Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on meetings between Jeffrey Epstein and former Ministers from his Department.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) do not hold any records on meetings between Jeffrey Epstein and former Ministers from his Department. The records of meetings for the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) transferred to the former Department for Business Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and are held by Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) following machinery of Government changes.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish any official correspondence between Lord Mandelson and the National Security Advisor between 4 July 2024 and 11 September 2025.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Adviser regularly engages with a range of government stakeholders on national security matters. The Government does not routinely comment on the meetings or correspondence of the National Security Adviser, which are often sensitive due to their national security implications.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Advisor met with Lord Mandelson between 4 July 2024 and 11 September 2025.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Adviser regularly engages with a range of government stakeholders on national security matters. The Government does not routinely comment on the meetings or correspondence of the National Security Adviser, which are often sensitive due to their national security implications.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish any official correspondence between Lord Mandelson and the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff between 4 July 2024 and 11 September 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In line with longstanding process, it would not be appropriate to comment on individual members of staff.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff met with Lord Mandelson between 4 July 2024 and 11 September 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In line with longstanding process, it would not be appropriate to comment on individual members of staff.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Director General for Digital Centre Design was involved in the procurement process that awarded a departmental contract to Public Digital.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has not awarded any contracts to Public Digital.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on the reasons for Bloom Procurement Services awarding a departmental contract to Public Digital.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold information on the rationale for Bloom Procurement Services awarding the contract to Public Digital on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking assist councils to reduce the cost of social care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises challenges facing adult social care and is taking action to improve the system and enable more people to live independently for longer. While local authorities are best placed to plan and deliver care and support that meet the current and future needs of their populations, we are supporting them to deliver high quality and person-centred care.
In 2025/26, to enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, we made available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities, which included an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. We are providing £172 million across this and the last financial year, for around 15,000 home adaptations.
We will support commissioners and care providers to adopt preventative care technologies by introducing new national standards and trusted guidance. To support efficiency and the delivery of care, we are also developing a new national data infrastructure for adult social care to lay the foundations for near real-time visibility of information across health and care services.
We have also launched the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, chaired by Baroness Casey, to lead a national conversation and consider how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
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 ensure that social care providers provide value for money to (a) the public purse and (b) residents.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes working closely with local providers to achieve a balance of quality, effectiveness and value for money that ensures that people who draw on care have a choice of appropriate and high-quality care services in their local area.
To ensure high standards of care, local authorities are assessed by the Care Quality Commission in how well they are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to humanitarian organisations operating in conflict-affected areas of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to addressing the humanitarian crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), allocating approximately £60 million this financial year. Much of this funding will support lifesaving humanitarian aid, including food and cash assistance, clean water access, malnutrition treatment, and supporting sexual and reproductive health services alongside United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UK remains engaged diplomatically with DRC, Rwanda, and other partners to promote peace and stability. We continue to urge all parties to uphold International Humanitarian Law, protect women and girls, and ensure humanitarian workers can deliver essential services.