theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_27
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_27

Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that Group B Streptococcus-specific enriched culture medium testing is available in hospital laboratories. \p Ashley Dalton: Enriched culture medium testing is used in National Health Service laboratories. Current clinical practice is that if a routine urine test in pregnancy indicates a bacterial infection, microbiology techniques, such as enriched culture medium plates, should be used to identify the bacteria.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_28
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_28

Susan Murray:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to diversify the supply chain for pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. \p Karin Smyth: The Department monitors and manages medicine supply issues at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within individual National Health Service trusts is not held centrally.

The Department is continuing to engage with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) to mitigate the supply issue that is affecting the whole of the United Kingdom. Through this, we have managed to secure additional volumes of PERT for 2025 for the UK. We are continuing to work with all suppliers to understand what more can be done to add further resilience to the market. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market.

In the longer term, the Department has had interest from non-UK suppliers wishing to bring their products to the UK and, along with colleagues in the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, we are working with these potential suppliers, and if authorised, these products could further diversify and strengthen the market.

In December 2024, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to consider the unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are put in place and implemented. The Department continues to collaborate closely with NHS England colleagues, clinicians, patient groups, and charities to ensure that these mitigation plans are supporting patients, and routinely updates advice and issues further guidance when necessary. There are no current plans to provide additional funding for unlicensed imports.

The Department will continue to meet with suppliers, clinicians, representatives from the impacted patient advocacy groups, and charities so that they are informed on the supply situation and the mitigation actions being taken.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_29
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_29

Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the next iteration of the (a) NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and (b) 10-year Health Plan will include targets for increasing medical specialty training places in (i) anaesthetics and (ii) other medical specialties. \p Karin Smyth: We are committed to training the staff we need, including anaesthetists and all other medical specialities, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. We have launched the 10-Year Health Plan which will set out a bold agenda to reform and repair the National Health Service. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. NHS England has funded 70 additional training posts in anaesthesia in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Further expansion will be determined by the upcoming Spending Review and the planned refresh of the Long Term Workforce Plan. The content of the plan will be confirmed at the earliest opportunity.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_30
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_30

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NICE on expanding the list of weight-related comorbidities on their tirzepatide guidance to include polycystic ovarian syndrome. \p Karin Smyth: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published technology appraisal guidance that recommends tirzepatide to treat obesity, alongside a reduced calorie-diet and increased physical activity, in adults with a body mass index of 35 or over and at least one weight-related comorbidity.

The NICE’s recommendation itself, once fully implemented, does not specify the weight-related comorbidity needed to be eligible. Under the recommendation, if polycystic ovarian syndrome is considered to be weight-related for an individual, they would be eligible if they met the other criteria in the recommendation.

NHS England submitted a funding variation request, on behalf of National Health Service providers and integrated care boards, to extend the time needed to comply with the recommendations. NHS England will now publish an interim commissioning policy outlining how patient cohorts should be prioritised and the service models that are recommended during the initial three-year implementation period. During this time, evidence will be generated, which will inform a NICE re-evaluation of the remaining roll out period to the wider group of eligible patients.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_31
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_31

Harriet Cross:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on the proposal for it to be designated as the regulator for surrogacy, as recommended in the Law Commission’s report Building Families Through Surrogacy: A New Law. \p Karin Smyth: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health will be writing to the Chairs of the Law Commissions of England, Wales, and Scotland shortly, to follow up their meeting on 5 November. A Government response to the commission’s report will be published as time allows.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health met with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority senior team on 20 July 2024. Regulatory oversight of surrogacy was discussed as part of a broader introductory discussion.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_32

Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to ambulance trusts to help ensure adequate (a) coverage and (b) response times. \p Karin Smyth: On 30 January 2025, NHS England published the 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance. This set out the actions to be taken by the National Health Service in 2025/26 to improve ambulance response times. The planning guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/2025-26-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance/

Information on further actions to support improvements in urgent and emergency care services during 2025/26 will be published at the earliest opportunity.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_33
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_33

Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 23858 on NHS Business Services Authority: Workplace Pensions, how many remedial pension savings statements (a) were required in total, (b) had been issued to date, (c) were calculated and awaiting fulfilment and (d) were still outstanding in the latest period for which data is available. \p Karin Smyth: The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the scheme administrator, has identified that 137,694 remedial pension savings statements are required. Of these, 60,630 statements have been calculated and issued, and 1,887 statements have been calculated and are awaiting fulfilment. The 75,177 statements outstanding include statements that require calculations and statements that require re-calculations.

The NHSBSA had previously reported a higher number of statements issued due to a batch of remedial pension savings statements being categorised as “issued” when they were still undergoing their quality assurance process. The current figures only consider remedial pension savings statements as “issued” once they have passed the NHSBSA’s quality assurance and have been fulfilled.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_34
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_34

Layla Moran:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help support hospitals to (a) recruit and (b) retain clinical staff in Oxfordshire. \p Karin Smyth: Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

That said, we are committed to training the staff the NHS needs, including clinical staff, and ensuring that the NHS remains an attractive place to work for our staff across the country. NHS England already has an extensive retention programme which is addressing matters that are important to staff, such as good occupational health support, options for working more flexibly, and better culture and leadership.

This summer we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_35
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_35

Michael Wheeler:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals have been accepted by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in (a) Salford and (b) Wigan in each of the last five years. \p Stephen Kinnock: The following table shows the number of referrals accepted by child and adolescent mental health services in Salford in each month from 2020/21 up to December 2024, the month for which most recent data is available:

Month

2024/25

2023/24

2022/23

2021/22

2020/21

April

267

196

287

127

75

May

325

304

269

171

84

June

301

386

223

156

101

July

385

378

158

127

130

August

194

243

336

78

121

September

317

243

277

153

175

October

366

262

295

123

161

November

343

340

277

107

176

December

302

246

305

118

117

January

283

265

126

107

February

269

300

173

106

March

316

288

170

169

Source: NHS England

The following table shows the number of referrals accepted by child and adolescent mental health services in Wigan in each month from 2020/21 up to December 2024, the month for which most recent data is available:

Month

2024/25

2023/24

2022/23

2021/22

2020/21

April

125

51

100

44

4

May

130

111

97

27

5

June

118

96

87

30

12

July

79

92

53

41

20

August

50

45

39

39

23

September

117

72

62

18

34

October

166

107

66

34

30

November

163

118

87

53

28

December

97

108

46

34

25

January

136

82

95

25

February

115

63

75

34

March

132

91

97

40

Source: NHS England
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_36
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_36

Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applicants trained abroad were rejected for residency positions with NHS providers in each year since 2020. \p Karin Smyth: The number of British nationals who accepted medical specialty training posts in 2024 was 8,017, and the number of non-British nationals accepting posts was 5,882. The number of applicants trained outside of the United Kingdom who were rejected at different stages of the medical specialty training recruitment processes in 2024 was 5,814. This does not include applicants who were not rejected but who chose to withdraw themselves from at least one of their applications. The number of domestically trained applicants accepting an offer of a place within the 2024 medical specialty recruitment process was 8,537. The number of non-domestically trained applicants accepting an offer of a place within the 2024 medical specialty recruitment process was 5,324.

Information on medical specialty recruitment in 2021, 2022, and 2023 is published by NHS England, and is available at the following link:

https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/equality-and-diversity

This includes information for each individual medical specialty programme on the number of applications made, the number of appointable applicants, the number of offers made, and the number of accepted roles. The information is available by nationality group and country of qualification. The published data looks at each medical speciality separately. Many applicants will apply for more than one specialty, and the published data does not show the number of unique applicants who were successful for at least one specialty or rejected for all, as presented for the 2024 round, as the Department does not hold that data.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_37
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_37

Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the diagnosis of dyslexia in children in (a) Somerset and (b) the South West. \p Stephen Kinnock: Data on waiting times for dyslexia assessments is not held centrally. Assessments for dyslexia in children are provided by an educational psychologist or an appropriately qualified specialist dyslexia teacher. If a parent thinks their child may be dyslexic, as a first step they should speak to their child’s teacher or their school's special educational needs co-ordinator about their concerns. They may be able to offer additional support to help the child if necessary. Further information on dyslexia assessments can be found on the NHS.UK website, at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia/diagnosis/

The early identification of needs and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, including those with dyslexia. There are already a number of measures to help teachers do this, including the phonics screening check and the statutory assessments at the end of key stage two.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_38
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_38

Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce the gender pain gap for women. \p Karin Smyth: Through the call for evidence for the Women’s Health Strategy, women told us that they had not always been listened to by healthcare professionals and that more needs to be done to improve research, evidence, and data on women’s health. It is unacceptable that women’s pain is dismissed, as this can lead to unnecessary suffering or a delayed diagnosis.

The Women’s Health Strategy for England sets out ambitions to boost the participation of women in all types of research, and for more research into women’s experiences. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has funded a range of research into women’s experiences. This includes a qualitative study into patient and healthcare professionals' experiences of the management, diagnosis, and treatment of endometriosis, which is available at the following link:

https://www.fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR156216

It also includes a study to develop a patient-reported outcome measure for prolapse, incontinence, and mesh complication surgery, which is available at the following link:

https://www.fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR152187

The NIHR expects to implement its sex and gender policy in spring 2025. This will ensure that research considers sex and gender across every stage of the research cycle, facilitating both an assessment of funding into topics that impact men and women and, crucially, a greater understanding of how women might be impacted differently.

Work continues to implement the Women's Health Strategy. In the longer term, our priorities for delivering the strategy will be aligned with the 10 Year Plan and the Government's missions. The 10 Year Plan will set out how we tackle the inequities that lead to poor health, including for women.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_39
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_39

Daisy Cooper:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of times Capita has made overpayments in relation to (a) tax-free lump sums and (b) regular pension payments for people taking their pension benefits from the Royal Mail Statutory Pensions Scheme following a calculation error in each year since 2018. \p Georgia Gould: Capita, the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme administrator, has made the following overpayments:

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025 to 3/3/2025

(a)tax-free lump sums

4

9

7

1

4

906

0

(b)regular pension payments

327

617

137

81

90

92

1

Capita has carried out several data correction exercises which required member benefits to be rectified. These data exercises account for the increased number of overpayments in certain years.

The earliest data Capita holds is from March 2019.

In terms of support, Capita contacts all impacted members and provides a full update including the reason for the overpayment and the corrective action that will take place. All members are encouraged to contact the Capita team to discuss the error and agree on the appropriate recovery actions. Where possible a repayment timeline will be agreed directly with the member which will consider their personal circumstances and affordability. Members are also guided through the review process that they can follow and are kept informed of any decisions made during this process and the next steps that are available to them.

There is a robust process in place to manage the performance of this contract.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_40
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_40

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of food procured by his Department is sourced in the UK. \p Georgia Gould: To date the Government has not held information on where publicly procured food is sourced from.

Starting right away, for the first time ever, this government will review the food currently bought in the public sector to determine the standards that it is meeting, where it is bought from and look to introduce monitoring for transparency and accountability within those supply chains to ultimately get the best food for the consumer.

This work will be a significant first step to inform any future changes to public sector food procurement policies as we want to help make it an equal playing field for British producers to bid into the £5 billion spent each year on public sector catering contracts.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_41
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_41

Margaret Mullane:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that the new legal duty of candour established in response to Phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry will be applicable to past incidents. \p Georgia Gould: The Government has committed to implement a ‘Hillsborough Law’ which will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities. The details of this Bill will be announced in due course.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_42
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_42

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government ministers have visited Huntingdon constituency since 4 July 2024. \p Georgia Gould: Under transparency guidance, ministers are not required to publish details of ministerial visits in the UK. If, in the course of a ministerial visit, a minister has a meeting with an external stakeholder during which they discuss substantive government business, details of the meeting are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_43
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_43

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cyber attacks were conducted by (a) Russia and (b) Russian-sponsored actors against (i) Government and (ii) Government-affiliated systems in the last 12 months. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The UK Government does not comment upon operational security matters.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_44

James McMurdock:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much each Department has spent on legal costs in responding to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: It is important that lessons are learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is independent of government and it is right that we allow the Chair to continue her important work. The Chair is under a statutory obligation to avoid unnecessary costs in the Inquiry’s work, and she has been clear in her intention to complete her work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The Cabinet Office regularly publishes government costs, including legal costs, in responding to the Inquiry. These publications show that from the start of the 2023/24 financial year to the end of Q3 2024/25, the government has spent approximately £42.3m on legal costs.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_45
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_45

Clive Lewis:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has had discussions with the Infected Blood Compensation Authority on the potential cost to the public purse of using external communications companies. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is an operationally independent body. IBCA are working with external companies to help them develop their service and reach those who are eligible. For example, external companies will be used to support IBCA in building a digital service, storing data, offering legal and financial support to those claiming.

They will also be used to plan future communication work to reach all potential claimants, and especially those who are not already registered with a support service. All of these are requirements for IBCA to deliver compensation as swiftly and compassionately as possible.

Commercial contracts are necessary to progress this work and all contracts are awarded through fair and open competition using a tendering process. The budget for IBCA’s communications activity is separate from the funding for compensation itself.

As sponsor Minister, I am committed to working with IBCA to monitor its performance and ensure compensation is delivered to everyone who is eligible as quickly as possible.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_46
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_46

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the number of small businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in each of the last five years. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd March is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 116.7KB)
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_47
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_47

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cyber attacks were conducted by (a) Iran and (b) Iranian-sponsored actors against (i) Government and (ii) Government-affiliated systems in the last 12 months. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The UK Government does not comment upon operational security matters.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_48
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_48

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cyber attacks were conducted by (a) China and (b) Chinese-sponsored actors against (i) Government and (ii) Government-affiliated systems in the last 12 months. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The UK Government does not comment upon operational security matters.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_49
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_49

Graeme Downie:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether the Procurement Act includes adequate measures to limit the procurement of Chinese-made cellular IoT modules in UK critical national infrastructure. \p Georgia Gould: The Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February this year, introduces new powers to exclude, terminate or debar suppliers from public sector supply chains on a variety of grounds. In line with the Act, the Government will operate the new powers on a country-agnostic basis, with each supplier and type of technology examined individually. We remain committed to protecting our critical national infrastructure and will continue to keep under review the risks associated with internet-facing technologies and components on an ongoing basis, both where they fall in scope of the Procurement Act and through other levers.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_50
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_50

Josh Fenton-Glynn:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many social media accounts their Department operates; and how much their Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years. \p Georgia Gould: The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact.

Below is the Cabinet Office advertising spend through the GCS Framework. Subscriptions are delegated to team level and not centrally managed.

Platform

2024

2023

2022

LINKEDIN IRELAND LIMITED

£385,239

£577,093

£824,660

META PLATFORMS IRELAND LIMITED

£513,717

£1,229,993

£3,650,904

NEXTDOOR EUROPE UK LIMITED

£0

£110,000

£0

REDDIT INC (GBP)

£0

£0

£287,965

REDDIT UK LIMITED (GBP)

£0

£0

£0

SNAP GROUP LIMITED

£47,396

£349,279

£750,874

TWITTER UK LTD

£0

£216,090

£791,456

TWITTER INTERNATIONAL COMPANY

£0

£0

£225,063

PINTEREST EUROPE LTD

£0

£79,797

£221,703

TIKTOK INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIE

£65,494

£0

£384,111
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_51
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_51

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) air miles and (b) flights the Prime Minister has completed since 5 July 2024. \p Georgia Gould: Data on ministers’ travel is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings-july-to-september-2024.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_52
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_52

Jim Shannon:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information he holds on the number of workers who work full-time from home. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th March is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 104.1KB)
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_53
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the National Procurement Policy Statement published on 13 February 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) the updated statement and (b) the Employment Rights Bill on public sector procurement timelines. \p Georgia Gould: Contracting authorities must have regard to the NPPS when undertaking their procurement activities, as set out in the Procurement Act 2023. An Impact Assessment in relation to the Procurement Act was published in May 2022 and can be found at https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/46429/documents/1767. Impact assessments for the Employment Rights Bill led by the Department for Business and Trade can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_54
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_54

Joe Robertson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Ministers have met with security staff workers and their representatives to discuss possible strikes. \p Georgia Gould: The Cabinet Office regularly discusses workforce matters with Civil Service trade unions. The Cabinet Office does not keep records of other departments’ ministers’ meetings.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_55
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_55

Richard Fuller:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of the suitability of adopting similar international government models including the (a) US Office of Management and Budget and (b) Department for Government Efficiency in the UK. \p Georgia Gould: Departments have agreed a 2% productivity, efficiency and savings target in the first phase of the Spending Review and have been set a stretching 5% target in the second phase. This target is to be delivered via efficiencies and savings from innovative technology-driven approaches, such as Artificial Intelligence; more effectively joining up services; and a more strategic approach to government processes, including procurement.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has also asked each department to carry out a line-by-line review of existing day-to-day budgets to identify where spending is no longer aligned with this government’s priorities or is poor value for money.

The Office for Value for Money, led by an independent Chair, will work with departments to assess where and how to root out waste and inefficiency, including agreeing plans to deliver technical efficiencies through the Spending Review period. It will also develop recommendations for system reform, informed by lessons learned from the past, international best practice, and the views of external organisations. This will underpin a ruthless focus within government on realising benefits from every pound of public spending.
wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_56
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_56

Josh Fenton-Glynn:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many social media accounts the Prime Minister's Office operates; and how much the Prime Minister's Office spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years. \p Georgia Gould: The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact.

The Prime Minister’s Office is a business unit of the Cabinet Office. The Prime Minister’s Office has not spent any money on social media subscriptions or advertising.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_57

Sir Christopher Chope:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Arm's-Length Bodies there were (a) on 4 July 2024 and (b) as of 5 March 2025; and how many of the latter have an annual operating expenditure in excess of £5 million. \p Georgia Gould: On 4th July 2024, there were 307 Arm’s-Length Bodies. Of these, 135 had an annual operating expenditure (RDEL spend) in excess of £5 million in FY23/24.

The Cabinet Office commissions data around six months after the end of each financial year to allow for financial statements of each ALB to be finalised, meaning we will start collecting data for March 2025 later in 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_58

Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Prime Minister plans to respond to the letter of 15 February 2025 from the Rt hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge on the Attorney General. \p Georgia Gould: A response will be issued in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_59

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a ban on convicted paedophiles living within a five-mile radius of a school of park. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The decision as to where to permit a convicted child sex offender to live whilst subject to licensed supervision is made by the Probation and Probation Services working together under MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements).

Additionally, offenders subject to licensed supervision may be prohibited from entering specified geographical locations (exclusion zones) on account of the particular risks which those offenders present. A child sex offender might, for example, be prohibited from entering a specified area around a school or nursery. Exclusion zones may be reinforced in certain cases by satellite tracking, to ensure that any offender who enters an exclusion zone without permission faces being recalled immediately to custody.

The data required to answer PQs 33564 and 33565 are not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_60

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Iraqi nationals have been returned to Iraq in each year since the signing of the Agreement between the UK and Iraq on the transfer of sentenced persons of October 2015. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.

FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred.

A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred.

The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised.

Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed.

As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_61

Robbie Moore:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to automatically recall to prison any released offender who (a) seeks and (b) obtains employment in a position they are barred from through the Disclosure and Barring Service. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Recall is a vital tool to protect the public. All offenders on licenced supervision in the community are liable to recall to prison if they fail to comply with the conditions of their licence or if the Probation Service assess that they can no longer be safely managed in the community.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_62

Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders convicted of actual bodily harm and sentenced to under four years in prison have been released early from prison since 5 July 2024. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: On 7 November, the Ministry of Justice published transparency data on how many offenders were released on the first days of Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 of SDS40 (1,889 prisoners on the first day of Tranche 1, and 1,223 prisoners on the first day of Tranche 2).

Data on prison releases forms a subset of prison population data which is intended for future publication. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we may not give any early indication of the contents of this statistical report.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_63

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many biological males are currently serving a custodial sentence in a women's prison. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The latest published data on the placement of transgender prisoners (which covers transgender prisoners without gender recognition certificates, and is taken from a snapshot of the prison population on 31 March 2024), there were 2 or fewer transgender women housed within the women’s estate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_64

Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to take steps to increase funding for the judicial system. \p Sarah Sackman: This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. Since taking office, the Lord Chancellor has funded up to 2,500 additional Crown Court sitting days this financial year, taking the total number of days sat to 108,500, the highest level since the financial year of 2015/16.

On Wednesday 5 March, the Lord Chancellor announced for the financial year 2025/26, the Crown Court will be funded to sit up to 110,000 sitting days. It is also both the highest sitting day allocation made since HMCTS was created and the biggest fiscal resource settlement ever made for the Crown court. It is, in all respects, unprecedented and reflects how much importance this Government places on tackling the backlog.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_65

Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department is taking steps to support people who have been left personally liable for legal costs following the collapse of no-win-no-fee law firms. \p Sarah Sackman: The legal profession in England and Wales together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). Given the sector’s independence, the Ministry of Justice cannot intervene in individual cases or investigations.

The Government understands the distress and financial uncertainty caused to both individuals and families by the collapse of SSB Law and similar firms. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), as the body responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors, as well as most law firms in England and Wales, has now completed its investigation into the collapse of SSB Law and has given disciplinary notices to several individuals. The SRA is also progressing its investigation into Pure Legal and the solicitors involved, and aims to make decisions before the summer regarding this disciplinary process. The SRA published an update on this issue on 25 February, which is available on their website: SRA | Cavity wall insulation claims handled by SSB Group (SSB) and Pure Legal Limited (Pure Legal) | Solicitors Regulation Authority.

I recently met with the SRA to ensure that lessons are learned from the SSB Law firm collapse and urged regulators to respond more proactively to these issues. It is crucial that steps are taken to prevent this type of situation from happening again.

As the oversight regulator, the LSB is also conducting an independent review into the SRA’s regulatory action in the lead-up to SSB Law’s collapse. It is right for the Department to wait until these ongoing investigations are complete and to review the findings, before considering any next steps in this area.

The Department is aware that some individuals involved in these claims have received unexpected demands for legal costs. Former clients of SSB Law have options for redress available to them, and they may be able to seek redress through making a negligence claim on SSB’s insurance.

The SRA has published a warning notice to law firms, especially those engaged in high volume claims work, about prohibited marketing practices, such as cold calling. Alongside the warning notice, the SRA also published a no win no fee guide to help inform consumer choices: SRA | No win, no fee agreements: A guide to navigating them | Solicitors Regulation Authority.

While these no win no fee agreements play a vital role in access to justice, we recognise the concerns raised about their operation. The Ministry of Justice is working closely with regulators to assess the potential need for further consumer protections.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_66

Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of (a) rape and (b) sexual offence cases in the Crown Court. \p Alex Davies-Jones: We know that victims of rape and other sexual offences can wait longer than victims of other offence types for their cases to complete at the Crown Court. Judges, where possible, look to prioritise cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses, which will include rape and sexual offence cases.

This Government has already taken decisive action to increase the capacity of the Crown Court to deliver swifter justice for victims – including victims of rape and sexual offences. This includes increasing magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months to free up time in the Crown Court and funding 108,500 sitting days this financial year, the highest level in almost ten years. Next financial year, this Government is funding a record allocation of 110,000 sitting days in the Crown Court, which will mean that even more cases can be heard.

However, we recognise we must go further. That is why the Lord Chancellor has commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, which will consider options for longer-term reform, as well as reviewing how the criminal courts could operate as efficiently as possible. The Review will report on recommendations for reform by late Spring, followed by recommendations on court efficiency by Autumn.

We remain committed to delivering on our manifesto commitment to fast-track rape cases, with specialist courts. We are carefully considering the best way to do this, considering impacts on other offence types and wider Crown Court recovery. We plan to work with the judiciary to do this and will be able to say more in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_67

Lola McEvoy:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that victims of domestic violence do not have the sentencing hearings of their abusers postponed the day before they are due to take place. \p Sarah Sackman: The decision on when and where a case is listed is the responsibility of the independent judiciary. Judges are guided in this task by judicial listing principles, which stipulate that cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses should be prioritised for hearing.

Judges continue to prioritise cases subject to Custody Time Limits, as well as prioritising cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses (including youth cases), domestic abuse and serious sex cases.

The courts do everything possible to ensure hearings take place for when they are listed, however, there are occasions when circumstances outside of their control result in a hearing needing to be postponed. In such circumstances, the court will notify parties as soon as possible.

The Lord Chancellor and Lady Chief Justice have concluded the Concordat process, which sets out the overall budget for HMCTS and the number of days the courts can sit, earlier, to help ensure the courts can hear more of these important cases in a timely fashion.

There are a number of factors that would mean a case can no longer go ahead, including court maintenance. This is why we have announced a boost in court maintenance and capital project funding from £120 million last year, to up to £148.5 million for 2025/26. This will help fund vital repairs across the entire court and tribunal estate and contribute to the construction of the next generation of court and tribunal buildings.

However, we recognise we must go further. That is why the Lord Chancellor has commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, which will consider how the criminal courts could operate as efficiently and effectively as possible. Given the scale of the challenge facing the courts we will look to act on recommendations from the review swiftly to deliver improvements as soon as possible