Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to help increase public (a) engagement in and (b) understanding of the legislative process.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Government is working hard to prepare the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament in the usual way. The programme will be announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 7th November.
Good progress is being made in delivering the Government’s legislative programme and manifesto commitments. So far this session, 30 Government Bills have reached Royal Assent. In addition, the Government has worked with members on all sides of the House to deliver 16 private members' bills. Details of all Acts of Parliament can be found on legislation.gov.uk.
Parliament has shown that it provides flexibility in debating legislation and adapts when necessary, for example the passage of the Coronavirus Act and the recent legislation relating to the Northern Ireland budget.
Public trust and confidence in our democracy and its institutions is vital and this is something which I am keen to promote as Leader of the House.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to measure the (a) success and (b) efficiency of the government's legislative programme.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Government is working hard to prepare the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament in the usual way. The programme will be announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 7th November.
Good progress is being made in delivering the Government’s legislative programme and manifesto commitments. So far this session, 30 Government Bills have reached Royal Assent. In addition, the Government has worked with members on all sides of the House to deliver 16 private members' bills. Details of all Acts of Parliament can be found on legislation.gov.uk.
Parliament has shown that it provides flexibility in debating legislation and adapts when necessary, for example the passage of the Coronavirus Act and the recent legislation relating to the Northern Ireland budget.
Public trust and confidence in our democracy and its institutions is vital and this is something which I am keen to promote as Leader of the House.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to deliver the government's legislative programme for the upcoming parliamentary year.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Government is working hard to prepare the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament in the usual way. The programme will be announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 7th November.
Good progress is being made in delivering the Government’s legislative programme and manifesto commitments. So far this session, 30 Government Bills have reached Royal Assent. In addition, the Government has worked with members on all sides of the House to deliver 16 private members' bills. Details of all Acts of Parliament can be found on legislation.gov.uk.
Parliament has shown that it provides flexibility in debating legislation and adapts when necessary, for example the passage of the Coronavirus Act and the recent legislation relating to the Northern Ireland budget.
Public trust and confidence in our democracy and its institutions is vital and this is something which I am keen to promote as Leader of the House.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to ensure flexibility in the legislative programme.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Government is working hard to prepare the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament in the usual way. The programme will be announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 7th November.
Good progress is being made in delivering the Government’s legislative programme and manifesto commitments. So far this session, 30 Government Bills have reached Royal Assent. In addition, the Government has worked with members on all sides of the House to deliver 16 private members' bills. Details of all Acts of Parliament can be found on legislation.gov.uk.
Parliament has shown that it provides flexibility in debating legislation and adapts when necessary, for example the passage of the Coronavirus Act and the recent legislation relating to the Northern Ireland budget.
Public trust and confidence in our democracy and its institutions is vital and this is something which I am keen to promote as Leader of the House.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis is for the statement by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency that there is high public awareness of the Yellow Card scheme in relation to reporting suspected adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccination.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has worked with its partners across the health system to ensure that planned COVID-19 vaccination programme communications include information about the Yellow Card scheme. Information about the reporting of side effects via Yellow Card was included on both the information for vaccinees and the UK Health Security Agency materials to support the vaccination programme. These materials were made available as part of the initial call-recall process, as well as at vaccination centres.
Additionally, the MHRA optimised website search functionality for the dedicated Coronavirus Yellow Card reporting site and worked with media outlets to encourage them to carry messages about the reporting of side effects. The scheme was also promoted through targeted social media campaigns, the Drug Safety Update and a press release informing healthcare professionals and members of the public that reporting to the new site would enable the MHRA to rapidly identify new and emerging side effects. The general public were also encouraged to report any suspected side effects of the vaccine to the MHRA via a Yellow Card on televised press briefings.
The number of reports received through the scheme increased throughout the pandemic for non-COVID-19 medicines and vaccines from both patients and healthcare professionals, demonstrating increased public awareness of the important of reporting side effects. Patients are now the largest reporting group in the scheme, and in 2022 the highest number of reports from members of the public were received by the Yellow Card scheme to date.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to provide funding for the Office for National Statistics covid-19 infection survey after March 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are currently considering next steps for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, which has been an important tool in developing our understanding of COVID-19. We appreciate the contributions made by members of the public who have participated in the survey.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of continuing the ONS Covid Survey; and what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on extending funding for the ONS Covid Survey beyond March 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care meets regularly with other Cabinet colleagues. We are currently considering next steps for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, which has been an important tool in developing our understanding of COVID-19. We appreciate the contributions made by members of the public who have participated in the survey.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 6 January 2022 to Question 94344 on Schools: Coronavirus, whether the trial of ventilation technologies taking place in primary classrooms in Bradford has concluded; between which dates the trial was actively collecting data; when he expects to publish the results of that trial; how he plans to disseminate the results of that trial; what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on that trial; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study (RCADS) is due to report in October 2022. The trial commenced data collection in September 2021 and is ongoing. The results will be published in due course following the end the of the trial and disseminated through peer reviewed journals, presentations at conferences for members of the scientific community, school leaders and teachers and across the Government. Delivery of the study is overseen by the RCADS Working Group, which includes officials from Department for Education.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of ending arrangements for local authorities to meet remotely or in hybrid format, as permitted under the powers granted by section 78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, on democratic engagement by (a) councillors and (b) members of the public who are (i) disabled, (ii) clinically extremely vulnerable to covid-19 and (iii) carers for people who are disabled and clinically extremely vulnerable to covid-19; if he will make it his policy to permit local authorities to continue to meet remotely or in hybrid format on accessibility and equality grounds; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government launched a call for evidence last year to gather views and inform a longer-term decision about whether to make express provision for councils to meet remotely and enable councillors to attend meetings remotely, if necessary, on a permanent basis. The Department has considered the responses to the consultation and we will respond shortly.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time was for customers to speak to a DVLA agent over the telephone in (a) each of the last five years and (b) in 2022; and what steps he is taking to reduce that waiting time.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
The large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.
In 2021, the DVLA received 16,972 items of correspondence from Members of Parliament. Of these, 36% were answered within the DVLA’s target of eight working days. The DVLA has allocated extra resource to the team that deals with enquiries from Members of Parliament and we expect that this will start to show an improving picture going forward.
The table below shows the average processing time for ordinary driving licence applications between 1 April 2021 and 28 February 2022 in working days, by (a) new applications, (b) renewal applications, and (c) replacement applications.
| (a) new applications | (b) renewal applications | (c) replacement applications |
Online application | 2.33 | 1.56 | 1.62 |
Paper application | 25.08 | 30.56 | 33.70 |
The table below shows the average waiting time for customers to speak to a DVLA agent by telephone in each of the last five years and during the current year.
Year | Minutes |
2016-17 | 0.5 |
2017-18 | 1.0 |
2018-19 | 1.1 |
2019-20 | 1.3 |
2020-21 | 7.3 |
2021-22 | 11.1 |
Since 1 April 2020, the DVLA’s contact centre has recruited and trained 166 extra staff with 20 more due to join during March and a further 150 being recruited. In addition, the DVLA’s new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham have recruited extra staff who are processing medical driving licence applications as well as supporting customers who call the contact centre.