Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the results of the inquiry by Lord Hunt of Tanworth in 1996 into allegations of a security service plot against Harold Wilson.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Official papers relating to allegations of a security service plot against Harold Wilson are retained by the Cabinet Office. Retained papers are reviewed regularly to decide whether they can be released.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which of their departments take part in (1) Stonewall's Diversity Champion scheme, and (2) Stonewall's Workplace Index scheme.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
A list of which Government departments take part in Stonewall’s Diversity Champion or Workplace Index scheme is not held centrally.
We are looking into the matter and I will write to the Noble Lord with further information in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to recent statements by the Equality and Human Rights Commission about its withdrawal from the Stonewall Diversity Champion scheme, what steps they are taking to ensure their expenditure on workplace diversity and inclusion initiatives (1) offers value for money, (2) is fairly balanced, and (3) is reasonable and proportionate, taking into account the rights of all persons with any of the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government has committed to a new standard for diversity and inclusion in the Civil Service which will promote a diversity of backgrounds and opinions. We are committed to fair, inclusive workplaces which draw on the talents of the widest possible range of backgrounds, especially people from non-traditional educational routes and from outside London and the South East.
It is fundamental that everyone is able to seize opportunities in the workplace without fear of discrimination or harassment.
Memberships of external schemes are kept under review, to ensure value for taxpayers’ money. A number of public bodies have resolved to best champion inclusion through internal programmes.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to recent statements by the Equality and Human Rights Commission about its withdrawal from the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme, what steps they are taking to ensure their departments are (1) inclusive workplaces, (2) attracting people from all backgrounds, and (3) workplaces where every employee is treated in line with the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government has committed to a new standard for diversity and inclusion in the Civil Service which will promote a diversity of backgrounds and opinions. We are committed to fair, inclusive workplaces which draw on the talents of the widest possible range of backgrounds, especially people from non-traditional educational routes and from outside London and the South East.
It is fundamental that everyone is able to seize opportunities in the workplace without fear of discrimination or harassment.
Memberships of external schemes are kept under review, to ensure value for taxpayers’ money. A number of public bodies have resolved to best champion inclusion through internal programmes.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure their workplace policies and procedures do not potentially infringe any person's ability to enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms under the Human Rights Act 1998.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
When formulating and reviewing workplace policies and procedures, government departments have due regard for all legal requirements, including the rights and freedoms in Schedule 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy for the use of self-destructing messages in communications with Government departments where no record of these messages is retained.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government acts in accordance with the Code of Practice on the management of records issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
This includes advice on the disposal of ephemeral information and how to keep records needed for business, regulatory, legal and accountability purposes.
The Government is reviewing how guidance can be updated to reflect contemporary information management practice in the modern digital working environment.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many care home residents and staff (1) tested positive for, and (2) died as a result of, COVID-19 in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland, and (d) Wales, in (i) November 2020, (ii) December 2020, (iii) January, and (iv) February.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Rt Hon. the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath OBE
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
15 March 2021
Dear Lord Hunt,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many care home residents and staff (1) tested positive for, and (2) died as a result of, COVID-19 in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland, and (d) Wales, in (i) November 2020, (ii) December 2020, (iii) January, and (iv) February (HL14039).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. National Records for Scotland[1] and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency[2] are responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
Table 1 below shows the number of deaths involving COVID-19 among care home residents registered for the months November 2020 to February 2021 in England and Wales. The term "care home residents" refers to all deaths where either (a) the death occurred in a care home or (b) the death occurred elsewhere but the place of residence of the deceased was recorded as a care home.
We do not hold any information on the number of care home staff who have died as a result of COVID-19 therefore we are not able to provide this information. The Department of Health and Social Care are responsible for data on care home infections.[3]
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Number of deaths involving COVID-19 among care home residents registered from November 2020 to February 2021 in England and Wales[4],[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10]
Month | England | Wales |
Nov-20 | 2,321 | 239 |
Dec-20 | 3,393 | 284 |
Jan-21 | 7,587 | 482 |
Feb-21 | 5,067 | 191 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
[1]https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/
[2]https://www.nisra.gov.uk/
[3]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care
[4] Deaths for England and Wales exclude non-residents.
[5] Figures are provisional for 2020 and 2021.
[6] The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) definitions are as follows: coronavirus (COVID-19) (U.071, U.072, U.099, U.109).
[7] Deaths "involving COVID-19" includes deaths that have COVID-19 mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, whether as underlying cause or not.
[8] These figures are calculated using the most up-to-date data we have available to get the most accurate estimates.
[9] Based on boundaries as of November 2020.
[10] Based on deaths registered in each calendar month.