Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on strengthening the Union.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The Spending Review demonstrated how our two Labour Governments are investing in Wales’ future and strengthening our Union for generations to come.
With a record settlement for the Welsh Government, an historic investment of at least £445m into Welsh rail, money to keep coal tips safe and protecting every penny of Wales’ growth funds, we have ended Tory austerity.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the number of postmasters convicted as a result of failures in the Capture software; and how many of those convictions have been quashed.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is no definitive number or record of the number of convictions related to Capture. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has received 31 pre-Horizon applications to date. Incomplete due to the passage of time complicates confirming they are Capture-related. To support the CCRC, we commissioned the Post Office to review its branch files for the period from 1992 to 2000 for potential prosecutions. 448 potential cases have been reviewed with 31 confirmed Capture-related cases. The findings have been sent to the CCRC. If convictions related to Capture are overturned by the courts, we will provide appropriate redress.
For non-convicted postmasters, the Government announced the Capture scheme design on 19 June. We expect to launch in Autumn, starting with an initial 150 claimants before broader rollout.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to review the convictions of postmasters affected by Capture errors in instances where those convictions have not already been quashed.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is no definitive number or record of the number of convictions related to Capture. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has received 31 pre-Horizon applications to date. Incomplete due to the passage of time complicates confirming they are Capture-related. To support the CCRC, we commissioned the Post Office to review its branch files for the period from 1992 to 2000 for potential prosecutions. 448 potential cases have been reviewed with 31 confirmed Capture-related cases. The findings have been sent to the CCRC. If convictions related to Capture are overturned by the courts, we will provide appropriate redress.
For non-convicted postmasters, the Government announced the Capture scheme design on 19 June. We expect to launch in Autumn, starting with an initial 150 claimants before broader rollout.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress he has made on providing (a) redress and (b) justice for people affected by Capture software.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is no definitive number or record of the number of convictions related to Capture. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has received 31 pre-Horizon applications to date. Incomplete due to the passage of time complicates confirming they are Capture-related. To support the CCRC, we commissioned the Post Office to review its branch files for the period from 1992 to 2000 for potential prosecutions. 448 potential cases have been reviewed with 31 confirmed Capture-related cases. The findings have been sent to the CCRC. If convictions related to Capture are overturned by the courts, we will provide appropriate redress.
For non-convicted postmasters, the Government announced the Capture scheme design on 19 June. We expect to launch in Autumn, starting with an initial 150 claimants before broader rollout.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department had with the Scottish Government on the planned visits of the Scottish Government's (a) Minister for Business and Employment to China and Japan in April 2025 and (b) Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to Japan in June 2025.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and our Embassies in Beijing and Tokyo engaged with Scottish Government officials in support of the visit of the Scottish Government's Minister for Business and Employment to China and the visits of Minister Lochhead and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to Japan. Such support is common practice supporting Devolved Government Ministerial visits overseas.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions his Department had with the Scottish Government on the planned visits of the Scottish Government's (a) Minister for Business and Employment to China and Japan in April 2025 and (b) Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to Japan in June 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office, in coordination with the FCDO, regularly engages with the Scottish Government to discuss and coordinate overseas ministerial visits. This ongoing engagement ensures alignment with UK foreign policy objectives. Discussions of this nature took place in relation to the planned visits mentioned by the Hon. Member.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
At any point in time, there are likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or who, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a regular basis.
In DCMS, there are currently no permanent civil servants in DCMS without assigned posts, and five members of staff on the department’s redeployment register.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero currently has 34 individuals in the redeployment register.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.