Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the published list of (a) arm’s-length bodies, (b) Government departments, (c) agencies, (d) public bodies, and (e) other related entities for which a Minister or Department is responsible is complete and does not omit any relevant bodies.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Cabinet Office publishes a list of Departments, agencies and public bodies which can be accessed on gov.uk. Individual government departments are responsible for ensuring their portfolio of organisations is accurately listed and kept up-to-date.

The Government also publishes a consolidated dataset on arm’s-length bodies annually. The latest version can be found here and provides landscape data for 2024.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many open (a) processes and (b) applications there are for the closure of (i) arm’s-length bodies, (ii) Government Departments, (iii) agencies and (iv) public bodies.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all UK government arm’s length bodies, and proposals for new bodies, in order to return policy decisions to Ministers, reduce duplication and improve efficiency and transparency. The review is ongoing and outcomes will be announced in due course.

Information about the closures of other types of public bodies is not held centrally.

The decision to create or close Government Departments is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. There are no active processes underway to create or close any departments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many open (a) processes and (b) applications there are for the creation of new (i) arm’s-length bodies, (ii) Government Departments, (iii) agencies and (iv) public bodies.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all UK government arm’s length bodies, and proposals for new bodies, in order to return policy decisions to Ministers, reduce duplication and improve efficiency and transparency. The review is ongoing and outcomes will be announced in due course.

Information about the creation of other types of public bodies is not held centrally.

The decision to create or close Government Departments is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. There are no active processes underway to create or close any departments.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what proportion of the IPSA preferred suppliers list for MPs’ office purchases are UK-based manufacturers.

Answered by Charlotte Nichols

IPSA does not have a preferred suppliers list for MPs' office purchases. MPs are able to apply their own descretion within the parameters set out in the Scheme of MPs' Staffing and Business Costs when accessing funds from their Office Costs Budget.

Whilst IPSA does not have a preferred suppliers list for MPs' office purchases, it does have two direct supplier relationships with retail businesses based in the UK or with a UK subsidiary. MPs can make use of these in purchasing certain office supplies and for letterhead printing.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, whether any (a) arm’s-length bodies, (b) agencies and (c) public bodies are being administered under the Privy Council.

Answered by Lucy Powell

The Privy Council does not directly administer any (a) arm’s-length bodies, (b) agencies or (c) public bodies. Certain functions fall to Ministers as Privy Counsellors, either because they arise under the Royal Prerogative or because an Act of Parliament specifies that delegated legislation is to be made by Order in Council, or by the Privy Council. This is usually limited to the approval of governance changes, or appointments, to independent statutory regulators.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what recent discussions she has had with IPSA on the (a) promotion and (b) procurement of British-made goods through Members’ parliamentary budgets.

Answered by Lucy Powell

No such discussions have taken place. IPSA is independent of Parliament and Government.

More widely, the Government is committed to ensuring public procurement expenditure boosts British industry.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of her Department's suppliers for (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

how many and what proportion of her Department's suppliers for:

(a) ICT (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK

The information requested is not collected centrally. Providing an answer to this element of the question would incur disproportionate cost.

(b) stationery (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK

DWP’s contract for office products has been procured through the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Office Solutions Framework RM6299; further information can be found here: Office Solutions - CCS

DWP has 1 UK based supplier for all our stationery requirements. There is no specific requirement or metric with which we record the country of manufacture for each individual stationery item procured.

(c) office furniture (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK

We currently have two furniture suppliers in contract, with DWP Senator Group and Bates Office Services. Both are UK based.

Senator Group fully manufacturer all products within their UK site. Bates office services utilise a combined sourcing approach to manufacturing where in products are partially manufactured in the UK and partially sourced from outside the UK.

The furniture is purchased via procurement from CCS frameworks, and all Office furniture meets the Government hub standards and Includes supply, delivery, and installation.

More broadly, the Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) her Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for Paper & paper products. Furthermore, Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the government estate.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, from which countries her Department has sourced (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for Paper & paper products. Furthermore, Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the government estate.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) his Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

Answered by Justin Madders

The Department for Business and Trade and its arms-length bodies do not have any policies to specifically encourage procurement of British made office products and stationery. However, the Government is committed to supporting British businesses, ensuring they have opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office is consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement regulation to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many an what proportion of his Department’s (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture suppliers are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

Answered by Justin Madders

Of the Department’s ICT contracts, 83% are with UK registered companies equating to 85 out of 103 contracts. The department has a corporate contract with a UK registered company for stationery (including printing materials). The majority of office furniture in buildings occupied by the Department is procured by the Government Property Agency (GPA).

We do not hold information on the country of manufacture of ICT, stationery or office furniture commodities.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services. The Procurement Act 2023 contains numerous provisions to support UK businesses win public contracts and the Cabinet Office is currently consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, from which countries his Department has sourced (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

Answered by Justin Madders

Of the Department’s ICT contracts, 83% are with UK registered companies equating to 85 out of 103 contracts. The department has a corporate contract with a UK registered company for stationery (including printing materials). The majority of office furniture in buildings occupied by the Department is procured by the Government Property Agency (GPA).

We do not hold information on the country of manufacture of ICT, stationery or office furniture commodities.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services. The Procurement Act 2023 contains numerous provisions to support UK businesses win public contracts and the Cabinet Office is currently consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of her Department’s (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture suppliers are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to supporting British business and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office is consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories on spend and are set out by the Government Buying Standards.

The Ministry of Justice holds one contract for stationary provisions, with the awarded supplier of Banner (UK based), and two contracts for furniture provision, with the awarded supplier of both contracts, Senator International Limited (UK Based).

The Department has 181 unique suppliers of ICT services. 165 of these suppliers are registered as UK based.

The information requested on what proportion is manufactured in the UK is not held centrally.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, from which countries his Department has sourced (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for Paper & paper products. Furthermore, the Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the Government estate.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) his Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

The Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards (GBS). e.g. Furniture, Office ICT, and Paper & paper products

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department's (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture suppliers are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

The Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards (GBS). e.g. Furniture, Office ICT, and Paper & paper products

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of her Department’s (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture suppliers are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not collect data at this level of granularity and the information would only be available at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, from which countries her Department has sourced (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not collect data at this level of granularity and the information would only be available at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) the Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Office stationery products are primarily purchased through HO catalogue contract with Banner, a UK based stockist and distributor. The contract focuses on security of supply, catalogue/stock management and reducing the environmental impact of the goods and services whilst maintaining the best value for money. Other ancillary stationary products are purchased through Unite, category specific contracts or sourced low level below threshold purchases.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of her Department’s suppliers for (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Contracts for office products and materials are awarded in compliance with the relevant public procurement regulations to ensure value for money, utilising Crown Commercial Service framework agreements.

Details of government contracts above £12,000 (inc. VAT) are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder) and, if procured under the Procurement Act 2023, on the Central Digital Platform (Find a Tender service). This includes a note of winning suppliers. (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search(opens in a new tab)).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) her Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Contracts for office products and materials are awarded in compliance with the relevant public procurement regulations to ensure value for money, utilising Crown Commercial Service framework agreements.

Details of government contracts above £12,000 (inc. VAT) are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder) and, if procured under the Procurement Act 2023, on the Central Digital Platform (Find a Tender service). This includes a note of winning suppliers. (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search(opens in a new tab)).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, from which countries her Department has sourced (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Contracts for office products and materials are awarded in compliance with the relevant public procurement regulations to ensure value for money, utilising Crown Commercial Service framework agreements.

Details of government contracts above £12,000 (inc. VAT) are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder) and, if procured under the Procurement Act 2023, on the Central Digital Platform (Find a Tender service). This includes a note of winning suppliers. (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search(opens in a new tab)).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) her Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office is consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for paper & paper products. Furthermore, the Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the Government estate.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, from which countries her Department has sourced (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office is consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for paper & paper products. Furthermore, the Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the Government estate.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in effectively managing (a) waste disposal, (b) water pollution and (c) other environmental and public safety issues arising from traveller sites.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, which can be found on gov.uk here, makes clear that local authorities should ensure that traveller sites are sustainable economically, socially and environmentally. In doing so, authorities should ensure their policies provide for proper consideration of the effect of local environmental quality on the health and well-being of any travellers that may locate there.

Found: Blundell (Labour; Heywood and Middleton North) Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat; Didcot and Wantage) Katie Lam