Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many eDirect products ordered through the NHS Supply Chain have been delivered more than one month late in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The rolling 13-month eDirect service level is 89.7%; this means that 89.7% of product lines are delivered in accordance with the purchase order and lead time set out in the catalogue.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many instances there have been in each year since 2007 of the NHS Staff Council recommending a higher pay increase for NHS England staff than the pay award recommended by the relevant pay review body, broken down by NHS workforce category; and in each such instance, whether they accepted the Staff Council's higher recommendation.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Staff Council is a partnership body that maintains and negotiates changes to the Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions. It does not have a formal role in recommending annual pay increases to government.

Uplifts in pay for staff employed on the national AfC contract in England are confirmed by the Department. This typically follows recommendations from the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB).

There are instances when the NHSPRB is not asked for a formal pay recommendation and annual pay rises are set via other means. In 2008, a multi-year pay deal over three years was reached with the NHS Staff Council which incorporated NHSPRB’s recommendations on pay for 2008/2009. In 2018, the NHS Staff Council negotiated a three-year deal with the government covering the period 2018-2021. In 2023, the Government agreed a pay deal with the NHS Staff Council to resolve the national dispute at the time.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times NHS trade unions in England have threatened or balloted for industrial action of NHS staff in relation to pay and non-pay issues in each year since 2005, broken down by (1) union, (2) category of NHS staff, and (3) type of industrial action, whether the industrial action went ahead, and the outcome of any ballots held.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold this information. National Health Service trade unions may ballot their members at a local level as well as national, and that information is not held centrally.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for repurposing North Sea oil and gas infrastructure for carbon capture and storage, and what financial or regulatory incentives exist to encourage operators to pursue this option instead of full decommissioning.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government’s consultation in 2019 on the ‘re-use of oil and gas assets for carbon capture, usage and storage projects’ concluded that there is the potential for significant cost savings for some CCS projects which can re-use appropriate oil and gas infrastructure.

The Government has set out how change of use relief can be issued for certain re-purposed assets. Under this regime, oil and gas companies will be relieved of their decommissioning obligations for repurposed assets if certain conditions are met. Secondary legislation to clarify this process is being developed and is expected to be introduced in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of introducing a rigs-to-reefs programme in the UK sector of the North Sea, and what legal or regulatory barriers exist to such a programme under domestic and international law.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The OSPAR (Oslo and Paris convention for the Protection of the Marine environment of the North-East Atlantic) Convention prohibits the dumping or leaving in place of any disused offshore Oil and Gas installation in the marine environment. To re-purpose an installation, for example as a strategic compensation measure, installations would need to be re-classified and regulated by the relevant competent authority.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of decommissioned offshore oil and gas infrastructure from the UK sector of the North Sea is currently processed in UK dismantling facilities.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This information is not held by government. External estimates suggest that 78% of the onshore dismantling of offshore oil and gas infrastructure is undertaken in the UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many decommissioning relief deeds (DRDs) have been entered into since their introduction; how many DRDs have been triggered to date; what estimate they have made of the cost of the resulting total payments; and what estimate they have made of the potential future liability arising from all active DRDs.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government lays a Written Ministerial Statement in Parliament each year updating on the progress of its Decommissioning Relief Deed (DRD) policy. The latest statement was made on 21 March 2024 covering the 2022-23 financial year and indicates 108 DRDs had been signed as of this date. The statement also reports several DRD payments, which relate to 2 DRD claims. The next statement will be laid in due course.

HM Treasury recognise a provision when an amount can be reliably measured and a DRD claim is notified or a DRD claim is pending. These provisions are set out in the Treasury’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA). The ARA for 2023-2024 indicates a provision of £227m in relation to claims as of the 31 March 2024. The next ARA will be laid ahead of parliamentary summer recess.

The ARA does not include an estimate of the overall financial effect of DRDs because it is unquantifiable. The likelihood of economic conditions at the individual firm level, required for DRD claims to be admissible, cannot be accurately estimated due to the absence of comparable data to use in any calculation.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 17 February (HL4608), which ministerial department failed to produce a strategic asset management plan (SAMP) in 2024; what consequences or enforcement measures are in place for departments that do not produce such a plan; and which departments are included in the Government Property Agency’s office portfolio SAMP instead of having their own standalone plans.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Departments are responsible for their own SAMPs, and required to update these plans yearly. Guidance and tools are provided to ensure consistency and effectiveness.

In the event an updated asset plan is not produced,the Government Chief Property Officer can write to the Principal Accounting Officer alerting them to the requirement.

Last year, all ministerial departments produced an updated asset plan except the Department for Business & Trade (DBT), although plans for the offices occupied by DBT were set out in the Government Property Agency’s office portfolio SAMP. DBT will produce a plan for 2025.

By agreement, HM Treasury and Department for Education did not produce a 'stand alone' departmental asset plan but featured in the Government Property Agency's office portfolio SAMP as onboarded clients.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 20 February (HL4194), which of the Government Major Projects Portfolio projects have (1) increased in cost and by what percentage relative to their original budgets, (2) been delayed beyond their original delivery schedule and by how many months in each case, and (3) been reduced in scope.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority publishes details on the estimated budgets and delivery timescales for each of the Government Major Projects Portfolio projects as part of its annual report, from which the change in cost and schedule between years for individual projects can be calculated.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the remit of the Procurement Review Unit includes oversight of subcontract awards under 'neutral vendor frameworks', 'managed service provider frameworks' and similar intermediary procurement models.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

In accordance with section 10 of the Procurement Act 2023 ("the Act"), the Procurement Review Unit (“PRU”) only has oversight of the activities of contracting authorities under the Act.

Any procurement carried out under framework agreements managed under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 does not fall within the remit of the PRU.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 18 February (HL4855), given that the deed of variation amends Clause 1.1 of contract 2887470\5 to remove the UK-only restriction on training services, on what basis they consider that this modification does not materially change the contract’s scope; and if international training was already covered in the original tender, why it was necessary to amend Clause 1.1 to permit it.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The original Emergency Planning College Bidders’ Brief makes multiple references to international training and overseas markets and was subsequently covered within the initial contract.

The change within the deed of variation to amend the UK-only constraint was necessary to clarify that international training may require the delivery of face-to-face training at overseas locations, in order to fully meet the contractual requirements for international training.

The UK-only constraint continues to apply to services provided to the Authority under the contract.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 18 February (HL4855), on what grounds they determined that the removal of the non-compete clause (Clause 65) from contract 2887470\5 did not constitute a material modification under regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and whether an assessment was conducted to ensure that this change did not distort competition or provide the incumbent contractor with an unfair advantage.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Cabinet Office concluded that the removal of the non-compete clause (Clause 65) from contract 2887470\5 did not constitute a material modification under regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations because it did not materially alter the nature of the contract or the obligations thereunder.

The Government recognises the value of competition in marketplaces and believes that removing the clause ensures that there is fair competition and supports equal treatment of market participants.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether individual subcontract awards made under 'neutral vendor frameworks', 'managed service provider frameworks', 'prime contractor procurement models' or similar intermediary procurement models are subject to the same transparency and reporting requirements as contracts directly procured by public bodies.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Many intermediary procurement models are straightforward public contracts where there is no requirement to publish subcontracts under either the Procurement Act 2023 or the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

Where contracting authorities are awarding contracts using frameworks awarded under the Procurement Act 2023, they will need to follow the Act’s noticing provisions. In the case of most Public Contracts this will normally include publication of both a Contract Award and then a Contract Details Notice on the Find a Tender platform, which is the publicly available portal for all transparency information on procurement. Furthermore, notices contain linking information that allows notices to be connected- enabling detailed data analysis on how frameworks are being used. All this information on public procurement is in the public domain and can be searched by the citizen, free of charge in an accessible way.

Where contracting authorities are awarding contracts using framework agreements awarded under the previous procurement regime, they are required to publish an Awarded Opportunity Notice on the Contracts Finder platform.

No description available