Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the value is of her Department's contracts with companies owned by Frank Hester.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many contracts (a) the NHS and (b) her Department has with companies owned by Frank Hester.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money her Department paid to companies owned by Frank Hester in each of the last four years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the 10 pilot programs are that have been funded through the Incubator for AI.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Last November, the Deputy Prime Minister established the ‘Incubator for AI’, a team who sit in the Cabinet Office. This team’s mission is to help departments harness the potential of AI to improve lives and the delivery of public services.
The early work of the Government’s AI incubator has already proven that it is possible to make effective AI tools for use in the UK Government, and that building these in-house represents strong value for money. As this is an incubator, there are projects at varying stages of development.
I can share that details about some of their pilot projects can be found on their website at https://ai.gov.uk, and include
A consultation response tool that can read, summarise and triage responses to consultations. As the Government initiates more than 700 consultations every year, this tool can free up time for us to undertake more engagement with the public on a broader range of issues.
Caddy, an AI powered co-pilot for customer service functions everywhere, which is currently in trial in Manchester. Built in collaboration with Citizens Advice, it seamlessly integrates into existing systems and provides expert advice to advisors and call handlers. A bespoke Civil Service AI assistant called ‘Redbox Multitool’ (based on the Ministerial RedBox previously announced) which is tailored for the use of UK government, including a range of secure efficiency-generating features appropriate for central government work.
Signing a Collaboration Charter with NHSE to work together on AI, as well as data infrastructure projects to support better operations in healthcare.
Information about other pilots will be released as they pass development and testing gateways.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who will conduct initial asylum screenings under the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
The screening process is designed to capture basic information about the individual, immigration history and their protection claim and is conducted by a range of officials under the Home Office.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much will people whose claims have been rejected be offered to move to Rwanda voluntarily.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
Individuals who have no right to remain in the UK legally are being offered voluntary relocation to Rwanda under a new agreement with the Government of Rwanda. This will relocate individuals who have no right to work, rent or remain in the UK to relocate to Rwanda and allow them to build safe and prosperous lives there.
Individuals will receive £3,000 to support their relocation, paid to them on a card that can only be used in Rwanda.
This builds on our already widely used voluntary returns scheme, which saw more than 19,000 people return to their country-of-origin last year. We can also now facilitate relocation to Rwanda, providing an alternative for those whose country of origin is unsafe or those who would prefer not to return, but have no right to remain in the UK.
Under this Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Rwanda, individuals relocated voluntarily will have the same package of support for up to five years and access to integration programmes, so that they can study, undertake training, and work. Actual spend of the policy will be reported as part of the annual Home Office Reports and Accounts in the usual way.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership, what care and support will be provided for refugees coming from Rwanda to the UK.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
More details on the resettlement of refugees as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where refugees coming from Rwanda to the UK will be housed.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
More details on the resettlement of refugees as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish a breakdown of how the £171,000 per person deported to Rwanda agreed in the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership will be spent.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
The most recently published information, which includes a breakdown of the per person costs, is the National Audit Office Report which can be found here: UK-Rwanda Partnership - NAO report.
The per person costs are to provide a 5-year integration package. This includes accommodation, essential items such as food, medical services, education, language training and professional development. Rwanda will also support individuals with work opportunities and access to integration programmes.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of uptake for breast cancer screenings amongst ethnic minority women.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The national breast screening programme does not currently have the capability to routinely cross reference patient’s ethnicity data with uptake data. NHS England has started work to improve its data collection capabilities as part of the development of the new screening IT system, through the Digital Transformation of Screening programme. This will support the collection of population-level data on protected characteristics such as ethnicity, to support services in improving uptake.
More widely, NHS England has developed a national plan to improve uptake, including interventions to address inequalities and screening barriers. This includes ensuring appointments are as convenient as possible, and efforts are focused on areas and groups with low uptake.