Public Spending Value for Money 2023-06-22

2023-06-22

TAGS
Response quality

Questions & Answers

Q1 Direct Answer
Context
The MP inquired about recent steps taken by the government to ensure value for money in public expenditure.
What recent steps have been taken with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure value for money in public spending?
The Government continue to deliver on our commitment to get maximum value for taxpayers' money in public spending. The Cabinet Office is one of the engines of efficiency in government. In the most recent financial year for which we have the data, the Cabinet Office, working with colleagues across Whitehall and the cross-Government functions, saved the British taxpayer £3.4 billion, a record we are proud of.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2 Partial Answer
Richard Burgon Lab
Leeds East
Context
The MP raised concerns about VIP lanes for contracts given to Tory friends and donors, highlighting public polls indicating worry over corruption.
Does the Minister agree that refusing to shut down VIP lanes will add to grave concerns over corruption shown by three quarters of the public worried about it?
Last week we debated the Procurement Bill. I was very sorry not to see the hon. Gentleman in his place at the time, but if he had been present on that day he would have heard us say that the Bill prevents VIP lanes.
Assessment & feedback
The refusal to shut down VIP lanes
If He Had Been There
Response accuracy
Q3 Direct Answer
Context
Concern over taxpayer funds being used on 'woke' projects such as the Arts Council programme, instead of frontline services like NHS.
What steps is he taking to eliminate wasting taxpayer money on so-called woke projects and ensure every penny is well spent?
The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point about the need for us to ensure every pound of taxpayers' money is spent appropriately, and he will have heard or read the Health Secretary's comments in March, when he wrote to the health community saying: 'I would ask that you, as a member of the wider health family, now review whether your organisation is getting value for money from your diversity and inclusion memberships and, if not, consider any steps that you could take to address that'.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q4 Direct Answer
Context
Inquiry about measures to allow civil servants based in smaller towns and across the UK, not just large urban areas.
What are we doing to allow all parts of the United Kingdom to have the civil service based in their areas?
My hon. Friend makes a good point. We are the Government who committed to relocating 22,000 civil servants from London to the regions by 2030, and we are making excellent progress on that. We have already achieved half that number, and the other day I was pleased to be in Sheffield opening our new policy unit, which brings people together, and not just entry-level civil servants, but the senior managers and decision makers who are going to inform the decisions that drive government in the future.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q5 Partial Answer
Context
The MP questioned about evidence provided by George Osborne and Oliver Letwin regarding Cabinet activities.
Will he look and learn from the evidence given by George Osborne and Oliver Letwin?
I certainly will.
Assessment & feedback
Generic Answer
Response accuracy
Q6 Partial Answer
Jim Shannon DUP
Strangford
Context
Concern over the Northern Ireland protocol's administrative and accounting burden on small and medium-sized businesses.
What recent discussions have there been with European counterparts to ease the cost of living by removing costly Northern Ireland protocol measures?
The Windsor framework made significant progress and took a substantial burden off businesses, but I believe conversations are ongoing and if the hon. Gentleman has any particular questions he would like to bring to my attention, I will be very happy to have a conversation with him.
Assessment & feedback
Ongoing nature of discussions without specifics
If The Hon. Gentleman Has Any Particular Questions
Response accuracy
Q7 Partial Answer
Angela Rayner Lab
Ashton-under-Lyne
Context
The MP asked for an official estimate of fraud cost across all sectors in the UK in 2022.
Can he give us an official estimate of the total cost of fraud to the UK across all sectors in 2022?
We are engaged in a constant battle against fraud. We do so with colleagues across Whitehall, and particularly in the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury. I look forward to the right hon. Lady's next question.
Assessment & feedback
Look Forward To Her Next Question
Response accuracy
Q8 Partial Answer
Angela Rayner Lab
Ashton-under-Lyne
Context
The MP highlighted a report on fraud costs, equivalent to the entire central Government running costs for health, defence, and policing combined.
Can he tell me how much of that money has been clawed back?
We have established the Public Sector Fraud Authority to clamp down on fraud. As a former DWP Minister, I assure the right hon. Lady that this Government go after fraud wherever it is found. Every time we find new opportunities for fraud, we come forward with new means of clamping down on them. We are a Government committed to efficiency, which we are delivering. As the right hon. Lady will have heard me say in answer to the first question this morning, the Cabinet Office, in the most recent financial year for which figures are available, delivered £3.4 billion-worth of savings to the British taxpayer. That is work we will continue to do.
Assessment & feedback
Amount recovered from fraud
Look Forward To Her Next Question
Response accuracy