Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Thursday 29th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

7. What steps his Department is taking to improve access to public sector procurement processes for small and medium-sized businesses.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

12. What steps his Department is taking to improve access to public sector procurement processes for small and medium-sized businesses.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Alex Burghart)]

The landmark Procurement Act 2023, which this Government passed last year, will deliver simpler and more effective public sector procurement and help small and medium-sized enterprises across the country secure a greater share of that expenditure, which totals approximately £300 billion every year. The Act includes a new duty on contracting authorities to have regard for the particular barriers faced by SMEs and consider what can be done to overcome them.

[Alex Burghart]

I would be delighted to, because the Government are entirely committed to ensuring that SMEs get a bigger share of that pie. The latest published SME spend figures show that UK small businesses received £21 billion of work, which was an increase of £1.7 billion on the previous year’s figures. That is the highest since records began, and the fifth consecutive year that Government work won by small businesses has increased. Crucially, that is before the effects of the Procurement Act kick in.

[Peter Aldous]

As my hon. Friend has said in his reply, the Procurement Act is I hope the solution to many of these problems, but it is not due to come into force until the beginning of October. Can he confirm that it will definitely come into force then, and that the necessary secondary legislation is in hand?

[Alex Burghart]

I am pleased to be able to report that, despite the fact that this is complex legislation that requires workstreams in a number of areas—not just secondary legislation, but learning and development for those working for contracting authorities, and a new online platform that will make procurement much easier and better for both those supplying services and those procuring them—we are on track to meet our targets.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Research and development tax credits have been remarkably successful in promoting investment by small and medium-sized enterprises. However, the Suffolk chamber of commerce has highlighted that the system has ground to a halt due to the sledgehammer approach of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to tackling fraud. Will my hon. Friend liaise with HMRC and the Treasury to ensure that a more pragmatic approach is adopted?

[Andrew Griffith]

My hon. Friend is a champion of his constituency, and I am happy to speak to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on that important matter on his behalf.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Wednesday 25th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Both the Government and I have fully co-operated to provide tens of thousands of documents to the covid inquiry, and I look forward to giving evidence later this year.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q13. With the ongoing national crisis in NHS dentistry being raised here most weeks, can my right hon. Friend advise as to when the dentistry plan produced by the Department of Health and Social Care will be published? Can he ensure that any clawed-back unspent funds are ringfenced for NHS dentistry, so as to deal with emergencies and to help clear the backlog?

[The Prime Minister]

We are investing £3 billion in NHS dentistry, and the reformed dental contract is helping to improve NHS access for patients. I am pleased to say that NHS dental activity in the past year increased by almost a quarter compared with the year before, but the forthcoming dental recovery plan, which will be out shortly, will include action to incentivise dentists to deliver even more NHS care.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

As ever, I agree with my hon. and learned Friend. The public expect a minimum safety level in core public services such as ambulance provision, as exists in comparable European countries. This is a sensible, straightforward measure to ensure patient safety at a time of most desperate need, which is why the Government are bringing it forward—again, in the teeth of opposition from the Labour party.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

7. What progress his Department has made in strengthening national resilience.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Oliver Dowden)]

Resilience is a key priority across Government. My Department has already published the resilience framework, refreshed the national security risk assessment and established a risk sub-committee of the National Security Council, which I chair. We will soon publish a new national risk register, and this afternoon I will chair the UK resilience forum, which strengthens our links with partners across the country in collectively tackling the risks we face.

[Peter Aldous]

I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, as I am involved in family farms.

As the breadbasket of Britain and home to the all-energy coast, East Anglia has a key role to play in strengthening national resilience on food and energy security. Can my right hon. Friend outline the co-ordinating work his Department is doing with other Departments to ensure the east of England realises its full potential in both feeding the nation and keeping the lights on?

[Oliver Dowden]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight East Anglia’s increasing role in providing energy security through its massive offshore wind developments, which are helping to provide secure renewable energy. In addition, the Government food strategy, which was published last year, sets out plans to boost domestic production in sectors with the biggest opportunities, which will of course include East Anglia.

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[Oliver Dowden]

Ministers get around the table with unions all the time—the Education Secretary did precisely that earlier this week—but Ministers also owe a duty to hard working people in all four corners of our nation to ensure that minimum standards of public services are upheld for their safety, and we will continue to pursue legislation to that effect.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

T7. As the Government’s 12 levelling-up missions transcend the responsibilities of any one Government Department, what co-ordinating and monitoring work is my right hon. Friend’s Department carrying out to ensure the successful delivery of those policies?

[Jeremy Quin]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that that needs co-ordination. I am delighted to say that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has regular meetings to make certain that that co-ordination happens across Government. The levelling-up missions themselves are jointly monitored by my right hon. Friend and by the No. 10 policy unit to ensure that they are effective and we get bang for buck.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

3. What recent progress he has made on tackling the backlog of court cases.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

19. What recent progress he has made on tackling the backlog of court cases.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mike Freer)]

In the Crown court, the outstanding caseload has reduced from 60,400 in June 2021 to about 57,300 cases at the end of March 2022. However, the caseload has increased again, primarily due to the Criminal Bar Association action, which has now stabilised. We are taking action across the criminal justice system to bring down backlogs and improve waiting times for those who use our courts. That includes such things as increasing our judicial capacity and investing a significant amount of money across the criminal justice system.

[Mike Freer]

The issue of family courts is particularly pressing because of the impact on families and children. That is why we are investing a significant amount of funding by increasing the number of fee-paid judges, sitting days and judges who are able to sit, and we continue to invest significant sums in family mediation vouchers, to keep families and children out of the court system.

[Peter Aldous]

The backlog in court cases is causing enormous personal distress and anguish. My constituent originally in 2018 reported an historical rape. The trial has now been postponed four times and is currently scheduled for this June. I shall write to my hon. Friend providing full details of the situation, but can he leave no stone unturned in eliminating the backlog very quickly, as in such historical cases, justice delayed really can mean justice denied?

[Mike Freer]

My hon. Friend raises a very important point. While I cannot talk about a specific case, the allocation and listing of cases is a judicial responsibility, and I can reassure him that the judiciary continue to work to prioritise cases involving custody time limits, as well as those involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, domestic abuse and serious sex cases. The judiciary are incredibly sensitive to the need to ensure that the most vulnerable complainants and victims get their day in court as fast as possible.

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[Dominic Raab]

The hon. Lady raises a critically important point. Of course there is nothing in our Bill of Rights that would impact on the healthcare that disabled individuals or communities would receive.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

T9.   Has my right hon. Friend liaised with colleagues in Government with regard to amending the Data Protection Act to ease the bureaucratic burden on policing and speed up the administration of justice?

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

1. What cross- departmental steps he is taking to help ensure preparedness for winter.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to support the operation of public services during the winter months.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Oliver Dowden)]

The Cabinet Office has well-established processes to support Departments and their sectors to ensure the effective delivery of key services over the winter. They are underpinned by comprehensive risk assessments and contingency plans for a wide range of risks, including industrial action and severe weather. The national resilience framework will be the first iteration of our new strategic approach. It will strengthen the systems, structures and capabilities that underpin the UK’s resilience to all risks.

[Oliver Dowden]

The hon. Gentleman raises two important points. First, in respect of the winter weather, the Cabinet Office is keeping a close eye on it. Indeed, I have been briefed on the situation. On the wider situation in relation to energy supply, I am working closely with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps). He and I have strong confidence about the resilience of the UK power networks and, excepting a very exceptional circumstance, we are confident that we will continue to supply throughout the winter.

[Peter Aldous]

As we approach the peak of winter planning, I would be most grateful if my right hon. Friend set out the role of the Cabinet Office in ensuring that Government Departments are properly co-ordinated, in both their communications and their actions, with local resilience forums and local authorities.

[Oliver Dowden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that this is the central role of the Cabinet Office. We continually watch for emerging risks, and support Departments and their sectors to develop contingency plans for a wide range of scenarios. My officials work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to share intelligence on those risks with local authorities.

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[Oliver Dowden]

The right hon. Lady knows we are currently engaged in a mediation process, so it would be wrong for me to comment on the specifics, but we have been very clear that that sort of behaviour is not acceptable. If that is found to have happened, we will not hesitate to take action to recover those moneys.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

NHS dentistry faces many challenges, one of which is ensuring that locally based practices have every opportunity to bid for contracts successfully. Can my hon. Friend set out how the Procurement Bill will enable them to do so?

[Alex Burghart]

This Government want NHS dental service contracts to be attractive. The intention is that the procurement of healthcare services such as dentistry will be subject to the rules set out under the anticipated provider selection regime as enacted by the Health and Care Act 2022. The Procurement Bill will apply to other services and help to break down barriers for small businesses of all kinds to engage in public sector procurement.

Health and Social Care Update

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, but I trust doctors to have that relationship with their patients directly, rather than my prescribing or mandating a particular approach. With greater transparency and the publication of a lot of this data, we will gradually see that happening more and more, but it is important that I do not directly say that x, y or z have to be seen by a doctor. Clinical need should be what matters.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

It is welcome to hear that D is for dentists. As a constituency neighbour, my right hon. Friend is very much aware that there is a crisis in NHS dentistry in Suffolk. There have been some improvements, and it is welcome, as she has said, that work has started on a new NHS dental contract. Can she confirm that she is committed to root and branch reform, which also includes fair funding, a strategic long-term approach to recruitment and retention, a proper prevention policy and transparent and full local accountability?

[Dr Coffey]

My hon. Friend is right. In his constituency —in Lowestoft in particular—there has been increasing provision. Meanwhile, in Leiston, not a single dental practice will take up the opportunity to provide NHS dental care at the moment. I entirely accept that the matter needs sorting. That is why we will be putting the priority on the local NHS to make sure that we avoid these dental deserts. In terms of other aspects of the contract, they will continue to evolve.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Friday 9th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

I rise on behalf of the people of Waveney to pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen.

With the nation’s guiding light taken from us, there was last night for a moment, from my perspective, a sense of helplessness. What do we do? How are we going to get on without her? The answer is that we learn from the high standards of dignity, duty and humility to which she adhered throughout both her life and her 70-year reign. We shall always fall short of the summit that she reached, but if we get to her foothills, we will have succeeded. Great Britain and the Commonwealth have faced numerous challenges over the past 70 years, and the world has changed a great deal. She was our shield to any arrows of adversity, and despite the enormous responsibilities that she bore on our behalf, she never, never put a foot wrong.

Her Majesty was a family person, and in some respects we were all part of her wider family. She enjoyed those aspects of life that we all enjoy—animals and pets, whether corgis, ponies and horses, or racing pigeons; family meals, whether that be barbecues, picnics or Christmas dinners.

As we have heard, Her Majesty had a lifelong passion for horse racing. Back in coronation week in 1953, her horse Aureole ran second in the Derby, the nearest she ever got to securing that cherished prize. One might have expected a hint of disappointment, but there was none. She joined the rest of the nation in celebrating the victory of national icon Sir Gordon Richards in his 28th and final attempt to win the race for the first time. An aureole, Madam Deputy Speaker, is a radiant light around a head or body. Our aureole has been extinguished, but her legacy will endure forever.

The Queen ascended the throne as we emerged from the ravages of the second world war. As she departs, we face more adversity and an uncertain and worrying immediate future. If we strive to conduct ourselves as she did, if we apply a mere modicum of her wisdom and sound judgment, then we will get through it. Your Majesty, on behalf of the people of Waveney, thank you for all that you have done for us. Our deepest condolences to all of your family. God save the King.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

As I have pointed out, the Government are doing a significant amount on energy efficiency. Of course we should always look to see what more can be done.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

T4.   Will my right hon. Friend outline the discussions he has had with his colleagues in Government so as to act on the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation on the need for further support aligned to net zero to help people with their energy bills?

[Alok Sharma]

As my hon. Friend knows, support is being provided to help households. In particular, the most vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 pounds of support. Of course, we also need to look at further energy-efficiency measures, and I am sure the new Prime Minister and Chancellor will look at all of that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Wednesday 29th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Q3. Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, my sincere apologies.There are, Mr Speaker, great opportunities to create exciting new jobs in low-carbon energy along the East Anglian coast, and East Coast College is up for the challenge of providing local people with the necessary skills. However, it and other colleges are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain teachers in such work as fabrication, engineering and construction. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the Government come up with a cross-departmental strategy to address this staffing crisis in our further education colleges, which could undermine the levelling-up agenda?

[Mr Speaker]

It is obviously Deputies day.