Privilege

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Thursday 4th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) for bringing forward this matter, as well as for speaking so powerfully and so concisely on the issue, and to Mr Speaker for granting a debate on this important principle. The Government recognise and value the critical role that Parliament plays in scrutinising our work. Should the House agree to the motion, the Government will await the work of the Committee of Privileges with interest.

Question put and agreed to.

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill: Programme (No. 2)

Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A(7)),

That the following provisions shall apply to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill for the purpose of supplementing the Order of 15 October 2024 (House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill: Programme):

Consideration of Lords Amendments

(1) Proceedings on consideration of Lords Amendments shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion three hours after their commencement.

(2) The Lords Amendments shall be considered in the following order: 1, 2, 3, 8, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9.

Subsequent stages

(3) Any further Message from the Lords may be considered forthwith without any Question being put.

(4) Proceedings on any further Message from the Lords shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour after their commencement.—(Anna McMorrin.)

Question agreed to.

Public Service Reform: Test, Learn and Grow Programme

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

I am pleased to announce an update on the next stages of the Cabinet Office test, learn and grow programme, and how it will work with local places across England.

The £100 million programme is a flagship part of the Government’s reform programme and aims to model and scale a missions approach by bringing policymakers closer to the frontline. The next phase of the test, learn and grow programme will bring cross-Government teams together with those that use and deliver public services and experience the day-to-day barriers when processes are not working, in order to reform services together. New solutions will be built from the ground up, moving rapidly to learn and adapt based on what works. The accelerators will identify blockers and barriers to delivering people-focused, preventive public services, and work to make change in Government to quickly scale learning.

This test and learn approach, outlined by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in December, will help to tackle our biggest national challenges and make better policy with and for communities to deliver on our plan for change. The programme has already had impact through its work in four locations on family hub services and temporary accommodation.

Today we are announcing the 10 places in England that we will work with as part of the next wave of projects on the ground. In each case, we will test out new approaches to a specific public service challenge, bringing local and central teams together with common purpose on the frontline. In mayoral strategic authority areas, we will work with both MSAs and the relevant local authority creating a partnership approach across all layers of Government to deliver for people.

Challenges the teams will look at will include increasing the uptake of Best Start family hubs to support parents and young children, establishing neighbourhood health services, better supporting children with special needs, getting more people into work, rolling out breakfast clubs, and tackling violence against women and girls. The 10 places are:

Barnsley metropolitan borough council

Wakefield council

Manchester city council

Liverpool city council

Sandwell metropolitan borough council

Northumberland county council

Essex county council

Plymouth city council

Nottingham city council

We are working with the GLA and London councils to agree London borough involvement

Our approach to the programme has been designed in partnership with local government, and I look forward to continuing to work with a wide range of partners to ensure that the learnings and benefits of the programme are shared widely across the sector. The programme will build a coalition around test, learn and grow, and public service reform, bringing in external expertise and tech specialists, and partnering with public service innovators. We will work closely with other key initiatives and players, and continue to work in the open.

I look forward to engaging with hon. Members and local government leaders to make this a truly collaborative programme between local communities and the centre of Government. I am grateful for the ongoing support and collaboration of the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, and countless colleagues across central Government and local government who have helped to shape, design and challenge the programme so far, and who I hope will continue to lend their passion and energy.

[HCWS832]

Oral Answers to Questions

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reform public services.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

For too long, residents and frontline workers have had to navigate fragmented and underfunded services, and have had to arm up for battle when using public services. From our Best Start strategy to new neighbourhood health centres, we are reforming public services, so that money is invested in prevention, services are designed with and for local communities, and people always come first.

[Irene Campbell]

Does the Minister agree that, while waiting lists in England are falling thanks to billions of pounds of investment into our national health service, it is an absolute disgrace that, despite record levels of money being provided to the Scottish Government, waiting lists in Scotland continue to rise?

[Georgia Gould]

As my hon. Friend has set out, since Labour came to power, we have seen waiting lists continue to fall, with our 2 million new appointments, but the Scottish people have not seen the same benefits. Luckily, though, they do not need to wait long to vote for a Labour Government with a plan to change that.

[Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby) (Lab)]

9. If he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a legal duty of candour on public bodies.

--- Later in debate ---

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

10. What support his Department is providing to local partnerships to improve public service delivery.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

One of the best parts of my job is to travel round the country and see the amazing work that local public service partnerships are doing. Our test, learn and grow programme has been set up to get behind frontline innovators and to trial new approaches. This brings together central Government with those on the frontline—local councils and communities—so that we can learn from what is working and then scale it up to improve things for people.

[Zöe Franklin]

It is really good to hear about that partnership working with local communities and local government. In June, I had the privilege of going to the launch of a new innovative partnership between the University of Surrey and Guildford and Waverley borough councils, which is seeking to apply the university’s global research expertise to real-world problems faced by local communities, from creating better housing to addressing the shortage of planners. How will the Government support important initiatives like this, which seek to deliver on the Government’s aim to innovate and improve public service delivery and which matter even more as local government reorganisation progresses across Surrey?

[Georgia Gould]

As I said, one of the best parts of my job is getting to visit amazing projects like that partnership, and I would be delighted to see the work that is happening there. Our missions are not just for Government but for the whole country. We need councils, universities and communities to come together, so that partnership is incredibly important. As I set out, the test, learn and grow programme is about finding those innovators and partnerships and spreading great practice. I look forward to hearing more about it.

[Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)]

11. What steps he is taking to reform public procurement.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

Two weeks ago, we set out our plans to make sure that the billions this Government are investing in roads, hospitals and railways will mean good jobs, skills and opportunities in communities around the UK. Our plans will recognise industries that are critical to our national security, protecting UK resilience in sectors such as steel and energy. Creating high-quality British jobs and boosting skills in local communities will be key requirements for companies to win contracts for large infrastructure projects.

[Joe Powell]

I thank the Minister for all her hard work to bring together procurement information centrally for the first time and to improve the quality of that data. What progress has been made to push that out to the public in the dashboards and analytics that will help us track and improve the public procurement system and monitor the Government’s strategic goals of backing British small and medium-sized enterprises and supporting key sectors of the economy?

[Georgia Gould]

I thank my hon. Friend for his continued advocacy for greater transparency in procurement, which we know delivers better value for money and better services. We have set up the central digital platform, which now holds over 4,000 pipeline notices, and we will soon make available a data platform that will facilitate detailed analysis of SME participation. We expect that to be available to procurement teams soon, and we are scoping how we will make it available to the wider public.

[Andrew Ranger (Wrexham) (Lab)]

12. What steps he is taking to improve co-operation with devolved Governments.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

T4. My constituent Andy is one of several former civil servants in my constituency affected by the McCloud judgment. Like many of them, he is still waiting to receive his hard- earned pension, and the delay is causing serious distress. While Andy recovers from major surgery, he now faces financial hardship due to many missed deadlines and delays. Will the Minister agree to meet me to discuss Andy’s case and the cases of three other constituents affected who have contacted me to ensure that their cases are resolved urgently?

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

I was deeply sorry to hear about Andy’s circumstances, and I will of course meet my hon. Friend to discuss this case. I have asked to be kept personally updated on the case following the letter from my hon. Friend. The Cabinet Office continues to stress the importance of contractual performance to the MyCSP administrator.

[Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

T2.   What steps is the Cabinet Office taking to ensure that all public bodies adopt robust cyber-security frameworks, and what is the timetable to ensure their compliance?

--- Later in debate ---

[Georgia Gould]

While I cannot comment on the individual procurement, I can say that we are changing procurement rules to strengthen the focus on British jobs and skills and to support British industries critical to our national security like energy. We are consulting on this at the moment, and I would be more than happy to meet my hon. Friend and the company to discuss this further.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T3. It is a constant complaint from my businesses in Harrow that if they are not on the Government-approved list they almost cannot get a Government contract. What action will the Minister take to ensure that new firms, including new small and medium-sized enterprises, can actually get contracts and keep jobs in the UK?

[Georgia Gould]

I absolutely agree that we need to support SMEs, which is why we set targets for all Departments on SME and voluntary, community and social enterprises spend. It is why we are reviewing the rules to make it easier for SMEs to get on to Government contracts, and why we are consulting on new plans to set targets for the entire public sector on SME spend.

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

Earlier this year, the Government published their national procurement policy statement. Given that economic growth is this Government’s No. 1 mission, will the Minister update the House on how the new approach to procurement will ensure we deliver economic growth in every corner of this country, especially in the central belt, Forth valley and Falkirk?

[Georgia Gould]

I really welcome the House’s continuing enthusiasm and support for procurement. We have listened to that and are taking it seriously, which is why we set out, as I said a couple of weeks ago, further changes to procurement rules to respond to all those points about supporting SMEs, supporting British jobs and supporting British skills.

[Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)]

Can the Minister confirm the amount of money that has been saved as a result of the changes I brought in to the equality, diversity and inclusion guidance in the civil service? Will he also say if he will be maintaining those changes, or does he seek to overturn that policy?

--- Later in debate ---

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

I welcome the UK-EU reset, which will help to bring down energy bills and grocery bills. I also welcome the Government’s new procurement plans. Bournemouth East has fantastic talent, particularly among our younger population. Will the Minister outline how the new procurement plans will both help to give those younger people opportunities and secure clean power in the south-west?

[Georgia Gould]

We have set out plans to strengthen and streamline social values, so that we are absolutely clear about the expectations on businesses to support jobs, skills and opportunities—namely opportunities for our young people to get into good quality work in communities like my hon. Friend’s.

[Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)]

I think the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and I are politically completely at one, because if it was down the two of us, we would relocate all civil servants to Wolverhampton and Staffordshire. What is also incredibly important is Ministers being in those offices. Will he commit to publishing the details of ministerial attendance in offices outside London, including how long they stayed in those offices?

Public Procurement Consultation: Growing British Industry, Jobs and Skills

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Thursday 26th June 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

I am pleased to announce that the Government are today publishing a consultation outlining our plans for further reforms to public procurement aimed at strengthening British industry, creating jobs and enhancing skills, building on the publication of the industrial strategy White Paper this week. This consultation is intended to inform the development of primary legislation when parliamentary time allows.

In these times of global economic uncertainty, public procurement has a crucial role to play in boosting domestic competitiveness and strengthening British businesses. With £385 billion spent annually on goods, works and services, procurement is a powerful tool for national renewal, allowing local communities to benefit from investments in skills and access to quality jobs.

This consultation builds on the Procurement Act 2023, aligns with our new national procurement policy statement, and will help deliver the Government’s industrial strategy. We will maximise value for money and enhance the UK’s economic resilience. Strategic use of our procurement spend will protect supply chains, create new opportunities for local small businesses and generate meaningful jobs, delivering better outcomes for taxpayers.

These reforms will put public procurement in the service of the people, empowering British businesses, supporting social enterprise, safeguarding our national interests and addressing today’s challenges, while fostering a fairer and more prosperous future for all.

Through this consultation, the Government are seeking the views of businesses, stakeholders and parliamentarians, to inform the ongoing development of our public procurement reforms and ensure that they deliver for people and communities across the UK. I welcome your analysis and insights, as well as the perspectives of businesses and individuals in your constituencies. The consultation is now live on gov.uk and will remain open until 5 September 2025.

[HCWS744]

Census 2021: General Report for England and Wales

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

The UK Statistics Authority has published the general report of census 2021 in England and Wales. The general report is the official and comprehensive account of the 2021 census in England and Wales, which was delivered against the backdrop of the covid pandemic.

The general report is being laid before both Houses of Parliament pursuant to the Census Act 1920. It covers the whole operation of the census, from the 2014 recommendation to hold a digital-first census, through the preparation and delivery of the data-collection operation in 2021, to the publication of census data in 2022-23. The general report is also available on the Office for National Statistics’ website.

[HCWS702]

Oral Answers to Questions

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

T5.   Labour’s plan to make work pay promised to bring about the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation. Insourced services are often shown to provide better value for money. Will the Government provide an update on their work to ensure that public bodies carry out public interest tests when outsourced contracts expire?

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

The Government are determined to deliver high-quality public services and better value for money for the taxpayer. We have committed to introducing a public interest test to assess whether expiring contracts could provide better outcomes and better value in-house, and that was included in the national procurement policy statement.

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

T7. A recent cyber-attack on schools and early learning IT in my constituency knocked out online access, but also underlined the need for a positive interaction between Scotland’s two Governments, rather than the constant constitutional bickering we have seen in recent years. With cyber-security about to move out of the Cabinet Office, can the Minister assure us about the way in which a positive cross-governmental and intergovernmental approach to these relationships will be secured?

State of the Government Estate in 2023-24

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Thursday 22nd May 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

I have today laid before Parliament, pursuant to section 86 of the Climate Change Act 2008, the “State of the Estate in 2023-24”.

This report describes the progress made on improving the efficiency and sustainability of the central Government estate and, where relevant, records the progress made.

The report confirms that the estate comprises 203,300 assets with a total floor area of 159.5 million m². The estate’s value increased by 5.6% to £191.5 billion, driven by the health, schools and prison portfolios.

For the central Government estate within the scope of the greening Government commitments, the following changes were reported through that framework against the baseline 2017-18 financial year: by 2023-24 overall emissions had reduced by 40.9%, while direct emissions saw a 14.7% reduction.

Running costs increased by 8.0% to £25.6 billion, primarily due to inflationary pressures. The health portfolio experienced significant cost increases linked to higher demand and inflation-indexed contracts.

The “State of the Estate” report is published on an annual basis.

[HCWS655]

Civil Service Workforce

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Thursday 22nd May 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

I am today announcing the Government’s decision to accept the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body on pay for the senior civil service for 2025-26.

The Government received the SSRB’s 2025 report on 6 May 2025. This is being laid in Parliament today and published on gov.uk.

The Government greatly value the independent expertise and insight of the SSRB and are accepting its recommendation on SCS headline pay for the 2025-26 pay round.

This year, the SSRB has recommended:

that all members of the senior civil service should receive a 3.25% consolidated increase to base pay from 1 April 2025;

setting the following changes to the SCS pay ranges from 1 April 2025:

SCS pay band 1: £81,000 to £130,000.

SCS pay band 2: £100,000 to £163,000.

SCS pay band 3: £130,000 to £209,000.

SCS pay band 4: £155,000 to £220,000;

an anomalies pot, comprising 0.5% of the SCS pay bill; and

a fundamental review and “reset” of SCS pay and reward frameworks is undertaken by the Government with urgency.

The Government have very carefully considered the advice and justifications provided by the independent SSRB. The Government accept its recommendations, but ask that the changes recommended to the pay band maximum for SCS pay bands 1 to 3 are deferred to form part of the SSRB’s recommendation for a fundamental review of the SCS pay and reward frameworks. The Government believe that any changes to the pay band maximum for these grades would be best considered as part of this review, and will submit proposals to the SSRB for the 2026-27 pay round on this matter.

In addition, as outlined in the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s letter of 30 September 2024 to the SSRB chair, the recommendations made in relation to the permanent secretary group will be additionally considered by the permanent secretary remuneration committee.

This Government place the highest value on the leadership role that senior civil servants play in driving forward mission-led government and their ambitions on public sector reform. I am grateful to the new chair and members for their report.

[HCWS662]

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

I beg to move,

That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that His Majesty will appoint Paula Sussex CBE to the offices of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has an important role in holding public service providers to account and achieving justice for complainants. I thank Rebecca Hilsenrath KC, who stepped in as acting ombudsman following Sir Rob Behrens’s departure. She provided leadership and stability for the PHSO, ensuring a continued focus on the experience of its service users, while considering how to maximise the impact of the organisation in improving public services for the long term. On behalf of this House, I praise her for her hard work over the past 12 months, and wish her all the best for her future as the PHSO’s chief executive officer.

Following the formation of a new Parliament, the process of recruiting a new ombudsman was relaunched in January. I thank the House and the recruitment panel, particularly the chair, Liam Laurence Smyth, for their speed in conducting the recruitment; they made a recommendation to the Prime Minister in March. The Government support Paula Sussex’s appointment to the role, as we believe that she has the ability and experience to lead the PHSO, bringing insights from her time in the public and private sectors. In accordance with section 1 of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967, and section 1 of the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, I commend Paula Sussex to the House for the role of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England.

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[Georgia Gould]

I will respond briefly to echo the thanks to the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) for his role on the panel, which was critical. It is important that this role has cross-party support and that this appointment has the confidence of the House, to ensure that this important role can be fulfilled with rigour and independence, that our citizens always have a voice in public services and that public service providers are accountable to Parliament. I recommend this appointment to the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

When we came into power, the Government commissioned a comprehensive state of digital government review, which demonstrated just how far we have to go. It set out a picture of fragmentation, silos and a failure to maximise the opportunity of data to personalise and target services. The average UK adult citizen spends a week and a half dealing with government bureaucracy every year. The Government have set out a plan to change this, and we are taking wide-ranging action: from creating the national data library to increasing the number of services that use gov.uk One Login.

[Steff Aquarone]

I am glad the Minister mentioned the Government’s state of digital government review and its fairly excoriating conclusions. It is clear that the public sector is not using data well enough. It detailed the challenges, barriers and reluctance in getting the best out of the data available to Departments—some cannot even get their own arm’s length bodies to share data with them—and if we use data better, we can deliver government better. Would the Minister meet me to discuss further how the Cabinet Office can lead in acting on the lessons of the review and ensuring that the citizen experience is put at the heart of the changes it makes?

[Georgia Gould]

I would be delighted to meet the hon. Member. I am very passionate about this. In local government, I saw how difficult it was for frontline staff who were not able to get data from different services. Most importantly, citizens are having to tell their story to and share data with multiple services, which causes confusion. We are working very closely with the new digital centre of government on this, and we have an action plan to address it. However, I always welcome new ideas, because this could be really transformative for citizens.

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

Too often, when I am trying to get to the bottom of problems for my constituents in Ribble Valley, I get responses to written questions saying that Ministers just do not have the data available. I applaud the Government for putting data at the heart of their plans, but I worry that we could get too carried away with looking at AI solutions before we get to solutions for actually collecting data in the first place. Could the Minister reassure me on how we are working with local government to make sure we are collecting data from all possible sources in one place to start with, before we get to how we can make that more efficient?

[Georgia Gould]

The two issues are completely linked. To use the opportunities of AI, which are enormous, to personalise services and target prevention, we need to have a clear data picture. We need to be able to bring data together across different levels of Government. There is a huge amount of data in Government, but some of it is stuck in legacy systems and not shared properly. This is the absolute bedrock of the opportunity around AI, so it is something we are very committed to, especially working with local government.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

I hope to continue the positive cross-party approach to this question. I particularly like the Minister’s commitment to a clear data picture. The Sullivan review into Government data was published in March this year, and Professor Sullivan made 59 recommendations to ensure that across Government accuracy and consistency are maintained. I do not expect the Minister to have a full formal response to that review today. However, can she reassure me that the Government will issue a full formal response to the review and its recommendations to provide that clear data across Government within, say, a year of the report’s publication?

[Georgia Gould]

I appreciate this collegiate style of discussion. There is a huge amount to do here. When we came into power, we set out, as I said, a review of the picture that showed just how hard it is for citizens to negotiate. When moving home, one has to announce it to 10 different organisations using different public services, sometimes 40 different services, so we need to change. We have not waited for the review. We have already set out our own plans, but we will of course respond to external reviews that come forward.

[Peter Lamb (Crawley) (Lab)]

5. What steps he is taking to reform the civil service.

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[Ben Coleman (Chelsea and Fulham) (Lab)]

7. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to assist local authorities in using public procurement to help create economic growth.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

I welcome the House’s continuing passion for procurement, and my hon. Friend has helped to lead the way in this area at Hammersmith and Fulham council. I have seen how much energy there is in local government to use procurement to deliver jobs and growth. The Government are working on plans to allow local authorities to reserve contracts for local employers. Public procurement can be a key tool in driving growth and supporting businesses across the economy. Our new national procurement policy statement looks to maximise spend with small businesses and asks contracting authorities to work collaboratively on local and regional growth plans.

[Ben Coleman]

I thank the Minister for her reply and for the excellent work she has done in putting together the procurement strategy. It has been a passion of mine for many years that we do not use procurement just to get extra social value but extra economic value, which will help local firms and local growth. That is what this statement does, and I hugely welcome it. May I ask the Minister whether she intends to issue guidance to local authorities so that they know how best they can achieve economic value? For example, they could proactively tell small firms what contracts are coming up or train them in how to tender, which is very difficult for them. They could also encourage small firms to break procurement into lots, so that they have a better chance of bidding. Finally, they could stop requiring an unreasonable number of years of accounts to be shown before small firms are permitted to bid.

[Georgia Gould]

Growth is the No. 1 mission for this Government. We have learned from local authorities such as Hammersmith and Fulham, which built economic value into procurement. The Procurement Act 2023 makes new tools available, but what is critical is how they are used to deliver innovation and growth. The Government will be consulting on new plans to set targets for small and medium-sized enterprise use for the wider public sector. We have delivered extensive training and developed new communities of practice to help make the most of this huge opportunity. As my hon. Friend has said, much of this is about culture and the use of the tools. We will be working with local authorities around the country to deliver on this enormous opportunity.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

My constituency is a food production powerhouse, and I welcome any steps by the Government to encourage local authorities to procure British-produced food. Local authorities are under extreme pressure to procure at very low cost. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that, first, the Groceries Code Adjudicator ensures that farmers are paid fairly for the food they produce and, secondly, the Department for Business and Trade is not about to undermine the food they produce by entering a damaging trade deal with the US that would undermine those standards?

[Georgia Gould]

The guidance we put into the national procurement policy statement makes it clear that we want to deliver best value for money, which means not just cost but ensuring that we support growth and local suppliers. That allows local authorities to make decisions on what will create jobs and best opportunities for communities in the procurement of food.

[Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)]

8. What recent progress he has made on implementing the plan for change.

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[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Too many Government Departments and public bodies have foreign-made tableware purchased with British taxpayers’ money. May I invite the ministerial team to make a commitment to ensure that every Department replaces its foreign-made table set with a British-made one—preferably from Stoke-on-Trent?

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)]

We know of the brilliant craftsmanship of the Stoke-on-Trent industry. We are committed to supporting British businesses and ensuring that they have the best chance of winning public contracts. Our new national policy statement asks contracting authorities to maximise spend with small and medium-sized enterprises and to support our industrial strategy.

[Sir Roger Gale (Herne Bay and Sandwich) (Con)]

During the last Parliament, I made a submission, on behalf of the National Association of Retired Police Officers, for a medal to be issued in recognition of the service given by those injured on duty and invalided out of the service. That had the backing of the then Policing Minister, and I understand it also has the backing of the current Policing Minister, but it has now disappeared into a black hole in the Cabinet Office. Will the Minister please dig it out, dust it off and give it a fair wind?