Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the cost to the public purse of local government reorganisation in Essex.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The overall case for local government reorganisation is set out the English Devolution White Paper.
A PWC 2020 report estimated that reorganisation of the then 25 two-tier areas to a single unitary would have a one-off cost of £400 million, with the potential to realise £2.9 billion over five years, with an annual post-implementation net recurring saving of £700 million, however as it is for local areas to submit proposals for government to consider, the savings could vary area by area and across England in the round. We are also keen to ensure the wider benefits are also promoted, specifically simplified and more efficient structures.
The proposals submitted from the most recently established unitary councils identified a range of efficiencies that could be achieved. Councils in Essex were invited on 5 February to develop proposals for reorganisation, which are due to be submitted to government by September 2025.
It will be for the new councils to achieve the efficiencies identified in reorganisation proposals and subsequent detailed implementation and transformation plans while delivering high quality and sustainable public services to local residents and businesses.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) officials and (b) advisers are employed by (i) his Department and (ii) Number 10 Downing Street.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Data on the number of officials in the Cabinet Office is published monthly at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-workforce-management-data-2023-to-2024 and Business Unit level data including for Business Units in Number 10 Downing Street is published quarterly at https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/ff76be1f-4f37-4bef-beb7-32b259413be1/organogram-cabinet-office.
As was the case under the previous Administration, information about Special Adviser numbers will be published in the Annual report on Special Advisers.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Oral Statement of 6 January 2026 on Health and Adult Social Care Reform, Official Report, Column 597, where new diagnostic centres in (a) Essex and (b) Suffolk will be based.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, sets out that we will deliver additional community diagnostic centre (CDC) capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones.
Capital investment agreed at the 2025 Spending Review and announced in the Autumn Statement will be allocated to local National Health Service systems by NHS England, and details on this will be released as part of upcoming capital planning guidance. The investment will support a range of initiatives, including supporting systems to deliver against the government's ambition to return to the 18-week constitutional standard.
NHS England will work with local systems to identify the most appropriate locations for investments, including new CDCs, and expansions of existing CDCs. A key factor they will consider is that new CDCs are positioned in a location which addresses local need and will address health inequalities.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the (a) level of skilled labour and (b) extent of the shortage of the particular skills required to deliver the proposed upgrades to the National Grid electricity transmission system; and what steps he is taking to address these shortages.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Reinforcing Great Britain’s electricity network to meet net zero will require a range of skills in engineering, IT professionals, physical scientist and environmental professionals, project managers, chartered surveyors and quality control, metal working and maintenance fitters. Alongside the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, The Office for Clean Energy Jobs published an evidence annex that provides an assessment of the skills challenges for the Clean Energy Mission, including for electricity networks. This will be used along-side wider evidence and engagement to support skills planning and ensure that the UK has the workforce needed to become a clean energy superpower.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
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 her Department's policy paper entitled English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what the evidential basis is that unitary councils save money.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Case For Local Government Reorganisation in the English Devolution White Paper, states “In 2020 a PwC report, “Evaluating the importance of scale in proposals for local government reorganisation”, for the County Councils Network, estimated that reorganisation of the then 25 two-tier areas to a single unitary structure would have a one-off cost of £400 million, with the potential to realise £2.9 billion over five years, with an annual post implementation net recurring saving of £700 million. The unitary proposals submitted in relation to the most recently established unitary councils identified a range of efficiencies that could be achieved where council services are brought together in one organisation. For North Yorkshire Council, established in April 2023, unitarisation has enabled the council to manage financial pressures through structural changes and service transformation which are expected to achieve more than £40 million in savings by March 2026.”
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what definition his Department uses for socio-economic welfare, the context of publications by Ofgem.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Socio-economic welfare is a standard economic tool that aims to identify how much better off the country would be if an improvement is made by tracing the effects on the economy. In this regard, Ofgem uses the same definitions of welfare as used in other areas of government.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to implement a British jobs bonus scheme; and how much he plans to allocate to each year of the scheme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has launched the Clean Industry Bonus, an addition to Contract for Difference (CfD) payments for fixed and floating offshore wind developers who invest in their supply chains. The budget for the Bonus will be £27m per gigawatt of offshore wind capacity that applies to the 2025 CfD round. Policy on future rounds will be communicated in due course.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to the First Report of the Liaison Committee of 2023-24 on Promoting national strategy: How select committee scrutiny can improve strategic thinking in Whitehall, HC 31, published on 29 May 2024; and whether he plans to establish a new national school for government and public services.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government looks forward to discussing this report with the incoming Liaison Committee Chair once elected.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the fire in a submarine construction facility in Barrow-in-Furness on delivery of the AUKUS submarine programme.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the written statement I laid in the House on 30 October 2024 on this issue. The UK remains committed to delivering the SSN-AUKUS Optimal Pathway announced by the three leaders of the AUKUS nations in March 2023. The UK’s continued commitment to AUKUS was recently demonstrated by the Defence Secretary hosting his Australian and US counterparts at the Old Royal Naval College in London to drive forward progress on AUKUS.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason an updated version of the transparency data entitled Government ministers and responsibilities has not yet been published; and when he plans to publish an updated version.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A new List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published shortly.