Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2025 to Question 23863 on Department for Education: Disclosure of Information, what recent progress her Department has made on the inquiry; and whether special advisers have been interviewed as part of the inquiry.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The investigation remains ongoing and the department is unable to comment further on the progress or specifics of an ongoing investigation.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her Department's budget is for (a) advertising, (a) marketing and (c) communications in each year of this Parliament.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMT sets its budgets annually. Budgets have not been finalised for future financial years.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full time equivalent staff are employed in (a) each Ministerial office and (b) the Permanent Secretary's office.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury has seven ministers, two of which work jointly with other departments.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Private Office has thirteen permanent full-time members of staff.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Private Office has six permanent full-time members of staff.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury’s Private Office has six permanent full-time members of staff.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury’s Private Office has six permanent full-time members of staff.
The Exchequer Secretary’s Private Office has six permanent full-time members of staff.
The Minister for Pensions works jointly with the Department of Work and Pensions. He has one permanent full-time member of staff who is a HM Treasury employee.
The Minister for Investment works jointly with the Department of Trade. She has one permanent full-time member of staff who is a HM Treasury employee.
The Permanent Secretary’s Office has four permanent full-time members of staff.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's consultation Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, published on 28 April 2025, what estimate she has made of the annual revenue which would be generated from the proposed changes set out in the consultation.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024 the Chancellor announced her intention to review the Soft Drinks Industry levy (SDIL) – which has incentivised producers to remove almost half (46%) the sugar in relevant drinks – to further drive product reformulation.
The ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation follows this commitment. Specifically, it sets out proposals to reduce the minimum sugar threshold at which the levy applies from 5g to 4g sugar per 100ml, and to remove the current exemptions for milk-based and milk substitute drinks with added sugar.
The government welcomes feedback on the proposed changes as part of the consultation, which is open until 21 July 2025 and will inform decisions at a future Budget.
The exchequer impact of any changes to SDIL will be confirmed following the consultation and certified by the Office of Budget Responsibility as part of a Budget.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of dualling the A47 between Tilney and East Winch.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The current performance and potential future needs of the A47 between Tilney and East Winch has been considered as part of National Highways East of England Route Strategy, which will form the basis of future investment planning on the strategic road network.
As part of a proposed housing development at West Winch, to the south of Kings Lynn, National Highways is considering improvements to the Hardwick Interchange where the A47 meets the A10, dual the section of the A47 south of the Hardwick Interchange and provide for a new access road. This is still in an early stage of development and is subject to review and assessment by the department once details are finalised.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to end the Great Northern franchise at the core term expiry date.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Great Northern services are operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), whose core term expiry date was 1 April 2025. The date on which GTR’s franchise will end, and its services transfer to public ownership, has not yet been decided. The Rail Minister and Secretary of State meet with all the Train Operating Companies and their Network Rail counterparts regularly to discuss performance and staffing amongst other topical issues.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps regulators sponsored by her Department are taking to reduce the reporting requirements for firms.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Our Regulation Action Plan included a whole of Government target to cut the administrative costs of regulation for business, including costs posed by reporting requirements, by a quarter by the end of the Parliament.
As first steps to contribute to the delivery of this target:
· The Prudential Regulation Authority has committed to working with industry to deliver a more streamlined approach to banking regulatory reporting;
· The Financial Conduct Authority published a consultation on removing certain reporting and notification requirements on 16 April; and,
· We are considering changes to the Money Laundering Regulations, to ensure requirements are proportionate and targeted at high-risk activity.
We are completing a baselining exercise in parallel to understand how much regulation is costing and where reforms can be targeted to streamline processes and remove unnecessary burdens.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals in England provide office space to Unison representatives; and what rental charges are paid in each case.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested. Trade union representatives are entitled to time off to enable them to carry out their trade union duties or to take part in union training.
It is important that, where possible, employers make available to union representatives the facilities necessary for them to fulfil their duties, and to communicate effectively with their members. Section 25 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service (Agenda for Change) sets out that where resources permit, the facilities for recognised trade unions should include the use of dedicated office space.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the 40 most expensive substitute (a) service family accommodation and (a) single living accommodation properties were by (i) monthly rental and (b) location in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Since 1 April 2022, substitute accommodation has been delivered under the Rented Living Accommodation Project (RLAP). Under RLAP, Mears Group provide both Substitute Service Family Accommodation (SSFA) and Single Service Substitute Accommodation (SSSA) including the occupation management of the substitute accommodation portfolio, repairs and maintenance.
For all substitute accommodation, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) pays a contractual rate in lieu of rental cost. The contractual rate is commercially sensitive, and its disclosure would prejudice Ministry of Defence's commercial interests and relationship with its contractor, Mears.
The 40 most expensive SSSA properties are all located in London.
For SSFA, the table below provides details of the 40 locations with the highest contractual rate for properties, by month, from April 2024 to March 2025:
Date | Location | ||||||||
| London | South East | Scotland / NI | Midlands | East | North-East Yorkshire / Humberside | South-West | North-West | Wales |
Apr 24 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
|
May 24 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
|
Jun 24 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
|
Jul 24 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
|
Aug 24 | 7 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
|
Sep 24 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
|
Oct 24 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
|
Nov 24 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
|
Dec 24 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
|
Jan 25 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
|
Feb 25 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 3 |
Mar 25 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
|
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled UK Covid-19 Inquiry Management Statement, published in August 2022, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the Covid-19 public inquiry represents value for money.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is an independent public inquiry, established by the previous administration.
In line with the UK Covid-19 Management Statement, the Inquiry’s Accounting Officer must conform to value for money and good financial management requirements and must provide financial updates to the Cabinet Office as its sponsor department.
The Chair is under a statutory obligation to avoid unnecessary costs in the Inquiry’s work and she has been clear that she intends to complete her work as quickly and efficiently as possible.