Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improving access to mental health services for veterans.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Minister for the Cabinet Office recently met the Minister for Care and Mental Health to discuss issues surrounding veterans’ health, including mental health services. The Minister for Defence People recently had the opportunity to meet Op COURAGE staff and service users at Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.
Op COURAGE is a mental health support pathway in England which continues to grow, and the Government strongly encourages any veterans who need support to engage with it. Op COURAGE was allocated £17.8 million funding last year and an extra £2.7 million over the next three years.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to increase opportunities in cyber technology.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The National Cyber Strategy sets out how the government will foster the growth of an already strong cyber sector in the UK. New government-funded programmes like Cyber Runway and the cyber accelerator, ‘NCSC for Startups’ are supporting entrepreneurs and businesses across the UK to turn their ideas into commercial successes.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
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 improve the quality of civil service apprenticeships.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Meriden on 11 February 2021.
"The civil service will launch its new apprenticeship strategy next year. The first phase will have delivered 30,000 apprenticeships by next April, but going forward I want to focus not just on numbers, but on the quality of training on offer, so that Departments get much better at growing their own talent and plugging skills gaps. To that end, we recently published the curriculum and campus for Government skills, with the goal of setting the highest standard in vocational training for all civil servants, including apprentices."
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
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 improve online government services.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All public-facing online government services are required to comply with the Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice which ensure that they meet user needs, are accessible and secure.
We are introducing GOV.UK Accounts to meet changing user needs and expectations and make government services more personalised and data-driven. We have established a Data Standards Authority to make sure that data can be used, shared and understood across government, which is the foundation of joined-up and trusted public services.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allowing virtual wedding ceremonies to take place in England during covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
On 4 January, the Prime Minister announced a National Lockdown for all of England, in accordance with growing evidence of virus prevalence. Under these new restrictions, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies should only take place in exceptional circumstances. Up to six people can attend (including the couple). Anyone working is not included in that limit.
We recognise the restrictions may be disappointing for those planning such events. By their nature, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are events that bring families and friends together, including from across the country and sometimes across the world, making them particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19. We do not wish to keep restrictions in place for any longer than we have to, and restrictions will be kept under review in line with the changing situation. For further information, please refer to the guidance for small weddings and civil partnerships https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships. There is different advice for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The government continues to regularly make available scientific evidence supporting its COVID-19 response, including at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19.
On 22 February, the Prime Minister will set out the plan for reopening schools, and gradually reopening the economy and society, in a sustainable way in England.
For further information, please refer to the Coronavirus (COVID‑19) page on gov.uk, which will publish further information regarding the roadmap on 22 February, https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will adjust the current restrictions on wedding ceremonies to allow them to be held in England with up to five people, including the couple, witnesses and the officiant, providing that the venue's capacity allows for 2m social distancing.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
On 4 January, the Prime Minister announced a National Lockdown for all of England, in accordance with growing evidence of virus prevalence. Under these new restrictions, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies should only take place in exceptional circumstances. Up to six people can attend (including the couple). Anyone working is not included in that limit.
We recognise the restrictions may be disappointing for those planning such events. By their nature, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are events that bring families and friends together, including from across the country and sometimes across the world, making them particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19. We do not wish to keep restrictions in place for any longer than we have to, and restrictions will be kept under review in line with the changing situation. For further information, please refer to the guidance for small weddings and civil partnerships https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships. There is different advice for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The government continues to regularly make available scientific evidence supporting its COVID-19 response, including at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19.
On 22 February, the Prime Minister will set out the plan for reopening schools, and gradually reopening the economy and society, in a sustainable way in England.
For further information, please refer to the Coronavirus (COVID‑19) page on gov.uk, which will publish further information regarding the roadmap on 22 February, https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to promote and protect the Union.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I refer the Hon. member to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s answer to the question asked by Robin Millar on 16 July 2020.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs created in (a) Woking, (b) Surrey and (c) the UK since 2010.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I
have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what reduction in long-term unemployment there has been in Woking constituency since May 2010.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I
have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the rates of (a) suicide and (b) self-harm among people aged 11 to 18 years old in (i) England and (ii) Surrey in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.