Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of veterans employed on zero hours contracts.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government does not hold this data centrally. We are committed to ensuring that veterans have the best possible opportunities to secure rewarding and sustainable employment after their service and have taken a number of steps to support this. These include making it easier for veterans to join the Civil Service, introducing a National Insurance contribution holiday for employers of veterans and establishing a network of dedicated Armed Forces champions in JobCentre plus.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has conducted an equalities impact assessment of Voter ID proposals for LGBTQ+ people and those who do not have access to formal identification that reflects their gender identity.
Answered by Chloe Smith
An Equality Impact Assessment, which includes information on voter identification, was published alongside the Elections Bill:
https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3020/publications
We continue to work with local authorities, the Electoral Commission, charities and civil society organisations to make sure that reforms, including the provision of the free, locally issued Voter Card, are delivered in a way that is inclusive for all voters.
Everyone who is eligible to vote will continue to have the opportunity to do so.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on SMEs and their ability to export internationally outside of the EU.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
On 13 April, the Office for National Statistics released the latest statistics on EU-UK trade which show a welcome growth in the value of trade with the EU, with goods exports close to the average 2020 level.
The vast majority of traders and hauliers have adapted well, and our focus now is on making sure that any business that is still facing challenges gets the support they need. We are continuing to monitor and assess the situation, including any potential change in trade patterns.
We have made an additional £20m available to support SMEs with new requirements when trading with the EU. More info can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-20-million-sme-brexit-support-fund
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of the Help for Heroes recovery centres in (a) Yorkshire, (b) Devon and (c) Essex on the adequacy of support available to veterans; and what steps his Department is taking to maintain services for veterans during a period of falling charity income.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The MoD is continuing to work closely with Help for Heroes to transfer management responsibilities for the Personnel Recovery Centres whilst Help for Heroes’ introduce a new community based support model. Remote services will continue to be offered to veterans and the Government is continuing to monitor the situation, to ensure veterans can continue to access the support they need, whether via the NHS or the charitable sector.
This Government has provided unprecedented support to the service charity sector throughout the pandemic. As well as being able to access broader charity sector support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the sector has benefitted from a £6million COVID Impact Fund. In addition to the £10million per annum that the Government provides to the sector through the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, in this year’s budget, the Trust has been allocated a further £10million to deliver charitable projects supporting veterans mental health needs.