Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many teams within his Department are involved in tackling coordinated inauthentic behaviour online.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is the lead department for tackling coordinated inauthentic behaviour online and works across departments to deliver HMG’s objectives.
A number of teams in the Cabinet Office, including the National Security Secretariat and Government Security Group contribute to efforts to tackle different aspects of coordinated inauthentic behaviour online. For example, teams in the Cabinet Office are actively involved where online activity constitutes a cyber or state threat, or targets government institutions or elected officials.
Work to counter threats to UK democracy and democratic institutions, including from coordinated inauthentic behaviour is led by the Defending Democracy Taskforce.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of artificial intelligence on productivity in the Civil Service.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Government is accelerating AI adoption and seeking to deliver benefits at scale. In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor noted that there are significant opportunities presented by making greater use of AI across the public sector.
On 20 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced an investment of £5m and the creation of the new ‘Incubator for AI’ (i.AI), an elite team of technical experts at the heart of government, that will help departments to harness the potential of AI to improve lives and the delivery of public services.
The Central Digital and Data Office, in the Cabinet Office, is undertaking analysis of its potential opportunities and impact on Civil Service productivity. This includes ongoing work to identify areas for automation of manual processes and uncover efficiency savings in the Civil Service and the wider public sector.
I refer the Rt Hon Member for Bournemouth East to my answer on 22nd June 2023 (UIN 190884).
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the potential costs of amending the Principal Civil Service Pensions Classic Scheme to grant full survivors pensions rights to those who retired before 1 October 2002.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The pensions of widows, widowers and surviving civil partners, under the Classic section of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), cease if they remarry or cohabit. In 2018, the Government Actuary’s Department estimated the extra cost of paying all survivor pensions, regardless of remarriage or cohabitation and when it occurred. The estimated extra cost in 2018 was around £550m for reinstating pensions that had already ceased and an annual future cost of around £30m for stopping the practice going forward. The estimate was a simplified approximation based on an earlier estimate done in 2006.
Under the Classic section of the PCSPS, survivors’ pensions are only payable to a widow, widower or surviving civil partner. The cost of extending survivor benefits to unmarried partners under Classic has not been estimated explicitly but, in 2018, the Government Actuary's Department estimated that the total capital cost of extending such benefits across all public service pension schemes (including the PCSPS) would be £2.5 - 4.5bn.
The Classic section was costed, and contribution rates set, on the basis of provisions which reflected social attitudes in 1972. Changes to the survivor pension arrangements from 1 October 2002, when the Premium section of the PCSPS was introduced, were paid for by active members. It would not be appropriate to extend these to members who retired before that date, as successive Governments have concluded that retrospective improvements of this kind to public service pensions should not be made at taxpayers expense.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
Since the Veterans Strategy Action Plan was published in January, we have delivered 24% of the over 60 cross-government commitments.
Recent achievements delivered through the Strategy Action Plan include;
Provision of £150k in grant funding to charities to aid the development of best practice to ensure that veteran charities are inclusive and promote accessibility to female veterans
Appointment of the first Veterans Commissioner for Wales, Colonel James Phillips
Completion of a scoping study looking into the design of a service offering the digital verification of veteran status, with a further investment of £1m provided to develop this project further
Continued support to phase 4 of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research longitudinal study through over £1.2m in funding being provided over the next two years. This study looked at the health and wellbeing of UK Armed Forces Personnel and for the first time, this will also look at topics including social mobility, taking the insights beyond health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to review and amend retained EU law to help reduce costs for businesses and consumers.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
The Government is carrying out a major cross-government drive to reform, repeal and replace outdated retained EU law, that will aim to cut £1 billion of red tape for UK businesses, ease regulatory burdens and contribute to the Government’s mission to unite and level up the country.
We are also reforming our regulatory framework to ensure we only regulate where absolutely necessary and where it is likely to be the most impactful intervention.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on reducing the cost of Government projects to help ensure value for money in public spending.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority provides expert advice and independent assurance on the Government’s Major Project Portfolio (GMPP). Working with HM Treasury, who are responsible for Value for Money, they develop robust project cost estimates and build capacity and capability to deliver effectively. The 2022 IPA Annual Report will set out progress made on the GMPP.