Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of working from home on efficiency and outcomes in the Civil Service.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are a wide range of studies available on the clear benefits of hybrid working, which have been used to inform the expectation for 60% office attendance for Civil Servants. The government renewed their commitment to the 60% office attendance mandate on the 24th October, and has resumed quarterly publication of office occupancy data to support this.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Baroness Blake of Leeds on 9 October (HL Deb col 2091), whether it remains the Government’s position that civil servants are expected to work in the workplace for a minimum of three days a week; and what plans, if any, they have to change this.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Current Civil Service guidance requires Civil Servants to attend the office or work face-to-face with colleagues at least 60% of the time. There are no plans to change those requirements.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the private funding received by think tanks operating in the (1) political, and (2) economic, policy areas in England and Wales; and whether they have any plans to reform the (a) funding regime, or (b) declarations of sources of funding, for such think tanks.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
It is for each individual think tank to publicise and declare their sources of funding. The Government believes that think tanks can play a legitimate part in public policy development, so long as their activity is conducted transparently and ethically in order to maintain the highest standards in public life.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, in England and Wales are currently in paid employment at the age of (a) 75, and (b) 80 years.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 03/09/24 is attached.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the right of Lords Spiritual to vote in general elections.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
While the Lords Temporal are unable to vote at general elections to the House of Commons, this legal exclusion does not apply to the Lords Spiritual. In practice, however, it has long been the tradition that the Lords Spiritual do not vote at general elections.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the performance and governance of the UK Statistics Authority.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) was established under the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The Authority is an independent statutory body governed by the UKSA Board. It operates at arm’s length from the Government as a non-ministerial department and reports directly to the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In June 2023 an independent review of UKSA by Professor Denise Lievesley CBE was announced by the Government. As part of the Public Bodies Review Programme the review has focused on governance, efficacy, accountability and efficiency. The review is currently in its final stages and the Government plans to publish it later this year.
Further information on the UKSA’s performance and governance arrangements are set out in their annual report and accounts, found here: https://uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/annual-report-and-accounts-2022-2023/
Additionally, a review of the UKSA, conducted by Professor Sir Charles Bean, was provided to the Government in 2016 which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-uk-economic-statistics-final-report. While that review primarily focused on UK Economic Statistics, it also covered governance.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the numbers of full-time civil servants, and (2) the percentages of the overall numbers of civil servants, who work from home on (a) Mondays, (b) Tuesdays, (c) Wednesdays, (d) Thursdays, and (e) Fridays.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
According to Civil Service statistics as at 31 March 2022, of 510,080 civil servants, 408,110 work full time. However the data on civil servants’ working patterns, including those working at home is not routinely captured or reported on by the Cabinet Office.
Decisions on flexible working requests are made locally by departments, based on their business needs and delivery requirements. As departments are individual employers they set out their employees’ terms and conditions, including any flexible working policies.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of any difference in life expectancy of prisoners to the population a whole; and if so, what is that difference.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question of 6 March is attached.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Patten
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
8 March 2023
Dear Lord Patten,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking whether any assessment has been made of any difference in life expectancy of prisoners to the population as a whole; and if so, what is that difference (HL6095).
The ONS produces the National Statistics on life expectancy for the population as a whole, local areas of the United Kingdom and for socioeconomic classes. The ONS have not estimated the life expectancy of prisoners in its regular portfolio of life expectancy releases and would require new complex analyses to produce such statistics.
Currently, the Ministry of Justice provides official estimates of deaths in prison custody in England and Wales [1] as part of their Safety in custody statistics [2] , with reference to broad cause of death categories assigned prior to coroner’s inquest.
The ONS produce Experimental Statistics [3] on deaths in prisoners, by linking the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data together to give additional insight into suicide and drug-related deaths in prison custody [4].
[1] Deaths in prison custody, Ministry of Justice.
[2] Safety in custody statistics, Ministry of Justice
[3] Experimental Statistics, ONS
[4] Drug-related deaths and suicide in prison custody in England and Wales: 2008 to 2019
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to postpone nominating any individual connected to the investigations into the conduct of 800 officers in the Metropolitan Police for (1) an honour, or (2) a life peerage.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
All honours are awarded on the basis of merit and checks are carried out at every stage of the process for an (1) honour and for a (2) life peerage. There are clear procedures in place to ensure the integrity of the independent assessment process.
There are specific professional standards measures in place concerning police nominees.
Robust probity checks for peerage nominations are conducted and assessed by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people aged over 65 who were victims of (1) physical, (2) psychological, and (2) sexual, abuse for the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question: HL3614 is attached.