Written questions by Lam.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) her Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.Cabinet Office is consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for paper & paper products. Furthermore, the Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the Government estate.

How many and what proportion of her Department’s (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture suppliers are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

The Home Office does not collect data at this level of granularity and the information would only be available at disproportionate cost.

How many and what proportion of her Department's suppliers for (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

how many and what proportion of her Department's suppliers for: (a) ICT (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK The information requested is not collected centrally. Providing an answer to this element of the question would incur disproportionate cost. (b) stationery (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK DWP’s contract for office products has been procured through the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Office Solutions Framework RM6299; further information can be found here: Office Solutions - CCS DWP has 1 UK based supplier for all our stationery requirements. There is no specific requirement or metric with which we record the country of manufacture for each individual stationery item procured. (c) office furniture (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK We currently have two furniture suppliers in contract, with DWP Senator Group and Bates Office Services. Both are UK based. Senator Group fully manufacturer all products within their UK site. Bates office services utilise a combined sourcing approach to manufacturing where in products are partially manufactured in the UK and partially sourced from outside the UK. The furniture is purchased via procurement from CCS frameworks, and all Office furniture meets the Government hub standards and Includes supply, delivery, and installation. More broadly, the Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

From which countries her Department has sourced (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services. Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for Paper & paper products. Furthermore, Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the government estate.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) her Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services. Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for Paper & paper products. Furthermore, Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the government estate.

From which countries the Prime Minister sources (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services. Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for Paper & paper products. Furthermore, Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the government estate.

What recent discussions she has had with IPSA on the (a) promotion and (b) procurement of British-made goods through Members’ parliamentary budgets.

No such discussions have taken place. IPSA is independent of Parliament and Government.More widely, the Government is committed to ensuring public procurement expenditure boosts British industry.

Whether the published list of (a) arm’s-length bodies, (b) Government departments, (c) agencies, (d) public bodies, and (e) other related entities for which a Minister or Department is responsible is complete and does not omit any relevant bodies.

Cabinet Office publishes a list of Departments, agencies and public bodies which can be accessed on gov.uk. Individual government departments are responsible for ensuring their portfolio of organisations is accurately listed and kept up-to-date.The Government also publishes a consolidated dataset on arm’s-length bodies annually. The latest version can be found here and provides landscape data for 2024.

How many open (a) processes and (b) applications there are for the closure of (i) arm’s-length bodies, (ii) Government Departments, (iii) agencies and (iv) public bodies.

On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all UK government arm’s length bodies, and proposals for new bodies, in order to return policy decisions to Ministers, reduce duplication and improve efficiency and transparency. The review is ongoing and outcomes will be announced in due course. Information about the closures of other types of public bodies is not held centrally. The decision to create or close Government Departments is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. There are no active processes underway to create or close any departments.

Representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what proportion of the IPSA preferred suppliers list for MPs’ office purchases are UK-based manufacturers.

IPSA does not have a preferred suppliers list for MPs' office purchases. MPs are able to apply their own descretion within the parameters set out in the Scheme of MPs' Staffing and Business Costs when accessing funds from their Office Costs Budget.Whilst IPSA does not have a preferred suppliers list for MPs' office purchases, it does have two direct supplier relationships with retail businesses based in the UK or with a UK subsidiary. MPs can make use of these in purchasing certain office supplies and for letterhead printing.

Whether any (a) arm’s-length bodies, (b) agencies and (c) public bodies are being administered under the Privy Council.

The Privy Council does not directly administer any (a) arm’s-length bodies, (b) agencies or (c) public bodies. Certain functions fall to Ministers as Privy Counsellors, either because they arise under the Royal Prerogative or because an Act of Parliament specifies that delegated legislation is to be made by Order in Council, or by the Privy Council. This is usually limited to the approval of governance changes, or appointments, to independent statutory regulators.

How many open (a) processes and (b) applications there are for the creation of new (i) arm’s-length bodies, (ii) Government Departments, (iii) agencies and (iv) public bodies.

On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all UK government arm’s length bodies, and proposals for new bodies, in order to return policy decisions to Ministers, reduce duplication and improve efficiency and transparency. The review is ongoing and outcomes will be announced in due course. Information about the creation of other types of public bodies is not held centrally. The decision to create or close Government Departments is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. There are no active processes underway to create or close any departments.

Representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will review the House's procurement frameworks to prioritise UK-manufactured goods and support domestic supply chains.

Parliament endeavours to purchase British goods and support domestic supply chains where it is possible and appropriate to do so.Parliament has procured its frameworks in accordance with applicable law, and has no imminent plans to review those frameworks. Under current legislation and guidance, specifying the origin of goods or services is only permitted if it is necessary to do so in order for our requirements to be understood. The legislation expressly provides that any requirement specifying the origin must allow for equivalents where these exist.

Representing the House of Commons Commission, what guidance the House has issued to encourage the procurement of British-made (a) office products and (b) stationery by (i) Members and (ii) their staff.

Under current legislation and guidance, specifying the origin of goods or services is only permitted if it is necessary to do so in order for the requirements to be understood. The legislation expressly provides that any requirement specifying the origin must allow for equivalents where these exist. In respect of Members and their Staff it is a decision for each individual Member and their office to determine how they use their budget to purchase office products and stationery in accordance with IPSA guidelines.

Representing the House of Commons Commission, from which countries the House of Commons sources the paper for its (a) official headed stationery and (b) other printed parliamentary materials.

Official headed stationery is sourced from the following locations:for letterheaded paper, the Papago cream paper is sourced from France and the Conqueror cream wove paper is sourced from Italy.paper for manilla envelopes is sourced and manufactured in Germany.plastic for the poly mailers is sourced and manufactured in Poland.cream paper for the standard envelopes is sourced from Sweden.white paper for the white envelopes is sourced and manufactured in Poland.All overprinting of paper envelopes is carried out in the UK, including embossing and phosphor band print. Overprinting of letterheaded paper is carried out in the UK.Business papers (the Order Paper, bills etc) are printed on paper which has been manufactured in Germany and France. These are bought through a UK-based paper merchant.Under current legislation and guidance, specifying the origin of goods or services is only permitted if it is necessary to do so in order for our requirements to be understood. The legislation expressly provides that any requirement specifying the origin must allow for equivalents where these exist. Parliament endeavours to purchase British goods and support domestic supply chains where it is possible and appropriate to do so.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of topical steroid creams on (a) physical dependency and (b) withdrawal effects among users.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reviewed topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) reactions, and first communicated about these reactions in September 2021 through our Drug Safety Update, which is widely disseminated among health care professionals. This communication is available at the following link:www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/topical-corticosteroids-information-on-the-risk-of-topical-steroid-withdrawal-reactions.The MHRA has continued to monitor reports of TSW and undertook an additional review in 2024, which can be found at the following link:www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/topical-steroids-introduction-of-new-labelling-and-a-reminder-of-the-possibility-of-severe-side-effects-including-topical-steroid-withdrawal-reactions.During this review, further advice was sought from dermatologists, the National Eczema Society, and the Commission on Human Medicines. Consequently, the MHRA took forward a number of actions, including ensuring that there are updated warnings in the product information that is supplied with the creams, and the inclusion of information regarding the potency of topical steroids on the packaging. The British National Formulary (BNF) has updated their topical steroids potency information in line with the outcomes of the MHRA’s review. The BNF’s treatment summary for topical corticosteroids is available at the following link:https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summaries/topical-corticosteroids/Furthermore, the MHRA engaged with the British Association of Dermatologists who have released an updated statement that is available at the following link:https://cdn.bad.org.uk/uploads/2024/02/22095550/Topical-Steroid-Withdrawal-Joint-Statement.pdfFollowing these discussions, the British Association of Dermatologists has formed a Topical Steroid Withdrawal Working Party Group (TSW WP) in collaboration with National Eczema Society, Scratch That, the Primary Care Dermatology Society, and the British Dermatological Nursing Group. The objective of the TSW WPG is to develop expert consensus guidance on supporting people with concerns about TSW, including a Patient Information Leaflet, and any revision to the above joint statement, as appropriate. Further information on the TSW Working Party Group is available at the following link:https://www.bad.org.uk/topical-steroid-withdrawal-joint-statement/

With reference to the Minister for Rail's letter to the hon. Member for Weald of Kent on rail, dated 14 April 2025, whether (a) the Minister for Rail and (b) officials in her Department had met with the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership before 14 April 2025 to discuss their public interest case for rail investment.

DfT officials met with Kent and Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP) representatives on 10 October to discuss the issue of international rail services serving Kent stations. Following this, DfT officials have maintained a dialogue with KMEP, including providing feedback on their public interest case.

With reference to the Minister for Rail's letter to the hon. Member for Weald of Kent on rail, dated 14 April 2025, on what basis the Minister for Rail selected attendees for the recent meeting between hon. Members and the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership; and whether she considered inviting the hon. Member for Weald of Kent.

A number of Kent MPs have made representations to the Department over the last twelve months regarding international rail services serving Kent stations. As a result of the representations received prior to March this year, the Rail Minister agreed to meet with a delegation of MPs that had requested a meeting to discuss this issue. I am not aware that the Department has received a request from the hon. Member to discuss this topic, but the Rail Minister would be very happy to do so.

With reference to the Minister for Rail's letter to the hon. Member for Weald of Kent on rail, dated 14 April 2025, which hon. Members were invited to meet with the Minister for Rail to discuss the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership’s priorities for local rail.

A number of Kent MPs have made representations to the Department over the last twelve months regarding international rail services serving Kent stations. As a result of the representations received prior to March this year, the Rail Minister agreed to meet with a delegation of MPs that had requested a meeting to discuss this issue. I am not aware that the Department has received a request from the hon. Member to discuss this topic, but the Rail Minister would be very happy to do so.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) households that entered fuel poverty and (b) excess winter deaths in 2024/25 following changes to the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment.

In the latest annual fuel poverty statistics published in March 2025, it is estimated that changes to Winter Fuel Payment eligibility did not affect the rate of fuel poverty in England in 2024, as measured by the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric- Annual fuel poverty statistics report: 2025 - GOV.UK. The next annual fuel poverty stats will be published in Spring 2026. A very wide range of factors impact changes in mortality. Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Excess mortality in England - GOV.UK