Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether behavioural scientists are involved in implementing national lockdown guidance and messaging.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Behavioural science has been fully embedded in Covid-19 communications since the start of the pandemic. The evidence-based principles from this field have been applied across all key campaigns, including the decision to enter national lockdown. Behavioural science support during the pandemic has been provided by internal government teams and academic experts, including those who are members of SPI-B.
The Government constantly monitors and gains insight on public awareness. We use regular evaluations to maximise the impact of our campaigns across the UK. Recall of Government communication has remained extremely high.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of public health messaging in saving lives during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Behavioural science has been fully embedded in Covid-19 communications since the start of the pandemic. The evidence-based principles from this field have been applied across all key campaigns, including the decision to enter national lockdown. Behavioural science support during the pandemic has been provided by internal government teams and academic experts, including those who are members of SPI-B.
The Government constantly monitors and gains insight on public awareness. We use regular evaluations to maximise the impact of our campaigns across the UK. Recall of Government communication has remained extremely high.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to implement AI infrastructure at EU-UK borders.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Cabinet Office published on 22 July a consultation document on the 2025 Border Strategy. This set out the Government’s intention to create a highly digitised and automated border. As part of this approach, we will explore the potential to use artificial intelligence at the border. We will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria is used by Government Departments when granting public contracts to private companies.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Public sector purchasing authorities are required to purchase products and services in accordance with public procurement legislation. Against this background, UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an automated traffic light system to control the number of people entering and leaving government buildings.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The guidance designed for Government workplaces does not currently consider the use of such traffic light systems. Current advice includes consideration of staggered arrival and departure times to reduce crowding.
Additional measures will be considered as necessary.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have died in care homes in (a) April, (b) May and (c) June 2020 in (i) Preston and (ii) Lancashire compared to the same period in each of the last two years.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) median age (b) sex (c) race (d) religion and (e) gender was of covid-19 (i) deaths and (ii) cases in Preston constituency.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, the exact number of daily excess all-cause mortality in (a) age group and (b) PHE centres in week 30 of covid-19.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he took to ensure that (a) women and (b) ethnic minorities were represented in shaping the Government's covid-19 response (i) planning and (ii) decision-making.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Government’s COVID-19 response has been a cross-Government effort, involving thousands of people who have worked tirelessly as the UK faces unprecedented challenges. Planning and decision making has touched almost all of Government, with women and ethnic minorities represented at all levels.