Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many bedrooms are available for use at Chequers as at 23 September 2021.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Chequers is not a government building; it is run and managed by an independent trust.
As has been the practice under successive Premiers, the Prime Minister uses Chequers consistent with the wishes of the donor, the late Sir Arthur Lee, who gave it to the nation for the use of the Prime Minister. Chequers is available to Ministers for both official and private use.
Sir Arthur Lee’s wishes are set out in the Chequers Estate Acts 1917: “It is not possible to foresee or foretell from what classes or conditions of life the future wielders of power in this country will be drawn. Some may be as in the past men of wealth and famous descent; some may belong to the world of trade and business; others may spring from the ranks of the manual toilers. To none of these in the midst of their strenuous and responsible labours could the spirit and anodyne of Chequers do anything but good. In the city-bred man especially, the periodic contact with the most typical rural life would create and preserve a just sense of proportion between the claims of town and country. To the revolutionary statesman the antiquity and calm tenacity of Chequers and its annals might suggest some saving virtues in the continuity of English history and exercise a check upon too hasty upheavals, whilst even the most reactionary could scarcely be insensible to the spirit of human freedom which permeates the countryside of Hampden, Burke and Milton. Apart from these more subtle influences, the better the health of our rulers the more sanely will they rule and the inducement to spend two days a week in the high and pure air of the Chiltern hills and woods will, it is hoped, benefit the nation as well as its chosen leaders."
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many days the Prime Minister has stayed at Chequers overnight in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021 to date.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Chequers is not a government building; it is run and managed by an independent trust.
As has been the practice under successive Premiers, the Prime Minister uses Chequers consistent with the wishes of the donor, the late Sir Arthur Lee, who gave it to the nation for the use of the Prime Minister. Chequers is available to Ministers for both official and private use.
Sir Arthur Lee’s wishes are set out in the Chequers Estate Acts 1917: “It is not possible to foresee or foretell from what classes or conditions of life the future wielders of power in this country will be drawn. Some may be as in the past men of wealth and famous descent; some may belong to the world of trade and business; others may spring from the ranks of the manual toilers. To none of these in the midst of their strenuous and responsible labours could the spirit and anodyne of Chequers do anything but good. In the city-bred man especially, the periodic contact with the most typical rural life would create and preserve a just sense of proportion between the claims of town and country. To the revolutionary statesman the antiquity and calm tenacity of Chequers and its annals might suggest some saving virtues in the continuity of English history and exercise a check upon too hasty upheavals, whilst even the most reactionary could scarcely be insensible to the spirit of human freedom which permeates the countryside of Hampden, Burke and Milton. Apart from these more subtle influences, the better the health of our rulers the more sanely will they rule and the inducement to spend two days a week in the high and pure air of the Chiltern hills and woods will, it is hoped, benefit the nation as well as its chosen leaders."
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2021 to Question 179464, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the his Department's work to (a) address specific concerns from ethnic minority groups regarding coronavirus vaccines and (b) amplify NHS voices publicising the use of religious sites as vaccination centres to date.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to PQ 33512 on 21 April 2020, and to PQ 40655 on 11 May 2020.
Since the vaccination programme began, the Cabinet Office has worked closely with communications teams in local authorities to promote vaccine uptake, particularly to communities with lower vaccine take-up. Support has included the commissioning of translated materials, the deployment of upweighted advertising in specific areas, and the use of multi-lingual local community street teams to share information about the available vaccines.
Through the Community Champions scheme councils and voluntary organisations will deliver a wide range of measures to protect those most at risk - building trust, communicating accurate health information and ultimately helping to save lives. MHCLG has allocated over £23 million of funding to 60 councils and voluntary groups across England to expand work to support those most at risk from COVID-19 and boost vaccine uptake.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) civil servants who have been absent from work due to long covid and (b) working days that have been lost as a result since March 2020.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
During the pandemic, employees (including civil servants) were advised to work from home where possible. From 19 July 2021, employees are no longer instructed to work from home and government departments, similar to other employers, are starting to plan for employees to gradually return to the workplace.
The Cabinet Office has not currently made any estimates of the number of civil servants who have been absent from work or working days lost due to long COVID across the Civil Service.
However, the Civil Service continues to improve its approach to health and wellbeing for all employees, assisting them to access the support they need. A range of best practice support is available including Occupational Health, Workplace Adjustments, Part Time on Medical Grounds and COVID-19 Supporting Attendance guidance.