Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
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 17 November 2021 to Question 73818, on Coronavirus: Public Inquiries, whether there will be a consultative process for the selection of chair of the covid-19 public inquiry; and what the timeframe for the selection of that chair will be.
Answered by Michael Ellis
On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed that a public inquiry into COVID-19 will be established on a statutory basis, with full formal powers, and that it will begin its work in spring 2022. The Prime Minister has committed to appointing an independent chair by the end of the year. The inquiry will be established on a statutory basis and the chair will be appointed in accordance with the Inquiries Act 2005.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who represented Andrew Feldman Associates at the meetings of the Covid-19 Testing Taskforce on (a) 13 April 2020, (b) 17 April 2020, (c) 20 April 2020, (d) 27 April 2020, (e) 4 May 2020, (f) 11 May 2020, and (g) 18 May 2020.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meeting between the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation and Hanbury Strategy regarding industrialisation of testing on 6 April 2020; and who attended the meeting on behalf of (a) his Department and (b) Hanbury Strategy.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds minutes of the meetings between the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation and Abingdon Health on (a) 1 April 2020, (b) 29 April 2020 and (c) 13 May 2020; and who attended those meetings on behalf of (i) his Department and (ii) Abingdon Health.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to make it a requirement of medical professionals to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency of someone who is medically unfit to drive.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Healthcare professionals, doctors and opticians play an important role in the driver licensing process. They advise patients of the implications of their condition on driving, the effect of any treatment or medication and when they should notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
There are no plans to make it a requirement for healthcare professionals to notify the DVLA directly about a patient’s medical condition. However, healthcare professionals can and do notify the DVLA when they are concerned about a patient’s driving fitness. The General Medical Council’s guidance states that while they must make every reasonable effort to persuade patients to inform the DVLA, doctors can notify the DVLA of a patient’s medical condition, in confidence, if the patient does not do so. Similar guidance is available to opticians.
To assist the medical profession, the DVLA has a specific form that can be used for this purpose and provides a dedicated telephone line which allows doctors to discuss concerns directly with one of the DVLA’s doctors. The DVLA treats notifications received from doctors and opticians as a high priority.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the accessibility of early years services in the West Midlands.
Answered by Will Quince
The department is leading a cross government approach to champion the family hub model. The government is investing over £34 million to champion family hubs. This includes a National Centre for Family Hubs to provide expert advice, guidance and advocacy; a £10 million transformation fund to open family hubs in around 10 new areas in England; an evaluation innovation fund to build the evidence base; and work with local authorities to develop data and digital products that will support the practical implementation of family hubs. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20m-to-provide-more-early-help-for-vulnerable-families.
Alongside this, the government is committed to delivering the action areas set out in the Early Years Healthy Development Review led by my right hon. Friend, the member for South Northamptonshire, more information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-best-start-for-life-a-vision-for-the-1001-critical-days. One key action area was to champion family hubs as a place where parents and carers can access Start for Life services. To support delivery of this, the National Centre for Family Hubs will support councils to understand how best to build a family hub network, and to take steps at a national and local level to reduce the stigma some parents or carers experience when asking for help. We will consider the recommendations in the Action for Children report as we take forward this work.
We have not made an assessment of the accessibility of early years services in the West Midlands specifically. The work that the government is doing to champion the family hub model and support parents and carers to access Start for Life services is national in scope, and applicable, with local nuance, in all regions.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the (a) proposal to introduce a minimum guarantee of early years services and (b) recommendations of the Action for Children’s report entitled Beyond reach: barriers to accessing early years services for children, published on 21 September 2021.
Answered by Will Quince
The department is leading a cross government approach to champion the family hub model. The government is investing over £34 million to champion family hubs. This includes a National Centre for Family Hubs to provide expert advice, guidance and advocacy; a £10 million transformation fund to open family hubs in around 10 new areas in England; an evaluation innovation fund to build the evidence base; and work with local authorities to develop data and digital products that will support the practical implementation of family hubs. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20m-to-provide-more-early-help-for-vulnerable-families.
Alongside this, the government is committed to delivering the action areas set out in the Early Years Healthy Development Review led by my right hon. Friend, the member for South Northamptonshire, more information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-best-start-for-life-a-vision-for-the-1001-critical-days. One key action area was to champion family hubs as a place where parents and carers can access Start for Life services. To support delivery of this, the National Centre for Family Hubs will support councils to understand how best to build a family hub network, and to take steps at a national and local level to reduce the stigma some parents or carers experience when asking for help. We will consider the recommendations in the Action for Children report as we take forward this work.
We have not made an assessment of the accessibility of early years services in the West Midlands specifically. The work that the government is doing to champion the family hub model and support parents and carers to access Start for Life services is national in scope, and applicable, with local nuance, in all regions.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the number of applications for promotion of the introduction of Operational MGS Employment Contracts for all new employment contracts.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Equality Impact Assessments were completed prior to the introduction of the Operational MGS Employment Contract (OMEC) and pay rates relate to existing staff's terms to ensure promotion remains a viable and attractive option for those wishing to further their career within the MOD.
A recent recruitment campaign on OMEC terms and conditions received 20 applications, including those seeking promotion, indicating the new contract does not discourage those seeking promotion opportunities.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of introducing Operational MGS Employment Contracts.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
It is estimated that the introduction of Operational MGS Employment Contracts will lead to savings of some £63 million over 10 years.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish impact assessments made prior to the introduction of Operational MGS Employment Contracts for civilian guards at UK military bases.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) Guard Service is an in-house guarding service provided to the MOD, Executive Agencies and Foreign Governments' Visiting Forces. As such it would not be appropriate to publish any impact assessments made prior to the introduction of Operational MGS Employment Contracts.
In addition, impact assessments pertaining to employment contracts are commercially sensitive and publication could negatively impact upon the ability of the MGS to compete for the delivery of Unarmed Guarding tasks across the Defence estate.