Alexander Stafford

The Commission has not carried out an assessment of potential disadvantages of taking steps to decolonise the Library of the House of Commons. It notes that the Library has been undertaking work to review and increase the diversity of its collection since August 2020 and that while it has engaged in knowledge exchange with institutions in the academic sector that are seeking to decolonise their curricula and library collections, it has not adopted this as an approach to its own work.

The Commission has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of decolonisation of the Library on the representation of Parliament’s history. However, it understands that the Library’s work on the diversity of its collection is guided by the framework set out in its Collection Development Policy which identifies the criteria used for acquisition, retention and deselection of material. The purpose of the work is to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. It has not changed the core focus of the collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, politics and government or its commitment to curate this as an enduring collection of national importance. It also has a clear commitment to impartiality in its work.

The Commission has not made any assessment of the work the House of Commons Library has been undertaking to review and increase the diversity of its collection.

The Library reports that this work has been underway since August 2020 and involves activities intended to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. These include updating acquisition and deselection policies to include equality, diversity and inclusion considerations; changing practice to widen the range of publishers and institutions from which material is selected; acquiring material to increase coverage of issues relating to racism; modernising the language and concepts used in the Library’s classification scheme; and providing training for Library and committee staff on increasing the diversity of the sources used in research.

The process has involved exchanging experience with universities engaged in decolonising their curricula and collections. However, this is not an approach which the House of Commons Library has adopted: the Library is actively increasing the diversity of its collection rather than decolonising it.

The focus of the Library’s collection policy remains to build and maintain a specialist collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, and politics and government to support the work of Members, Library research teams and the House Service. It has developed a clear statement on its commitment to impartiality and the provision of a wide range of perspectives as part of this.

The Commission has no plans to take steps in response to the Library’s work in this area.

The Commission has not made any assessment of the work the House of Commons Library has been undertaking to review and increase the diversity of its collection.

The Library reports that this work has been underway since August 2020 and involves activities intended to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. These include updating acquisition and deselection policies to include equality, diversity and inclusion considerations; changing practice to widen the range of publishers and institutions from which material is selected; acquiring material to increase coverage of issues relating to racism; modernising the language and concepts used in the Library’s classification scheme; and providing training for Library and committee staff on increasing the diversity of the sources used in research.

The process has involved exchanging experience with universities engaged in decolonising their curricula and collections. However, this is not an approach which the House of Commons Library has adopted: the Library is actively increasing the diversity of its collection rather than decolonising it.

The focus of the Library’s collection policy remains to build and maintain a specialist collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, and politics and government to support the work of Members, Library research teams and the House Service. It has developed a clear statement on its commitment to impartiality and the provision of a wide range of perspectives as part of this.

The Commission has no plans to take steps in response to the Library’s work in this area.

A comprehensive record of maintenance and repair spend is not held centrally, as all parishes operate as independent entities. However it is estimated that parish communities spent at least £130m a year pre-pandemic on church building projects, including repair and maintenance, conservation of collections such as manuscripts, silver and textiles, improvements to accessibility and environmental sustainability, and inclusion of community facilities such as toilets and kitchens. Specialist building firms, craftspeople, archaeologists, conservators and others rely on churches to provide them with work and a training ground for passing their skills on to apprentices and trainees.

The vast majority of this money is raised locally and we are grateful to national bodies such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Churches Trust, Wolfson Foundation and Pilgrim Trust, who continue to provide essential grants. The overall maintenance deficit continues to grow since the ending of the dedicated places of worship repair scheme in 2017.

Fluctuating material costs and the availability of specialist workers affect cost estimates significantly, so it is difficult to give a precise figure.

It is estimated, based on available architectural inspections and costed works, that the outstanding capital cost of all repairs over the next five years is close to £1bn for our 16,000 parish churches, or around £200m a year.

At best parishes currently raise and spend approximately half of that annually, so there remains a significant and growing maintenance deficit on these beautiful and treasured buildings.

England’s Anglican cathedrals were surveyed in 2019 to establish their repair and maintenance liabilities and from that it is estimated that these 42 buildings require £140m in the next five years in maintenance and repair. This estimate does not include precinct properties.

The offshore oil and gas sector has a key role to play as we move to a net zero economy and the UK Government has committed to supporting this energy transition through the North Sea Transition Deal.

The Deal will focus on the decarbonisation of domestic oil and gas production while using the capabilities of the sector to deliver carbon capture and storage and hydrogen production. This will support and sustain new high-quality jobs and anchor the supply chain in the UK.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is accelerating work on this Deal now and aims to have it completed early this year.

The Government is determined to use the UK’s presidency of COP26 and as host of the G7 to promote ambitious action to deliver the transformational change required by the Paris Agreement.

We are urging all countries to submit ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions, transformational Long-Term Strategies, and to come forward with new net zero and adaptation commitments. Through our COP26 campaigns, we are bringing together governments, business and civil society to work together to accelerate the global transition to net zero.

As demonstrated at the Climate Ambition Summit last December, the UK’s own success has shown how countries can grow their economies while at the same time reducing emissions. Ahead of COP26, we are setting out ambitious plans across key sectors of the economy to continue to meet our carbon budgets and our net zero target.

The Church of England is in regular communication with the Government and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief on the issue of persecution of Christians worldwide.

The Covid-19 pandemic is exacerbating the challenges facing Christians in places of conflict or persecution. The leaders of the Anglican Communion are in close contact to support each other in practical and prayerful ways.

The Government is committed to supporting the steel sector. Guidance published in December 2016 (PPN 11/16) has helped to create a level playing field by ensuring the full value offered by UK steel suppliers can be considered in major projects. Guidance covering supply chain plans and advertising opportunities is already included and the Government may consider additional obligations beyond the current guidance if they are in the public interest.

The steel guidance was designed only for contracts awarded under the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015; this does not include procurements which are based on Contracts for Difference arrangements that require a different process.

Departmental compliance with the steel guidance is published annually on Gov.uk along with a steel procurement pipeline to show future steel requirements for national infrastructure projects.

Departments are encouraged to sign up to aspects of the UK Steel Charter where relevant to their commercial activities and where consistent with the relevant procurement regulations, and the Government’s steel policy guidelines.

The review of UK steel safeguards is being led by the Trade Investigation Directorate, an independent arm of the Department for International Trade and it would be premature for the Government to comment on this before the recommendations have been published.

A joint Industry/BEIS Taskforce has been established to consider issues reported by UK steel producers in relation to their ability to secure public sector contracts. It is expected to report in Autumn 2021.

The Government is committed to supporting the steel sector. Guidance published in December 2016 (PPN 11/16) has helped to create a level playing field by ensuring the full value offered by UK steel suppliers can be considered in major projects. Guidance covering supply chain plans and advertising opportunities is already included and the Government may consider additional obligations beyond the current guidance if they are in the public interest.

The steel guidance was designed only for contracts awarded under the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015; this does not include procurements which are based on Contracts for Difference arrangements that require a different process.

Departmental compliance with the steel guidance is published annually on Gov.uk along with a steel procurement pipeline to show future steel requirements for national infrastructure projects.

Departments are encouraged to sign up to aspects of the UK Steel Charter where relevant to their commercial activities and where consistent with the relevant procurement regulations, and the Government’s steel policy guidelines.

The review of UK steel safeguards is being led by the Trade Investigation Directorate, an independent arm of the Department for International Trade and it would be premature for the Government to comment on this before the recommendations have been published.

A joint Industry/BEIS Taskforce has been established to consider issues reported by UK steel producers in relation to their ability to secure public sector contracts. It is expected to report in Autumn 2021.

The Government is committed to supporting the steel sector. Guidance published in December 2016 (PPN 11/16) has helped to create a level playing field by ensuring the full value offered by UK steel suppliers can be considered in major projects. Guidance covering supply chain plans and advertising opportunities is already included and the Government may consider additional obligations beyond the current guidance if they are in the public interest.

The steel guidance was designed only for contracts awarded under the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015; this does not include procurements which are based on Contracts for Difference arrangements that require a different process.

Departmental compliance with the steel guidance is published annually on Gov.uk along with a steel procurement pipeline to show future steel requirements for national infrastructure projects.

Departments are encouraged to sign up to aspects of the UK Steel Charter where relevant to their commercial activities and where consistent with the relevant procurement regulations, and the Government’s steel policy guidelines.

The review of UK steel safeguards is being led by the Trade Investigation Directorate, an independent arm of the Department for International Trade and it would be premature for the Government to comment on this before the recommendations have been published.

A joint Industry/BEIS Taskforce has been established to consider issues reported by UK steel producers in relation to their ability to secure public sector contracts. It is expected to report in Autumn 2021.

The Government is committed to supporting the steel sector. Guidance published in December 2016 (PPN 11/16) has helped to create a level playing field by ensuring the full value offered by UK steel suppliers can be considered in major projects. Guidance covering supply chain plans and advertising opportunities is already included and the Government may consider additional obligations beyond the current guidance if they are in the public interest.

The steel guidance was designed only for contracts awarded under the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015; this does not include procurements which are based on Contracts for Difference arrangements that require a different process.

Departmental compliance with the steel guidance is published annually on Gov.uk along with a steel procurement pipeline to show future steel requirements for national infrastructure projects.

Departments are encouraged to sign up to aspects of the UK Steel Charter where relevant to their commercial activities and where consistent with the relevant procurement regulations, and the Government’s steel policy guidelines.

The review of UK steel safeguards is being led by the Trade Investigation Directorate, an independent arm of the Department for International Trade and it would be premature for the Government to comment on this before the recommendations have been published.

A joint Industry/BEIS Taskforce has been established to consider issues reported by UK steel producers in relation to their ability to secure public sector contracts. It is expected to report in Autumn 2021.

The Government is committed to supporting the steel sector. Guidance published in December 2016 (PPN 11/16) has helped to create a level playing field by ensuring the full value offered by UK steel suppliers can be considered in major projects. Guidance covering supply chain plans and advertising opportunities is already included and the Government may consider additional obligations beyond the current guidance if they are in the public interest.

The steel guidance was designed only for contracts awarded under the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015; this does not include procurements which are based on Contracts for Difference arrangements that require a different process.

Departmental compliance with the steel guidance is published annually on Gov.uk along with a steel procurement pipeline to show future steel requirements for national infrastructure projects.

Departments are encouraged to sign up to aspects of the UK Steel Charter where relevant to their commercial activities and where consistent with the relevant procurement regulations, and the Government’s steel policy guidelines.

The review of UK steel safeguards is being led by the Trade Investigation Directorate, an independent arm of the Department for International Trade and it would be premature for the Government to comment on this before the recommendations have been published.

A joint Industry/BEIS Taskforce has been established to consider issues reported by UK steel producers in relation to their ability to secure public sector contracts. It is expected to report in Autumn 2021.

The Government is committed to supporting the steel sector. Guidance published in December 2016 (PPN 11/16) has helped to create a level playing field by ensuring the full value offered by UK steel suppliers can be considered in major projects. Guidance covering supply chain plans and advertising opportunities is already included and the Government may consider additional obligations beyond the current guidance if they are in the public interest.

The steel guidance was designed only for contracts awarded under the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015; this does not include procurements which are based on Contracts for Difference arrangements that require a different process.

Departmental compliance with the steel guidance is published annually on Gov.uk along with a steel procurement pipeline to show future steel requirements for national infrastructure projects.

Departments are encouraged to sign up to aspects of the UK Steel Charter where relevant to their commercial activities and where consistent with the relevant procurement regulations, and the Government’s steel policy guidelines.

The review of UK steel safeguards is being led by the Trade Investigation Directorate, an independent arm of the Department for International Trade and it would be premature for the Government to comment on this before the recommendations have been published.

A joint Industry/BEIS Taskforce has been established to consider issues reported by UK steel producers in relation to their ability to secure public sector contracts. It is expected to report in Autumn 2021.

Critical Minerals supply is an important global issue as we use our G7 Presidency to help drive the global economic recovery, harnessing green technologies and renewable energy generation and storage.

The security of critical supply chains - including critical minerals - is being considered as a possible area of focus for the G7 Panel on Economic Resilience, chaired by Lord Sedwill of Sherborne in his capacity as the Prime Minister's G7 Envoy on Economic Resilience. The Panel will consult widely across and beyond the G7 and report its recommendations at the Leaders’ Summit in June.

The Government recognises the substantial public interest in parish councils affairs, including those in Handforth.

The Government also recognises the difficulties that genuinely vexatious and repeated freedom of information requests can place on smaller organisations and in 2018, issued a revised Code of Practice to allow for the use of relevant provisions in the Freedom of Information Act where necessary and appropriate.

The Government recognises the substantial public interest in parish councils affairs, including those in Handforth.

The Government also recognises the difficulties that genuinely vexatious and repeated freedom of information requests can place on smaller organisations and in 2018, issued a revised Code of Practice to allow for the use of relevant provisions in the Freedom of Information Act where necessary and appropriate.

The UK Government has provided comprehensive guidance on the processes that apply for moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is available on gov.uk. This includes the various means that are in place - whether through the UK Trader Scheme, the de minimis waiver arrangements, or the preferential arrangements available under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement - to ensure goods are able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland tariff-free. We have also established the Trader Support Service, to which more than 27,000 companies are signed up, to support traders engaging in those processes. It is complemented by the Movement Assistance Scheme which provides assistance for traders moving food or agricultural products for which specific SPS controls apply.

As my Rt Hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out in the Commons on 13 January, the UK has operated arrangements since 1 January to ensure relevant UK-origin steel products do not incur tariffs when moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain. EU origin steel will also not be subject to tariffs when moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. On 21 January the Government also set out to stakeholders how relevant quotas can be accessed when businesses in Northern Ireland import steel from the rest of the world, and we remain in intensive contact with industry as these arrangements are put in place.

The UK Government has provided comprehensive guidance on the processes that apply for moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is available on gov.uk. This includes the various means that are in place - whether through the UK Trader Scheme, the de minimis waiver arrangements, or the preferential arrangements available under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement - to ensure goods are able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland tariff-free. We have also established the Trader Support Service, to which more than 27,000 companies are signed up, to support traders engaging in those processes. It is complemented by the Movement Assistance Scheme which provides assistance for traders moving food or agricultural products for which specific SPS controls apply.

As my Rt Hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out in the Commons on 13 January, the UK has operated arrangements since 1 January to ensure relevant UK-origin steel products do not incur tariffs when moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain. EU origin steel will also not be subject to tariffs when moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. On 21 January the Government also set out to stakeholders how relevant quotas can be accessed when businesses in Northern Ireland import steel from the rest of the world, and we remain in intensive contact with industry as these arrangements are put in place.

The UK Government has provided comprehensive guidance on the processes that apply for moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is available on gov.uk. This includes the various means that are in place - whether through the UK Trader Scheme, the de minimis waiver arrangements, or the preferential arrangements available under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement - to ensure goods are able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland tariff-free. We have also established the Trader Support Service, to which more than 27,000 companies are signed up, to support traders engaging in those processes. It is complemented by the Movement Assistance Scheme which provides assistance for traders moving food or agricultural products for which specific SPS controls apply.

As my Rt Hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out in the Commons on 13 January, the UK has operated arrangements since 1 January to ensure relevant UK-origin steel products do not incur tariffs when moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain. EU origin steel will also not be subject to tariffs when moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. On 21 January the Government also set out to stakeholders how relevant quotas can be accessed when businesses in Northern Ireland import steel from the rest of the world, and we remain in intensive contact with industry as these arrangements are put in place.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (113) require government contractors to be paid within 30 days of receiving an invoice, and for these terms to be passed down the supply chain. Furthermore, the Government has introduced a measure to exclude suppliers who do not pay their whole supply chain promptly from major government work.

Businesses are encouraged to report instances of late or unfair payment in public sector contracts to the Public Procurement Review Service.

As my Rt Hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out in the Commons last week, the UK has put arrangements in place such that steel from Great Britain can move into Northern Ireland without being subject to tariffs.

The information requested falls under the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives consumers rights to redress and refunds including when businesses cancel services that have been agreed. The Competition and Markets Authority recently carried out a market investigation into the funerals sector to ensure these rules were being observed. They have issued guidance to businesses in the sector on their obligations to consumers. Details can be found at: https://competitionandmarkets.blog.gov.uk/2023/01/27/helping-businesses-comply-with-the-funerals-order/. Consumers can seek free advice on their rights from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 (www.citizensadvice.org.uk/). The Financial Conduct Authority regulates prepaid funeral plans. Details can be found at: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-regulation-boosts-consumer-protection-funeral-plans-market.