Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate has been made of the cost to a household of maintaining the Be Ready campaign's recommended supply of essential items for three days of disruption.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The UK Government is mindful of cost-of-living pressures, and in the development of this campaign has worked with charities and key partners to ensure recommended actions for the Be Ready campaign are simple, affordable, and can be built up over time.
Food and drink supplies can be built up gradually using low-cost supermarket essentials, such as large bottles of water (around 80p) and tinned food (around 40p).
Many vital preparatory steps are completely free. These include signing up for the Priority Services Register to secure priority support from energy and water suppliers during outages, making use of existing household items, and leveraging local community and charity support networks.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment has been made of the extent to which the Be Ready campaign duplicates existing emergency preparedness communications delivered by local authorities, emergency services, utility providers and other public bodies.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
We have worked with more than five hundred partner organisations across the UK to develop guidance and communications for the Be Ready campaign. These partners include local authorities, emergency services, charities, and businesses, to ensure the Be Ready campaign builds on existing guidance and meets communities’ needs. These partners have signed-up to share messaging within their networks, demonstrating that this guidance is complementary to existing emergency preparedness communications delivered by other organisations.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Machinery of Government changes: Fact Sheet, published on 22 July 2026, what the estimated cost is of establishing the OneGov Delivery Agency, including the transfer of functions from existing departments and agencies.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The OneGov Delivery Agency is yet to be formally established. Work is underway to establish the agency for 1 April 2027. Its future budget for 2027-2028 will be determined as design work progresses. Costs incurred during the current year 2026-2027 will be absorbed in existing Cabinet Office budgets.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Machinery of Government changes: Fact Sheet, published on 22 July 2026, what the estimated cost is of establishing the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet, including staffing, accommodation, information technology and branding costs.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
No10 North is central to the Prime Minister’s commitment to get good growth in every postcode, drive devolution, and bring Government closer to the communities it serves. Mayors, employers, councils, and public services, will work in equal partnership with central government so that decisions about this country’s economic future are no longer only taken in Westminster. The cost of establishing No 10 North is covered by existing departmental budgets. Staffing costs are regularly published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Machinery of Government changes: Fact Sheet, published on 22 July 2026, what the estimated cost is of establishing No.10 North, including accommodation, staffing and operational costs.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
No10 North is central to the Prime Minister’s commitment to get good growth in every postcode, drive devolution, and bring Government closer to the communities it serves. Mayors, employers, councils, and public services, will work in equal partnership with central government so that decisions about this country’s economic future are no longer only taken in Westminster. The cost of establishing No 10 North is covered by existing departmental budgets. Staffing costs are regularly published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government orders that public spending must back British jobs and skills in every postcode, published on 5 August 2026, what recent discussions her Department has had with small and medium-sized businesses on the potential impact of the proposed procurement requirements on their ability to bid for government contracts.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises across the country. The government issued a public consultation on procurement reform last year and has continued to engage stakeholders, including the Federation of Small Businesses. Streamlining the social value requirements in central government procurement will simplify the procurement process and make it easier for businesses of all sizes to bid for government contracts.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government orders that public spending must back British jobs and skills in every postcode, published on 5 August 2026, what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which the new procurement requirements will create additional jobs, rather than influencing the location of jobs that would otherwise have been created.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Social Value Model (PPN 026) is designed to build local workforce capacity, and support UK economic growth. The approach requires suppliers to recognise when suppliers create genuine economic additionality and takes this into account in central government commercial decision-making. This aligns with our Modern Industrial Strategy to drive long-term investment, strengthen supply chain resilience, foster procurement innovation and create high-quality jobs across the country.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Government press release entitled Government orders that public spending must back British jobs and skills in every postcode, published on 5 August 2026, what metrics will be used to assess the number of additional jobs created as a result of the new procurement requirements.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office will publish detailed guidance on the application of social value criteria in central government procurement in the autumn. This will include standard reporting metrics.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government orders that public spending must back British jobs and skills in every postcode, published on 5 August 2026, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed procurement requirements on the number of suppliers able to bid for government contracts.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Simplifying the social value requirements in central government procurement will simplify the procurement process and make it easier for businesses of all sizes to bid for government contracts.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government orders that public spending must back British jobs and skills in every postcode, published on 5 August 2026, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms on levels of competition in public procurement.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Streamlining the social value requirements in central government procurement will simplify the procurement process and make it easier for businesses of all sizes to bid for government contracts.