Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, whether he took steps to mark Small Business Saturday 2021.
Answered by Boris Johnson
To mark Small Business Saturday I hosted a food and drink market in Downing Street to showcase British businesses that are making the most out of our international trade. We currently export to 207 countries but this Government is supporting British food and drink exporters to sell even more of their brilliant produce abroad.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, on which date the Prime Minister last met the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Formal Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published each quarter on GOV.UK.
The Government, under successive administrations, has a long-standing policy of non-engagement with the Muslim Council of Britain. Previous MCB leaders have taken positions that contradict our fundamental values and these have not been explicitly retracted.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, how he plans to mark Chanukah 2021.
Answered by Boris Johnson
I hosted a reception at 10 Downing Street to mark Chanukah. I also released a video message wishing a very happy Chanukah to Jewish people in the UK and around the world.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on supporting education and reskilling opportunities for former service personnel in Newport West.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
This information is not held centrally.
Ensuring veterans enter appropriate post service employment is a top priority for this Government.
Eligible Service personnel and veterans can access three schemes: Standard Learning Credit, Enhanced Learning Credit and Publicly Funded Further and Higher Education schemes, which can help individuals pursue their personal and professional development through education. These schemes are available both during their Service and, for two of the schemes, for between five and ten years after discharge, based on the circumstances of departure.
The next iteration of the Veteran Strategy Action Plan will outline the next steps that this Government will take, including on education and reskilling, to deliver its ambition of making this country the best place in the world to be a veteran.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
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 help improve provision of mental health services for former armed service personnel in Newport West.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Our ambition is to ensure that no veteran’s request for help will go unanswered. The Prime Minister recently announced an additional £5 million for service charities following the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan, which will be used on a range of projects including increasing capacity in mental health support. In March, the government also announced an additional £10 million to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to distribute to charitable projects supporting veterans’ mental health needs. This is on top of the annual £10 million awarded to the Trust.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on how to ensure small businesses in Newport West constituency are supported in bidding for Government contracts.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. That is why we are making sure the power of Government spending supports this vital sector, both as part of our economic recovery from COVID-19 and our levelling up agenda. We are increasing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a variety of ways - from transparently publishing contract pipelines to simplifying bidding processes.
Business support organisations play an important role in supporting SMEs in industry and can offer advice on business growth including ways of accessing government procurements and signposting opportunities. We have strong links with industry associations and they are supportive of the government's aims to continue engagement with SMEs.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with representatives of business organisations on supporting small businesses in Newport West bidding for Government contracts.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. That is why we are making sure the power of Government spending supports this vital sector, both as part of our economic recovery from COVID-19 and our levelling up agenda. We are increasing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a variety of ways - from transparently publishing contract pipelines to simplifying bidding processes.
Business support organisations play an important role in supporting SMEs in industry and can offer advice on business growth including ways of accessing government procurements and signposting opportunities. We have strong links with industry associations and they are supportive of the government's aims to continue engagement with SMEs.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help increase opportunities for businesses in Newport West bidding for contracts on major infrastructure projects.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. That is why we are making sure the power of Government spending supports this vital sector, both as part of our economic recovery from COVID-19 and our levelling up agenda. We are increasing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a variety of ways - from transparently publishing contract pipelines to simplifying bidding processes.
Business support organisations play an important role in supporting SMEs in industry and can offer advice on business growth including ways of accessing government procurements and signposting opportunities. We have strong links with industry associations and they are supportive of the government's aims to continue engagement with SMEs.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2021 to Question 75126 on UN Climate Conference 2021: Government, how many Ministers in his Department travelled to COP26 by airplane.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Ministers took the train to COP26 in Glasgow, unless there were exceptional circumstances that meant travelling by train was not an option.
Travel disruption due to adverse weather on 31 October resulted in train cancellations, meaning some Ministers had to pursue alternative means of transport.
Any unavoidable carbon emissions from COP26 will be offset, including those associated with travel.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, when he last met the Chief Rabbi.
Answered by Boris Johnson
Formal Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published each quarter on gov.uk.