Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the advice given to immigrants by care worker agencies on finding suitable accommodation in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Department of Health and Social Care have published guidance for people applying for health and social care jobs which can be found below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applying-for-health-and-social-care-jobs-in-the-uk-from-abroad.
The Legal Migration and Borders Minister has met regularly with his counterpart in DHSC to discuss care worker visas.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its (i) canteens and (ii) restaurants.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department follows the Government’s mandatory Buying Standards for the food in its canteens and restaurants. This includes, in respect of the use of fresh produce, menus that are designed to reflect the natural growing or production period for the United Kingdom. In-season produce is highlighted on menus.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce shoplifting in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.
However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 37% in the 12 months to December 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 46% in the year ending December 2023, showing that police are taking action.
We have recently taken significant steps nationally to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting, and these are being implemented in all police forces across England and Wales.
The Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, which highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime:
We will bring forward legislative changes to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops. This legislative change will provide that on the third sentencing occasion, an offender would be electronically monitored as part of any community sentence or post-release for the duration of any licence period.
The Government’s plan builds on the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis, to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new prison places have been created in each of the last five years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The below table provides a summary of the number of prison places that have opened in each year since 2019. This includes places delivered as part of the 20,000 places portfolio, including two new c.1,700 place prisons and new prison places delivered through houseblocks and Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs)
Year | Places opened |
2019 | 206 |
2020 | 508 |
2021 | 1,064 |
2022 | 2,176 |
2023 | 2,459 |
Total | 6,413 |
For simplicity, all places relating to a prison opening are included in the year that the prison opened. In practice, a new prison may take more than a year before reaching its final operational capacity.
We continue to push ahead with the largest prison expansion programme since the Victorian era – with 10,000 of the pledged 20,000 additional places on track to be delivered by the end of 2025. This will include our third new prison, HMP Millsike, delivering c.1,500 places, new houseblocks at HMP Stocken and Rye Hill, as well as hundreds more RDCs.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS does not own any canteens or restaurants. The canteen facilities we use are provided by our landlords, and we have no involvement in the provision of food and drink to those facilities. For our London headquarters, this is overseen by the Government Property Agency.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
This information is not centrally held. The Government Property Agency are responsible for the procurement of food and drink for the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the House of Commons' policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by Charles Walker
The House of Commons complies with UK legislative standards when procuring food and drinks from suppliers. Its procurement approach supports and where possible prioritises the purchase of food and drink produced in Britain. For example:
Certain regulations, such as the Government’s Procurement Policy Note of December 2020 and increased use of the UK-based Catering Framework, have allowed for additional freedom for spend on goods and services below certain price thresholds. Within the limits of these regulations, the House where possible seeks to hold competitions which only target producers within the UK.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence food purchasing contracts incorporate the requirements of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering (GBSF) Services. The GBSF has a focus on animal welfare, the quality and origin of food as well as nutrition advice, and these requirements are embedded within Defence Catering contracts. These contracts permit for local provision of food and/or drink where it is considered appropriate.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the take-up rate for breast cancer screening was in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Breast Screening Programme statistics are available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/breast-screening-programme
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in the UK for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Our buildings are managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA), and they are responsible for the provision of catering services across our sites.