Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of Statutory Guidelines On Disposable BBQ and on open flames restrictions, issued by the national alert on 14 August 2026, on (i) Sussex Bonfire and processions season (ii) and their charitable fundraising.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The decision to issue the Emergency Alert on Friday 14 August was taken following direct requests from front-line emergency responders because national capabilities were at risk of being overwhelmed. The Cabinet Office issued the alert following these requests. The Alert was advisory in response to adverse environmental conditions. Transmission of the emergency alert ended at 23:00 on Friday 14 August. Statutory restrictions apply specifically to the sale of disposable BBQs and do not apply to bonfires.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what communication methods her Department has in place to confirm the lifting the Statutory Guidelines On Disposable BBQ restrictions on open flames, issued by the national alert on 14 August 2026.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The decision to issue the Emergency Alert on Friday 14 August was taken following direct requests from front-line emergency responders because national capabilities were at risk of being overwhelmed. The Cabinet Office issued the alert following these requests. The Alert was advisory in response to adverse environmental conditions. Transmission of the emergency alert ended at 23:00 on Friday 14 August. Statutory restrictions apply specifically to the sale of disposable BBQs and do not apply to bonfires.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Statutory Guidelines On Disposable BBQ and on open flames restrictions, issued by the national alert on 14 August 2026, is still in affect.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The decision to issue the Emergency Alert on Friday 14 August was taken following direct requests from front-line emergency responders because national capabilities were at risk of being overwhelmed. The Cabinet Office issued the alert following these requests. The Alert was advisory in response to adverse environmental conditions. Transmission of the emergency alert ended at 23:00 on Friday 14 August. There is no formal decision point to 'end' the advice, instead, we refer to ongoing guidance from the emergency services and government's statutory guidelines on the ban for disposable BBQs available on www.GOV.UK. Please note that statutory restrictions apply specifically to the sale of disposable BBQs and do not apply to bonfires.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many MP surgeries have Ministers in her Department had with MPs (a) in the period July 2024 to January 2025 and (b) since January 2025.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This information is not centrally held. For information on Ministerial meetings transparency returns can be found at gov.uk
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in employment levels in the retail sector in East Grinstead and Uckfield.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Parliamentary Question of 7th July is attached.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consideration has been given to roll out British Standard BS 30416 to the civil service workforce.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Civil Service is committed to being an inclusive employer. The adoption for British Standard BS 30416, is delegated to departments as individual employers.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of how the public will receive critical information in the event of widespread and prolonged broadband or power outages.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
There are plans in place for the public to receive critical information in both of these scenarios. This includes the use of both BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4 which will continue to broadcast key advice to the public.
In a prolonged broadband outage there are other ways to send critical information, such as emergency alerts, which do not require broadband connection to function.