental intranet.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.
The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report2022) This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023.
Departments can disclose information on detected fraud and error in their Annual Reports and Accounts Ministry of Justice Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies, apply the published guidance: ‘Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business’ published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Ministry of Justice uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.
The Ministry of Justice also provides additional advice to supplement the central guidance, in a Social Media Policy and Guidance.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.
Reports and guidance that the Department has published can be found on gov.uk. The amount spent on printing and distribution for each year is published in the Annual Report and Accounts under the ‘Communications, office supplies and services’ line of the Expenditure note.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland (OSSS) produced the following reports during the last three years.
Financial Year | Reports Produced | Spend on Printing & Distribution (£) |
2023-24 to date | OSSS Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 | 859 |
2023-24 to date | 7th Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016 | 916 |
2022-23 | OSSS Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 | 901 |
2022-23 | 6th Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016 | 1,140 |
2021-22 | OSSS Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21 | 1,158 |
2021-22 | 5th Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016 | 1,672 |
Total |
| 6,646 |
*The Department outsources its printing and the invoices received do not split the costs between printing and distribution.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Fay Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW) produced the following reports during the last three years.
Financial Year | Reports Produced | Spend on Printing and Distribution* (£) |
2021-22 | OSSW Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21 | 3,420.30 |
2021-22 | The UK Government’s Sixth Annual Report on the Implementation and Operation of Part 2 (Finance) of the Wales Act 2014 | 2,593.58 |
2022-23 | OSSW Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 | 1,245.99 |
2023-24 to date | OSSW Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 | 1,200.61 |
*The Department outsources its printing and the invoices received do not split the costs between printing and distribution.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). Reports and guidance that the AGO has published can be found on GOV.UK at Search - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Reports and guidance that the Department has published can be found on GOV.UK.