Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the police are able to enforce bail conditions for people released on post-charge bail.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government ensures that policing has the powers, resources and guidance it needs to enforce bail conditions and keep people safe.
There is wide discretion in law for police to impose bail conditions on suspects to protect victims and witnesses, prevent offending and to prevent the suspect from failing to appear in court. Bail conditions must be necessary, reasonable, proportionate and enforceable, and should be subject to regular review as the perceived risk posed by the suspect may change over time.
Police have a range of powers under section 7 of the Bail Act 1976 to arrest a suspect in relation to suspected or anticipated breaches of bail conditions. This includes where there are reasonable grounds for believing the suspect is likely to break conditions, or where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting (a lower threshold) that conditions have been broken. Following arrest on these grounds, a suspect must be brought before a court within 24 hours, where a magistrate may remand them in custody or grant court bail.
The College of Policing produces its Authorised Professional Practice (APP) to provide authoritative guidance the police. APP advises that bail conditions should be accompanied by a police action plan to ensure effective enforcement. This is intended to ensure that victims can have improved confidence that the police will take action in the event of a breach, and that perpetrators understand that there are consequences to their actions. Action plans may include curfew checks at home addresses, proactive patrols to exclusion zones and scrutiny into whether conditions such as signing on bail at a police station are being maintained.
Policing is operationally independent of Government. Chief Constables and elected Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for the operational management of their police officers and the enforcement of bail conditions.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many private delivery partners have declined to deliver a contract for his Department on the basis of concern for protection of intellectual property or private commercial interest in the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department must comply with the legal requirements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, since February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 in taking forward all procurement exercises leading to the award of a contract to a supplier. Compliance is managed by a professional procurement official within the Department’s Commercial Directorate who is assigned to each procurement exercise.
Business cases following the Government’s standard five-case model, setting out the strategic, economic/value for money, financial, commercial, and management case, are required for all procurements over £5 million. The Department’s Commercial Assurance Board (CAB) considers and approves high value, from £10 million to £30 million of capital or £50 million in revenue, business cases or high-risk commercial cases across the Department and its Arms’ Length Bodies. In addition, the CAB acts as commercial ‘keyholders’ for the business cases presented to the committees below, ensuring that commercial factors are considered when recommendations are made by:
Suppliers are invited to bid for contracts using the standard contract terms and conditions in use by the Department and across the Government. These include intellectual property (IP) clauses which grant the buyer a licence to use the supplier’s IP in the context of receiving and benefiting from the deliverables being bought. These typically allow sub-licensing under certain conditions and restrictions designed to avoid unfair exploitation of supplier IP. Standard terms and conditions are available on the GOV.UK website. By submitting a bid, suppliers are accepting the Department’s standard terms and conditions as set out above.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what due diligence his Department undertakes before the selection of contract delivery partners for major programmes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department must comply with the legal requirements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, since February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 in taking forward all procurement exercises leading to the award of a contract to a supplier. Compliance is managed by a professional procurement official within the Department’s Commercial Directorate who is assigned to each procurement exercise.
Business cases following the Government’s standard five-case model, setting out the strategic, economic/value for money, financial, commercial, and management case, are required for all procurements over £5 million. The Department’s Commercial Assurance Board (CAB) considers and approves high value, from £10 million to £30 million of capital or £50 million in revenue, business cases or high-risk commercial cases across the Department and its Arms’ Length Bodies. In addition, the CAB acts as commercial ‘keyholders’ for the business cases presented to the committees below, ensuring that commercial factors are considered when recommendations are made by:
Suppliers are invited to bid for contracts using the standard contract terms and conditions in use by the Department and across the Government. These include intellectual property (IP) clauses which grant the buyer a licence to use the supplier’s IP in the context of receiving and benefiting from the deliverables being bought. These typically allow sub-licensing under certain conditions and restrictions designed to avoid unfair exploitation of supplier IP. Standard terms and conditions are available on the GOV.UK website. By submitting a bid, suppliers are accepting the Department’s standard terms and conditions as set out above.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports that Israeli naval units intercepted vessels carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza given international maritime law; and what representations her Department has made to the Government of Israel on the matter.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 October to Question 77868.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure land management schemes are designed to support hill and upland farming.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our Environmental Land Management schemes include a comprehensive offer to support the management of a wide range of different grassland and moorland types that exist in the English uplands. Defra works closely with farmers and industry stakeholders – for example, the Government set up an Uplands Task and Finish Group to identify solutions to issues that have been raised by upland farmers and environmental stakeholders.
Defra, in partnership with Dr Hilary Cottam OBE, have been working closely with upland communities across England over the last 12 months to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities in these landscapes. This insight is being shared across Defra and next steps worked up.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 42382 on National Armaments Director: Standards, what steps his Department will take to assess the job performance of the National Armaments Director.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The performance of the National Armaments Director (NAD) will be assessed against a set of objectives. These objectives will be agreed and measured through appropriate Accounting Officer governance. The objectives in line with their accountability to Parliament. They will align with the intent set out in the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy, and the NAD Group’s organisational performance. The NAD has a specific performance award as part of their total remuneration package which enables an annual award of up to a maximum of 60% of base pay to made based against these objectives.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of data provided by (a) NHS England Estate Return Information Collection and (b) Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Estate Return Information Collection (ERIC) and Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) collections are undertaken by NHS England.
ERIC collects data on the size, cost, and quality of the National Health Service estate. The 2024/25 ERIC data collection underwent a detailed validation process before its publication on the 16 October 2025.
The 2025 PLACE collection is currently underway. It provides an assessment of the quality of the NHS patient environment from the patient’s perspective. It is undertaken by independent assessors who should, as far as possible, reflect the patient population. Teams should be a mix of people who use the building/site and should broadly reflect the local population using the service.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the provision of emergency co-responders in (a) rural and (b) coastal areas.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Collaboration between emergency services has a vital role to play in keeping the public safe in a way that optimises efficiency and effectiveness. However, it is for local emergency service providers to decide what collaborative activities will best serve their communities’ needs.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58827 on Trandolapril, for what reason does Trandolapril continue to be unavailable to patients.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Trandolapril capsules are supplied by two suppliers in the United Kingdom, who are both continuing to experience manufacturing issues. We are unable to confirm a resupply date currently due to these ongoing issues. The Department has issued comprehensive management plans to the National Health Service, which we continue to review. These include advice on alternatives, and how to manage affected patients.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation similar to that introduced in France to reduce commercial food waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made of the merits of introducing legislation similar to that introduced in France to reduce commercial food waste.
Defra recognises the environmental, economic and social benefits of preventing food waste and redistributing surplus. This Government has announced plans to publish a Circular Economy Strategy and is committed to transitioning to a circular economy – one that stimulates growth, reduces waste, and alleviates pressure on household bills. As this work is developed, we will consider the evidence for action and evaluate what interventions may be needed. This includes measures to prevent food waste and support surplus food redistribution.