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1694215

registered interest
date	06/03/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Ministers: Defamation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, from what budget (a) legal fees for defamation cases brought against ministers and (b) settlement in such cases will come.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	17339
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2024 answer text <p>In line with the established practice under multiple administrations of all political colours, Ministers are provided with legal support and representation where matters relate to their conduct and responsibilities as a Minister.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics relating to costs of settling claims, costs of legal support, and the number of times the provision of legal support has been authorised or declined are not maintained by the Cabinet Office. Funding for appropriate legal costs, including any out-of-court settlements, would be met by the relevant department's budget.</p><p> </p><p>As set out in Chapter 6 of the Cabinet Manual, Ministers are indemnified by the Crown for any actions taken against them for things done or decisions made in the course of their ministerial duties. The indemnity covers the cost of defending the proceedings, as well as any costs or damages awarded against the minister. Decisions about whether to provide legal support are made by the relevant department’s Accounting Officer.</p><p> </p><p>This reflects an important principle that Ministers should be able to carry out their official duties, supported by official advice, in a way which they see fit, without the risk of personal liability constraining their ability to take those official actions. Of course, Ministers remain accountable to Parliament and the wider public for their actions as a Minister.</p><p> </p><p>It would have a chilling effect on public life if Ministers faced the prospect of personal financial harm from those seeking to pressure the Government through vexatious or hostile litigation (or the threat thereof).</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, the principle of legal support from the public purse for official duties is not confined to government. I would observe that there is insurance available to MPs provided by the House at taxpayers’ expense, designed to protect hon. Members when carrying out parliamentary and constituency duties. This includes professional indemnity insurance that covers defamation. I also note that the House of Lords Commission is due this week to discuss the provision of professional indemnity insurance to peers.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart grouped question UIN 17407 17706 17708 17709 question first answered 12/03/2024 11:53:51 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1681853

registered interest
date	11/01/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Public Sector: Procurement
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of public sector procurement processes for digital goods and services.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	901017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises how vital digital products and services are for delivering public services. The Digital, Data and Technology Playbook provides best practice guidance for the procurement of digital products and services. There are annual updates to ensure it is up to date. The most recent update was in June 2023, found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-digital-data-and-technology-playbook" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-digital-data-and-technology-playbook</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 18/01/2024 17:56:27 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1673295

registered interest
date	27/11/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Technology: Foreign Investment in UK
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 with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the GREAT Tech campaign on (a) overseas investors' perceptions of the UK’s technology ecosystem and (b) the propensity of overseas investors to invest in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	3816
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>The Unicorn Kingdom campaign was launched by GREAT in March 2023. The campaign’s primary purpose is to improve perceptions of the UK tech ecosystem and drive inward investment.</p><p>To date the campaign has directly engaged US investors representing over $500 billion in assets under management and several of those investors are actively engaging with HMG in relation to establishing offices in the UK.</p><p>A comprehensive evaluation will be completed in 2024 to assess the campaign's impact on international perceptions of the UK's technology ecosystem, the number of overseas investors considering investing in the UK, and the amount of overseas investment attributed to the campaign. We will continue to monitor impact from the campaign beyond this initial evaluation period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 30/11/2023 16:39:27 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1668851

registered interest
date	09/11/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Civil Servants: STEM Subjects
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's news story entitled Civil Service Fast Stream exceeds target to boost STEM expertise across Government published on 25 October 2023, what proportion of Fast Stream hires in the 2023 recruitment campaign had a STEM degree qualification; and of those, what proportion held degrees in (a) science, (b) technology, (c) engineering and (d) maths.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	1127
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>Over 50% of Fast Stream hires in the 2023 recruitment campaign had a STEM degree qualification.</p><p>Our STEM categorisation is based on subject groups provided by the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA). Therefore it is not possible to break hires down by (a) science, (b) technology, (c) engineering and (d) maths; as we do not collect or analyse the data in this way.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 14/11/2023 13:35:21 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1625244

registered interest
date	02/05/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Public Expenditure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the data used by his Department's transaction explorer to analyse the cost of delivering Government services has been updated since the introduction of the explorer; and whether he plans to update this data in the next two years.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	183411
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>The Transactions Explorer was merged into the Performance Platform in 2015. The data on costs was collected quarterly from 2012 until 2018. The Performance Platform was decommissioned in 2021. Cost per transaction remains a mandatory performance indicator in the Digital Service Standard so digital services must publish data on it, typically via Data.gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>For the Top 75 government services identified in Transforming for a Digital Future, the cross-government digital and data strategy for 2022-2025 published in June 2022, we have developed the new performance framework for services. This also includes cost per transaction metrics and the framework will be published shortly following engagement with the departments involved.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 09/05/2023 15:22:48 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1580922

registered interest
date	25/01/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: ICT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2023 to Question 125341 on Government Departments: ICT, where cloud providers publish information on their investment activities in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	132401
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2023 answer text <p>While there is no statutory requirement for cloud providers to publish information on their investment activities in the UK, they regularly publish a range of information in the public domain, for example on company websites and blogs.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 30/01/2023 17:15:44 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1567818

registered interest
date	17/01/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: ICT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether providers of IT cloud infrastructure to Government bodies are required to report on their investment in R&D in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	125341
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2023 answer text <p>There is not a contractual requirement for IT cloud infrastructure providers to report on R&amp;D investment. This is mainly due to cloud providers operating outside of the classical, managed outsourcing model. The cloud providers do, however, publish information on their investment activities in the UK.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 25/01/2023 17:54:47 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1523866

registered interest
date	18/10/2022
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the fall in the value of Sterling on the adequacy of the level of (a) Universal Credit and (b) Pension Credit.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	65751
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2022 answer text <p>There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of benefit should be as every person has different requirements. Income-related benefit rates are not made up of separate amounts for specific items of expenditure such as food or fuel charges, and beneficiaries are free to spend their benefit as they see fit, in the light of their individual commitments, needs and preferences.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of State pensions and benefits. The outcome of that review will be announced later this year, and the new rates will enter into force from 10 April 2023.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 26/10/2022 17:01:50 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1523874

registered interest
date	18/10/2022
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	Poverty: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the North East Child Poverty Commission entitled Getting the building blocks wrong: Early childhood poverty in the North East, published in September 2022, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the conclusions on the risk of poverty faced by (a) families where someone has a disability, (b) lone parent families, (c) families with parents aged under 25 and (d) families in rented homes.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	65755
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2022 answer text <p>Projecting the impacts of policies on income poverty is very difficult to do accurately – as poverty is dependent on changes for every type of income for the whole population. It is very difficult to isolate the specific impact of one policy and how many people might be moving slightly above or below a threshold that changes over time. Many policies will lead to changes in behaviour (e.g. being incentivised into employment) which can also be very difficult to predict.</p><p> </p><p>National Statistics on the number and percentage of people in poverty are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Statistics, covering up until 2019/20, can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families. In 2022/23 we will spend over £242 billion through the welfare system in Great Britain including £108 billion on people of working age.</p><p> </p><p>This is in addition to the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 a year, on average, through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances. To further support parents to move into and progress in work, the government provides a range of childcare offers. For more information on what childcare support may be available, we encourage parents to us the helpful Childcare Choices website.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 26/10/2022 17:01:04 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1523876

registered interest
date	18/10/2022
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	Poverty: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the North East Child Poverty Commission entitled Getting the building blocks wrong: Early childhood poverty in the North East, published in September 2022, if he will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the findings on the level of in-work child poverty in (a) the North East and (b) other regions; and if her Department will take steps to help tackle in-work child poverty in the North East.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	65756
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2022 answer text <p>Projecting the impacts of policies on child poverty is very difficult to do accurately – as poverty is dependent on changes for every type of income for the whole population. It is very difficult to isolate the specific impact of one policy and how many people might be moving slightly above or below a threshold that changes over time. Many policies will lead to changes in behaviour (e.g., being incentivised into increasing their earnings) which can also be very difficult to predict.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics covering up until financial year ending 2021 on the number of children who are in low-income in the North East and other regions can be found in the annual publication: Children in low income families: local area statistics.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Childrenin low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families. In 2022/23 we will spend over £242 billion through the welfare system in Great Britain including £108 billion on people of working age.</p><p> </p><p>To support parents to progress in work, we are extending the support jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes to help them to increase their earnings and move into better paid quality jobs. This new in-work progression offer started to roll-out from April 2022. Once fully rolled out, we estimate that around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support. This will be provided by work coaches and focus on removing barriers to progression such as support with childcare or addressing skills gaps. This new progression offer is in addition to a change the government made last month to the Administrative Earnings Threshold in Universal Credit. By raising the threshold on 26<sup>th</sup> September 2022, approximately 114,000 more UC claimants on the lowest incomes will benefit from regular work coach support. The Chancellor announced that we would go further and raise the threshold again from January 2023 to expand this support to approximately 120,000 more people.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 26/10/2022 17:04:23 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah