Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with the Cabinet Office about buying British-manufactured goods in local government procurement.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are responsible for their own procurement decisions, within the framework set by the Procurement Act 2023 and the National Procurement Policy Statement. Within this framework, local authorities must consider wider public benefits in their procurement decisions, but have discretion as to how they do this. MHCLG officials engage with Cabinet Office and local government partners on procurement issues relevant to councils, including how procurement can support wider economic and social outcomes.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
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 ensure social value is consistently assessed in council procurement exercises.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are responsible for their own procurement decisions, within the framework set by the Procurement Act 2023 and the National Procurement Policy Statement. Within this framework, local authorities must consider wider public benefits in their procurement decisions, but have discretion as to how they do this. MHCLG officials engage with Cabinet Office and local government partners on procurement issues relevant to councils, including how procurement can support wider economic and social outcomes.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what safeguards are in place to ensure women are properly assessed and informed before CHC is prescribed by GPs, pharmacists and online services.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prescribers are responsible for ensuring that combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) are clinically appropriate and safe for each patient, whether prescribed face to face or remotely. Before prescribing, clinicians should consider relevant medical conditions, medicines, contraindications and individual risk factors, including the risk of blood clots, and support informed choice by discussing the benefits, risks and alternative contraceptive methods.
National clinical guidance supports healthcare professionals in assessing suitability for contraception. CHC product information and educational materials also provide information on blood-clot risks, including a checklist for prescribers and information for patients on risk factors, warning symptoms and when to seek urgent medical attention.
The same professional responsibilities apply to online prescribing. Pharmacies in England, including those providing services online, must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and meet its standards for safe and effective care.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel last met; and which businesses were represented at that meeting.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The final meeting of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel was held on 26 March 2026. It was attended by representatives from Government, local leaders across the UK and experts from across the bus industry including operators and manufacturers.
The Government continues to actively engage with the industry to support a competitive UK bus manufacturing sector.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with bus manufacturing businesses over the past six months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The final meeting of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel was held on 26 March 2026. It was attended by representatives from Government, local leaders across the UK and experts from across the bus industry including operators and manufacturers.
The Government continues to actively engage with the industry to support a competitive UK bus manufacturing sector.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the total number of a) accredited financial investigators and b) accredited financial intelligence officers registered with the National Crime Agency's Proceeds of Crime Centre and holding public sector roles in each of the last 5 years from 2021-22 through to 2025-26.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
|
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many accreditations did the National Crime Agency's Proceeds of Crime Centre grant to a) financial investigators and b) financial Intelligence officers in financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
|
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the gross expenditure of the a) the National Economic Crime Centre and b) Legal operating segments at the National Crime Agency in 2025-26.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
As a matter of longstanding policy, the National Crime Agency does not provide breakdowns and estimates on specific budget allocations.
Details about the Agency’s budgets can be found online in our Annual Report and Accounts: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a674187b9e28a4788aa3f41/NCA_Annual_Report_Accounts_25-26_Accessible_version.pdf
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide a breakdown by individual law enforcement agency of the value of assets recovered through civil recovery orders in each financial year from 2016-17 to 2025-26.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold data on the value recovered through civil recovery orders broken down by individual law enforcement agencies. Detailed breakdowns on civil recovery orders are held by the National Crime Agency.
The Home Office publishes aggregate figures on the value recovered through civil recovery orders in its annual asset recovery statistics publication. The latest publication is available at: Asset recovery statistics: financial years ending 2021 to 2026 - GOV.UK.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of working with local Integrated Care Boards to ensure that every Local Authority area has at least one late opening pharmacy which is open past 9pm.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning pharmaceutical services in their areas and can commission additional pharmacy opening hours through the local contractual arrangements.