Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to lengthen the time in which a complaint may be brought to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The time limit for making a complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is comparable to other ombudsman institutions and may be set aside if special circumstances exist.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of complaints raised with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman are rejected for being submitted after more than 12 months.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Information on complaints decided by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is set out in its Annual Reports and Accounts, and can be found on page 37 here: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/default/files/886%20PHSO%20Annual%20Report%20and%20Accounts%202022-23%20FINAL%20ONLINE.pdf
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure adequate contingency planning for food security in the context of the (a) cost of living crisis and (b) market unpredictability.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
My department works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and industry figures to monitor food supply, which overall remains resilient. We continue to work to ensure we are well equipped to deal with situations which may cause disruption.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2022 to Question 128229, how many outstanding (a) emails and (b) letters he has from the public as at 28 February 2022.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from members of the public. The Cabinet Office aims to respond to all correspondence within 20 working days.
As of 28 February 2022, the Cabinet Office had 1719 outstanding emails or letters from members of the public. 94% of these were received in the 20 working days prior to 28 February 2022 and were therefore within the departmental target.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many outstanding (a) emails and (b) letters he has from the public as of 23 February 2022; and what criteria he uses to determine which enquiries he responds to.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 February to PQ 113707.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the overpayment of pensions contributions by civil servants.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Civil servants are not overpaying pension contributions. Member contribution rates are set via the Cost Control element of the Valuation. The 2016 Valuation was completed on 17 December 2021. It found that there was no ‘breach’ in the Cost Control element, meaning there was no need to adjust benefits or contributions.
A consultation, which included suggested member contribution rates for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, ran from 22 November 2021 to 17 January 2022. The consultation response is expected to be published in late February 2022 and will set out member contribution rates for 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
What guidance he has provided to Cabinet colleagues on the timescale for responding to written questions.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Right Honourable Friend, the Leader of the House, has been clear to the House on this issue, he expects written questions to be answered and dealt with in good time.
Furthermore, my Right Honourable Friend has written to all members of the Cabinet to remind them of the importance of timely and helpful responses.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the review into Supply Chain Coordination Limited; and what plans he has to hold a public consultation during that review; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In line with successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not usually disclosed.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many representations he has received on the inclusion of Sikh as a separate ethnicity on the census.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Cabinet Office has received a number of representations on the proposed content of the census as set out in the white paper “Help Shape Our Future: The 2021 Census of Population and Housing in England and Wales”. These include the addition of Sikh as a separate ethnicity on the census.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2019 to Question 246989 on European Parliament: Elections and the Answer of 18 May 2018 to Question 143730 on European Parliament: Elections, for what reason his Department was able to publish an estimate of the savings accrued to the public purse of not holding the election, but not able to publish an estimate of holding the elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The estimated savings were based on the established cost of delivering the previous European Parliamentary elections in 2014, which cost the public purse £108.7 million.
The potential cost of a 2019 European Parliamentary election, should it take place, would not be known until after the poll, once all expenses claims have been received and settled and invoices paid.
For example, the postage costs of the freepost mailing will depend on the number of nominated parties/candidates, who in turn then choose to take up the offer of the mailing.
The Cabinet Office has now published the relevant Charges Order which provides the basis for reimbursing Returning Officers for their services and any expenses necessarily incurred in relation to the European Parliamentary elections.