Scotland Office written question – answered at on 1 May 2018.
Deidre Brock
Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Devolved Government Relations), Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Fair Work and Employment), Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Northern Ireland)
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what external agencies or consultants have been contracted by his Department to carry out work in each year since 2010.
David Mundell
The Secretary of State for Scotland
The correct answer should have been:
Other than for minor or bespoke purchases, the Scotland Office does not normally undertake direct procurement or tendering of external agencies or consultant contracts. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Government, Cabinet Office or the Ministry of Justice.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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David Mundell
The Secretary of State for Scotland
Other than for minor or bespoke purchases, the Scotland Office does not normally undertake direct procurement or tendering of external agencies or consultant contracts. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Government, Cabinet Office or the Ministry of Justice.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Parliamentary questions are conventionally answered within seven days of being lodged, or on a particular day for so-called "Named Day" questions. (Source: House of Commons Information Office, Factsheet P1, "Parliamentary Questions")
A holding answer may be issued by a Minister if, for whatever reason, a substantive or final answer to the question cannot be provided in the time available.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
