Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of delays in Civil Service pension administration by Capita on deferred members approaching retirement.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
We recognise the significant impact these delays have on deferred members’ ability to plan their financial future. Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the agriculture sector in April.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the acting National Statistician of the UK Statistics Authority.
Emma Rourke | Acting National Statistician
The Baroness Stedman-Scott OBE
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
12 May 2025
Dear Lady Stedman-Scott,
As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the agriculture sector in April (HL6966).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects information on the labour market status of individuals through the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK. The responses allow us to estimate how many people are in employment, as well as information on their age and sex. In addition, working respondents report the industry they believe best reflects their workplace. These responses are classified using the Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC07).
Unfortunately, estimates for April 2025 will not be available until 10 June 2025. In the period December 2024 to February 2025, the latest LFS data available, the number of men aged 16 to 24 years who were working in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry sector was 15,000. Please note that this estimate is based on a small sample size. This may result in less precise estimates, which should be used with caution.
The ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting approach mean that labour market statistics based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are subject to increased volatility and are considered ’official statistics in development’ until further review.
Yours sincerely,
Emma Rourke
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the manufacturing sector in April.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Baroness Stedman-Scott OBE
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
2 May 2025
Dear Lady Stedman-Scott,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the construction sector in April (HL6964), and how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the manufacturing sector in April (HL6965).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects information on the labour market status of individuals through the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK. The responses allow us to estimate how many people are in employment, as well as information on their age and sex. In addition, working respondents report the industry they believe best reflects their workplace. These responses are classified using the Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC07).
Unfortunately, estimates for April 2025 will not be available until 10 June 2025. In the period December 2024 to February 2025, the latest LFS data available, the number of men aged 16 to 24 years who were working in the construction sector was 196,000, while the number of men aged 16 to 24 years who were working in the manufacturing sector was 155,000.
The ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting approach mean that labour market statistics based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are subject to increased volatility and are considered ’official statistics in development’ until further review.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the construction sector in April.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Baroness Stedman-Scott OBE
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
2 May 2025
Dear Lady Stedman-Scott,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the construction sector in April (HL6964), and how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the manufacturing sector in April (HL6965).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects information on the labour market status of individuals through the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK. The responses allow us to estimate how many people are in employment, as well as information on their age and sex. In addition, working respondents report the industry they believe best reflects their workplace. These responses are classified using the Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC07).
Unfortunately, estimates for April 2025 will not be available until 10 June 2025. In the period December 2024 to February 2025, the latest LFS data available, the number of men aged 16 to 24 years who were working in the construction sector was 196,000, while the number of men aged 16 to 24 years who were working in the manufacturing sector was 155,000.
The ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting approach mean that labour market statistics based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are subject to increased volatility and are considered ’official statistics in development’ until further review.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on positive action, affirmative action, and positive discrimination, in relation to protected characteristics in Civil Service recruitment.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Decisions on recruitment are delegated to departments. They are responsible for ensuring their policies are compliant with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles and any other relevant legislation such as, in this instance, the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what different gender identities are recognised by the Office for Equality and Opportunity, and the Government People Group.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As was the case under the previous administration, there is no list of gender identities recognised by the Government People Group or Office for Equality and Opportunity.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on (1) Whitehall departments, and (2) arms-length bodies, spending taxpayers’ money on affiliating to Stonewall.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Government departments and arm’s-length bodies are responsible for decisions about whether to buy services from third sector organisations to support equality, diversity and inclusion in their organisations. Currently no government department is a member of Stonewall.