Jack Dromey

The Attorney General’s Office does not operate a red, amber and green rating system for categorising Freedom of Information requests according to their presentational sensitivity.

All FOI requests are treated exactly the same, regardless of who the request is from and their occupation.

On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed that a public inquiry into COVID-19 will be established on a statutory basis, with full formal powers, and that it will begin its work in spring 2022. The Prime Minister has committed to appointing an independent chair by the end of the year. The inquiry will be established on a statutory basis and the chair will be appointed in accordance with the Inquiries Act 2005.

On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed that a public inquiry into COVID-19 would be established on a statutory basis, with full formal powers, and that it will begin its work in spring 2022.

Further details will be set out in due course.

The write down in the Cabinet Office - Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 relates to an initial purchase of semi-automated face covering manufacturing plants acquired at the outset of the pandemic to provide initial domestic resilience while we were facing worldwide shortages. These machines were replaced by fully automated machines. As a result of this investment, more than 13 million masks for public use have already been made and millions more will be produced in the coming months. This programme has helped ensure public demand for face coverings has not affected the supply of higher-grade masks needed by NHS frontline staff.

Throughout the pandemic, we have done whatever it takes to protect the NHS and save lives. This included launching the Ventilator Challenge, which saw more than 15,000 new machines delivered to the NHS, meaning every patient who needs a ventilator has been able to access one.

The Ventilator Challenge was run during the height of the pandemic and the Cabinet Office accepted the higher levels of risk that come with Research and Development projects where time is of the essence, entering into development contracts with a wide variety of vendors. An initial screening of the projects by a Technical Design Authority (comprised of clinicians, the regulator, external experts and officials) identified which ventilators design concepts were most likely to both pass validation and be manufacturable in volume.

Those design teams were issued conditional letters of intent to cover reasonable costs until the next (clinically informed) TDA, when work on the devices considered to be non-viable was stood down. In this way the list of potentially viable designs was whittled down to those that did pass the required validation tests, some of which were then taken into manufacture. There were therefore costs incurred in supporting designs that did not turn out to work, but it was not knowable at the outset which design concepts would and would not be successful.

As highlighted in the NAO report, even including the R&D costs expended on designs that did not progress, the average unit cost of the ventilators developed and manufactured compared favourably with that of the ventilators purchased in the market. Moreover the NAO report into the ventilator challenge remarked that given its overall approach, the Cabinet Office took reasonable steps to control the programme’s costs where it could.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 27109 on 02 August 2021.

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Ministers and Special Advisers have had no one-on-one meetings with my Hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North between 1 May 2020 and 31 January 2021. Ministers have participated in MP-Roundtables, All-MP calls and MP tea surgeries during this period, some of which the Hon. Member for Milton Keynes North attended or received an invitation for. Details of meetings held by civil servants are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The procedure for interventions in mergers by Ministers on public interest grounds, including national security, is set out in the Enterprise Act 2002.

We will consider options for carer’s leave carefully and will set out our plans in due course.

This Government has made significant progress in addressing the gaps in productivity across the UK. Since 2010, £12 billion has been allocated to local areas via the Local Growth Fund; 10 Devolution Deals have been agreed, further shifting the balance of power away from Whitehall; and £2.6 billion worth of private sector investment has been attracted to Enterprise Zones across England.

Since March 2010, 57% of the rise in employment across the UK has come from outside London and the South East, and 69% of that rise in employment has come from outside London. That means there are over 1.3 million more people in work outside London, and over a million more outside London and the South East since March 2010.

Birmingham is an excellent example of growth occurring outside of London and the South East. More foreign businesses invested in Greater Birmingham & Solihull in 2014/15 than any other LEP region, and the LEP area attracted 73 new FDI projects; investors included world-famous brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, KPMG, Virgin Media and Amazon.

The Industrial Strategy, which my department is delivering, is a critical part of my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister’s vision of an economy that works for everyone, where the benefits of growth are shared up and down the country.

Pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2016, all law in this area at the time of exit will be brought under UK law as part of the Great Repeal Bill, ensuring continuity.

I know that the restrictions on singing are frustrating to large numbers of amateur choirs and performance groups across the country and that many people have made sacrifices in order to drive down infections and protect the NHS over the last year. I can assure you that everyone across Government wants to ease these restrictions as soon as possible.

However, it is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions.

We will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation. As set out in the roadmap, we hope to remove all legal limits on social contact at step 4. Further detail on step 4 will be set out as soon as possible.

The Government is creating a regulatory environment that supports the market in delivering world-class broadband services and has taken a number of steps to support this aim. As part of the Digital Economy Bill, we are introducing a broadband Universal Service Obligation to be implemented by 2020. This will give everyone the legal right to broadband at a minimum speed of 10 Mbps.

We are reforming the Electronic Communications Code to cut costs and simplify the process of building mobile and broadband infrastructure on private land. We are making permanent the relaxations in the rules for deploying fixed broadband infrastructure in all areas except Sites of Special Scientific Interest that we introduced in 2013. This will also cut deployment costs for communications providers and speed up broadband roll-out. Similar planning relaxations are being made in relation to the deployment of mobile infrastructure.

As of 31 July this year, the Communications (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2016 gave rights to Communications Providers to share passive infrastructure across utility, transport and communications sectors which is designed to reduce the cost of broadband deployment.

In addition, building regulations have also been amended to introduce a requirement from January 2017 for all new buildings, and major renovations, to include in-building physical infrastructure to support superfast broadband connectivity. The Government has also put in place industry agreements with developers for fibre connections to be made available to all new build housing.

The Government continues to review the regulatory landscape to identify further opportunities for reform.

Ofcom has been commissioned to undertake detailed technical analysis which will help inform decisions on the design parameters for the USO. We will publish plans for a broadband USO once we have considered Ofcom’s report which is due to be completed by the end of the year.

My Department supports the blocking of access to child sexual abuse material by industry and we are actively seeking to ensure that all European regulation, including the electronic communications framework - which is currently under review - does not impede this. The Government’s primary concern during negotiations on the Connected Continent (or Telecoms Single Market) Regulations was that the Internet Watch Foundation's (IWF) ability to block access to illegal images of child abuse was protected, and we are confident we have ensured this. Going forward, we will continue with our aim to ensure any future European regulation allows the blocking of such content.

The department is leading a cross government approach to champion the family hub model. The government is investing over £34 million to champion family hubs. This includes a National Centre for Family Hubs to provide expert advice, guidance and advocacy; a £10 million transformation fund to open family hubs in around 10 new areas in England; an evaluation innovation fund to build the evidence base; and work with local authorities to develop data and digital products that will support the practical implementation of family hubs. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20m-to-provide-more-early-help-for-vulnerable-families.

Alongside this, the government is committed to delivering the action areas set out in the Early Years Healthy Development Review led by my right hon. Friend, the member for South Northamptonshire, more information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-best-start-for-life-a-vision-for-the-1001-critical-days. One key action area was to champion family hubs as a place where parents and carers can access Start for Life services. To support delivery of this, the National Centre for Family Hubs will support councils to understand how best to build a family hub network, and to take steps at a national and local level to reduce the stigma some parents or carers experience when asking for help. We will consider the recommendations in the Action for Children report as we take forward this work.

We have not made an assessment of the accessibility of early years services in the West Midlands specifically. The work that the government is doing to champion the family hub model and support parents and carers to access Start for Life services is national in scope, and applicable, with local nuance, in all regions.

The department is leading a cross government approach to champion the family hub model. The government is investing over £34 million to champion family hubs. This includes a National Centre for Family Hubs to provide expert advice, guidance and advocacy; a £10 million transformation fund to open family hubs in around 10 new areas in England; an evaluation innovation fund to build the evidence base; and work with local authorities to develop data and digital products that will support the practical implementation of family hubs. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20m-to-provide-more-early-help-for-vulnerable-families.

Alongside this, the government is committed to delivering the action areas set out in the Early Years Healthy Development Review led by my right hon. Friend, the member for South Northamptonshire, more information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-best-start-for-life-a-vision-for-the-1001-critical-days. One key action area was to champion family hubs as a place where parents and carers can access Start for Life services. To support delivery of this, the National Centre for Family Hubs will support councils to understand how best to build a family hub network, and to take steps at a national and local level to reduce the stigma some parents or carers experience when asking for help. We will consider the recommendations in the Action for Children report as we take forward this work.

We have not made an assessment of the accessibility of early years services in the West Midlands specifically. The work that the government is doing to champion the family hub model and support parents and carers to access Start for Life services is national in scope, and applicable, with local nuance, in all regions.

The Department ran a consultation in 2017 to seek views about key issues in the primary assessment system, including how we can ensure the assessment system is proportionate while continuing to support high standards in our primary schools. The consultation was open for 12 weeks and received 4,165 responses from a range of groups, including parents.

Our response set out a number of actions, including developing new and revised assessments by working closely with key stakeholders such as teachers. When developing new assessment policy, such as the new engagement model and the reception baseline assessment, the Standards and Testing Agency seeks the views of parents or their representative organisations to inform decision making. The response also set out how we would provide clearer and more meaningful information to parents on how their children are progressing as well as identifying where additional support may be required.

There have been no changes to the funding of maintained nursery schools and children centres. We are currently consulting on the introduction of an Early Years National Funding Formula to ensure a fairer allocation of early years funding to local authorities. The consultation document sets out our intention to provide supplementary funding for maintained nursery schools for at least two years in order to provide stability to the nursery school sector while they explore how to become more sustainable in the longer term, including exploiting the scope for efficiencies.

Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. Local authorities must meet their statutory duties on children’s centres from funding that forms part of the Department for Communities and Local Government Business Rates Retention Scheme. In addition, other Government funding, including that for public health, adult skills training and troubled families may also be used locally to support services delivered wholly, or in part, through children’s centres. Local authorities must consult fully before any significant changes are made to children’s centre services.

Nursery Schools

The Department for Education's register of educational establishments in England and Wales indicates that from the 31 August 2013 to 31 August 2016 eight maintained nursery schools closed, and 10 amalgamated or merged with another school. No closures were recorded in Birmingham, Erdington or the West Midlands.

The Department does not collect information on the reasons for the closure of nursery schools. Local authorities have a duty to secure sufficient childcare in their local area. In consultation with their Schools Forum, they are responsible for deciding how best to distribute early years funding across their locality.

There is a presumption against the closure of any nursery school. The local authority must consult on any proposed closures, clearly demonstrating the rationale for so doing.

Day-care facilities

The Department does not collect data on the number of childcare businesses that have closed. The Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey shows that the childcare market continues to expand.

• The number of registered places in full day care settings rose by ten per cent between 2011 and 2013.

• The long term increase in the number of full day care providers continued in 2013. In total there were 17,900 full day care settings in 2013 (compared to 17,600 in 2011).

Children’s centres

Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. The Department does not collect information on the reasons for the closure of children’s centres.

According to data supplied by local authorities, a total of 259 children’s centres closed in the calendar years, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Forty nine of these closures were in the West Midlands. None of these were in Birmingham.