Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184900 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography and Social Media, whether the Office for Veterans’ Affairs has a dedicated photographer.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs does not have a dedicated photographer and draws on resources from the Cabinet Office Communications team who support all Ministers in the Department.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184900 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Photography and Social Media, how many photographers and videographers work in the Cabinet Office as of 18 May 2023.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much from the public purse the Office for Veterans' Affairs has spent on (a) photography, (b) videography and (c) social media promotion in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
We are in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government. Photographers are a cross-government resource, supporting departments and Ministers, and play a critical role in the support of the Government’s digital communications activity and in progressing key policy areas.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, what the estimated cost is for drone surveys associated with the restoration and renewal project.
Answered by Charles Walker
The R&R Programme is carrying out tens of thousands of hours of complex building surveys and investigations to develop even more detailed records of the Palace of Westminster. These records are being used to inform design and planning, and future decisions on the essential restoration work required.
Two intrusive surveys, the Photogrammetric and Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) surveys, have recently started which contain an element of drone surveys as well as other activities such as high-resolution photography. The total estimated cost of these surveys is £1 million although this covers a number of activities.
Due to how the activity schedules in these contracts are priced it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of the drone flights from the rest of the works being undertaken. However, it is anticipated that a significant portion of the costs will relate to the contractor resource required to deliver the surveys and the processing of the images taken (rather than the cost of the drones themselves).
This figure also does not include Delivery Authority internal staffing costs or the costs of the contractor planning and overseeing the overall survey programme because those costs cannot be disaggregated by individual survey.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to police and forensic nurses regarding the use of Alternative Light Sources to detect bruising on dark skin; and what steps they are taking to support the use of this process.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office has not issued any official guidance.
The identification and interpretation of bruising is medical opinion and well established (see for example Assessment of bruise age on dark-skinned individuals using tristimulus colorimetry - PubMed (nih.gov)) in terms of amount of force, type of impact and longevity. Darker skin makes it more difficult but not impossible to examine. Various light sources and other means can be used to reveal or enhance the information which is a branch of forensic photography.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many photographers were employed by the Treasury to accompany the Prime Minister while he was in post as Chancellor of the Exchequer; and what was the cost of their salary to his Department.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Photographs of the Chancellor were taken by members of the Communications team alongside other duties, as is common across Government Departments. These photographs were then used to communicate Departmental policy aims.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for October 2022, for what purpose her Communications Directorate purchased Panoramic Limestone Background Equipment on 31 October 2022.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The photography background was purchased to provide a professional multi-purpose backdrop to a broad range of video and photo communications for the Home Office including social media, departmental announcements, Ministerial pre-records, pool clips and other media moments.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when each of the Ministers in the Department for Education were last photographed either by, or on behalf of, the Department for Education.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Four digital photographs of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, were taken since 7 September 2022. These were welcome photos featuring the department’s Permanent Secretary for use on the internal staff intranet. These were all taken in-house at no cost. Four photos were additionally taken for use on social media.
Since 15 September 2021, approximately 20 photos of those who have held the post of Secretary of State for Education are currently stored by the department’s social media team.
Regarding the most recent photography captured with the department’s ministers, the dates are as follows:
These photos were taken in-house at zero cost for use on our staff intranet and social media channels. Photos of the department’s ministerial team that are featured on gov.uk are provided by Parliament.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many separate digital photographs are currently stored by the Department for Education of those individuals who have held the post of Secretary of State for Education since 15 September 2021.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Four digital photographs of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, were taken since 7 September 2022. These were welcome photos featuring the department’s Permanent Secretary for use on the internal staff intranet. These were all taken in-house at no cost. Four photos were additionally taken for use on social media.
Since 15 September 2021, approximately 20 photos of those who have held the post of Secretary of State for Education are currently stored by the department’s social media team.
Regarding the most recent photography captured with the department’s ministers, the dates are as follows:
These photos were taken in-house at zero cost for use on our staff intranet and social media channels. Photos of the department’s ministerial team that are featured on gov.uk are provided by Parliament.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many separate digital photographs have been taken at public expense of the Secretary of State for Education since 7 September this year.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Four digital photographs of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, were taken since 7 September 2022. These were welcome photos featuring the department’s Permanent Secretary for use on the internal staff intranet. These were all taken in-house at no cost. Four photos were additionally taken for use on social media.
Since 15 September 2021, approximately 20 photos of those who have held the post of Secretary of State for Education are currently stored by the department’s social media team.
Regarding the most recent photography captured with the department’s ministers, the dates are as follows:
These photos were taken in-house at zero cost for use on our staff intranet and social media channels. Photos of the department’s ministerial team that are featured on gov.uk are provided by Parliament.