Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of reinstating awards of honours under the Order of St Patrick.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is in the personal gift of The Sovereign. The UK Government is not considering the restoration of The Order of St Patrick.
Nominations for existing honours are open to all citizens within the four nations of the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farm visits he has made since his appointment; and where those farms were located.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since the Secretary of State’s appointment, he has visited:
As well as visiting 3 farms, he has spoken at 3 farming conferences, and has had 5 meetings with the NFU, 3 with the CLA and, 7 with other organisations and farming representatives.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 30473 on Prime Minister: Press Conferences, for what reason members of the Labour party were invited to the event; and whether the Labour party contributed to the cost of the event.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 20 February 2025, Official Report, PQ 30473. The Labour Party did not contribute to the cost of the event.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 30473 on Prime Minister: Press Conferences, how many people attended the event.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This was an official government event, with attendees and an audience that included members of the public, business people, and public sector workers. 286 people RSVPed to attend.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of health inequalities in coastal communities.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Honourable Member for Bridlington and the Wolds is right that coastal communities face unique challenges when it comes to health inequalities. Through our health mission, we are looking to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.
The NHS also has a programme to reduce health inequalities in the most deprived 20% of the population and improve outcomes for groups that experience the worst access, experience, and outcomes within the NHS. 6 Coastal Integrated Care Boards have been launched in coastal communities and are working to reduce economic inactivity as a mechanism for reducing health inequalities.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service has a role in approving contracts issued by the Cabinet Office.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service is an approving member of the Cabinet Office Commercial Spend Control Panel, which oversees spend controls for the whole of the HM Government, including non-ministerial departments, executive agencies, and other arms-length, non-commercial bodies that are majority controlled and/or financed by departments (Non-Departmental Public Bodies). This includes the Cabinet Office. Cabinet Office Commercial Spend Controls apply to all commercial activity with a value of £20m or more, excluding VAT. ).
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 25918 on UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Consultants, what consultants are commissioned by his Department to (a) assist the EU Relations Secretariat and (b) work on the renegotiations with the European Union.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office has not commissioned consultants to assist the EU Relations Secretariat or work on resetting the relationship with the European Union.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 6057 on Prime Minister’s Office: Vacancies, how many jobs in the Prime Minister's Office were filled by exception without (a) internal and (b) external advertisement since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As was the case under the previous Government, where over 9,000 such exceptions were used in the year ending March 2023, exceptions are a long-established part of bringing talent and expertise into the Civil Service. Since 4 July 2024, there have been 3 appointments made via exception.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14099 on Permanent Secretaries: Dismissal and Recruitment, what his planned timetable is for the implementation of the recommendations in 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I have nothing to add to my answer to question 14099 on 26 November 2024.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 25853 on Public Bodies: Reviews, which four public body reviews are completed; what were the conclusions of each of these; which public body reviews are in progress; and which public body reviews have been paused.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Of reviews planned for 2024/25, the following reviews have completed:
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Care Quality Commission, Regulator of Social Housing, Defence Equipment and Support, Submarine Delivery Agency, Nuclear Research Advisory Council, Legal Aid Agency.
It is each department’s responsibility to publish its reviews once finalised.
The following reviews are in progress:
Valuation Tribunal Service, Science Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, Intellectual Property Office.
In some cases, departments have paused their reviews to give capacity to deliver more ambitious work on improving delivery and value for money , in line with government’s wider commitment to reform arm’s length bodies. This wider reform includes the closure of NHS England as announced by the Prime Minister on 13 March.