Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have had (a) poverty, (b) hypothermia and (c) hunger recognised as a contributing factor to their death through either (i) physical and (ii) mental health in the latest period for which that data is available.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 17 May is attached.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of moving the House of Lords to York.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Decisions on the location of Parliament, and how to proceed with the Parliamentary Restoration and Renewal Programme, are for Parliament.
The Government has an aspiration that all parts of the United Kingdom should feel connected to politics and indeed to politicians. Levelling up is a moral, social and economic programme for the whole of government. As part of the Place for Growth programme, the Government has previously engaged with the York Central Partnership and explored whether the space would allow for Parliamentary activity, should it be required.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish proposals on moving the House of Lords to York.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Decisions on the location of Parliament, and how to proceed with the Parliamentary Restoration and Renewal Programme, are for Parliament.
The Government has an aspiration that all parts of the United Kingdom should feel connected to politics and indeed to politicians. Levelling up is a moral, social and economic programme for the whole of government. As part of the Place for Growth programme, the Government has previously engaged with the York Central Partnership and explored whether the space would allow for Parliamentary activity, should it be required.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps are available to remove councillors of state; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enable the removal of such titles from people who have been sanctioned or imprisoned.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Removing peerages would require bespoke primary legislation. The Government currently has no plans to bring forward such legislation.
Changes to the list of those who are Counsellors of State would require amending the Regency Act 1937, which the Government currently has no plans to do.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps are available to remove peerages; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enable the removal of such titles from people who have been sanctioned or imprisoned.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Removing peerages would require bespoke primary legislation. The Government currently has no plans to bring forward such legislation.
Changes to the list of those who are Counsellors of State would require amending the Regency Act 1937, which the Government currently has no plans to do.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of developing a community asset focus for disposable public estate to provide accommodation for civil society organisations.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
Public sector organisations holding any land or buildings are encouraged continuously to review their property portfolio to see whether any of their assets might become surplus to requirements. The details of government property for sale or rent can be found on Government Property Finder on GOV.UK.
Civil society organisations can identify any property in which they have an interest and contact the relevant department to discuss the possibility of a purchase.
Members of the public also have the option to challenge government organisations to sell land or property in their locality if they believe it is not needed and could be put to better economic use through the Right to Contest process.
As part of the Levelling Up White Paper, the UK Government has committed to developing a Strategy for Community Spaces and Relationships. As part of this, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will review existing community asset frameworks which enable communities to protect local spaces.
The £150m Community Ownership Fund is already helping communities across the UK to protect valued local assets at risk of loss. Since July 2021, community groups have been able to bid for support from the Community Ownership Fund, for up to £250k in matched funding, or in exceptional cases up to £1m, to help them buy or take over assets for the local community.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are participating in the ONS covid-19 Infection Survey; and what the rate of attrition in participation in that survey is.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 22 February is attached.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, from which budget the investigation conducted by Sue Gray is being funded.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Cabinet Office investigation is being funded from the Cabinet Office existing core administration budget for the financial year 2021/2022.
In that context, such information is not recorded within the Cabinet Office's financial or management information systems.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Investigation into alleged gatherings on government premises during Covid restrictions has cost in terms of staff time.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Cabinet Office investigation is being funded from the Cabinet Office existing core administration budget for the financial year 2021/2022.
In that context, such information is not recorded within the Cabinet Office's financial or management information systems.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that could be created by relocating the House of Lords to York.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Government has previously engaged with the York Central Partnership and, as part of this, explored whether the space would allow for Parliamentary activity, should it be required. The location of Parliament is a matter for Parliament.