Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the long term priorities for the Office for Veterans' Affairs are.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
This Government is committed to making the UK the best country in the world to be a veteran.
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) sits at the heart of government in the Cabinet Office and is responsible for coordinating and driving forward work across the UK Government to support our veteran community.
In the long term, the OVA is committed to continue transforming and improving services for veterans, making sure veterans and their families have the support and services they need, whilst using data and research to better understand, and deliver for, this community.
The ten-year Strategy for our veterans (2018) sets out the UK Government's vision, and can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategy-for-our-veterans
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to publish the (a) UK Commission on Covid Commemoration's report and (b) its response to that report.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Government is grateful to the Commission for its work. We will publish the Commission’s report and our response in due course.
It is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on our society and it is important for the Government to fully consider the Commission’s report and how this period should be marked and remembered.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take in response to the Future of Work Review, published on 1 September 2022.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
On 12 May, the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, asked Matt Warman MP to lead a review into how the government can best support a thriving future UK labour market. Matt Warman MP’s response was published on GOV.UK on 1 September 2022.
In line with departmental responsibilities, this work is being followed up across government through collaboration between departments including the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) offices, (b) envoys and (c) advisors the Government plans to create as part of the Strategic Framework outlined in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy (IR) established the Government’s national security and international policy objectives to 2025. The IR Strategic Framework is designed to be flexible, rather than an exhaustive description of all of the Government’s activity to 2025.
The Government is considering the processes, systems and structures for effective implementation of the IR. A new strategy team in the National Security Secretariat will lead implementation, working with Departments to develop plans to deliver the vision described in the IR Strategic Framework. This work is ongoing.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons holding wedding ceremonies will be restricted to (a) places of places of worship and (b) some public buildings from 12 April 2021 when all wedding venues can be made equally covid-secure.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Guidance for small marriages and civil partnerships was published on 22 March and can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships#wedding-and-civil-partnership-ceremony-venues
We recognise that any restrictions on wedding venues may be disappointing for those planning such events, but we have to take necessary steps to limit transmission of COVID-19. This includes the closure of some settings and restrictions on social contact, including wedding and civil partnership ceremonies. By their very nature, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are events that bring families and friends together, making them particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19. We appreciate the sacrifices people have had to make across the COVID-19 pandemic and we do not wish to keep any restrictions in place longer than we need to.
In the COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021, the Government has set out the gradual and cautious approach to reopening in England, guided by science and the data, including the staged return of weddings and civil partnerships, as well as sporting events.
In order to inform the pace and sequencing of the roadmap, the Government commissioned advice and modelling from SAGE and its sub-groups. Scientific evidence supporting the government response to coronavirus is regularly published here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what equalities impact assessment he has undertaken on the effect of restricting wedding ceremonies to places of worship and some public buildings from 12 April 2021 on people who are unable to marry in those settings.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Guidance for small marriages and civil partnerships was published on 22 March and can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships#wedding-and-civil-partnership-ceremony-venues
We recognise that any restrictions on wedding venues may be disappointing for those planning such events, but we have to take necessary steps to limit transmission of COVID-19. This includes the closure of some settings and restrictions on social contact, including wedding and civil partnership ceremonies. By their very nature, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are events that bring families and friends together, making them particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19. We appreciate the sacrifices people have had to make across the COVID-19 pandemic and we do not wish to keep any restrictions in place longer than we need to.
In the COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021, the Government has set out the gradual and cautious approach to reopening in England, guided by science and the data, including the staged return of weddings and civil partnerships, as well as sporting events.
In order to inform the pace and sequencing of the roadmap, the Government commissioned advice and modelling from SAGE and its sub-groups. Scientific evidence supporting the government response to coronavirus is regularly published here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to introduce in central Government Departments similar transparency rules to those applied to local authorities under the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Since 2010, the Government has been at the forefront of opening up data to allow Parliament, the public and the media to hold public bodies to account.
Under the terms of the Ministerial Code, departments regularly publish data on a range of information such as Ministers’ external meetings.
Despite the need to reprioritise resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, tremendous progress continues to be made this year by central government departments in publishing core transparency data.