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 9 June 2025 to Question 54764 on Cabinet Office: Pay, what the annual wage costs were for the EU relations secretariat in the most recent year for which figures are centrally held.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Salary data for the Civil Service is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics, an Accredited Official Statistics release. Civil Service Statistics 2025 is due to be published on 30 July 2025.
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 30 May 2025 to Question 53546 on House of Lords Appointments Commission, whether the recruitment campaign to appoint the two independent members was re-opened after it originally closed.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The campaign to appoint new Independent Members to the House of Lords Appointments Commission was launched earlier this year and remains active. It has not been re-opened.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the political balance of the Parliamentary and Political Service honours committee across (a) independent members who hold a party political whip in the House of Lords and (b) official members.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Parliamentary and Political Service Honours Committee (PPS Committee) is one of ten specialist honours committees which assess honours nominations put forward by members of the public, government departments and professional bodies.
Honours committees are made up of individuals with considerable experience of the area covered by the committee. The PPS Committee considers candidates for honours from the UK Parliament, the Devolved Legislatures, the staff of Westminster and other Assemblies, the staff of bodies which report to them, Party workers, councillors and others working for local government.
The current membership of the PPS Committee comprises four independent members, appointed through a public appointments process, and three official members who are the incumbent chief whips from the three largest political parties in the House of Commons. The process to appoint the new independent Chair of the PPS Committee is ongoing and an announcement will be made in due course. The full composition of each honours committee can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to remove barriers to trade for UK seafood exporters.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has secured a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement with the EU that will remove red tape for UK seafood exporters and businesses. This will make it easier to sell British fish to our largest trading partner, which will in turn drive growth.
UK businesses, including those in the seafood industry, can access DBT’s wealth of export support via business.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.
In addition, we will shortly be publishing our Trade Strategy which will set out our plans to explore opportunities for further lowering barriers to trade.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Portraits of His Majesty the King for UK public authorities, published on 1 April 2023, how many portraits were provided to public bodies; and what the total cost was of that scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Honourable Member to the information published on GOV.UK on 28 November 2024 which provided a summary of the His Majesty The King Official Portrait Scheme, including the number of portraits provided and the total cost of the scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/conclusion-of-his-majesty-the-kings-free-portrait-scheme
The HMK Portrait scheme was launched on 14th November 2023 and, including two extensions of scope, ran until 15th August 2024. A total of 20,565 orders were received, the cost of which, including delivery, was £2,710,705.50 with an average price of £131.81 per portrait.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department's planned timetable is for the the publication of substantive details on the implementation and configuration of the proposed new duty of candour; and whether he plans to issue a formal consultation.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We remain fully committed to bringing in this legislation which will include a legal duty of candour for public servants and criminal sanctions for those who do not comply.
Having consulted with groups and their representatives, more time is required to draft the best version of a Hillsborough Law.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the safety of the Jewish community in the UK.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Antisemitism has no place in our society, and tackling it is a top priority for this government. We are particularly concerned about the steep increase in antisemitism we have seen since the abhorrent 7 October attacks.
The government is committed to protecting the safety of the Jewish community in the UK and making our streets and communities safer. That is why funding of £72 million has been allocated for the Community Security Trust to continue their vital work from 2024/25 until 2027/28, providing security to schools, synagogues and other Jewish community buildings.
The government works closely with the Independent Adviser on Antisemitism to provide independent advice to the Secretary of State on the most effective methods to tackle antisemitism and to ensure that the Jewish community’s concerns about antisemitism are heard and acted upon. We also work with the police to regularly review potential threats and ensure that everything is done to protect communities from hate crime.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of legacy PFI contracts where BSSL contractors are failing to carry out repairs and maintenance on schools in (a) Bridlington and The Wolds and (b) throughout the UK; and if she will publish the full PFI contract terms and survey information for the affected schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is not familiar with ‘BSSL’ however we assume this is the name of the private finance initiative (PFI) contractor on the Bridlington Group Schools Project. The PFI contractor for the Bridlington Group Schools Project contract will be a special purpose vehicle which will likely hold just one contract. We do not hold the details of the Bridlington Group Schools contract as this contract was entered into by the local authority. East Riding of Yorkshire Council will be able to assist further with this enquiry.
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 his Department has made of the capacity of Integrated Care Boards to deliver services effectively (a) during and (b) after proposed structural reforms.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and reduce duplication of responsibilities within the health and care structure. To deliver on this commitment, ICBs have drafted and shared their delivery and resource plan including staffing management in accordance with the guidance set out in Sir Jim Mackey's letter of 1 April 2025 and the Model ICB framework. NHS England is working with ICBs to review and implement these plans.
NHS England is working closely with ICBs to ensure these changes do not compromise quality of care or the statutory responsibilities of ICBs.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps to accelerate the removal of retained EU law; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK's exit from the EU increases international competitiveness.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s approach to assimilated law reform (formerly ‘retained EU law’) is to deliver reforms that serve the national interest and support economic growth and wider Government priorities. Unlike the previous Government we will not set arbitrary targets for revoking assimilated law for the sake of it.
This Government is seizing the flexibility of Brexit, making the best choices for business and citizens from its position outside the EU as evidenced through significant deals with the US and India and our new partnership with the EU.