1-20 of 60 results for subject:Business
Librarians' tools
- Search time
- 0.406 seconds
- Solr query time
- 0.01 seconds
- Search query
- subject:Business
- We searched for
- subject_t:Business OR subject_t:Businesses OR subject_t:Commerce OR subject_ses:90407
Type
House
Session
Year
Department
Member
More
Primary member
More
Answering member
More
Legislative stage
Legislation
Subject
More
Publisher
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants have been sponsored to undertake an MBA or other business qualifications in the last five years; and how many such people passed such a qualification.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants have been sponsored to undertake an MBA or other business qualifications in the last five years; and how many such people passed such a qualification.
The information requested is not held centrally.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
The Government have been working for the past three years to drive up the level of commercial skills across central Government. There is still a long way to go, given the shortcomings of where we started. The need to press ahead with redoubled speed was highlighted in our recent cross-Government review of contracts. We are creating the Crown Commercial Service, which will come online later this year.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
The Government have been working for the past three years to drive up the level of commercial skills across central Government. There is still a long way to go, given the shortcomings of where we started. The need to press ahead with redoubled speed was highlighted in our recent cross-Government review of contracts. We are creating the Crown Commercial Service, which will come online later this year.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
The Government have been working for the past three years to drive up the level of commercial skills across central Government. There is still a long way to go, given the shortcomings of where we started. The need to press ahead with redoubled speed was highlighted in our recent cross-Government review of contracts. We are creating the Crown Commercial Service, which will come online later this year.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
The Government have been working for the past three years to drive up the level of commercial skills across central Government. There is still a long way to go, given the shortcomings of where we started. The need to press ahead with redoubled speed was highlighted in our recent cross-Government review of contracts. We are creating the Crown Commercial Service, which will come online later this year.
The Government have been working for the past three years to drive up the level of commercial skills across central Government. There is still a long way to go, given the shortcomings of where we started. The need to press ahead with redoubled speed was highlighted in our recent cross-Government review of contracts. We are creating the Crown Commercial Service, which will come online later this year.
The Government have been working for the past three years to drive up the level of commercial skills across central Government. There is still a long way to go, given the shortcomings of where we started. The need to press ahead with redoubled speed was highlighted in our recent cross-Government review of contracts. We are creating the Crown Commercial Service, which will come online later this year.
What steps he is taking to improve commercial skills in the civil service.
I recently attended the one-year-on event of the new Commissioning Academy, which we set up a year ago. It has achieved a good deal. During the next 18 months, we want 1,500 senior public sector commissioners to have participated in the academy. It is part of a wider programme to improve commercial skills not only in Whitehall but right across the public sector.
I recently attended the one-year-on event of the new Commissioning Academy, which we set up a year ago. It has achieved a good deal. During the next 18 months, we want 1,500 senior public sector commissioners to have participated in the academy. It is part of a wider programme to improve commercial skills not only in Whitehall but right across the public sector.
I welcome the important steps that my right hon. Friend is taking to improve these skills. I believe that more needs to be done to continue to upgrade skills in commercial areas, particularly relating to project management and commissioning. Is he satisfied that sufficient civil servants will be going through the new commissioning agency really to make a difference to the skills base in Whitehall and beyond?
Our Crown representatives, who come predominantly from the private sector with a huge amount of commercial experience, have helped us to generate significant efficiencies. We buy better if we act as a single customer in Government, to maximise our buying power and improve our performance as a customer. We are renegotiating contracts with a number of suppliers, and by centrally renegotiating we have saved the taxpayer £800 million in each of the financial years during this Parliament.
Our Crown representatives, who come predominantly from the private sector with a huge amount of commercial experience, have helped us to generate significant efficiencies. We buy better if we act as a single customer in Government, to maximise our buying power and improve our performance as a customer. We are renegotiating contracts with a number of suppliers, and by centrally renegotiating we have saved the taxpayer £800 million in each of the financial years during this Parliament.
What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the work of the Crown representatives in driving value for money for taxpayers through procurement reform?
I am absolutely satisfied with the Major Projects Leadership Academy, which was set up to address what was identified by everybody as a major deficiency in Government and is now approaching its second anniversary. There is a requirement for all major project leaders to be alumni of the academy by the end of 2015, and all of them will have at least started training by the end of the current year. We started with a real deficiency of skills and experience, but we are building those with civil servants, which has been very much welcomed.
I am absolutely satisfied with the Major Projects Leadership Academy, which was set up to address what was identified by everybody as a major deficiency in Government and is now approaching its second anniversary. There is a requirement for all major project leaders to be alumni of the academy by the end of 2015, and all of them will have at least started training by the end of the current year. We started with a real deficiency of skills and experience, but we are building those with civil servants, which has been very much welcomed.
When does my right hon. Friend expect that all those in charge of major Government IT contracts will have gone through the programme at Oxford Said business school, and is he satisfied that that is the very best place to send these people?
I can confirm that we have accepted the recommendations, and Departments are producing their plans for implementing them imminently. With regard to the requirement for senior civil servants to get commercial and operational experience, we have already set out that someone looking to be appointed as permanent secretary of a delivery Department must be able to show at least two years of commercial or operational experience before being considered.
I can confirm that we have accepted the recommendations, and Departments are producing their plans for implementing them imminently. With regard to the requirement for senior civil servants to get commercial and operational experience, we have already set out that someone looking to be appointed as permanent secretary of a delivery Department must be able to show at least two years of commercial or operational experience before being considered.
Just before Christmas, the cross-Government review of major projects identified a number of serious weaknesses in the way contracts with Serco and G4S had been administered. Will the Minister confirm that the review’s conclusions will be implemented in full? Will he also consider requiring senior civil servants to spend three years in a commercial environment before becoming permanent secretaries?
The hon. Gentleman may have more experience of the latter activity than I do, but the truth is that Ministers are not actually required to manage Departments; that responsibility sits very clearly with the civil service leadership. I think that they would be the first to accept that he makes a valid point. We have a deficiency in leadership and management skills as well as in commercial skills, and we need to address that. Concerns about the quality of the leadership and management of change come up consistently in the civil service staff survey, and as great organisations are always changing, we need to rectify that deficiency.
The hon. Gentleman may have more experience of the latter activity than I do, but the truth is that Ministers are not actually required to manage Departments; that responsibility sits very clearly with the civil service leadership. I think that they would be the first to accept that he makes a valid point. We have a deficiency in leadership and management skills as well as in commercial skills, and we need to address that. Concerns about the quality of the leadership and management of change come up consistently in the civil service staff survey, and as great organisations are always changing, we need to rectify that deficiency.
May I push the Minister on that? Is it not a bit wishy-washy to refer to “commercial” skills? I am co-chair of the all-party management group. What we want across the civil service are pure management skills. Moreover, we want Ministers with some ability to manage a Department. The fact is that most of the Ministers who appeared before me when I chaired a Select Committee could not manage the proverbial in a brewery.
On that last point, the hon. Gentleman will know that it was my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State who spotted that things were not right with the implementation of the universal credit and commissioned the review that disclosed the problems to the Department for the first time, as the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee report makes absolutely clear. Far from evading responsibility, it was my right hon. Friend who spotted the problems and set to work solving them.
On that last point, the hon. Gentleman will know that it was my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State who spotted that things were not right with the implementation of the universal credit and commissioned the review that disclosed the problems to the Department for the first time, as the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee report makes absolutely clear. Far from evading responsibility, it was my right hon. Friend who spotted the problems and set to work solving them.
Of course we agree that we want greater commercial skills, and indeed management skills, in the civil service, but with the fiasco over the west coast main line, botched contracts over rural broadband roll-out and the lamentable implementation of the universal credit, with the Minister squabbling publicly with the Secretary of State for
Work and Pensions, when will Ministers, rather than blaming officials, take some responsibility for their own shambles?
I absolutely welcome the inquiry that my hon. Friend is leading and will certainly encourage a lot of evidence to be given. We have to be open about the problems that exist. Otherwise, there is no chance whatsoever of solving them. The first stage in finding solutions is being honest about the problems.
I absolutely welcome the inquiry that my hon. Friend is leading and will certainly encourage a lot of evidence to be given. We have to be open about the problems that exist. Otherwise, there is no chance whatsoever of solving them. The first stage in finding solutions is being honest about the problems.
Does my right hon. Friend acknowledge the widespread appreciation of his personal commitment to improving skills in the civil service, which is truly commendable? Will he also take this opportunity to welcome the fact that the Public Administration Committee has just announced a new inquiry into skills in the civil service, and will he encourage people to send us as much evidence as possible?
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many empty Government-owned properties have been made available to entrepreneurs to date.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many empty Government-owned properties have been made available to entrepreneurs to date.
The Space for Growth initiative has made around 1,600 workstation spaces available to entrepreneurs.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many businesses have used the CESG cyber incident response scheme to date.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many businesses have used the CESG cyber incident response scheme to date.
The Cyber Incident Response Scheme was launched two months ago by CESG, the Information Assurance arm of GCHQ, and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) in collaboration with the Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers (CREST). We will update on the scheme in due course.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department is making in improving the speed of payments to businesses by Government Departments.
[119468]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department is making in improving the speed of payments to businesses by Government Departments.
[119468]
Good progress is being made.
There is already a requirement in central Government for Departments to pay 80% of undisputed invoices within five days, and to pass 30 day payment terms down supply chains. Departments are required to monitor
prime contractors' performance against the 30 day commitment to pay sub contractors as part of the contract management process.
We are also encouraging prime and sub-contractors to use the 'Mystery Shopper' service to report to Government instances where prompt payment is not happening; and we regularly publish investigated cases on the Cabinet Office website.
I stressed the importance of this policy to the chief executive officers of some of the most significant suppliers to Government at a meeting held in June. Our Crown representative team is encouraging prime contractors to pay sub-contractors more quickly than the 30 days commitment on a voluntary basis.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of Government procurement contracts that have been won by small and medium-sized businesses.
[119442]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of Government procurement contracts that have been won by small and medium-sized businesses.
[119442]
Over the past 18 months we have opened up the way Government does business in order to ensure that small companies, charities and voluntary organisations are in the best possible position to compete for contracts. We have also:
made public procurement more transparent by publishing tenders and contracts through the 'Contracts Finder' website.
introduced a new eSourcing solution, the Dynamic Marketplace, on which SMEs are able to provide quick quotes for low value contracts (below £100,000).
piloted a new online service for procurers to invite the SME market to respond, in advance of a formal procurement, to emerging opportunities to deliver government business more efficiently.
introduced a 'Mystery Shopper' scheme to allow suppliers to report bad procurement practice.
published pipelines of Government Business to enable suppliers to marshal their resources and prepare to bid for future work.
worked actively with Government departments to ensure that, where practicable, procurements are broken up into smaller lots. This will ensure that we create diversity in the supply base and in particular increase the number of SMEs awarded new business directly.
Furthermore, we have introduced a new LEAN sourcing process for central government which aims to reduce procurement timescales substantially. Departments must procure all but the most complex goods and services within 120 days
On 9 March we published the "One Year On" Progress Report, which gives a breakdown by department of spend with Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), up to December 2011. The Report is available at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/making-government-business-more-accessible-smes-one-year
Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award, at:
www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
We do not hold contract information broken down regionally, but prior to 2010 very limited information was held or published on any government contract spend.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many times his Department's small and medium-sized enterprises panel has met since May 2010;
[116534]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many times his Department's small and medium-sized enterprises panel has met since May 2010;
[116534]
The creation of the SME panel was announced at the SME Strategic Supplier's summit which I attended with the Prime Minister in February 2011.
Since then the panel has met four times in June and September 2011 and January and May 2012. I have attended all meetings.
(2) how many times he has attended a meeting of his Department's small and medium-sized enterprises panel since May 2010.
[116535]
Michael Dugher:
(2) how many times he has attended a meeting of his Department's small and medium-sized enterprises panel since May 2010.
[116535]
Michael Dugher:
The creation of the SME panel was announced at the SME Strategic Supplier's summit which I attended with the Prime Minister in February 2011.
Since then the panel has met four times in June and September 2011 and January and May 2012. I have attended all meetings.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps he has taken to offer (a) financial and (b) other practical assistance to (i) co-operatives, (ii) financial mutuals, (iii) employee-owned businesses and (iv) credit unions; and if he will make a statement.
[116887]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps he has taken to offer (a) financial and (b) other practical assistance to (i) co-operatives, (ii) financial mutuals, (iii) employee-owned businesses and (iv) credit unions; and if he will make a statement.
[116887]
[holding answer 12 July 2012]: The Cabinet Office established the Mutuals Support Programme (MSP) in December 2011 to provide support to public service mutuals.
To date, over 16 organisations have been approved to receive support to develop public service mutuals, including school support services in Hammersmith and Fulham and an arts centre in Maidstone. Further details about the Mutuals Support Programme can be found on the website at:
http://mutuals.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/