Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many quangos his Department has dealings with; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the number of these bodies.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
‘Quangos’ is an obsolete term. They are now called Arm’s Length Bodies.
The list of all Government Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) can be found here [https://co-public-bodies.github.io/ALB_Landscape_Analysis_2023_24/08%20profilePagesIndex.html] along with the details of the 11 ALBs that Cabinet Office directly sponsors.
In April the Government announced a review of all ALBs across government with a view to streamline governance and reduce bureaucracy. This review is ongoing.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what structures are in place for annual performance reviews for senior civil servants; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those arrangements on (a) adequate scrutiny and (b) enhanced productivity.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Members of the Senior Civil Service (SCS) are subject to an annual performance review process, governed by the central SCS performance management framework published on Performance management framework for the Senior Civil Service (2025 to 2026 performance year) - GOV.UK
The central framework is regularly reviewed to ensure that it is fit for purpose. Changes were introduced in April of this year, to ensure a greater focus on the productivity of the Senior Civil Service. This included the introduction of minimum standards, expected distribution and a cross-Government consistency check meeting.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October to Question 81237 on Army: Public Records, for what reason his security service personal file (PF 44288) has not been made available by her Department for release to the National Archive.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Government records are normally opened at the National Archives when they are 20-years old but, where they exist, some records are retained or closed, in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act 1958, in order to protect national security, international relations and sensitive personal data.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking enable veterans who were dismissed from the Armed Forces on the basis of their sexuality to have their service records amended to reflect their treatment.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Service personnel who were dismissed from the Armed Forces on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, can apply to have their discharge qualified. This qualification of administrative discharge will set right the records of Veterans who were administratively discharged under the ban in place between 1967 and 2000, as well as those discharged prior to 1967 due to historic law.
The qualification of administrative discharge addresses recommendation 26 of Lord Etherton’s Independent Review and serves to remove any dishonour from their Service files and recognises that their discharge was wrong. Personnel who were administratively discharged following conviction/s for same-sex sexual offences will first need to apply for a disregard of their conviction/s through the Home Office’s Disregard and Pardon scheme. More information about the qualification of administrative discharge can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lgbt-veterans-support-and-next-steps
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the contract to build small craft to support the Royal Navy was awarded to a foreign shipbuilder; and what British-based firms competing for that contract had their bids rejected.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The contract in question is a sub-contract awarded by Serco to procure 24 new vessels for the Royal Navy. This sub-contract is part of the Defence Marine Services In-Port Services contract between the Ministry of Defence and Serco, and accounts for less than 25% of the total contract value. The In-Port Services contract was sourced via a competitive tender process; however, Serco was the only tenderer to submit a bid. In accordance with the legislation in force at the time, Serco was free to select its sub-contractors, and the Ministry of Defence was not permitted under this legislation to require Serco to discriminate on grounds of nationality.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 77959 on Landscapes Review, if he will make it his policy to maintain the Protected Landscapes duty as enacted through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, in the context of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no plans to repeal the Protected Landscapes duty.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the personal file (PF44288) relating to Major General JFC Fuller has not been made available by his Department for release to the National Archives.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Under the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Service Records Project approximately 10 million Service records of personnel with a date of birth prior to 1 January 1939, are in the process of being transferred from the MOD to The National Archives for permanent preservation. Service Records pertaining to Officers are yet to be transferred. A copy of Major General JFC Fuller’s Service Record can be requested through the following link:
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations she has received from the Campaign for National Parks on the effectiveness of the Protected Landscapes Duty, introduced under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, in promoting (a) earlier consideration of environmental aspects of planning proposals, (b) cleaner rivers, (c) improved public transport for rural communities, (d) stronger local economies, (d) more wildlife and biodiversity recovery and (e) fairer public access to nature; and whether the impact of the Protected Landscapes Duty has fulfilled the principal recommendations of the 2019 Glover Review.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Defra and MHCLG Secretaries of State and the Minister for Nature received a letter from the Campaign for National Parks on 7 October 2025 titled ‘Do not weaken the laws protecting National Parks and National Landscapes’. We will respond in due course.
The Government is working with a range of partners to consider the impact of the Protected Landscapes Duty. The duty is intended to facilitate better outcomes for England’s Protected Landscapes, which are in line with their statutory purposes.
The Government has published guidance on the Protected Landscapes duty to ensure public bodies operating in these areas, including water companies, deliver better environmental outcomes working together with Protected Landscape organisations.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of PSA tests have (a) accurately diagnosed, and (b) given false (i) negative and (ii) positive diagnoses for prostate cancer in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. NDRS does not hold information on the specific results of the prostate specific antigen test in the format requested.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with specialist bodies on the Warm Homes Plan; and when he plans to (a) publish and (b) implement the Plan.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The previous Minister for Energy Consumers had discussions with industry, local government and devolved governments in the development of the Warm Homes Plan.
As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the government committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1 billion of this allocated to 2025/2026.
The department has also launched the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) to support social housing providers and tenants in England, and the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) to support low-income homeowners and private tenants in England. Further detail on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in October.