Topical Questions

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If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

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I am sure that the Minister will join me in welcoming the result of the Hungarian election where, in part, anti-LGBT policies were roundly rejected at the ballot box. As LGBT rights suffer from backsliding around the world, will the Minister commit to working with our EU partners to promote LGBT human rights across the world, including by putting the topic on the agenda at the next EU-UK summit?

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Last week, someone in the heart of Government leaked some extremely sensitive documents to The Guardian. This appears potentially to be a crime under the National Security Act 2023. Has the Cabinet Office reported it to the Metropolitan police?

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Cat Little, the permanent secretary, has just told the Foreign Affairs Committee that a very, very small number of people have actually seen the document in question. Will the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister commit to the House that when he has identified who leaked it, he will report them to the Metropolitan police?

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Happy St George’s day, Mr Speaker. The covid-19 inquiry exposed how long covid was repeatedly dismissed, despite its lasting impact on nearly 2 million people, including me. Can the Minister reassure those living with long covid that the Government will fully act on the inquiry’s findings and explain what steps are being taken to ensure that long covid and post-viral illnesses shape future resilience and pandemic planning?

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Last week, a former Attorney General wrote that there was no legal reason for the Government not to publish a list of the Humble Address documents being withheld by the Metropolitan police. Will the Government publish that list?

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The UK rightly committed 1.5% of GDP to boosting our national resilience, along with our NATO partners. Ahead of the next NATO summit in Ankara in July, can the Minister confirm whether the Government will publish a departmental breakdown of how the UK will meet its commitments?

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Happy St George’s day, Mr Speaker. We face many threats, but happily dragons are no longer one of them.<br/>The Government maintain that the messages between Morgan McSweeney and his mentor Peter Mandelson are under the aegis of the Metropolitan police and therefore cannot be released, but surely the questions are critical to our understanding of what has gone on here and should be available to the House. Will the Government at least commit to publishing the questions?

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I welcome what my right hon. Friends have been doing on public procurement. On car hire services, it is expected that around 20% of fleet industry vehicles will be electric, but less than 1% of Government purchases have been for electric vehicle hire. I know that the Government take this issue seriously, so will the Minister lay out what the Government are doing to ensure that they hire more electric vehicles?

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Happy St George's day, Mr Speaker. When was Jonathan Powell appointed as the Prime Minister's special envoy to the British Indian Ocean Territory, and what security clearance was he given on appointment.

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Happy St George's day, Mr Speaker. When Jaguar Land Rover was the victim of a cyber-attack, it had a devastating impact on the supply chain in Redditch. Will the proposed cyber-resilience index, which is part of the Government's welcome focus on improving cyber-security and national security, be subject to parliamentary scrutiny?

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Successive Governments have handed public contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds to the US tech firm Palantir, including the Ministry of Defence and NHS England, for a procurement process that many clinicians and other experts say completely lacks transparency. That is not to mention Palantir's horrifying surveillance of Palestinians on behalf of the Israel Defence Forces, as well as its unethical involvement with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Does the Minister accept the huge risks of outsourcing our sensitive information contracts to such amoral American data leeches, and when will the Government prioritise more secure British-based alternatives?

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In Derby we have many businesses, including small and medium-sized businesses, that are investing in people through apprenticeships or by enabling people to turn their lives around after prison through work. How will reforms to public procurement better recognise the social value that businesses provide when making procurement decisions?

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If the Government are so confident in the Prime Minister's decision to sack Sir Olly Robbins, will the Minister today rule out settling any employment tribunal in advance of a hearing or imposing any gagging orders on Mr Robbins?

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I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for confirming that he will chair a new contingency planning ministerial group to develop resilience to the threats caused as a result of the conflict, which is not ours but having an impact on many other countries across the world, potentially resulting in shortages and inflation. Our resilience is dependent on their resilience. In that light, will my right hon. Friend agree to consider convening a global summit to increase resilience through co-operation and collaboration?

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Over the Easter weekend, a 6-acre site in the Chilterns national landscape saw a massive unauthorised development. Despite swift action from Dacorum borough council to issue a temporary stop notice and an injunction, the work continued, with the police powerless to stop it and the council without the resources. What will the Minister do through cross-departmental work to uphold the rule of law and protect our precious landscapes?

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A happy St George’s day to you, Mr Speaker. Global turbulence has driven up the cost of living for my constituents. Can the Minister set out how closening trading ties with our closest allies through the EU reset will help bring down prices for my constituents?

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In February, Capita said to Eastbourne resident Keith that his civil service pension would be paid by March. By March, it said his pension would be paid in April. Now it says that it will not be paid before May. How will the Minister intervene to hold this cowboy corporate to account?

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Happy St George's day to you, Mr Speaker. Can the Minister set out what progress the Government have made in cracking down on fraudsters who seek to defraud the public sector and what success they have had in clawing back money on behalf of hard-working taxpayers?

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Happy St George's day. A local business expressed concern over grid resilience in relation to high-risk Chinese components potentially being used in critical energy infrastructure. Given past actions on Huawei and 5G, what steps is the Cabinet Office taking to exclude such components?