Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish full details of visitors admitted to No. 10 Downing Street on each day of (a) November 2020 and (b) December 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Cabinet Office transparency spending data by month can be found on GOV.UK.
Reflecting the security practices of successive administrations, Downing Street does not publish information on details of visitors admitted to No.10 Downing Street. Details of formal meetings with external organisations are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish full details of hospitality expenses incurred by No. 10 Downing Street for each day of November 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Cabinet Office transparency spending data by month can be found on GOV.UK.
Reflecting the security practices of successive administrations, Downing Street does not publish information on details of visitors admitted to No.10 Downing Street. Details of formal meetings with external organisations are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish full details of hospitality expenses in Number 10 Downing Street for each day of December 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Cabinet Office transparency spending data by month can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department’s process is for (a) recording and (b) keeping minutes of all meetings relating to Government business.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Civil servants will make a judgment on what formal, structured meetings should be minuted, and what meetings should be recorded as having taken place, in light of the Civil Service Code, more specific best practice such as ‘Guidance on the management of Private Office Papers’, and the Cabinet Office guidance on Ministerial quarterly returns.
I note that there has been Parliamentary scrutiny of this issue in relation to the debate in this House on ‘Randox Covid Contracts’ of 17 November 2021. Following that debate, the Government has committed to publishing before Parliament a range of background papers relating to the Randox procurement.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department’s process is for (a) recording and (b) keeping minutes of all meetings relating to Government business.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Civil servants will make a judgment on what formal, structured meetings should be minuted, and what meetings should be recorded as having taken place, in light of the Civil Service Code, more specific best practice such as ‘Guidance on the management of Private Office Papers’, and the Cabinet Office guidance on Ministerial quarterly returns.
I note that there has been Parliamentary scrutiny of this issue in relation to the debate in this House on ‘Randox Covid Contracts’ of 17 November 2021. Following that debate, the Government has committed to publishing before Parliament a range of background papers relating to the Randox procurement.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department takes to ensure that at least one official from his Department is present during all (a) meetings and (b) phone calls relating to Government business between Ministers and third parties.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Ministers holding meetings with external organisations on government business are routinely accompanied by a Private Secretary or other official. Where a Minister finds themselves discussing official business without an official present, any significant content is passed back to the department as soon as possible, in line with the expectations of paragraph 8.14 of the Ministerial Code.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason civil service nationality rules exclude non-UK nationals with indefinite leave to remain in the UK from working in the civil service.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Civil Service Nationality Rules reflect a long-standing legislative framework and govern eligibility for employment in the Civil Service on the grounds of nationality. Under the rules, there are routes for Commonwealth or EEA nationals who hold indefinite leave to remain to be eligible to work in non-reserved posts in the Civil Service. Existing routes, such as exemption certificates, are available where a role needs to be filled by someone who would not ordinarily meet the standard eligibility requirements.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 the potential impact on the operation of the civil service of widening civil service nationality rules to include non-UK nationals with indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Civil Service Nationality Rules reflect a long-standing legislative framework and govern eligibility for employment in the Civil Service on the grounds of nationality. Under the rules, there are routes for Commonwealth or EEA nationals who hold indefinite leave to remain to be eligible to work in non-reserved posts in the Civil Service. Existing routes, such as exemption certificates, are available where a role needs to be filled by someone who would not ordinarily meet the standard eligibility requirements.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) factors, (b) tests and (c) decision-making frameworks will be used by the Cabinet Office in the process of taking decisions over whether or not to alter or replace retained EU legislation.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The exact structures and decision-making frameworks are still being decided. The Cabinet Office lead on the review and are working closely with departments across Whitehall. They will regularly engage with a range of stakeholders and legal experts to review retained EU law, and seek their input into decision-making.
We have already committed to creating a new standing commission to receive ideas from any British citizen on how to repeal or improve regulation. This standing commission will feed into the relevant committees and decision-making fora.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which recommendations from the Review into the Development and Use of Supply Chain Finance (and Associated Schemes) in Government Part 2: Recommendations and Suggestions, published on 5 August 2021, the Government plans to implement.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I refer the Honourable member to the answer to PQ56701.
The Government notes the work of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs and Treasury Committees, as well as the forthcoming Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Once these reports have been published, we will consider their work alongside Mr Boardman’s recommendations and set out a substantive Government policy statement to Parliament in due course.