Found: of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, New Zealand Government: https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-units/cabinet-office

Found: Letter from Lord Agnew, Minister of State, Cabinet Office, to Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top, Chair,

Found: Correspondence from Alex Chisholm, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent

Found: Correspondence from Alex Chisholm, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent

Found: Correspondence from Alex Chisholm Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent

Found: 11 March 2021 - Letter from Lord Frost CMG, Minister of State, Cabinet Office to Sir Bill Cash, Chair

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which Government Department has responsibility for the funeral and death care sector.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Assistant Whip

Through a cross-departmental Death Management Programme, the Government continues to provide strategic and operational support to those looking after the deceased and supporting the bereaved. This programme is currently led by the Cabinet Office working closely with the funeral and death management sector, local responders and government departments to ensure the deceased are treated with dignity and respect.

The Government is considering, as part of its response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) ‘Funeral Markets Investigation’ into the operation of the funeral sector, the requirement for such structures once the immediate pressures from the pandemic have eased. The Government response to the CMA is being led by the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 16 March (HL13828), what records they hold of (1) correspondence, or (2) telephone conversations, between ministers and officials in (a) Her Majesty’s Treasury, (b) the Cabinet Office, or (c) the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about (i) Lex Greensill, (ii) representatives of Greensill Capital, or (iii) the Rt Hon David Cameron, on matters relating to Greensill Capital.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

Senior civil servants and ministers routinely meet and correspond with a range of private sector stakeholders. Transparency releases are published on a quarterly basis, and are currently publicly available for Senior Official and Ministerial meetings up to and including September 2020, which is in line with normal reporting timelines on disclosures.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve its (a) estimate of and (b) support for people with neurodiversity in the criminal justice system.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Assistant Whip

We are committed to ensuring the Criminal Justice System (CJS) treats all those who encounter it fairly – including neurodivergent individuals. That is why my department has commissioned an independent Call for Evidence (CfE) to obtain a clearer picture of neurodiversity throughout the CJS, including police, with the final report due to be published in early Summer 2021.

The CfE will help us to both estimate and examine the national provision and identify areas of good practice for neurodivergence within the CJS. This will enable us to understand what happens to neurodivergent people now and how we can better support them to realise better outcomes.

The MoJ is currently working across government as part of the Cabinet Office-led National Strategy for Disabled People. This represents a real opportunity to feed in policy developed from the findings from the CfE and develop a cross-government wide approach to support people with disabilities including neurodivergent individuals.

My department is also contributing to the Department of Health and Social Care’s refresh of the cross-government Autism Strategy. Our contribution to the strategy will include work to improve data capture on autism, and to increase – through training and awareness – the ability of prison and probation staff to better understand and support these individuals.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to amend their proposals for the reform of NHS procurement in England so that, once a decision in principle to proceed to a competitive tender has been made, the procurement rules are the same as those applicable to the rest of the public sector.

Answered by Lord Bethell - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is currently consulting on the proposal for a new provider selection regime. The central requirement of the proposed new regime is that arrangements for the delivery of healthcare services must be made in a transparent way, in the best interests of patients, taxpayers and the population. All other procurement will continue to be subject to Cabinet Office procurement processes.

The proposed new provider selection regime will set out overarching requirements in relation to the competitive tender exercise - for example, that it must be transparent and fair. NHS England’s consultation seeks views on the proposed key criteria to be considered when decision makers are running a competitive tender to ensure that services are arranged in the best interest of patients, taxpayers and the population. The proposal will include steps that decision-making bodies can take to manage conflicts of interest when arranging services. We will also develop a broader conflict of interest policy in relation to integrated care systems to address this issue specifically.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on the principles of (1) transparency, and (2) accountability, of their proposed changes to NHS Procurement in England.

Answered by Lord Bethell - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is currently consulting on the proposal for a new provider selection regime. The central requirement of the proposed new regime is that arrangements for the delivery of healthcare services must be made in a transparent way, in the best interests of patients, taxpayers and the population. All other procurement will continue to be subject to Cabinet Office procurement processes.

The proposed new provider selection regime will set out overarching requirements in relation to the competitive tender exercise - for example, that it must be transparent and fair. NHS England’s consultation seeks views on the proposed key criteria to be considered when decision makers are running a competitive tender to ensure that services are arranged in the best interest of patients, taxpayers and the population. The proposal will include steps that decision-making bodies can take to manage conflicts of interest when arranging services. We will also develop a broader conflict of interest policy in relation to integrated care systems to address this issue specifically.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the proposed reform of procurement by the NHS in England will (1) prevent, and (2) address, conflicts of interest within integrated care systems in which providers and commissioners are working together.

Answered by Lord Bethell - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is currently consulting on the proposal for a new provider selection regime. The central requirement of the proposed new regime is that arrangements for the delivery of healthcare services must be made in a transparent way, in the best interests of patients, taxpayers and the population. All other procurement will continue to be subject to Cabinet Office procurement processes.

The proposed new provider selection regime will set out overarching requirements in relation to the competitive tender exercise - for example, that it must be transparent and fair. NHS England’s consultation seeks views on the proposed key criteria to be considered when decision makers are running a competitive tender to ensure that services are arranged in the best interest of patients, taxpayers and the population. The proposal will include steps that decision-making bodies can take to manage conflicts of interest when arranging services. We will also develop a broader conflict of interest policy in relation to integrated care systems to address this issue specifically.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, in the context of the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry, whether the Government plans to exclude Kingspan plc from eligibility for departmental and Government contracts.

Answered by Christopher Pincher - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Matters concerning the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 are the responsibility of the Cabinet Office, including the grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures that are set out within the regulations.

These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process for a variety of criminal offences and in other specific situations. Decisions need to be based around firm evidence and individual contracting authorities, including local authorities, are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

It is clear that further measures must be put in place to prevent unsafe products being placed on the market and there must be action against companies which advertise and sell unsafe products, or who game the testing regime.

That is why we have brought forward proposals to strengthen the regulation of construction products in the draft Building Safety Bill. We have also announced in January a new national regulator for construction products, and a review into the construction product testing regime. We expect all public suppliers to act with integrity and to high standards, and will act where we see standards falling short.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that visa applications from COP26 attendees are dealt with efficiently.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office is working closely with Cabinet Office, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other government departments on preparations for welcoming participants to COP 26.

The Home Office has provided the UNFCCC with information on the visa application process and will be supplying event specific guidance in the upcoming months.

Arrangements are in progress to ensure entry clearance staff will be able to cross reference applications with the UNFCCC to confirm invitations of those registered to attend the event along with an escalation process.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the membership of the Prime Minister's Health and Social Care Taskforce.

Answered by Steve Barclay - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The No10 and HM Treasury Health and Social Care Taskforce was made up of civil servants from a number of Government departments, who met on a daily basis as part of their policy development work, from the beginning of June through to the end of October 2020. It reported to the Prime Minister and Chancellor through a Steering Group chaired by Munira Mirza (Director of No10 policy unit), with membership from No10 and HM Treasury and attended variously by officials from Cabinet Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the guidance on what her Department's officials are required to declare in terms of (a) additional earnings, (b) gifts and (c) hospitality provided to them by law firms.

Answered by Kevin Foster - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Per the Civil Service Code, Civil Servants must not accept gifts or hospitality or receive other benefits from anyone which might reasonably be seen to compromise their personal judgement or integrity.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code

The Home Office policy on Gifts and Hospitality is in line with Cabinet Office guidance.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a list of businesses and organisations that have been contacted by his Department with the opportunity to attend training courses on how to submit an honours nomination.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The Department wants to raise awareness of the honours process to encourage the nomination of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and to our economic future. We do not provide a training course on how to submit an honours nomination.

Prior to the publication of an honours list the Department will write to stakeholders known to BEIS inviting them to consider nominating individuals who they think are worthy of recognition and, where appropriate, to encourage their members to consider nominations.

Several hundred stakeholders are contacted including businesses, business representatives, employee representatives, academics, science and technology representatives and charities. Our aim is to ensure that the honours system reflects our diverse society and is a source of inspiration to others. The stakeholders who receive a letter are representative of a wide range of sectors, fields, and communities from across the UK.

In order to support our awareness raising effort, Cabinet Office and BEIS officials will host three webinars on 29^th and 31^st March. The webinars will provide a brief overview of the honours system, provide an opportunity to hear from recipients of honours and cover the guidance about how to write a nomination that can be found at: www.gov.uk/honours.

The webinars are open to anyone and people wanting to attend can register on the Eventbrite internet page by searching ‘honours’. The same material will be covered at each webinar.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria were used to select the businesses and organisations that were contacted with the opportunity to attend training courses on submitting an honours nomination.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The Department wants to raise awareness of the honours process to encourage the nomination of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and to our economic future. We do not provide a training course on how to submit an honours nomination.

Prior to the publication of an honours list the Department will write to stakeholders known to BEIS inviting them to consider nominating individuals who they think are worthy of recognition and, where appropriate, to encourage their members to consider nominations.

Several hundred stakeholders are contacted including businesses, business representatives, employee representatives, academics, science and technology representatives and charities. Our aim is to ensure that the honours system reflects our diverse society and is a source of inspiration to others. The stakeholders who receive a letter are representative of a wide range of sectors, fields, and communities from across the UK.

In order to support our awareness raising effort, Cabinet Office and BEIS officials will host three webinars on 29^th and 31^st March. The webinars will provide a brief overview of the honours system, provide an opportunity to hear from recipients of honours and cover the guidance about how to write a nomination that can be found at: www.gov.uk/honours.

The webinars are open to anyone and people wanting to attend can register on the Eventbrite internet page by searching ‘honours’. The same material will be covered at each webinar.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will set out the content of the training courses advising businesses and organisations on how submit an honours nomination.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The Department wants to raise awareness of the honours process to encourage the nomination of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and to our economic future. We do not provide a training course on how to submit an honours nomination.

Prior to the publication of an honours list the Department will write to stakeholders known to BEIS inviting them to consider nominating individuals who they think are worthy of recognition and, where appropriate, to encourage their members to consider nominations.

Several hundred stakeholders are contacted including businesses, business representatives, employee representatives, academics, science and technology representatives and charities. Our aim is to ensure that the honours system reflects our diverse society and is a source of inspiration to others. The stakeholders who receive a letter are representative of a wide range of sectors, fields, and communities from across the UK.

In order to support our awareness raising effort, Cabinet Office and BEIS officials will host three webinars on 29^th and 31^st March. The webinars will provide a brief overview of the honours system, provide an opportunity to hear from recipients of honours and cover the guidance about how to write a nomination that can be found at: www.gov.uk/honours.

The webinars are open to anyone and people wanting to attend can register on the Eventbrite internet page by searching ‘honours’. The same material will be covered at each webinar.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who will deliver the planned training courses advising business and organisations on how to submit an honours nomination.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The Department wants to raise awareness of the honours process to encourage the nomination of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and to our economic future. We do not provide a training course on how to submit an honours nomination.

Prior to the publication of an honours list the Department will write to stakeholders known to BEIS inviting them to consider nominating individuals who they think are worthy of recognition and, where appropriate, to encourage their members to consider nominations.

Several hundred stakeholders are contacted including businesses, business representatives, employee representatives, academics, science and technology representatives and charities. Our aim is to ensure that the honours system reflects our diverse society and is a source of inspiration to others. The stakeholders who receive a letter are representative of a wide range of sectors, fields, and communities from across the UK.

In order to support our awareness raising effort, Cabinet Office and BEIS officials will host three webinars on 29^th and 31^st March. The webinars will provide a brief overview of the honours system, provide an opportunity to hear from recipients of honours and cover the guidance about how to write a nomination that can be found at: www.gov.uk/honours.

The webinars are open to anyone and people wanting to attend can register on the Eventbrite internet page by searching ‘honours’. The same material will be covered at each webinar.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2020 to Question 118115 and with reference to the High Court ruling of 18 February 2021 that the Secretary of State acted unlawfully by failing to comply with the Transparency Policy, if he will publish the names of the companies awarded contracts after being introduced to a high-priority lane by (a) Ministers, (b) hon. Members or Peers and (c) officials, including the private office of the Permanent Secretary of his Department; setting out (i) the relationship between each company and the minister, member, peer or official responsible for introducing them to the priority lane; (ii) material, financial or fiduciary interests between those parties; and (iii) whether any such interest between those parties was declared or recorded; and (iv) how those interests were assessed.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not intend to publish the list of suppliers referred through the high priority lane as there may be associated commercial implications. The Department has to consider the position of suppliers which were referred to the high priority channel in terms of the recognition that disclosure of their names may damage the supplier’s reputation, affecting their competitive position, their revenue and ability to obtain future contracts.

The High Court ruling of 19 February 2021 concerned the Department’s compliance with publishing the Contract Award Notices for all contracts awarded to suppliers of personal protective equipment. The ruling found that Contract Award Notices were not all published within in 30 days as per the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or 20 days as per the Cabinet Office guidance. The Department takes its transparency requirements very seriously and as such has now published most of the Contract Award Notices and the contracts themselves.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many officials in (a) his private office and (b) the wider Department have been allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

At Defra, in 2020-21 we had 17 people allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media. Sixteen of those people worked across three organisations: Defra, Natural England and the Environment Agency. In 2018-19 we allocated 16 people and in 2019-20 we allocated 17 people.

We have no private office officials allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media.

Britain is fast becoming a digital-first nation. Roughly 96% of the UK households now have internet access with 66% of the population in the UK using social media. With this monumental shift in media consumption habits, it is essential for a responsible government to pivot its communications strategy to be more digital-first in order to inform and engage with the general public on important policies.

Government communication runs across all channels - TV and radio advertising, out of home, digital and social media, print, and direct channels such as letters, SMS and webinars, virtual and in-person activity, where needed and in full compliance with social distancing restrictions.

Cabinet Office is continuously tracking and reviewing spending on cross-government campaigns, including Covid-19, to ensure our communications are efficient. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective. Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government's Disability Unit has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the health and wellbeing of disabled or seriously ill children; and what steps that Unit is taking with other Government departments to provide support for disabled or seriously ill children during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published data assessing the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on disabled people.

The 11 March 2021 ONS release can be found on this link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/datasets/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsondisabledpeopleingreatbritainmay2020

Alongside this, insights from qualitative research commissioned by the Cabinet Office Disability Unit and conducted by Policy Lab with disabled people were used to understand the impact of the pandemic on the day-to-day lives of disabled people.

This Government is committed to supporting everyone’s mental health and wellbeing, and to ensuring that the right support is in place. Mental health services have remained open throughout the pandemic, and, for those with severe needs or in crisis, all National Health Service mental health providers have established 24/7 urgent mental health helplines.

We have provided over £10million of additional funding for mental health charities to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time. We have also provided a further £6 million to support various charities, including those working with people with learning disabilities, autistic people and complex needs.

We recognise that the COVID-19 outbreak has hit families of children with disabilities or serious illnesses particularly hard. Supporting vulnerable children is a priority for this Government, and their wellbeing has been central to our response throughout the pandemic. We are, for example, providing £40.8 million for the Family Fund in 2020-21 to support over 80,000 families on low incomes raising children with disabilities or serious illnesses. This includes £13.5m to specifically respond to needs arising from the pandemic, which may include for example assistive technology to aid remote learning.

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Cabinet Office Disability Unit works with disability stakeholders and across Government Departments to ensure that the needs of disabled people are considered in the Government’s response to COVID-19.

The Government remains committed to improving the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year. The strategy will take into account the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people and will focus on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects of life.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government's Disability Unit has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the mental health of disabled people; and what steps that Unit is taking with other Government departments to tackle the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the mental health of disabled people.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published data assessing the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on disabled people.

The 11 March 2021 ONS release can be found on this link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/datasets/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsondisabledpeopleingreatbritainmay2020

Alongside this, insights from qualitative research commissioned by the Cabinet Office Disability Unit and conducted by Policy Lab with disabled people were used to understand the impact of the pandemic on the day-to-day lives of disabled people.

This Government is committed to supporting everyone’s mental health and wellbeing, and to ensuring that the right support is in place. Mental health services have remained open throughout the pandemic, and, for those with severe needs or in crisis, all National Health Service mental health providers have established 24/7 urgent mental health helplines.

We have provided over £10million of additional funding for mental health charities to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time. We have also provided a further £6 million to support various charities, including those working with people with learning disabilities, autistic people and complex needs.

We recognise that the COVID-19 outbreak has hit families of children with disabilities or serious illnesses particularly hard. Supporting vulnerable children is a priority for this Government, and their wellbeing has been central to our response throughout the pandemic. We are, for example, providing £40.8 million for the Family Fund in 2020-21 to support over 80,000 families on low incomes raising children with disabilities or serious illnesses. This includes £13.5m to specifically respond to needs arising from the pandemic, which may include for example assistive technology to aid remote learning.

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Cabinet Office Disability Unit works with disability stakeholders and across Government Departments to ensure that the needs of disabled people are considered in the Government’s response to COVID-19.

The Government remains committed to improving the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year. The strategy will take into account the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people and will focus on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects of life.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the increasing number of Black, Asian and ethnic minority people in the criminal justice system.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Assistant Whip

This government is committed to tackling inequality and all forms of discrimination. No one should face discrimination, which is why we welcomed David Lammy’s 2017 review which shone a necessary light on disparity in the treatment of Black, Asian and ethnic minority individuals in the criminal justice system. The actions the Government committed to undertake in response to the 35 recommendations made in the Lammy Review have either been completed or reasonably require an extended timeframe. The range of our current work is now broader than the agenda set out by the Review. I have been working with the Home Office and Cabinet Office on the establishment of the Independent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities in addition to the focus my department is bringing to HM Prison and Probation, and the work of the Youth Justice Board with young people. A cross-governmental approach with the Criminal Justice Board also allows us to work with senior officials to assist in generating cross-system impetus to drive forward the race agenda. We are also aware that the Independent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities is looking into issues pertaining to this area.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to Regulation 57 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, whether it is his Department's policy that local authorities can mandatorily or discretionarily exclude a bidder from a contract if they are responsible for constructing premises with cladding that has been found to be a dangerous fire risk.

Answered by Christopher Pincher - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Matters concerning the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 are the responsibility of Cabinet Office, including the grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures that are set out within the regulations.

These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process for a variety of criminal offences and in other specific situations. Decisions need to be based around firm evidence and individual contracting authorities, including local authorities, are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

The Green Paper “Transforming Government Procurement” includes a package of proposals to bolster the existing exclusion grounds, including discretionary measures to exclude for poor past performance even if it had not led to termination, damages or comparable sanctions. The Government will also investigate the feasibility of developing a centrally managed debarment list of suppliers who have relevant convictions to make it easier for contracting authorities to identify organisations that must be excluded from public procurement. Detailed analysis of the consultation responses will follow in due course.

More widely, it is also clear that further measures must be put in place to prevent unsafe products being placed on the market and there must be action against companies which advertise and sell unsafe products, or who game the testing regime.

That is why we have brought forward proposals to strengthen the regulation of construction products in the draft Building Safety Bill. We have also announced in January a new national regulator for construction products, and a review into the construction product testing regime. We expect all public suppliers to act with integrity and to high standards, and will act where we see standards falling short.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will review the guidance for Central Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non Departmental Public Bodies for local authorities so that bidders can be excluded if they are responsible for constructing premises with cladding that has been found to be a dangerous fire risk.

Answered by Christopher Pincher - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Matters concerning the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 are the responsibility of Cabinet Office, including the grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures that are set out within the regulations.

These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process for a variety of criminal offences and in other specific situations. Decisions need to be based around firm evidence and individual contracting authorities, including local authorities, are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

The Green Paper “Transforming Government Procurement” includes a package of proposals to bolster the existing exclusion grounds, including discretionary measures to exclude for poor past performance even if it had not led to termination, damages or comparable sanctions. The Government will also investigate the feasibility of developing a centrally managed debarment list of suppliers who have relevant convictions to make it easier for contracting authorities to identify organisations that must be excluded from public procurement. Detailed analysis of the consultation responses will follow in due course.

More widely, it is also clear that further measures must be put in place to prevent unsafe products being placed on the market and there must be action against companies which advertise and sell unsafe products, or who game the testing regime.

That is why we have brought forward proposals to strengthen the regulation of construction products in the draft Building Safety Bill. We have also announced in January a new national regulator for construction products, and a review into the construction product testing regime. We expect all public suppliers to act with integrity and to high standards, and will act where we see standards falling short.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will review Public Contracts Regulations 2015 to ensure that local authorities can exclude those applying for contracts who have previously constructed premises with cladding that has been found to be a dangerous fire risk.

Answered by Christopher Pincher - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Matters concerning the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 are the responsibility of Cabinet Office, including the grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures that are set out within the regulations.

These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process for a variety of criminal offences and in other specific situations. Decisions need to be based around firm evidence and individual contracting authorities, including local authorities, are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

The Green Paper “Transforming Government Procurement” includes a package of proposals to bolster the existing exclusion grounds, including discretionary measures to exclude for poor past performance even if it had not led to termination, damages or comparable sanctions. The Government will also investigate the feasibility of developing a centrally managed debarment list of suppliers who have relevant convictions to make it easier for contracting authorities to identify organisations that must be excluded from public procurement. Detailed analysis of the consultation responses will follow in due course.

More widely, it is also clear that further measures must be put in place to prevent unsafe products being placed on the market and there must be action against companies which advertise and sell unsafe products, or who game the testing regime.

That is why we have brought forward proposals to strengthen the regulation of construction products in the draft Building Safety Bill. We have also announced in January a new national regulator for construction products, and a review into the construction product testing regime. We expect all public suppliers to act with integrity and to high standards, and will act where we see standards falling short.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many officials in (a) his private office and (b) the wider Department have been allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The Digital Communications Team has included approximately 14 members of staff responsible for producing and promoting social media content between 2018 and 2021. We cannot quantify how many other staff in the wider Communications Directorate or wider department as it’s something that many people do as a smaller part of their role.

The Cabinet Office is continuously tracking and reviewing spending on cross-government campaigns, including Covid-19, to ensure our communications are efficient. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective.

The Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their White Paper Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all, published on 11 February, what plans they have to provide clarity on the scope and limits of competitive tendering in the NHS; and what steps they are taking to reduce the level of bureaucracy for NHS commissioners and providers.

Answered by Lord Bethell - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service is currently consulting on the proposal for a new provider selection regime. The new regime is intended to provide significantly more flexibility to make decisions about arranging health care services in a streamlined way, including without competitive tendering, where this can be shown to be in the best interests of patients, taxpayers and the population. The new regime will be supported by regulations and statutory guidance, which will be informed by the results of the consultation. All other procurement will continue to be subject to Cabinet Office procurement processes.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will add veterinary workers to the list of critical workers.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Schools in England reopened for all pupils on 8 March 2021. The Cabinet Office previously confirmed that only vets providing services in the food chain are included as critical workers and had been able to continue to send their children to school prior to that date. This includes veterinary surgeons working in abattoirs and meat processing plants, at border control posts, and attending to livestock production.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many occasions over the last six months ministers and civil servants in (1) the Cabinet Office, (2) HM Treasury, and (3) the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, hosted meetings with (a) Lex Greensill, or (b) representatives of Greensill Capital; and whether David Cameron was present at any of the meetings.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

Senior officials and ministers routinely meet with a range of private sector stakeholders. There are robust transparency processes in place to ensure appropriate scrutiny of such meetings. Transparency releases are currently publicly available for meetings up to and including September 2020, which is in line with normal reporting timelines on disclosures. These are published on a quarterly basis, with the most recent release published in February 2021. Mr Roxburgh’s transparency release from July-September 2020 will be published shortly, but there are no meetings with either Lex Greensill or representatives of Greensill Capital to report in this release.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 18 November (HL7591), when the recruitment process for a permanent Chair of the National Institute of Health Protection began; and when it will conclude.

Answered by Lord Bethell - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Cabinet Office launched the advertisement for the permanent Chair of the National Institute of Heath Protection on 2 March which closes on 9 March. Further stages of the recruitment process are pending the outcome of the advertisement.

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@PickardJE It’s not the card that worries me, it’s the job title. Is there suggestion he made that up too? When I was Cabinet Office special advisor I met the PM much more than twice. You chat in the corridor, once in the canteen queue, it’s a small place. The Lex story isn’t credible.

@hwilliamssomers @PickardJE Let’s not dance on the head of a pin - I was special advisor at the cabinet office next door and met the PM more than twice in the 18 months I was in the job. If you work at N10 and have ‘senior’ in your job title, you have access.

Cabinet office to look into contract with Deloitte to draft ministers' answers on Test and Trace https://t.co/5Lrjw6AJYf “The government appears to have outsourced itself”

My Question to the Cabinet Office Minister this morning asking what steps are being taken to ensure fairness, transparency and value for money in the award of public sector contracts to large private sector outsourcing companies subject to mergers or takeovers #followthepublic£ https://t.co/kxd4sTcKbJ

@seancavens @scotgov @IanLaveryMP @bloodinquiry And here is written statement from U.K. Cabinet Office. Don’t understand why this wasn’t delivered as an Oral Statement so MPs could ask questions! #InfectedBloodInquiry https://t.co/Dq4rVmi6uT

The House is now sitting, starting with questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office. Watch today's proceedings: https://t.co/rEMvC4RZWl https://t.co/y5tst5wMUi

With the new way of working you can’t just raise an issue if you are not on the call list for Cabinet Office Questions.

@Factor8Campaign @bloodinquiry @CBCBlooduk @HaemoSocUK @HaemophiliaScot @CampaignTB @cabinetofficeuk With the new way of working easy you can’t just raise an issue if you are not on the call list for Cabinet Office Questions.

No sign of a written statement from Cabinet Office about compensation #ContaminatedBloodscandal today. This means if it’s not announced tomorrow it will be after Easter when the Commons returns. @bloodinquiry @CBCBlooduk @Factor8Campaign @HaemoSocUK @HaemophiliaScot @CampaignTB https://t.co/xO327mOTVc

Also hoping to see the Cabinet Office implement the recommendations of my independent review: https://t.co/zj6RhfxPiP #disability #inclusion #accessibility

Good article by Janice Turner @VictoriaPeckham on ONS bowing to pressure on Self-ID. Why did the Cabinet Office, NHS England, ECHR support ONS? https://t.co/tlS5vqvbC5

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