Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Prime Minister plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for North Durham of 16 August 2021 regarding Ultra Electronics.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Prime Minister's office has no record of receiving this correspondence. If the hon. Member would like to supply a further copy, a reply will be sent.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts IX Wireless Limited have been awarded by Government in the last 10 years.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
This information is not held centrally.
Details of Government contracts above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the public purse funded any of the party refreshments consumed within No.10 Downing Street on 20 May 2021.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The report undertaken by the Second Permanent Secretary - available in the Library of the House - did not identify any allegations relating to staff gatherings on this date.
For the avoidance of doubt, there was no such expenditure on 20 May 2020 either.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Prime Minister last met the Chief Executive of the Premier League.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Details of Ministers’ official meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date he last convened the Honours Forfeiture Committee.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Forfeiture Committee last convened on 20th May 2021.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's plans to collect new forms of data on veteran suicide, how coroners will be able to access information to confirm that the suicide victim was a former member of the UK's armed forces.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.
This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to provide (a) new codes of practice and (b) training to coroners for coroners to be able to discern whether the suicide of a veteran is attributable to their service.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.
This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to place new duties on coroners to ensure that they accurately report on veteran suicide.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.
This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's plans to collect new forms of data on veteran suicide, what methodology the Government plans to use to collate those figures; and whether that will include a breakdown by service.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The new methodology to measure the frequency of suicide within the veteran community will utilise data gathered through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population. This will include suicide related deaths of veterans and we intend to include a breakdown by service as part of this analysis. This analysis will be undertaken in 2023, and in the interim the OVA will be working with ONS and the MOD to conduct a 10 year look back at veteran deaths by suicide. This work will inform us how many veterans have died through suicide and other causes including drug and alcohol misuse from 2011-2021, and to estimate the number that died homeless. Through the new methodology and our broader research programme we will explore data linking opportunities to understand veterans’ wider experiences, support needs and interaction with public services.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's plans to collect new forms of data on veteran suicide, whether that data will include information on what engagement veterans had with mental health services prior to their suicide.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The new methodology to measure the frequency of suicide within the veteran community will utilise data gathered through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population. This will include suicide related deaths of veterans and we intend to include a breakdown by service as part of this analysis. This analysis will be undertaken in 2023, and in the interim the OVA will be working with ONS and the MOD to conduct a 10 year look back at veteran deaths by suicide. This work will inform us how many veterans have died through suicide and other causes including drug and alcohol misuse from 2011-2021, and to estimate the number that died homeless. Through the new methodology and our broader research programme we will explore data linking opportunities to understand veterans’ wider experiences, support needs and interaction with public services.