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1716927

registered interest
date	09/05/2024
answering body	House of Commons Commission
answering dept id	18
answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
hansard heading	Parliamentary Estate: Telephone Systems
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, for what reason the Polycom phone system malfunctioned on 9 May 2024.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	25405
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>I am sorry that the right hon. Member and all colleagues continue to experience inconvenience in telephony services which are currently below standard. The latest issue with handsets underlines the need for the solution which the Parliamentary Digital Service is implementing later this year.</p><p>Polycom devices need to communicate with an external supplier to register the device and make/receive calls. Each device communicates with one of two external servers. One of the servers experienced issues on Thursday 9 May and any device that attempted to connect to this server was impacted by the outage. Polycom phones communicating with the working server did not experience an outage.</p><p>The first report the Digital Service received of handsets not working was at 12.13pm on Thursday 9 May. The team declared a major incident shortly afterwards and service was restored at 9.46am on 10 May.</p><p>The Voice Programme is upgrading and replacing the existing telephony infrastructure and when implemented, handsets will have 99.999% reliability of connecting.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 15/05/2024 14:11:41 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1713405

registered interest
date	24/04/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Departmental Responsibilities
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hon. Members he has held meetings on constituency cases with since his appointment.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	23370
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>Information on meetings on constituency cases is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Information on ministerial meetings can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-ministers-hospitality-and-gifts" target="_blank">DWP ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 29/04/2024 16:38:12 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1697795

registered interest
date	21/03/2024
answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
answering dept id	90
answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what assessment the Committee has made of the effectiveness of the handling of MPs expenses claims by IPSA.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	19774
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>The Speaker’s Committee meets IPSA throughout the year to assess its performance, running costs and effectiveness in handling MPs’ expenses. The Committee last met IPSA on 5 March 2024 and a transcript of that session is available on the Committee’s website: <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/14403/pdf/" target="_blank">https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/14403/pdf/</a></p><p>In 2023, 65.3 per cent of MPs and their staff rated IPSA’s service as either good or very good, which was up on this measure in 2019 when 25.1 per cent rated the service in that way. The time taken for IPSA to reimburse MPs’ claims has reduced from an average of 8 days in 2020-21 to 2.6 days in 2023-24. Compliance with IPSA’s scheme is currently at 99.9%.</p><p>Through its scrutiny of IPSA, the Committee is looking at the steps being taken by IPSA to help improve its effectiveness in enabling MPs and their staff to claim for expenses and business costs. IPSA’s ongoing work includes:</p><ul><li>the development of an IPSA online portal to enhance the customer experience by improving the functionality of the system in areas such as claim and form submission;</li><li>the greater provision of centralised services, reducing the financial and administrative burden on MPs and their staff through the centralised provision of goods and services such as constituency office leases, utilities, and equipment;</li><li>the piloting of an online marketplace, allowing MPs and their staff to purchase goods such as office equipment centrally; and</li><li>exploration of alternative models of reimbursement, enabling MPs and their staff to pay for business costs without the need to claim retrospectively.</li></ul><p>The Committee plans to consider IPSA’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24 later in the summer at which point it will assess IPSA’s latest results against its performance indicators.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 26/03/2024 10:33:05 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1685149

registered interest
date	25/01/2024
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Warships: Decommissioning
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the planned out of service dates are for HMS (a) Bulwark and (b) Albion; and whether it is his Department's policy to ensure both vessels remain operational up to that date.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	11475
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2024 answer text <p>It remains the case that no final decisions have been made regarding the future of HMS ALBION and HMS BULWARK. On current plans, both platforms will retire from service by the end of 2034 as originally scheduled.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 11537 question first answered 05/02/2024 16:54:16 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1673523

registered interest
date	28/11/2023
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Jagtar Singh Johal
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 1785 on Jagtar Singh Johal, whether the Minister of State for South Asia and the Indian External Affairs Minister discussed when the Indian authorities plan to decide whether to charge or release Jagtar Singh Johal.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	4033
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2023 answer text <p>Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, has raised Jagtar Singh Johal's case with the Government of India on numerous occasions. He did so most recently on 13 November with the Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case, including the length of his detention and the need for a resolution. The UK Government will continue to raise our concerns about Mr Johal's case with the Government of India.</p> answering member constituency Berwick-upon-Tweed answering member printed Anne-Marie Trevelyan question first answered 05/12/2023 11:15:42 answering member 4531 label Biography information for Anne-Marie Trevelyan
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1671791

registered interest
date	21/11/2023
answering body	House of Commons Commission
answering dept id	18
answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
hansard heading	House of Commons: Telephone Systems
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the adequacy of the telephony system on the parliamentary estate.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	2756
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2023 answer text <p>The telephone system on the parliamentary estate is the subject of a transformative programme called the Voice Programme, and a new telephony system is due to be implemented in 2024. Modernisation of the telephony system to full Voice Over Internet Protocol is also required in preparation for the decommissioning of the analogue service provided through the Public Switched Network.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 27/11/2023 18:37:29 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1662070

registered interest
date	19/09/2023
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Hardeep Singh Nijjar
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Canadian counterparts on the potential implications for (a) the UK and (b) its Sikh residents of the statement by the Canadian Government on the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	200188
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2023 answer text <p>The Prime Minster spoke to Prime Minister Trudeau on 6 October about the serious allegations raised in the Canadian Parliament and the Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with his Canadian counterpart. All countries should respect sovereignty and the rule of law. It is important Canada's investigation runs its course, with the perpetrators brought to justice. We have raised this matter with the Government of India and we encourage them to cooperate fully with the investigation.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 17/10/2023 06:44:15 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1658416

registered interest
date	05/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Defence: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department made of the potential prevalence of RAAC in buildings (a) owned and (b) occupied by (i) military and (ii) other departmental staff.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	197656
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2023 answer text <p>For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.</p><p>Surveys are currently being conducted to identify buildings which may have been constructed with RAAC on Ministry of Defence (MOD) land.</p><p> </p><p>We take safety extremely seriously and, based on our current information, RAAC has not traditionally been used by the MOD in the construction of domestic structure, and it is therefore highly unlikely that any Service Family Accommodation is affected. The majority of Single Living Accommodation was not constructed during the review period.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 03/10/2023 11:19:22 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1658417

registered interest
date	05/09/2023
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	Department of Health and Social Care: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department made of the potential prevalence of RAAC in buildings (a) owned and (b) occupied by (i) NHS and (ii) other departmental staff.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	197657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 26/10/2023 10:04:33 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 93682 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1658419

registered interest
date	05/09/2023
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential prevalence of RAAC in buildings (a) owned and (b) occupied by departmental staff; and whether he has had discussions with local authorities on the potential prevalence of RAAC in local authority- (i) owned and (ii) occupied buildings.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	197666
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>Individual building owners and managers continue to be responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as RAAC.</p><p>Building owners must address safety risks of all kinds in their buildings through a risk-based, proportionate and evidence-based approach. On the 1 May 2019, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of RAAC planks. Local authorities, like other building owners, are advised to follow available professional guidance.</p><p>The Local Government Association has advised members to check whether any buildings in their estates have RAAC, to ensure it can be identified, assessed, and responded to accordingly. This is accessible on the LGA website and in line with the guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. If further buildings are identified as having suspected or confirmed RAAC, building owners and managers should follow the guidance to put appropriate mitigation in place.</p> answering member constituency North East Derbyshire answering member printed Lee Rowley grouped question UIN 197493 197574 197575 197638 197639 197640 197641 197835 197836 197837 197838 197874 197875 question first answered 11/09/2023 15:36:47 answering member 4652 label Biography information for Lee Rowley
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar