Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many police officers recruited in (1) 2010, (2) 2011, (3) 2012, and (4) 2013, are still in service.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the size and composition of the police workforce in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
Information on the length of service of police officers in post and the length of service of police officer leavers, can be found in Tables JL5 and JL6 respectively of the data tables accompanying the statistical release.
Table 1, below, shows the length of service of police officers in post, as at 31 March 2024.
Table 1: Length of service of police officers in post, headcount basis, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales (excluding British Transport Police)
Length of service group | Police officers (headcount) |
Less than 5 years | 53,108 |
5 years to less than 10 years | 25,626 |
10 years to less than 15 years | 12,315 |
15 years to less than 20 years | 23,492 |
20 years to less than 25 years | 24,271 |
25 years to less than 30 years | 10,116 |
30 years or over | 841 |
Total | 149,769 |
The Home Office does not publish more granular breakdowns of length of service.
Additional information on the number of new recruits to the police service each year, as well as information on leavers and the length of service of those leavers, is also available in the statistical publication linked above.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to re-open any of the railway lines closed during the Beeching cuts for either passengers or freight.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Following the Chancellor’s announcement in July 2024, the Restoring Your Railway (RYR) programme is being brought to a close. RYR-originated projects already in delivery will continue to be delivered but projects not yet in delivery are subject to the Department’s capital spending portfolio review. The Transport Secretary announced this review of the previous government's transport plans to ensure that our transport infrastructure portfolio drives economic growth and delivers value for money for taxpayers. Beyond the RYR programme, we believe it is for local transport authorities to consider whether particular transport projects are the best way to meet local needs and, if so, whether they wish to give them high priority from local budgets in the first instance.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many British citizens living overseas for more than 15 years became eligible to vote in the 2024 General Election following a change to the rules under the Elections Act 2022.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This data is not held centrally. However, the supporting Impact Assessment to the Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 estimated that around 2.3 million British citizens living overseas were enfranchised by the changes to the franchise under the Elections Act 2022. The Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (legislation.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of British citizens living overseas for more than 15 years voted in the 2024 General Election.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This data is not held centrally. However, the supporting Impact Assessment to the Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 estimated that around 2.3 million British citizens living overseas were enfranchised by the changes to the franchise under the Elections Act 2022. The Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (legislation.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many overseas voters took part in the 2024 general election and what proportion they represented of all of those who were eligible to vote.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government recognises problems facing overseas voters at elections. The Electoral Commission will publish a report on the administration of the General Election held on 4 July later this year, which will cover postal voting at the poll, and the Government will give careful consideration to any findings or recommendations made in the report in relation to the current arrangements for postal voting.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what public appointments are made directly by the Secretary of State for Defence.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
As specified in the Public Appointment Order in Council, 15 November 2023, 2023-2-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf (independent.gov.uk), the Secretary of State for Defence is responsible for public appointments to the following public bodies and offices:
Armed Forces Pay Review Body
Defence Nuclear Safety Expert Committee
Departmental Board for the Ministry of Defence (non-executive members)
Independent Medical Expert Group
Independent Monitoring Board for the Military Corrective Training Centre
Nuclear Research Advisory Council
Oil and Pipelines Agency
Royal Air Force Museum
Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons
Service Complaints Ombudsman
Service Police Complaints Commissioner
Single Source Regulations Office
Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what public appointments are made directly by the Secretary of State for Education.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Public appointments made by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education are published on the Public Appointment Order in Council; please see the attached document. The appointments are publicly announced on GOV.UK and can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-non-executive-appointments. The order includes those roles where official sign off by the King and/or the Prime Minister is required.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker during the past 14 years in respect of which public bills that started in the House of Commons has a motion been tabled to decline to give the bill a second reading in the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
There have been five such cases since 2010, including the motion on 29 January 2024 relating to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. The other four bills, along with the dates they were debated on second reading, were the Health and Social Care Bill (11-12 October 2011); the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill (3-4 June 2013); the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill (4 November 2014); and the Illegal Migration Bill (10 May 2023).
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what public appointments are made directly by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The statutory basis for public appointments is set out in the Public Appointments Order in Council 2023, which lists public appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and includes those identified as being made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, listed as entries under the Department of Health and Social Care. A copy of the document is attached.
When the order is next updated by Cabinet Office, it will also include public appointments to the board of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body, which are made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is also responsible for making the following public appointments, which are not regulated by the Commissioner:
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, chair and non-executive members;
- UK Health Security Agency, chair and non-executive members; and
- NHS Pensions Board, chair only.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 6 December (HL701), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, how much money has been spent to date on the Crewe leg (Phase 2a) of HS2.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
As noted in the Parliamentary Report published in November 2023, to date £1bn (2019 prices) has been spent on the Phase 2a leg of HS2.