Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the staff capacity is at the civil service hub building in Peterborough; and what the average staff occupancy is.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Quay House, in Peterborough, was opened in March 2023, bringing together approximately 1,200 civil servants from several government bodies to work in one shared building. Not all civil servants will be in the office at the same time. The building has a maximum safe occupancy of 1,082.
The Government publishes average occupancy data for all departmental HQs at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data. The government does not publish data for any building that is not a departmental HQ.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase public awareness of the symptoms of sepsis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Sepsis has no specific diagnostic test, and the signs and symptoms can vary, making it challenging to identify and diagnose.
We are focused on improving the clinical awareness and recognition of sepsis by healthcare professionals, so that unwell and deteriorating patients are identified promptly and started on life-saving treatment. NHS England has launched several training programmes aimed at improving the diagnosis and early management of sepsis. These programmes are regularly reviewed and revised with support from subject matter experts as updated national sepsis guidance is implemented.
Local National Health Service trusts may choose to run local public awareness campaigns on sepsis.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to include the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of sepsis in the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to develop a 10 Year Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. This will include how we improve access to, and the experience of, urgent and emergency care, such as for when people develop sepsis.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more organisations to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Since taking up post, I have had the opportunity to engage with hundreds of organisations, including Local Authorities, who are signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant; doing fantastic work for our people, and their families.
The Covenant pledge and the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme provide the opportunity to pledge, demonstrate and advocate support for the Armed Forces community. The provision of guiding principles for employers and organisations across the UK ensures an understanding of the Covenant and the impacts of Service life.
Over 12,800 organisations have signed the Covenant, a number that continues to grow weekly. This Government has committed to fully extend the Covenant into Law, which will increase education and awareness of the unique nature of Service
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of educational access visits to farms over the last five years; and what plans he has to support educational visits to farms in future.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Educational access features as part of the wider Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes and we are developing it further as a new 3-year capital item; we expect this to be available later in 2025. It will be a stand-alone capital item, though applicants must have an agri-environment or woodland agreement with management actions for this capital item. In countryside stewardship, currently eligible visitor groups are school age children and care farming groups only, but in the new educational access capital item, more diverse groups of people will be able to visit and benefit from an educational experience on farms and woodland across England.
The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL) provides grant funding for farmers and land managers to work in partnership with National Parks and National Landscape bodies in England to deliver projects achieving positive outcomes for climate, nature, people, and place. Between July 2021 and March 2024, the programme delivered over 3,400 educational access visits and engaged over 600 schools to create more opportunities for diverse audiences to explore, enjoy and understand farming in these unique landscapes.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the spread of mitten crabs to Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government understands concerns regarding the impact of Chinese mitten crab in Cambridgeshire. However, whilst we continue to take steps to prevent the further spread of Chinese mitten crab, Defra is not currently aware of any cost-effective or proven methods of controlling this species in areas it is currently present, such as Cambridgeshire. Due to the known impact of this species we continue to monitor for any new viable methods of controlling and managing populations and to preventing further spread.
Although control in currently impacted areas is not currently possible, Defra has taken clear steps towards reducing the spread of this species. Chinese mitten crab is listed as a ‘Species of Special Concern’, this means it cannot be brought into GB, kept, bred, transported, sold, used or exchanged, allowed to reproduce, grown or cultivated, or released into the environment.
Defra also funds the Fish Health Inspectorate to carry out work to prevent the illegal sale and spread of this species and continues to support the ‘Check Clean Dry’ campaign which offers aquatic biosecurity advice to minimise the risk of spreading invasive plants and animals to new areas.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Skills England will be required to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equalities Act 2010.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Skills England will be required to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. While currently operating in shadow form, Skills England will (subject to final approvals) be established as an Executive Agency of the department, and as such will be subject to the same requirements as the rest of the department.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has considered PSED in her decision making in the development of Skills England.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many physiotherapy apprentices there are at each level of study in England.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information requested can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2241facc-8e02-44c3-7d16-08dcf4c39769.
These figures are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication, which can accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.
For further information on the apprenticeship standard ‘physiotherapist’, please see the Institute for Apprenticeships website which is available here: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/physiotherapist-v1-2.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS trusts use apprenticeship funding to develop their clinical workforce.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Provisional data, published by the Department for Education and covering all apprenticeships, indicates that there were 18,400 NHS apprenticeship starts from 191 NHS employers for the 2023/24 financial year.
With regards to the number of clinical apprenticeships within NHS Trusts, data is not validated.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet Colleagues on the proposed sale of the Observer.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport has not had any discussions with Cabinet Colleagues on the proposed sale of the Observer. Consideration of media mergers is a quasi-judicial decision for the DCMS Secretary of State to undertake alone, on the basis of the evidence available to her, without reference to presentational or political considerations.