Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to installing motion sensitive lights in (1) government, and (2) public, buildings to reduce energy costs.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As set out in the Net Zero Strategy, the Government aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037. To support this, £2.5 billion is being invested through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme over the financial years 2020/21 to 2024/25 to provide grants for public sector bodies in England to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures.
The Office for Government Property has published the Net Zero Estate Playbook providing guidance to support government property organisations to decarbonise their estate. This includes recommendations of how to reduce operational energy use, including through fabric improvements, which may include motion sensitive lights.
The Government Property Agency (GPA) has a Net Zero Programme which is looking to retrofit LED lighting across the government office portfolio with motion controls. To date over 20,000 lights have been upgraded to more efficient LEDs.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have died from drowning in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 29 November is attached.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Lord Storey CBE
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
07 December 2022
Dear Lord Storey,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people have died from drowning in each of the last 5 years (HL3861).
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. Causes mentioned on the death certificate are converted to International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes, with the underlying cause of death defined as the disease or injury that initiated the events that directly lead to the death. At the ONS, we use the term “due to” to refer to the underlying cause of a death.
The ICD-10 codes of accidental drowning related deaths are W65 to W74, which come under the accidental drowning and submersion sub chapter. This consists of:
• W65 – Drowning and submersion while in bath-tub
• W66 – Drowning and submersion following fall into bath-tub
• W67 – Drowning and submersion while in swimming-pool
• W68 – Drowning and submersion following fall into swimming-pool
• W69 – Drowning and submersion while in natural water
• W70 – Drowning and submersion following fall into natural water
• W73 – Other specified drowning and submersion
• W74 – Unspecified drowning and submersion
Table 1 shows the numbers of deaths involving accidental drowning and submersion by year in England and Wales for the period 2017 to 2021, taken from Deaths registered in England and Wales – 21st century mortality[1] . Accidental drowning and submersion is considered an external cause of morbidity and mortality, because of this it is usually referred to a coroner for the death to be certified, which may lead to registration delays[2] . Data for 2022 will be available from mid2023 in the yearly publication on Deaths registered in England and Wales[3] .
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Numbers[4] of deaths[5] by accidental drowning[6] and submersion by year, 2017 to 2021, England and Wales[7]
Year Total per year
2017 193
2018 211
2019 175
2020 193
2021 215
Source: Office for National Statistics – Deaths registered in England and Wales – 21st Century Mortality
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/the 21stcenturymortalityfilesdeathsdataset
[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/impa ctofregistrationdelaysonmortalitystatisticsinenglandandwales/latest
[3] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deat hsregistrationsummarytables/latest
[4] Number of deaths by ICD-10 code are available through our explorable dataset NOMIS from 2013 onwards, this can be accessed here: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?reset=yes&mode=construct&dataset=161&v ersion=0&anal=1&initsel=
[5] Death figures are based on deaths registered rather than deaths occurring in a calendar year; for more information see our Impact of registrations delays release.
[6] International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) codes are as follows: W65, Drowning and submersion while in bath-tub; W66, Drowning and submersion following fall into bath-tub; W67, Drowning and submersion while in swimming-pool; W68, Drowning and submersion following fall into swimming-pool; W69, Drowning and submersion while in natural water; W70, Drowning and submersion following fall into natural water; W73, Other specified drowning and submersion; W74, Unspecified drowning and submersion.
[7] Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the outgoing Prime Minister, Liz Truss, will receive the Public Duty Cost Allowance.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Former Prime Ministers are entitled to claim the Public Duty Costs Allowance, which provides reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office and secretarial costs arising from the fulfilment of public duties. The annual amount received by each claimant is published each year in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.
Information about the Public Duty Costs Allowance is available on GOV.UK, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-duty-cost-allowance/public-duty-costs-allowance-guidance.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government who currently receives the Public Duty Cost Allowance; and how much they receive.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Public Duty Cost Allowance (PDCA) is a payment for reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office and secretarial costs arising from fulfilling public duties, to a maximum of £115,000 per annum.
All former Prime Ministers’ are eligible to draw on the PDCA. They cannot claim the allowance if they are serving as Leader of the Opposition.
The annual amount received by each PDCA claimant is published each year in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts available online at: Cabinet Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK
Further information about the PDCA is available online at: Public Duty Costs Allowance guidance - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the value of the Public Duty Cost Allowance; and whether they stipulate how it is spent.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Public Duty Cost Allowance (PDCA) is a payment for reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office and secretarial costs arising from fulfilling public duties, to a maximum of £115,000 per annum.
All former Prime Ministers’ are eligible to draw on the PDCA. They cannot claim the allowance if they are serving as Leader of the Opposition.
The annual amount received by each PDCA claimant is published each year in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts available online at: Cabinet Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK
Further information about the PDCA is available online at: Public Duty Costs Allowance guidance - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord True on 4 April (HL6397), how many non-disclosure agreements have involved payments of £100,000 or more over the last five years.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Under the Cabinet Office issued guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses in the Civil Service, there are certain circumstances where departments are obliged to seek Cabinet Office Ministerial approval before using such clauses in a settlement agreement. This includes where the case has a proposed payment of £100,000 or more.
Data held by the Cabinet Office shows there has been one case over the last five years where Cabinet Office Ministerial approval was granted for use of a confidentiality clause to be used in connection with a settlement agreement with a proposed payment of £100,000 or more.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Non-Disclosure Agreements the Cabinet Office has agreed for each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Under the Cabinet Office issued guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses in the Civil Service, there are certain circumstances where departments are obliged to seek Cabinet Office Ministerial approval before using such clauses in a settlement agreement. This includes where the case meets any of the following criteria:
involves a member of the Senior Civil Service;
is high visibility or is likely to be contentious;
has a proposed payment of £100,00 or more;
has a confidentiality clause that deviates from the recommended Cabinet Office wording or;
involves allegations of bullying, harassment or discrimination.
Since April 2019, under the aforementioned Cabinet Office control, approval has been given for two uses of a confidentiality clause.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases of (1) bullying, (2) harassment, and (3) discrimination, in Government departments were reported in each of the last three years; and how many of these cases warranted action being taken.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Cabinet Office does not centrally hold information on cases of bullying, harassment and discrimination across government.
The Civil Service has a zero tolerance approach to bullying, harassment and discrimination. It is important that all employees feel respected and treated fairly within the workplace. Those found to be bullying, and/or harassing and/or discriminating against employees or customers can face disciplinary procedures including charges of gross misconduct leading to dismissal.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the consequences of not storing information centrally on Non-Disclosure Agreements agreed across Government; and what plans they have, if any, to make such information centrally available.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Full information on the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements is held by individual departments. However, in line with the requirements set out in the Cabinet Office guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses in the Civil Service, departments are required to seek Cabinet Office Ministerial approval before using certain confidentiality clauses in a settlement agreement and to report certain information centrally on an annual basis. This is to ensure that such clauses are not used to prevent staff from raising or discussing allegations of bullying, harassment or discrimination, which the Government has made clear is unacceptable.
There are no plans to publish the data collected centrally as much of this information is sensitive and publishing it would not satisfy UK GDPR requirements.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many non-disclosure agreements were agreed in government departments in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Departments are responsible for the management of their staff, in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code. As such, the requested information is held by individual departments.
The Cabinet Office publishes guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses in the Civil Service. This is publicly available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817156/Cabinet-Office-guidance-on-settlement-agreements-special-severance-payments-on-termination-of-employment-and-confidentiality-clauses.pdf.
It makes clear that such clauses should not be used to prevent staff from raising or discussing allegations of bullying, harassment or discrimination.