Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on its decision as of April 2021 to use a Severity of Injustice scale to decide on which complaints will be accepted for investigation.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is independent of Government and is accountable to Parliament through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee for its performance. The PHSO will therefore reply separately to these questions by letter.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the increase in the (a) waiting time for allocation of complaints from 29 days to 74 days and (b) average time from allocation to completion to 152 days.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is independent of Government and is accountable to Parliament through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee for its performance. The PHSO will therefore reply separately to these questions by letter.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies' document entitled Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters and superspreading events, dated 3 June 2020, what role the covid-19 superspreading event in South Korea in January 2020 played in informing the covid-19 restrictions applied by the Government to gyms.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government considers evidence from a range of sources when deciding whether and how to apply restrictions to businesses and when to ease them, including for gyms and other sports and leisure facilities. No one wants to prevent businesses operating, but we have always been guided by the scientific evidence whilst seeking to keep as many businesses open as possible at each stage of our response. Scientific evidence supporting the government response to COVID-19 is regularly published at - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19
Gyms are currently closed as part of our national effort to control the spread of the virus. The government’s published Roadmap sets out our intention to reopen gyms and other premises when the time is right and will be supported by updated Covid secure guidance before each step of the Roadmap.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the performance of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is independent of Government and is accountable to Parliament through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee for its performance. The PHSO will therefore reply separately to these questions by letter.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average waiting time is from (a) a complaint being accepted for investigation and (b) a decision being made by the Parliamentary Ombudsman in the most recent period for which that information is available.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is independent of Government and is accountable to Parliament through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee for its performance. The PHSO will therefore reply separately to these questions by letter.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average waiting time is for a complaint to be assigned to a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman caseworker in the most recent period for which that information is available; and what that average waiting time was in March 2020.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is independent of Government and is accountable to Parliament through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee for its performance. The PHSO will therefore reply separately to these questions by letter.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the publications in which the Government's All Together insertions have been included; and if he will place a copy of each one of those insertions in the Library.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the hon. member to the answer given to PQ 45460 on 18 May 2020 and PQs 152485-152495 on 22 February 2021.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal of Public Procurement Note (a) 02/20 and (b) 04/20 on the rate of transmission of covid-19.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
From the beginning of the pandemic the Government has taken a number of measures to accelerate payments to suppliers and preserve cash flow. Contracting Authorities can still make their own arrangements for contractual relief if necessary and since October 2020, we have encouraged businesses to consider the raft of financial support available - including the CJRS and loan schemes.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been paid in termination payments to employees who left employment in the Prime Minister's Office in each month of 2020.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts includes information on staff costs and exit packages for permanently employed staff, Special Advisers and Ministers within the Department, including the Prime Minister’s Office.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department's policy is on which matters are considered sensitive by the FOI clearing house.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 120771 on 30 November.