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Written Question
Leader of the House of Commons: Public Expenditure
Wednesday 24th April 2024

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what the administration costs of her office were in each year since her appointment.

Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is a business unit of the Cabinet Office and, as such, its administrative costs are part of the Cabinet Office’s wider administrative costs.

Information for 2022-23 can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-23), copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Information for the last financial year will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 in due course.


Written Question
Ofsted
Monday 22nd April 2024

Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of Ofsted reports that were amended under the (a) internal and (b) external review process.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Shipley, directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.


Written Question
Employment and Support Allowance: Publicity
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to promote the Employment and Support Allowance.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions signposts to Employment and Support Allowance through GOV.UK, helplines, GP surgeries, local libraries, and other support services such as Citizens Advice. There are also benefit calculators on the GOV.UK website which is available for those who wish to find out what support may be available to them. In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions is constantly working to improve the way it communicates information about benefits and other services to the general public.


Written Question
Childminding
Thursday 18th April 2024

Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of childminders on the (a) Early Years Register and (b) Childcare Register in (i) each region and (ii) each local authority in each year since 2018.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.


Written Question
Legislative Drafting: Gender
Monday 15th April 2024

Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2024 to Question 16442 on Legislative Drafting: Gender, when she plans to publish the further information for drafters on gendered language.

Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel’s drafting guidance was published on GOV.UK on 4th April 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-bills-for-parliament) and has also been deposited in the libraries of both Houses.


Written Question
Industry: Government Assistance
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department has paid by way of financial assistance under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in (i) 2018-2019, (ii) 2019-2020, (iii) 2020-2021, (iv) 2021-2022 and (v) 2022-2023 financial year.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We are unable to provide a breakdown in the manner requested as the data is not held in that format. However, full details of financial assistance provided under the Act are published annually in the Industrial Development Act annual report, copies of which are available in the House libraries.


Written Question
Dental Services
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many extra (a) appointments and (b) treatments will be delivered through each element of the dentistry recovery plan.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We want to make sure that everyone needing a National Health Service dentist can access one. Our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments, or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment.

The methodology underpinning this modelling has been shared with the Health and Social Care Select Committee and has also been placed in the libraries for both Houses. This includes information on the estimated number of treatments and appointments delivered by each of the interventions in our dentistry recovery plan.


Written Question
Public Libraries: Finance
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to help support libraries that have had a reduction in funding from local authorities.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service which meets local needs. It is for each local authority to consider how best to deliver this.

His Majesty’s Government has provided an additional £600 million on top of the £64 billion Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 — an increase of 7.5% in cash terms. This uplift will help to reduce pressure on councils’ budgets, and protect services including public libraries.

In addition, DCMS announced on 25 March that 43 library services in England would benefit from Round 3 of the Libraries Improvement Fund which is allocating £10.5 million across this financial year and next. The Fund has allocated £20.5 million since 2021 to public library services across England to support them to upgrade their buildings and improve digital infrastructure so that they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people want to use them.


Written Question
Public Libraries: Finance
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that libraries are receiving adequate funding from local authorities.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service which meets local needs. It is for each local authority to consider how best to deliver this.

His Majesty’s Government has provided an additional £600 million on top of the £64 billion Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 — an increase of 7.5% in cash terms. This uplift will help to reduce pressure on councils’ budgets, and protect services including public libraries.

In addition, DCMS announced on 25 March that 43 library services in England would benefit from Round 3 of the Libraries Improvement Fund which is allocating £10.5 million across this financial year and next. The Fund has allocated £20.5 million since 2021 to public library services across England to support them to upgrade their buildings and improve digital infrastructure so that they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people want to use them.


Written Question
Public Libraries
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase access to libraries.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We will be publishing a refreshed Government strategy for public libraries later this year. This will be informed by Baroness Sanderson’s independent review of English public libraries and will help ensure that people across the country can benefit from great public library services.

The DCMS-funded £20.5 million Libraries Improvement Fund (2021-2025) is supporting public library services in England. It is enabling them to upgrade their buildings and improve digital infrastructure, increasing their potential to develop more flexible spaces and improving digital access, thereby increasing library access and use.