Lord Jackson of Peterborough

Allocation of working time spent on cross-government staff networks is an agreement between the staff network volunteers and their departments as employers.

The majority of staff time spent on the Civil Service LGBT+ Network is voluntary and unpaid.

Given the global nature of semiconductor supply chains, international collaboration is crucial for both the UK’s resilience and economic growth. The government is working closely with international partners on supply chain resilience and developing its semiconductor skills base, including by implementing partnerships covering these issues with Japan, the Republic of Korea and India. It will support UK semiconductor organisations to participate in the EU Chips Joint Undertaking and drive international collaboration on semiconductors within the OECD’s ‘Informal Network on Semiconductors’ and the G7 ‘Point of Contact’ group, to further collective understanding of supply chains and coordinate resilience efforts.

The government’s number one mission is economic growth. At the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology we are accelerating innovation to unlock more growth across the UK, as well as supporting the government’s other missions such as the clean energy transition. The UK’s science and technology sectors, including semiconductors, are already driving that economic growth and unlocking the innovations that will help us reach net zero.

We are committed to securing areas of world leading advantage in the semiconductor technologies of the future by focusing on our strengths in research and development (R&D), design and IP, and compound semiconductors. This will facilitate technological innovation, boost growth and job creation, bolster our international position to improve supply chain resilience, and protect our national security.

We will work closely with industry and academia to ensure our work is delivering real-world benefits for UK citizens.

Currently 7 National Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Networks are given pro rata time allocation to support respective network activity.

Time allocation

The National EDI Network Co-Chairs have a 25%-weekly time allocation and the Strand Lead/Board Member/Committee roles have a weekly 10%-time allocation. Each Network can recruit up to 10 Committee members (please note that not all Networks have up to 10 Committee members).

7 National EDI Networks with allocated time equates to:

1 x 25 % time allocation 37- hour week contract equates to 9.25 hours for each co-chair or 18.5 hours for both per week or 962 hours year for each of them

1x10% time allocation 37 – hour week contract equates to 3.7 per committee member, or for each committee member 10 x 10 % equates to 37 hours a week or 1,924 hours annually for all members of a Committee.

Across all 7 Networks:

• 70* people support network activity at 10% with 90% of their time focused on their contracted job role.
• 14 people spend 25% of their time on network activity, with 75% of their time focused on their contracted job role.

*note that not all Committee roles are filled.

Cross Civil Service Networks

Alongside DWP EDI Networks there a number of cross Civil Service Networks. DWP colleagues who take up the role of Co-Chair for a recognised cross government EDI Network can receive 5% time allocation to carry out their duties. Colleagues are welcome to be a member of any Staff Network but are only able to receive time allocation for one role on an EDI Network at any time.

The 2 chairs of the Civil Service LBGT+ Network both sit in DWP. They have 37-hour week contracts and 5% of this equates to 1.85 hours each a week – or 96.2 hours a year for each them.

The following table shows the number of abortion clinics which have never been inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as well as the number of clinics which have not been inspected in the past three years:

Source: Care Quality Commission

There are four NUPAS clinics that do not have any rating. This is because these were registered in the last 12 months.

There are three MSI Reproductive Choices clinics that do not have a rating. Two of these clinics do not have a rating because they were registered in the last 12 months. One of these clinics was registered nearly two years ago but has not yet had an inspection. This is because the transition to the Single Assessment Framework (SAF) has delayed inspection in some cases.

Under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, the CQC must update the health and social care sectors as to how frequently they will assess the providers they regulate. The CQC plans to publish an interim statement in August 2024 about how frequently they plan to assess each type of service.

No assessment has been made of the fiscal implications for the National Health Service, or the wider economy, of any liberalisation of end of life care and assisted dying.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative and end of life care services that meet the needs of their local populations. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications for adults, and children and young people.

Assisted dying is an extremely sensitive issue with deeply held views on both sides of the debate. A vote on any change to the law of England and Wales in this area is a matter for Parliament to decide. It is reasonable to have a discussion on what is an important topic, and it is right that we locate that question within a broader context of how we care for people at the end of their lives. Should the law on assisting dying change, the Government would work with stakeholders to ensure that safeguards were in place, and that the law is enforced in the way that Parliament intended.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is required by primary legislation to publish an annual assessment of the accuracy of its forecasts. All previous Forecast Evaluation Reports are available on the OBR’s website.

In addition, last year, the OBR published a working paper assessing its forecasting record since it was established in 2010. It found that the OBR’s forecasting accuracy is comparable to that of external forecasters, and its GDP and borrowing forecasts have typically been more accurate than the previous forecasts made by the Treasury.

The Budget Responsibility Bill will support transparency and accountability, by ensuring that significant fiscal announcements are always subject to independent scrutiny.

Parliament will remain sovereign: the legislation which sets out the legal framework will be taken through the House of Commons for approval, as will the Charter for Budget Responsibility which will set out the technical details. The Bill makes no changes to existing parliamentary scrutiny of Government tax and spending decisions.

The College of Policing has published an authorised professional practice (APP) to ensure police forces in England and Wales take a consistent and effective approach to planning and policing public order and public safety, including the management of protests. Any guidance on how the wider legislative framework should be applied specifically in the context of abortion safe access zones would be a matter for the College.

On 23 July 2024, the Home Secretary laid a Statutory Instrument in Parliament which removed the retrospective application of the Illegal Migration Act 2023. This has enabled decision-makers to resume their work in processing asylum claims from those who arrived in the UK from 7 March 2023 onwards. This is an important step to restore order to the asylum system and ease the burden on the taxpayer.

Each asylum claim will be considered on its individual merits and all claimants are subject to mandatory security checks. Those who qualify are normally granted five years’ limited leave and have access to the labour market. Those found not to need protection are refused.

The Home Office does and will continue to engage with other Government Departments and a number of external stakeholders regarding the impact that the asylum system has on other areas.