Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To as the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to support the opening of a Home Office innovation centre in Stoke-on-Trent as part of the Places for Growth programme.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Places for Growth is relocating 22,000 roles from London by 2030, increasing opportunities and providing an economic boost to cities and towns across the UK.
The Home Office has a comprehensive Stoke-on-Trent programme and has already recruited around 100 of the 500 roles that will be based at the Stoke-on-Trent Innovation Centre by 2025. Officials continue to work closely with the City Council and local organisations on this work.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to deliver civil service jobs in Stoke-on-Trent.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 129140 on 22 December 2020. A number of announcements have been made on Places for Growth locations. This includes the Cabinet Office establishing a second headquarters in Glasgow, a joint headquarters for FCDO in East Kilbride and a new economic campus in Darlington. Further announcements for other departments will be made in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to increase the opportunities for ceramic businesses to bid for government contracts.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government works very closely with the ceramics sector on a number of issues, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic and following our exit from the European Union.
Government departments spend a significant sum on public procurement, and we are aware of the vital role this will play in kick-starting the economy. We have launched a new social value model which helps to ensure that the Government's huge purchasing power is used to support communities and the local economy. Our Green Paper proposals set out long-planned changes to the public procurement rules which will cut red tape, reduce bureaucracy and help unleash wider social benefits from public money spent on procurement.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of civil service jobs based outside London in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has committed to ensuring that the administration of Government is less London-centric by relocating 22,000 Civil Service roles out of central London and into the regions and nations of the United Kingdom by the end of the decade.
The Cabinet Office, through the Places for Growth programme, will make further announcements on this programme in the usual way.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that equal constituency sizes are in place before the next general election.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government committed, in its 2019 Manifesto, to delivering updated and equal UK Parliamentary boundaries with the aim of making sure that every vote counts the same - a cornerstone of democracy.
The Parliamentary Constituencies Bill sets the framework of future boundary reviews, including the next review due to begin in early 2021. The Bill is scheduled to complete its stages in the House of Commons on 14 July and will then proceed to the House of Lords.
This Bill provides that the next boundary review will run to a slightly shorter timetable of approximately 2 years and 7 months. This one-off change aims to ensure that updated and equal Parliamentary boundaries are delivered.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to support veterans and their families in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Kidsgrove and (c) England.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
This Government is absolutely committed to making the United Kingdom the best place to be a veteran anywhere in the world. We have created the Office for Veterans’ Affairs in the Cabinet Office to ensure veteran’s are represented right at the heart of Government.
We have also introduced measures such as discounted railcards; guaranteed interviews to make it easier for veterans to join the Civil Service; creating more Armed Forces champions in the Department for Work and Pensions; introducing a national insurance holiday to encourage employers to maximise the talents of veterans in our workforce; improved access to housing; making it easier for veterans to access physical and mental healthcare support for veterans in the NHS, as well as introducing to legislation to ensure veterans are not subject to unfair historic investigations and further strengthening the Armed Forces Covenant in law.
Specifically in Stoke on Trent, Veterans UK works very closely with the Veterans Support Centre, which is located in Newcastle Under Lyme and has supported over 18,000 people since the centre opened in 2015.