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1689096

registered interest
date	16/02/2024
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Cabinet Office: Information Officers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many posts there are for (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications staff in his Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	14025
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>The Cabinet Office press and media team is made up of 17 employees. Roles range from grades HEO to SCS1 and have salaries between £32,250 - £117,800.</p><p>This figure is for Cabinet Office central departmental press office and media team only.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 26/02/2024 17:46:58 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1689896

registered interest
date	19/02/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Pharmacy: Prescriptions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will bring forward legislative proposals that enable pharmacists to amend prescriptions when their stocks dictate their ability to prescribe the type and weight of a drug.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	14539
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2024 answer text <p>The Department has no plans to introduce legislative proposals to allow pharmacists to amend prescriptions. Allowing pharmacists to take local action to alter prescriptions could have adverse impacts on patients, because pharmacies will not know the reasons why a medicine has been prescribed, or in what particular way. Supplying an alternative without full oversight of supply issues could also create a knock-on shortage of the alternative, and could thereby have the potential to exacerbate rather than mitigate a supply problem.</p><p>However, in the case of certain shortages, Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) enable community pharmacists to supply a specified medicine or device in accordance with a protocol rather than a prescription, with the patient’s consent, and without needing to seek authorisation from the prescriber. SSPs are not introduced unless clinically appropriate, and unless sufficient supplies of the alternative product to be supplied in accordance with the SSP are available to support the market.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 27/02/2024 17:57:24 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1698393

registered interest
date	25/03/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Research: Gulf States
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is taking steps to help promote research links with Gulf States.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	20285
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>As outlined in the Science and Technology Framework, global collaboration is vital in supporting UK science and technology capabilities and my department is working to strengthen strategic partnerships with governments, industry and academia across the globe. Partnerships will differ in scope and depth but given the strong economic growth and expanding populations of the Gulf States they represent an outsize opportunity to benefit the UK and strengthen our science and technology systems.</p><p> </p><p>Consistent with this, last month, I signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Research and Innovation (R&amp;I) with Saudi Arabia – my first in the region - to help position the UK as a research and innovation partner of choice and create new opportunities for UK researchers and businesses.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 18/04/2024 10:23:23 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1688244

registered interest
date	07/02/2024
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Christianity: Asylum
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church provides guidance on helping to determine that asylum seekers are genuine converts to Christianity.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	13587
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>The document “Supporting Asylum Seekers – Guidance for Church of England Clergy”, which has been publicly available on the Church of England website for around seven years, states that clergy should assess the faith of those claiming conversion to Christianity and should rely on evidence to do so. The guidance also refers to the need for discernment – to be “wise as serpents” – in recognising mixed motives and the potential for gaming the system.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 26/02/2024 21:44:09 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1689894

registered interest
date	19/02/2024
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Religious Buildings: Entertainments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church has issued guidance on the use of places of worship for silent discos.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	14537
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>No guidance has been issued by the National Church Institutions on the use of places of worship for silent discos.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 26/02/2024 21:40:16 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1697566

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church Schools: Hendon
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether he has made an assessment of the contribution of church schools in Hendon constituency.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	19599
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/04/2024 answer text <p>Though the National Church Institutions are not responsible for the operation of individual schools, the Diocese of London has volunteered the following information, which I hope is useful.</p><p>There are two Church of England schools in the Hendon Constituency.</p><p>St Mary’s and St John’s educates more than 1,600 pupils. One quarter are on free school meals, which is higher than the Local Authority average. Pupils are making above-average progress at an 8-level attainment of 0.39 compared with the national average of -0.03.</p><p>St Paul’s School Mill Hill educates 210 pupils. One fifth of pupils are in receipt of Free School Meals, in line with the Local Authority average. Pupils attainment is above-average; 84% attained the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths last summer compared to the national average of 60%.</p><p>I commend the teachers and leadership teams in both schools for these achievements.</p><p>The Church of England educates over one million children in its 4,700 schools across England. Church Schools are committed to the flourishing of children and deliver a rounded education that remains in high demand with parents. They serve all those in the community, whatever their faith or belief.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 12/04/2024 13:10:53 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1697571

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church of England: Tree Planting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to take steps to plant trees on diocese lands.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	19600
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>Diocesan land is managed by individual dioceses at a local level and, as such, the Church Commissioners are unable to plant trees on diocesan property. However, the Church Commissioners work with diocesan teams and other church bodies to encourage the responsible use of land, reducing carbon emissions and increasing biodiversity where appropriate, including incorporating environmental improvement into food production.</p><p>The Church Commissioners’ rural estates team has assisted with the creation of a guidance note for diocesan officers on ‘managing land for climate and nature’, attended net zero meetings, and engaged with local diocesan environmental officers. Staff from the Rural Estates team have also met with the Rural Bishops Group to illustrate their work managing the rural estates and share experiences that apply to dioceses. They will continue to share details of tree-planting undertaken by the Commissioners with our diocesan partners and are keen to work together on further improving and implementing good practice.</p><p>In 2023, the Church Commissioners planted over 1.5million trees on their Forestry and Farmland holdings, 700,000 of which were in the UK.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 25/04/2024 12:34:50 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1697590

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church of England: Carbon Emissions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to help achieve net zero.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	19601
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/04/2024 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners are committed to reducing the carbon intensity of their portfolio by 2025 and, as a member of the Asset Owners Alliance, reaching ‘Net Zero’ in the investment portfolio by 2050.</p><p>The General Synod has set a target for the Church of England to become Net Zero by 2030. The National Church Institutions are supporting every diocese with a grant to grow capacity and employ staff to manage the work of achieving this net zero ambition. The Church Commissioners have committed funding of £30m for 2023-25 and £190m total for a 9-year programme from 2023-31. <br> <br>Stage one will explore the best ways to decarbonise the diverse range of buildings and navigate planning and governance structures. The project will assess cathedrals and clergy housing, with demonstration churches that can act as showpieces of what is possible. There will be a special grant available from dioceses to enable churches to fund improvements to their energy efficiency.</p><p>A second workstream supports schools in accessing public sector decarbonisation funds, and another stream of grants will match local fundraising in churches for net-zero carbon projects through the Buildings for Mission scheme</p><p>This will provide a clear picture of the kinds of projects that are effective in reducing emissions, ready for a scaled-up investment in the second 3-year period</p><p>Recent success stories include York Minster and the Chapel at Kings College, Cambridge, which have joined many other major churches and cathedrals across the country in installing new solar panels and renewable technologies, reducing their running costs and making them more sustainable buildings.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 12/04/2024 13:18:14 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1697591

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church of England: Land Use
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether a recent assessment has been made of the environmental improvements being advanced through the church's holding of agricultural land.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	19602
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/04/2024 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners undertake rolling assessments of environmental improvements being made to the farmland portfolio by tenants, which is used to update the baseline study undertaken five years ago. Data has so far been provided on over 25,000 acres of Commissioners’ land holdings and contains details of environmental changes, such as transitioning to regenerative agricultural practices. The Commissioners are pleased to announce a partnership with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), which will further develop this work.</p><p>The Church Commissioners’ rural estates team continues to engage with our new and existing agricultural tenants through regular individual farm visits, the sharing of ground-sourced data, including carbon audits, and the gathering of information from third parties. On recent assessment revealed that on a single Commissioners’ farm in Kent, over 45 species of bird were recorded during a single visit in December 2023.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 12/04/2024 13:24:49 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1697593

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church of England: Slavery
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to publicly acknowledge historic links with the chattel slave trade.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	19604
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>The Archbishop of Canterbury has been unequivocal on the theology of this issue, noting on his visit to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana in February 2023:</p><p>“It was a reminder that the abomination of African chattel enslavement was blasphemy: those who imprisoned men and women in those dungeons saw them as less than human. It is to the Church of England’s eternal shame that it did not always follow Christ’s teaching to give life. It is a stain on the wider church that some Christians did not see their brothers and sisters as created in the image of God, but as objects to be exploited.”</p><p>The Church Commissioners has been investigating its historic links to the chattel slave trade since 2019 and published a full, transparent report of the findings in January 2023. More information about the whole project is available here:<br> <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/national-church-institutions/church-commissioners-england/who-we-1" target="_blank">Church Commissioners Links to Historic Transatlantic Slavery | The Church of England</a></p><p>The Church Commissioners seek, through the research it has done and its response, to acknowledge the truth of the past, apologise for the wrongs that this research has highlighted, and to address these wrongs through repentance, remembrance, reconciliation, and renewal. The Church Commissioners believe that by addressing its past transparently, particularly this part of our past, the Church and its teachings will be more relevant to more people. The response is an important missional activity that will support the work and ministry of the Church of England in England.</p><p>The Church Commissioners are committed to setting up an Impact Investment Fund as part of its response to invest in a better and fairer future for all, particularly for communities affected by historic enslavement. It is hoped this fund will grow over time, reinvesting returns to enable it to have a positive and lasting legacy that will exist in perpetuity and with the potential for other institutions to participate, further enabling growth in the size and impact of the fund. This Fund will be seeded with a £100 million commitment from the Church Commissioners.</p><p>Despite recent press speculation, the Church Commissioners has no plans to increase its contribution to the Fund over the planned funding period. It is hoped that growth in the impact fund will also enable grant funding for projects focused on improving opportunities for communities impacted by historic African chattel enslavement.</p><p>The Church Commissioners have also committed to undertake further research, including into the Church Commissioners' history, supporting dioceses and parishes to research and address their historic links with African chattel enslavement, and sharing best practices with other organisations researching their enslavement legacies.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 25/04/2024 12:37:47 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord