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1047782

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Absent Voting
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the ease with which people travelling abroad can register to vote by proxy.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	212340
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The cost to taxpayers of delivering the 2016 EU Referendum was £129.1 million. A breakdown of that cost is provided in the report published by the Electoral Commission.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The then Government undertook publicity on EU membership ahead of the referendum. This cost an additional £9.3 million.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The total cost to taxpayers was thus £138.4 million</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Electors who are registered to vote but will be travelling abroad during the time of an election are able to apply for a proxy vote for that particular poll or polls. The application must be made in writing, it must include specific information about the elector and their proxy, and the reason for applying for a proxy.</ins></p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 29/01/2019 09:42:51 question first ministerially corrected 07/02/2019 16:30:44 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith previous answer version 97720 answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1045495

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Subsidies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the role of public advice in the effective delivery of the proposed new Environmental Land Management Schemes.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	210559
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>We will be introducing a new Environmental Land Management (ELM) system that will pay land managers for delivering environmental public goods.</p><p> </p><p>The government will work with farmers and land managers who wish to improve the environment by entering into multi-annual ELM contracts in which land managers commit to take certain actions to deliver environmental goods and benefits in return for funding.</p><p> </p><p>We believe that those managing the land are best placed to decide how to deliver the environmental benefits they have signed up to provide. We propose that land managers should have access to the information and advice they need to enable them to develop holistic management plans for their land.</p><p> </p><p>Evidence from previous agri-environment schemes suggests that the effectiveness of measures and the quality of environmental benefits can depend on the quality and extent of advice from trusted advisers. We propose that an approved specialist adviser should be readily available to help the land manager to deliver desirable environmental outcomes. We want land managers to establish trusted relationships with their adviser. We are therefore exploring the role that third party advisers could play. For example, an adviser could be an agronomist who a farmer has worked with in the past and trusts, or an adviser from a local organisation who can advise on local conditions. We expect that these advisers would need to be approved to demonstrate their level of capability and to ensure sufficient protection for the spending of public money. The appetite for existing advisers training to deliver advice within ELM, and the market for delivering this training, is being tested through a combination of policy development, Testing and Trials and social science involvement, with an intelligence assessment in development.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 29/01/2019 12:29:36 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1045895

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Civil Service Widows Pension
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons (a) the Civil Service Widows Pension Scheme rules include the 1972 Section in which premium deductions are taken should an individual marry after retirement and (b) the premium deduction is not paid out to children following the death of the policyholder; and whether MyCSP retains premium deductions.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	211200
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>(a) Widows/widowers/civil partners’ pension provisions exist in all parts of the Civil Service pension arrangements. The facility whereby a ‘premium deduction’ is taken from any refund of contributions payable to an unmarried member only exists in the 1972 Section (none of the other parts of the Civil Service pension arrangements provide refunds to unmarried members). The deduction is there to cover the scheme against the risk that the member marries/enters a civil partnership in retirement and then pre-deceases their spouse/civil partner, giving rise to a widow(er)/civil partner’s pension payable from the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>(b) If the premium were to be repaid to the member’s estate should they subsequently die without marrying or entering a civil partnership, the amount of the premium would need to be significantly higher as it would only be retained by the scheme in circumstances where a spouse/civil partner’s pension was payable.</p><p> </p><p>(c) The Civil Service pension arrangements are funded through the Civil Superannuation Vote. Contributions (both member and employer) are paid into the Vote, and benefits and refunds are paid out of the Vote. MyCSP are the scheme administrator. They arrange for refunds of contributions to be paid, where appropriate. But if a premium deduction is necessary, MyCSP do not retain that deduction themselves. It is retained in the Vote.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hertsmere answering member printed Oliver Dowden question first answered 29/01/2019 09:41:58 answering member 4441 label Biography information for Oliver Dowden
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1045990

	registered interest
	date	22/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Cleaning Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for her (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if she will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to her (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	211153
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>Cleaning services across the DWP estate are carried out by Interserve. This does not include Arms Length Bodies which do not fall under DWP’s estate arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>DWP has in excess of 470 contracts with suppliers covering multiple services, for example Estates, IT, Business Support, Health and Employment Services. Details of contracts over the value of £10,000 can be found on: <a href="https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search" target="_blank">https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search</a></p><p> </p><p>DWP cannot comment on how many people working for third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation as there is no statutory or contractual requirement for contractors to pay staff the Living Wage. It is not data DWP collect during the course of Contract Management and not all staff working for those contractors deliver services for DWP.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/01/2019 11:58:22 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1045700

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff in her Department including those employed in executive agencies and non-ministerial Departments declared a disability in 2017-18.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	210482
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>Disclosure of disability status is not a mandatory requirement, therefore the figures may not be a true reflection as some staff may not have declared their disability, or indicated a ‘prefer not to say’ status.</p><p> </p><p>At 31 March 2018, 90.5% of DWP’s employees shared details of their disability status. Of these, 7.5% indicated that they were disabled.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Our most recent figures of 31 December 2018 show that of the 87.8% of employees who chose to indicate their disability, 7.5% specified that they were disabled.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/01/2019 11:48:02 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1046878

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Sikhs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	211853
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The Department encourages all of its employees to provide details of their personal diversity information. This action is voluntary and information is captured via employee input onto the HR SOP system.</p><p> </p><p>Details on whether someone is a Sikh is captured via input of religious belief information.</p><p> </p><p>As at 31<sup>st</sup> December, 12,211 employees (14.8% of DWP’s workforce), have input information on their religious belief. This includes 166 employees who have recorded their information as Sikh, and 852 employees who chosen the ‘prefer not to say’ option.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/01/2019 12:15:22 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1045648

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Farmers: Government Assistance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support farmers after the UK leaves the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	210532
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>We have pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of this Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>In England we are planning an ambitious new system based on “public money for public goods”. A seven year transition period will make sure there is gradual and smooth implementation of the new system.</p><p> </p><p>It will be for a future Northern Ireland Executive to determine its own policy. However, in the absence of an Assembly, DAERA’s approach to the Bill is to maintain the status quo and preserve flexibility for a future Executive to modify legacy Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) schemes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 29/01/2019 12:25:34 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1047775

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Exiting the European Union
	answering dept id	203
	answering dept short name	Exiting the European Union
	answering dept sort name	Exiting the European Union
	hansard heading	Health Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the health sector on the UK leaving the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	212438
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The Department engages extensively with the health sector.</p><p>We meet with industry leaders and groups including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the UK Bioindustry Association to understand their priorities.</p><p>I regularly meet those from the health and life sciences sector along with supporting industries.</p><p>Leaving in an orderly way with a deal would provide clarity for the sector, including exploring the possibility of cooperation in the European Medicines Agency.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 29/01/2019 09:55:51 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1045631

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Health Services: Waiting Lists
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prioritise the reduction of waiting times in the NHS.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	210477
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>In 2018/19, the Government has provided the National Health Service with an additional £1.6 billion to support and improve accident and emergency and elective care performance. Furthermore, the NHS Long Term Plan has set out how the NHS will develop over the coming years. This will be supported by an extra £20.5 billion a year in real terms by 2023/24. Under the Long Term Plan, the local NHS is being allocated sufficient funds over the next five years to grow the amount of planned surgery year on year, to cut long waits, and reduce the waiting list.</p><p> </p><p>In the shorter term, NHS England’s ‘Operational and Planning Guidance for 2019/20’ sets out deliverables against key performance areas, including referral-to-treatment and urgent care, and the Government expects the NHS to deliver these actions set– in full – as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 29/01/2019 10:55:33 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1047713

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Infrastructure: Contracts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a Minister of the Crown has the power to ban or restrict a named company's involvement as a (a) UK critical national infrastructure operator and (b) supplier to a UK critical national infrastructure operator.
	tabling member constituency	Leigh
	tabling member printed	Jo Platt
	uin	212451
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government has a comprehensive range of powers to protect national security. Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the Government has the power to prevent relevant mergers and acquisitions concerning the UK’s critical national infrastructure on national security grounds.</p><p> </p><p>In July 2018 the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy published the National Security and Investment White Paper which sets out proposed reforms to the government’s powers to protect national security from hostile actors using ownership of, or influence over, businesses and assets to harm the country. These proposed reforms will address the technological and economic changes that have taken place in recent years, that have changed the types of national security threats the UK faces.</p><p> </p><p>Depending upon the factual scenario, the Government may have other powers to ban or restrict a named company’s involvement as (a) a UK critical national infrastructure operator; or (b) a supplier to a UK critical national infrastructure operator. However, this will vary depending upon the specific critical national infrastructure sector in question and how it is regulated.</p><p> </p><p><strong>2018 White Paper:</strong> <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/728310/20180723_-_National_security_and_investment_-_final_version_for_printing__1_.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/728310/20180723_-_National_security_and_investment_-_final_version_for_printing__1_.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 29/01/2019 09:46:32 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
	tabling member	4673 label Biography information for Jo Platt