Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had discussions with the Chair of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry on the estimated publication date of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a statutory Inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005. Under the terms of the Act, the drafting of an inquiry final report and the timing of that process are both matters for the independent Chair of the inquiry.
The Inquiry publishes regular updates on the progress of its final report. In their April 2024 Newsletter published on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website at https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/news/april-2024-newsletter, they emphasised that the current phase of the inquiry is reaching its final stages, and reiterated their commitment and determination to publish the report as soon as possible. Further updates to timelines will be published on the website as and when they become known.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Office for National Statistics not collecting mortality data for homeless people on the effectiveness of data the Government holds on homelessness.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 10th January is attached.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when does he expect the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report to be published.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a statutory Inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005. Under the terms of the Act, the drafting of an inquiry final report and the timing of that process are both matters for the independent Chair of the inquiry.
In their April 2023 Newsletter published on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website at https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/news/april-2023-newsletter, the Inquiry recognised the desire for the report to be published as soon as possible.
They noted that ‘The Inquiry hopes to complete the drafting of the report before the end of 2023. Various practical steps will then need to follow, such as proof-reading, typesetting and printing, all of which take time. We shall send the report to the Prime Minister, as required by our terms of reference, as soon as we can but that will probably not be possible before the beginning of next year.’
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of disqualifying late-paying companies from public procurement contracts.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government understands the critical importance of prompt, fair and effective payment to all businesses, helping them grow and thrive.
Since 1 September 2019, suppliers already risk being excluded from winning large government contracts if they cannot demonstrate prompt payment to their supply chains. Suppliers must now demonstrate they pay 90% of their invoices within 60 days or be excluded, and provide an action plan for improvement if they are not paying 95% within 60 days, or risk similarly being excluded.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that emergency alerts will be treated seriously by the public; and whether he plans to publish a list of reasons for sending an emergency alert.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Emergency Alerts capability is expected to be trialled nationally later this year. This will be preceded by a public information campaign culminating in a national welcome message - a simultaneous test message sent to all compatible mobile phones across the United Kingdom. This approach has been found elsewhere to maximise awareness and understanding on how recipients should react on receiving alerts.
The capability is expected to be launched with a focus over the winter on extreme weather related events. Subject to an evaluation in the spring, its scope will likely be widened out to other use cases. There will always be a very high threshold for issuing an alert based on strict criteria centred on an immediate threat to life and the applicability of the capability to the event in hand, rather than a scenario driven approach.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to launch the new emergency alert service; and whether his Department is taking steps to put in place a public information strategy on the introduction of emergency alerts.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Emergency Alerts capability is technically ready to launch having been tested at a local and regional level and is expected to be trialled nationally later this year. The government is currently reviewing all new spending following the Chancellor's announcement last week in accordance with the government's plan for growth. This will inform a final decision on the timing of any trial.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to publish further information on the new emergency alert system.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Emergency Alerts capability is technically ready to launch having been tested at a local and regional level and is expected to be trialled nationally later this year. The government is currently reviewing all new spending following the Chancellor's announcement last week in accordance with the government's plan for growth. This will inform a final decision on the timing of any trial.