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1305895

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	UK Government Union Capability Independent Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps he is taking in response to the Dunlop Review on relations between the UK Government and the Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Harwich and North Essex
tabling member printed	Sir Bernard Jenkin
uin	913910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>This government is a government for the whole of the United Kingdom.</p><p>Yesterday, my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster updated the House on the significant progress we’ve made in implementing Lord Dunlop's recommendations, alongside a progress update on the intergovernmental relations review and our first IGR transparency report.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 25/03/2021 15:12:47 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	40 label Biography information for Sir Bernard Jenkin

1305896

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Civil Servants: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps he is taking to improve the quality of civil service apprenticeships.
tabling member constituency	South Derbyshire
tabling member printed	Mrs Heather Wheeler
uin	913912
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>The Civil Service will be launching a new Apprenticeships Strategy in the new financial year. The first phase will have delivered 30,000 apprenticeships by April. In this strategy we will focus not just on numbers but on the quality of training on offer to ensure that departments are better equipped to nurture talent in house and in plugging skills gaps</p><p>To this end, we recently published the &quot;Curriculum and Campus for Government Skills&quot;, with the goal of setting the highest standard in vocational training for all Civil Servants, including apprentices.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 25/03/2021 15:18:29 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler

1305897

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electronic Government: Proof of Identity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of GOV.UK Verify.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
uin	913913
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>Verify continues to work well, in support of 22 government services. Over 8 million people have used Verify, with 2 million added in the last year as citizens accessed critical online services during the pandemic.</p><p>Building on the lessons and experiences of Verify, and as we announced in last year's Spending Review, the Government Digital Service is collaborating with other departments to develop a new login and identity assurance system that will make it easier for more people to use online services safely.</p><p>For example, we know that extra data sources will be needed for a more inclusive service, so we are also working with the Home Office on its digitisation of birth, marriage and death records.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 25/03/2021 15:19:51 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1305898

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the Defending Democracy programme as part of its plans to bring forward legislative proposals on online harms.
tabling member constituency	Folkestone and Hythe
tabling member printed	Damian Collins
uin	913916
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>The Defending Democracy programme coordinates work and expertise across government work to safeguard the integrity and security of our democratic processes.</p><p>Through the Online Harms legislative proposals, the programme is making good progress against two of its strategic objectives: to encourage respect for open, fair and safe democratic participation; and to promote fact-based discourse.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 25/03/2021 15:16:03 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	3986 label Biography information for Damian Collins

1305899

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Northern Ireland Protocol
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What progress has been made by the UK-EU Joint Committee on revising the Northern Ireland Protocol.
tabling member constituency	Belfast East
tabling member printed	Gavin Robinson
uin	913920
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>The Joint Committee has been working on the many difficulties presented to the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol by the EU’s decision to activate Article 16 on 29 January. There are outstanding issues to be resolved and we have taken temporary operational steps to avoid disruption to everyday life. We remain committed to working within the Joint Committee process to find solutions.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 25/03/2021 17:16:20 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4360 label Biography information for Gavin Robinson

1305900

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Public Sector: Procurement
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps his Department is taking to improve transparency in procurement in its response to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	913904
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>The government recognises the importance of maintaining public confidence in how we manage taxpayers’ money and I have set out before the challenges we faced in our response to the covid 19 outbreak. We are taking steps to improve the processes already in place and ensure public spending is fair and transparent.</p><p>Proposals in the Green Paper aim to improve transparency in procurement across the public sector and include specific measures to strengthen transparency through the commercial lifecycle from planning through to procurement, contract award, performance and completion.</p><p>We are also taking forward all 28 recommendations from the independent Boardman report to set out areas for improvement within the Cabinet Office’s own internal contracting procedures.</p><p>We have also made KPI data on 379 contracts available to the public, as a further step towards greater transparency.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 25/03/2021 15:17:24 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1305422

registered interest
date	24/03/2021
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Disadvantaged: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on educational inequalities.
tabling member constituency	Gateshead
tabling member printed	Ian Mearns
uin	914018
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2021 answer text <p>Disadvantaged pupils have always been at the heart of education policy. We have taken unprecedented action to address educational inequalities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>On 24 February, we announced a £700 million Education Recovery package, building on the £1bn from last year. As well as a range of measures to support all pupils to recover lost learning, the package includes significant funding aimed at addressing the needs of disadvantaged pupils. This includes a one-off £302 million Recovery Premium for the next academic year that will be allocated to schools based on the same methodology as the pupil premium. Schools with more disadvantaged pupils will therefore receive larger allocations. Within this package is a £22m accelerator fund, towards evidence-based approaches that support children and young people in disadvantaged areas.</p><p>In June 2020 as part of the £1 billion Covid catch up package, we announced £350 million to fund the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) for disadvantaged students for the academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22. The programme will provide additional, targeted support for those children and young people who have been hardest hit from disruption to their education as a result of school closures.</p><p>There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate pupil progress, and we want to extend this opportunity to disadvantaged and vulnerable learners. We are also funding small group tuition for 16 to 19-year-olds and early language skills in reception classes.</p><p>The Education Endowment Foundation was founded in 2011 to research and promote the most effective ways of accelerating pupil progress. They have published guidance to help schools make the most of this additional funding.</p><p>We are investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services. To date, over 1.2 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers. Since 2011 we have continued to provide Pupil Premium funding – worth £2.4bn again this year – for school leaders to use, based on the needs of their disadvantaged pupils.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 24/03/2021 16:02:21 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	4000 label Biography information for Ian Mearns

1305423

registered interest
date	24/03/2021
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Equal Pay: Cambridgeshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on tackling gender-pay disparities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
uin	914021
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2021 answer text <p>The national gender pay gap is now at a record low, with the full-time gender pay gap at only 7%. Peterborough and Cambridgeshire also have pay gaps below the national average. Despite this, we need to keep making progress on this issue. Across the country, we will continue to make it easier for women to get into higher-paid jobs and sectors. As we build back from COVID-19 we will also look to increase the number of women in STEM professions, and to increase the availability of flexible working for everyone, to ensure the gender pay gap continues to reduce going forwards.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 24/03/2021 15:58:44 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1305424

registered interest
date	24/03/2021
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What progress the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has made on its report on ethnic disparities and inequality.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	914026
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2021 answer text <p>The independent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has reviewed inequality in the UK, focusing on areas including poverty, education, employment, health and the criminal justice system. They have held meetings with key delivery partners and agencies for these areas, gathered evidence from a range of external stakeholders and influencers, and ran an open Call for Evidence that invited evidence from across the United Kingdom. Yesterday, I spoke with Chair of the Commission, Dr Tony Sewell. The Commission is of course independent of government, but he has assured me that their report will be submitted to the Prime Minister shortly.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 24/03/2021 15:57:10 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1304705

registered interest
date	23/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Retail Trade: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) financial and (b) other steps his Department is taking to help high streets in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England recover from the effect of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	173054
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises that this is a challenging time and COVID-19 is having a significant impact on our communities, businesses and town centres.</p><p>In December we announced that up to £830 million has been allocated from the Future High Streets Fund. 15 areas have been awarded £255 million, with a further 57 areas to receive provisional funding of £576 million. This investment will support areas to recover from the pandemic and help transform underused town centres into vibrant places to live, work and shop. 10 high streets from the West Midlands will receive funding of up to £146 million from the Future High Streets Fund.</p><p>In September 2019, we announced the initial 101 places invited to develop Town Deal proposals as part of the £3.6 billion Towns Fund.</p><p>The objective of Town Deals is to drive the economic regeneration of towns to deliver long-term economic and productivity growth through land use, economic assets including cultural assets, skills and enterprise infrastructure, and connectivity.</p><p>Through the Towns Fund we will invest up to £25 million in each town, or more in exceptional cases, to drive the economic regeneration of towns to deliver long-term economic and productivity growth.</p><p>There are 15 towns in the West Midlands which have submitted Town Investment Plan proposals to MHCLG to secure a Town Deal.</p><p>On 3 March at Budget, the Chancellor announced 7 Town Deals for places in the West Midlands.</p><p>o Burton-upon-Trent - £22.8 million</p><p>o Kidsgrove - £16.9 million</p><p>o Nuneaton - £23.2 million</p><p>o Rowley Regis - £19 million</p><p>o Smethwick - £23.5 million</p><p>o West Bromwich - £25 million</p><p>o Wolverhampton - £25 million</p><p>We will make further announcements on the remaining Town Deals in due course.</p><p>Government is also providing support to local leadership through the High Streets Task Force, giving places expert advice to support their high streets and town centres to adapt and thrive. Coventry has been able to benefit from this as one of the pilot areas that have been leading the way in benefiting from expert and tailored support from the High Streets Task Force. More widely in the West Midlands, Stirchley and West Bromwich were also part of the 14-town pilot alongside Coventry. On 20 March we announced the next 70 Local Authorities to receive support from the Task Force, which included Stoke, Walsall and Wolverhampton from the West Midlands area.</p><p>In March we also announced the £56 million Welcome Back Fund to further support local authorities and their business communities as we begin to return to the high street. This builds on the £50 million Re-opening High Streets Safely Fund (RHSSF) announced in May 2020 to include an additional £5.6 million for the West Midlands and a further £335,000 for Coventry.</p><p>More widely, the Levelling Up Fund will directly support communities across the UK. It will make available up to £4.8 billion over four years from 2021-22 to 2024-25. The Fund will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities - including regenerating town centres and high streets, investing in local transport schemes, and upgrading local culture and heritage assets. The prospectus published at Budget sets out how local areas can access the first round of funding.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 25/03/2021 17:33:54 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher