Heather Wheeler: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 18 February is attached. UKSA response (pdf, 110.4KB)
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. UKSA response (pdf, 113.5KB)
Heather Wheeler: Throughout the pandemic, the Cabinet Office has followed Government guidance on ensuring safety in the workplace, particularly the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance - recognising the different approaches taken by the devolved administrations. This includes undertaking appropriate premises risk assessments and implementing mitigation measures. In addition to workplace...
Heather Wheeler: On 15 December, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of the right hon. Baroness Heather Hallett as chair of the public inquiry into covid-19. The inquiry is set to begin its work in spring 2022.
Heather Wheeler: I sympathise fully with the hon. Gentleman. He has told us about his family bereavement many times, and we have all been very moved by those comments. The inquiry will play a key role in ensuring that we learn the lessons from this terrible pandemic. To do that, we must get the terms of reference right. When the Prime Minister appointed Baroness Hallett as chair, he said he would consult her...
Heather Wheeler: I associate myself with the hon. Lady’s comments about Ukraine. South Derbyshire and the Derby area have a very large diaspora of Ukrainian-related families, so my thoughts and prayers are with them today. To answer the hon. Lady’s question, and I will try to answer questions in my new role, I believe the answer is yes.
Heather Wheeler: Derbyshire is a lot further north than Putney and the daffodils are not out in my garden—we still have snowdrops, which are very pretty, so spring is definitely a moveable feast. The UK Government are negotiating and discussing terms of reference with the devolved Assemblies, and when we receive their replies, we will absolutely move this forward with Baroness Hallett, who is ready to go....
Heather Wheeler: The One Public Estate programme has provided support and £140,000 to explore estate collaboration across the emergency services and wider public sector partners in London. The programme is working with the Metropolitan police and the Greater London Authority to establish where project opportunities could be progressed.
Heather Wheeler: I thank the hon. Lady for her interesting question. She led a Westminster Hall debate on the disposal of Teddington police station yesterday; as the Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Neil O’Brien), said then, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime is responsible for the disposal strategy, but it can take into...
Heather Wheeler: Mr Speaker, with your permission, as this is a very detailed question, I would like to give a detailed answer. The PPE high priority lane was established as one way of efficiently triaging and assessing the thousands of offers of support for PPE early in the pandemic. One hundred and fifteen contracts were awarded to 51 suppliers identified through this route and the total value of those...
Heather Wheeler: I can answer the hon. Gentleman. I am delighted to tell him that he has his facts wrong: recent media articles claim that 19 additional suppliers were referred through the HPL, which is totally inaccurate. Having reviewed the records, I can tell him that only one other company was included, so in fact, instead of 50, the total was 51.
Heather Wheeler: My hon. Friend is a champion for everything that has gone on since the Grenfell fire tragedy, and I completely understand and share her concerns about the information that has come to light through the Grenfell public inquiry. Current Government policy is to take into account suppliers’ past performance when awarding contracts. We are currently in the process of transforming the way...
Heather Wheeler: While we cannot comment on operational specifics, the UK’s intelligence agencies are governed by a robust regulatory framework to ensure our capabilities are always used in a way that is legal, necessary and proportionate - something we ask of all nations. We continue to promote with our international partners the need for tighter export controls to ensure cyber capabilities are used...
Heather Wheeler: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Rt Hon Member's Parliamentary Question of 10 February is attached. UKSA response (pdf, 108.0KB)
Heather Wheeler: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Rt Hon Member's Parliamentary Question of 10 February is attached. UKSA response (pdf, 110.0KB)
Heather Wheeler: This information is not held centrally. Details of Government contracts above £10,000 should be published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.
Heather Wheeler: rose—
Heather Wheeler: Breathe in, breathe out.
Heather Wheeler: If he will make it his policy to conduct an impact assessment of the potential financial effect on community organisations of proposals to reform the electronic communications code.
Heather Wheeler: I thank the Minister for his answer. He will be aware that thousands of farmers, churches and community groups who host mobile telecoms infrastructure on their land have faced financial hardship because of the 2017 ECC reform, with some seeing enforced rent reductions of up to 90%, as has happened in my constituency. What measures is he planning to support those who face losing these critical...