Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that only suppliers that (a) offer secure jobs, (b) treat workers fairly, (c) pay a decent wage and (d) recognise trade unions can (i) bid for and (ii) hold public contracts.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This government is committed to creating jobs that provide security, treat workers fairly, and pay a decent wage. The government’s Social Value Model provides an opportunity to reward suppliers who provide good working conditions for staff working on public contracts.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press notice entitled Government announces reforms to boost profits for farmers with a cast iron commitment to food production, published on 9 January 2025, whether his Department plans to monitor food currently bought by (a) all public sector bodies and (b) Government departments.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At the Oxford Farming Conference in January, I announced that, for the first time ever, the government will review food currently bought in Government Departments and the wider public sector, including where it is bought from. This is in line with the National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February alongside the Procurement Act coming into effect, which sets out the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 38992 on Mental Health Services: Children, what metrics his Department uses to provide a comparative assessment of the impact on long-term outcomes of children and young people’s well-being practitioners with (a) accredited school-based counsellors and (b) other relevant professionals; and if he will take steps to commission an independent review on the impact of different mental health practitioners on children and young people’s well-being.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All interventions delivered by mental health practitioners, including those in mental health support teams, are evidence-based and use a range of clinical evidence.
An early evaluation of the children and young people’s mental health trailblazer programme examined the development, implementation, and early progress of the 25 ‘trailblazer’ mental health support teams created as the first step of the programme. The interim report was published in January 2023, and highlights the impacts of the mental health support teams on improving pupil mental health and improving teacher mental health. The report is available at the following link:
There are currently no plans to commission an independent review on the impact of different mental health practitioners on children and young people’s well-being.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many private law cases where child sexual abuse was alleged to have been perpetrated by a parent was that parent granted residence in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information is not recorded centrally. The relevant data could only be obtained by an analysis of individual case files at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to include an exemption in the veterinary agreement that is being negotiated with the European Union that would protect the United Kingdom's ability to implement animal welfare method-of-production labelling, including on imports.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to resetting our EU relationship, including by seeking to negotiate an SPS agreement. We have been clear that an SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. It’s too early to discuss any specific areas in detail and we will not be providing a running commentary on discussions with the EU.
A public consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.