Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what dates his Department plans to publish a response to (a) Sir Nigel Boardman's Review into the Development and Use of Supply Chain Finance in Government, published in August 2021 and (b) the Committee on Standards in Public Life's report entitled Upholding Standards in Public Life, published in November 2021.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government's response to Sir Nigel Boardman's Review into the Development and Use of Supply Chain Finance in Government; the Committee on Standards in Public Life's report 'Upholding Standards in Public Life', and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee's report 'Propriety of Governance in Light of Greensill' will be published before the summer recess.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech at the Centre for Policy Studies on 27 June 2023, what plans he has for future healthcare-related funding for the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department of Health and Social Care does not have a live funding agreement with the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has committed £118,484 of the 2023-24 tackling loneliness budget to the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, for ongoing delivery of the Tackling Loneliness Hub and research, exploring what works to tackle loneliness.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to reply to the letters of 31 May and 21 June from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of his constituent Howard Coles.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member was sent on 7 July 2023 by the Director for Retirement Services.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for future education-related funding for the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The What Works Centre for Wellbeing has a broad remit with their work advising on the activities of business, charities, and the public sector on areas such as health, work, sport, and education.
The department does not currently fund the Centre.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he will (a) monitor, (b) assess and (c) report on the delivery by Integrated Care Boards of the duty to meet population need for palliative and end of life care under the Health and Care Act 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for arranging healthcare services which meet the reasonable needs of the people for whom they are responsible. NHS England formally oversees ICBs and has a legal duty to annually assess and publish the performance of each ICB. In addition, the Care Quality Commission system assessments provide an independent assurance to the public and Parliament.
NHS England has also begun analysis of the recently submitted ICB Joint Forward Plans against the legal statutory duty to commission services that meet the palliative and end of life care needs of local populations through a whole-system approach. This analysis will be used internally to help focus support ICBs in the implementation of their statutory duty under the Health and Care Act 2022. Furthermore, it will enable identification of where more targeted support is required in addition to the system-wide support offered nationally.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to correspondence of (a) 2 and (b) 31 May 2023 from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of constituents Lynda and Ian Wynne.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A written reply was sent by the Complaint Resolution Team via email on 15/5/23, and a further copy was emailed on 2/6/23. We have also sent a further copy of this letter in the post to the House of Commons on 4/7/23.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to balance the regulatory burden on the agricultural sector with the protection of environmental, welfare and food standards.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to fair, clear, effective regulation of farming – while maintaining and improving delivering important environmental, animal, plant and public health protections.
We have already overhauled our regulatory approach, removing harsh penalties in cross compliance, leading to an 85% drop in formal complaints, whilst working with farmers through an advice-led approach to protect standards - with over 2,600 Environment Agency improvement notices completed since April 2021.
We have removed bureaucratic, ineffective EU greening rules and we will continue to reduce burdens where possible while cracking down on those who let the side down.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare sent on (a) 5 June and (b) 20 June 2023 relating to a constituent's case.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HMRC responded to this correspondence on 4 July 2023.
I understand that HMRC have also telephoned the constituent to provide an update on their corrected tax return.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to the letters of 18 April and 18 May from the Hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of his constituent Clare Cox about ventilation to reduce infection risks.
Answered by Will Quince
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Markham) replied to the hon. Member on 23 June 2023.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to the letter of (a) 27 March and (b) 28 April from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on support for the elderly on behalf of a constituent, Graham Briscoe.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the hon. Member on 13 June 2023.