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Written Question
Minister without Portfolio
Thursday 23rd November 2023

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) diary appointments, (b) planned visits and (c) other ministerial activities of the Cabinet Office Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio), the Rt hon. Member for Tatton, for the next six months.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Ministers regularly meet with departmental officials and external stakeholders. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.


Written Question
Protective Clothing: Procurement
Tuesday 20th December 2022

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what means of communication was used to inform of the existence of an expedited route for supplying personal protective equipment during the covid-19 outbreak; which organisations and individuals were made aware of that route; and where any promotion of that route was published.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The High Priority appraisals mailbox was available across government and with Parliamentarians. Email correspondence with ministerial private offices and senior officials in the PPE sourcing programme provided notification that the mailbox had been set up and this was widely known.

The mailbox allowed MPs, ministers and senior officials to directly pass on offers of support which they had received from suppliers and individuals to a dedicated location for triage. The high priority team used the same criteria to assess offers as those used to assess any other offers of PPE. Referral to the mailbox was not a guarantee of a contract.


Written Question
Veterans
Wednesday 13th July 2022

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs plans to take to improve the Government's statistical knowledge of the (a) number and (b) whereabouts of veterans.

Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)

The Veterans' Strategy Action Plan launched in January 2022 sets out over 60 UK Government commitments with a combined value of over £70m to help support veterans and their families between 2022-2024. We are already making good progress with 24% of commitments across the Plan completed at the 6 month point.

One of three ‘Areas of Action’ underpinning this Plan is “Understanding our veteran community: work on data and research to ensure policy across government is rooted in robust evidence”. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs will publish a data and research strategy in Autumn 2022, to set out further steps to better understand the UK’s veteran community.

For the first time ever, we included a question on veteran status in the 2021 Census in England and Wales, and the 2022 Census in Scotland. The Office for National Statistics will analyse and publish the Census data on the veteran population in England and Wales and the results will be published in 2023. This will give us data on the demographics of our veteran population which will allow us to better design and target future support.The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency is working with the MOD to gather data on its veterans and the OVA is working with colleagues across the Devolved Administrations to share best practice and co-ordinate on data collection and analysis.

Following the census, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs has commissioned, alongside the Office for National Statistics, a regular veterans survey. This will gather views and opinions on a range of areas, including life satisfaction, using services, and awareness of services. The first survey will be conducted in later 2022.


Written Question
Veterans: Homelessness
Wednesday 13th July 2022

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to improve the quality of data-gathering on the number of veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)

The Veterans' Strategy Action Plan launched in January 2022 sets out over 60 UK Government commitments with a combined value of over £70m to help support veterans and their families between 2022-2024. We are already making good progress with 24% of commitments already completed at the 6 month point.

According to data from the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection, Veterans are not more likely to be homeless than the general population. Research from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities shows that only 0.6% of households who were homeless or at risk of homelessness in 2020-21 had served in the Armed Forces.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs has a strong focus on data and research, so that we can better understand the veteran community and the support they need. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are looking at the supply of supported housing by the end of 2022 and ensuring data on veteran homelessness is collected consistently. DLUHC are also working with all Local Authorities (LA) to ensure they are recording all veterans approaching LAs who are owed a homelessness duty.


Written Question
Veterans
Wednesday 13th July 2022

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs will make it his policy to develop a mechanism for following up on the welfare of veterans.

Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)

The welfare of this country's veterans is a high priority for this government. We set up the Office for Veterans’ Affairs in 2019 to sit at the heart of government in the Cabinet Office. It coordinates and drives forward work across the UK Government to support veterans.

The Veterans' Strategy Action Plan launched in January 2022 sets out over 60 UK Government commitments with a combined value of over £70m to help support veterans and their families between 2022-2024. We are already making good progress with 24% of commitments already completed at the 6 month point.

Veterans UK provide ongoing welfare support for veterans of any age, and their families through the Veterans Welfare Service. The NHS’ veterans health and wellbeing service, Op COURAGE, provides a bespoke mental health pathway for veterans, as well as supporting links to other organisations which can help with veterans’ wider health and wellbeing needs. The Veterans’ Gateway provides a first point of contact to ensure veterans are directed to the right services via a website and telephone, SMS and live chat advisors. The Government strongly encourages any veterans who need support to engage with it.


Written Question
Veterans: Suicide
Wednesday 2nd February 2022

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written ministerial statement, entitled, Recording and Reporting Suicides, HCWS299, 22 September 2021, whether his Department will take evidence from the Scottish Government in the process of developing a new method of reporting and recording veterans' suicides.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is working with the Office for National Statistics to develop plans for the new method of reporting and recording veteran suicides. The OVA engages regularly with the Scottish Government on our data and research programme, including on the development of this new methodology. The Scottish Government are members of the OVA and MoD led Veterans and Covenant Data Working Group, which brings together analysts from across government to collaborate and share best practice.


Written Question
Veterans: Medical Examinations
Monday 24th January 2022

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) his officials had at the meeting of the Veterans Advisory Board on 24 November 2021 about veteran UK medical assessors.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

I recognise the importance of transparency in government and, for that reason, I opt to routinely publish minutes from my expert committee on veterans issues - The Veterans Advisory Board. Once published, minutes may only be amended to correct factual errors.


The Veterans Advisory Board provides valuable insight into issues affecting the veteran community, helping to develop appropriate policy interventions. At the meeting of 24 November, the board offered insight into the perspective of veterans accessing services provided by Veterans UK. A summary of this meeting and all others may be found on GOV.UK.


Written Question
Veterans Advisory Board: Meetings
Monday 24th January 2022

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons published minutes of a meeting of the Veterans Advisory Board might be permitted to be edited retrospectively.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

I recognise the importance of transparency in government and, for that reason, I opt to routinely publish minutes from my expert committee on veterans issues - The Veterans Advisory Board. Once published, minutes may only be amended to correct factual errors.


The Veterans Advisory Board provides valuable insight into issues affecting the veteran community, helping to develop appropriate policy interventions. At the meeting of 24 November, the board offered insight into the perspective of veterans accessing services provided by Veterans UK. A summary of this meeting and all others may be found on GOV.UK.


Written Question
10 Downing Street
Tuesday 14th December 2021

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish full details of visitors admitted to No. 10 Downing Street on each day of (a) November 2020 and (b) December 2020.

Answered by Michael Ellis

Cabinet Office transparency spending data by month can be found on GOV.UK.

Reflecting the security practices of successive administrations, Downing Street does not publish information on details of visitors admitted to No.10 Downing Street. Details of formal meetings with external organisations are published on GOV.UK.


Written Question
10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality
Tuesday 14th December 2021

Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish full details of hospitality expenses incurred by No. 10 Downing Street for each day of November 2020.

Answered by Michael Ellis

Cabinet Office transparency spending data by month can be found on GOV.UK.

Reflecting the security practices of successive administrations, Downing Street does not publish information on details of visitors admitted to No.10 Downing Street. Details of formal meetings with external organisations are published on GOV.UK.