Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will set out a timeline for completing and publishing the Department for Education's work with the National Workload Action Group to consider "drivers of unnecessary workload" for social workers; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The National Workload Action Group will provide its final report to the department no later than January 2025, with insights and considerations for reducing unnecessary workload for social workers. Ministers will then consider the best way to take forward findings from the report and next steps.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the £90 million of funding announced in the Autumn Budget for children’s homes is new funding; how many places will be funded; and where those places will be located.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2024 represented HM Government’s decisions on future spending in the context of the unfunded pressures, across both capital and resource spend, which the new government inherited in July and which my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out.
The government has decided to invest further in supporting the development of children’s social care. £86 million of the £90 million funding announced in the Autumn Budget for 2025/26 represents the decision to invest in the Children’s Homes capital programme to maintain capacity and expand provision in secure and open residential children’s homes. The remaining £4 million will support smaller capital initiatives linked to the new government’s wider ambition to reform of children’s social care.
The programme will support the provision of up to 550 open children’s home placements nationwide, including a new bidding round launched to increase provision for children with complex needs.
The programme is intending to support the provision of around 80 additional secure children’s home placements nationwide. Currently, this includes the building of new or replacement homes in Lincolnshire, Devon, Hampshire, and in London and West Midlands regions. There will be improvement works undertaken at other existing homes nationwide that may expand provision.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the results from the Market Interventions Advisory Group on the children’s social care market; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The Markets Interventions Advisory Group was established to advise the department on options for addressing the systemic issues in the children's social care placement market, as identified by the Competition and Market Authority in their 2022 report and the independent review of children’s social care, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-childrens-social-care-final-report.
The work of the group, the reports set out above and engagement with a range of stakeholders fed into our policy paper ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’, which was published on 18 November 2024. It sets out the government’s ambitious plans to fix the dysfunctional care market and crackdown on the excessive and exploitative profits made by some private providers.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to commit to specific targets and a timeframe for growing the social care workforce; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the scale of the reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth and improve the retention of the domestic workforce. We want it to be regarded as a profession, and for the people who work in care to be respected as professionals.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to retain the policy set out in the Women's Health Strategy for England, published by the Department of Health and Social Care on 30 August 2022, to ensure that there is appropriate use of sex-specific language in health communications and guidance that relate to women’s individual health issues and biological needs.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government understands the need for health information to be as clear as possible and to use language that appropriately reflects sex, as defined as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010. The Government expects the National Health Service to deliver health services in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, having appropriate regard to protected characteristics as defined in the Act where relevant.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 16 September (HL694), which arms-length bodies are currently affiliated to Stonewall at public expense, according to records held by the Government.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Information on how issued funding is spent by arms length bodies, including payments to third party organisations, is not gathered centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 16 September (HL693), on what grounds responses to the call for input on incorrect guidance on single-sex spaces and gender self-identification have been categorised as 'invalid'.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Responses to the call for input were deemed invalid where they did not meet the criteria set out on the call for input Gov.uk page under ‘how to respond’.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 7 August (HL344), how many staff in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours; what is the percentage of overall working time they are permitted to spend on such network activity; how many hours are allocated in total; what are the names of each of the networks being funded; and whether they have any plans to increase or reduce such funding.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The delivery of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Staff Network activity is agreed between networks and departments as the employer. This includes permitted time allocation and any funding arrangements. The majority of staff time spent on diversity staff networks is voluntary and unpaid.
Currently 6 Diversity Networks are given pro-rata time allocation to support respective network activity. We have 11 FTE Network Chairs in total.
Time allocation
Diversity-related network time ranges between 10% minimum - 20% maximum (based on business need) protected time during core hours
1x10% time allocation 37 – hour week contract equates to 3.7 per chair member.
1x 20% time allocation 37 – hour week contract equates to 7.4 per chair member.
Across all 6 Networks:
11 people support network activity as “Chairs” with their allocated time ranging between 10% - 20%
80% - 90% of their time focused on their contracted job role.
Diversity Networks
Ability Network
Ethnic Diversity Network
EU & International Network
Faith & Belief Network
LGBT+ Network
Social Mobility Network
Funding
When approaching EDI activity, the default must be to use internal resources and best practice in departments and across government, as outlined in the May 2024 Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance. All external EDI spends are cleared and authorised by the Permanent Secretary.
Since the Machinery of Government (MOG) in February 2023, DCMS has typically spent <£1k per year, on Network activity, with no plans to to increase or reduce such funding.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 7 August (HL344), how many staff in the Department for Health and Social Care are permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours; what is the percentage of overall working time they are permitted to spend on such network activity; how many hours are allocated in total; what are the names of each of the networks being funded; and whether they have any plans to increase or reduce such funding.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Diversity staff network chairs and committee members are permitted to use up to 10% of their work time for network activity, this was introduced as part of the Network Deal which was published internally in October 2023. Currently, the Department has 22 networks which fall within the diversity category, with 41 colleagues acting as chair or committee member. In addition, the chairs and committee members of those networks related to disability, race and ethnicity, and social mobility can request up to 15% of their working time for these activities. This is in recognition of these areas' alignment with the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and is subject to line manager discretion.
Because the Department offers working time for diversity staff network activity as a percentage of overall work time for each individual, the number of hours allocated in total will depend on an individual’s working pattern, such as part time or full time, alongside line manager discretion.
The Department does not currently offer funding for diversity staff network activity, except for those networks related to disability. This is in line with the recent Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance published on 14 May 2024 in an online-only format. The Department’s disability network is named EnABLE.
The Department does not currently plan to increase or reduce funding for diversity staff networks.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 7 August (HL344), how many staff (1) in the Ministry of Justice, (2) in the Crown Prosecution Service, and (3) supporting the Law Officers, are permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours; what is the percentage of overall working time they are permitted to spend on such network activity; how many hours are allocated in total; what are the names of each of the networks being funded; and whether they have any plans to increase or reduce such funding.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
With regards to the Ministry of Justice, the delivery of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Staff Network activity is agreed between networks and departments as the employer. This includes permitted time allocation and any funding arrangements. The majority of staff time spent on diversity staff networks is voluntary and unpaid and there is no immediate plan to change this.
The 16 recognised Staff Networks currently operating in Ministry of Justice are:
ABLE
Carers
Christians in MoJ
Frontline
Gender Equality
Hindu
Humanists
Jobshare
International and EU Nationals
Muslim
Parents
Proud
Safe Space
Sikhs in MoJ
Spirit
Supporting the Workplace in Menopause (SWIM)
The Executive Board of the Attorney General’s Office appoints two volunteer members of staff to act as Diversity and Inclusion leads. With volunteer colleagues, they organise events (such as lunchtime talks) and circulate relevant information and materials around the Office. No maximum percentage of overall working time is specified for such activity and the time spent on such activity is not recorded.
As for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), it has 27 staff who are permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours across its eight staff networks who are allocated ‘network time’. There is no specified maximum percentage of overall working time permitted to spend on such network activity, but the maximum allocated to any one individual in this financial year is 177.6 hours. For 2024/25, there are 3426.5 hours allocated in total.
There are no current plans in the CPS to increase or reduce funding in this financial year, however requests for funding are submitted and reviewed annually.
The names of the networks for the CPS are:
National Black Crown Prosecution Association (NBCPA)
Carers Association
Sikh Society
Muslim Network
Christian Fellowship
LGBTI
Social Mobility
Disabled Staff Network (DSN)