Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how increasing funding to the Civil Service could (1) support innovation in technology and processes, and (2) improve productivity.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to a strategic plan for the Civil Service which supports improved productivity and drives innovation.
In a speech on 9 December, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out the Government’s plans for public sector reform. Phase 2 of the Spending Review will also include a focus on how departments can support innovation and boost productivity in the Civil Service.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of job cuts on the efficiency and output of the Civil Service.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government is committed to ensuring departments consider overall value for money in resourcing decisions.
To this end, it has introduced a 2% target for reduction to administration budgets in financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26 and a stop to all non-essential spending on consultancy, with an aim to halve spending in future years.
As set out in the Budget, the government has committed to developing a long-term strategic plan for a more efficient and effective Civil Service, including bold options to improve skills, harness digital technology and drive better outcomes for public services.
Decisions relating to the size and cost of the Civil Service workforce will be considered as part of the Spending Review process. HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office will work closely with departments to develop plans that achieve the government’s reform objectives for the Civil Service.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support small GB–based businesses in overcoming barriers to trade with Northern Ireland, particularly in relations to shipping difficulties.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Windsor Framework provides a wide range support for business between GB and NI.
The UK Internal Market Scheme already enables businesses to move goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without being subject to customs duties. This is being expanded into the full UK internal market system which will further simplify the movement of goods for businesses.
There will be a competitive procurement exercise for provision of the Trader Support Service, which provides free support and guidance to businesses, to ensure continuity of service from 2026 onwards, and the current service has been extended to the end of 2025.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what resources and infrastructure they are investing in to defend against cyber warfare, with particular reference to artificial intelligence.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Last week, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster delivered a speech to the NATO Cyber Defence Conference in which he set out the Government's commitment to strengthening cyber resilience. We continue to work closely with allies to expose cyber attackers from across the world, whether that’s through public attributions, calling out hostile actors, or through sanctions. And we are constantly looking at where we can bolster our own digital defences here in the UK. In the King’s Speech, we announced that the Government would bring forward a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences, and, working with industry, help make the UK the safest place to live and work online.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also announced a new Laboratory for AI Security Research at the University of Oxford (LASR), backed by £8.2 million of funding from the government’s Integrated Security Fund. The lab will bring together experts from government, industry and academia to seize the national security and economic opportunities of secure AI, underlining our commitment to stay one step ahead in this new AI arms race.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of small businesses closing since (1) the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Lord Taylor of Warwick
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
14 October 2024
Dear Lord Taylor,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the levels of small businesses closing since (1) the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) the UK’s departure from the EU (HL1421).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces an annual Business Demography, UK publication1. The data are produced from the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) which contains all businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE. Unfortunately, the numbers of business deaths shown in this release are not broken down by size band, so it is not possible to show the number of small businesses which have closed down since the start of the pandemic.
However, we have provided figures in Table 1 showing the total number of business deaths since 2020. The latest annual figures available are for the year 2022. As the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was in March 2020 and the UK’s departure from the EU was on 31 January 2020 it is possible to cover the two periods using the same data.
The ONS also produces a quarterly publication on business births and deaths2. The quarterly figures are useful because they provide up-to-date business demography estimates. Please note though that the figures are regarded as ‘Official Statistics in Development’ and should be considered as less reliable than the annual business demography numbers.
We have provided, in Table 2, the number of business deaths, by quarter, from the first quarter of 2020 until the second quarter of 2024. We do not have these figures available by sizeband and hence are not able to show the number of small businesses which have closed over this period.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
1https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/business
demography/previousReleases
2https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/business
demographyquarterlyexperimentalstatisticsuk/latest
Table 1: The total number of business deaths, annually, from 2020 until 2022, UK.
Year | Number of business deaths, UK |
2020 | 300,475 |
2021 | 328,360 |
2022 | 345,490 |
Source: Annual Business Demography, Inter Departmental Business Register
Table 2: The number of business deaths, by quarter, from the first quarter of 2020 until
the second quarter of 2024, UK3
Quarter | Number of business deaths, UK |
Q1 2020 | 96,555 |
Q2 2020 | 72,555 |
Q3 2020 | 60,335 |
Q4 2020 | 78,875 |
Q1 2021 | 86,490 |
Q2 2021 | 88,445 |
Q3 2021 | 83,035 |
Q4 2021 | 86,920 |
Q1 2022 | 114,120 |
Q2 2022 | 97,955 |
Q3 2022 | 80,345 |
Q4 2022 | 83,080 |
Q1 2023 | 106,840 |
Q2 2023 | 83,660 |
Q3 2023 | 68,240 |
Q4 2023 | 74,395 |
Q1 2024 | 87,280 |
Q2 2024 | 75,100 |
Source: Quarterly Business Demography, Inter Departmental Business Register
3Quarterly business demography estimates are regarded as official statistics in development.
Quarterly estimates, when summed over a year, do not add to the annual estimates obtained from the annual business demography output.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to appoint a new investment minister.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
My Rt Hon Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade are responsible for this Government’s priority of growth and advancing opportunities for investment across the country.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of hybrid working models in the Civil Service; and what steps they are taking to adapt policies to balance the benefits of both remote and in-office work.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
Work is ongoing to update policies and practices to ensure we maximise the benefits of both remote and face to face working, including investing in our estate to ensure we provide a positive workplace experience with the right technology and facilities and enhancing our line managers capabilities to manage effectively in a hybrid working environment.
The Civil Service has had a hybrid working model for some years now, and it is applying this flexibly to help balance business and personal requirements. Hybrid working is part of the Civil Service approach to flexible working as set out in the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: 2022-2025, which recognises the importance of flexibility in the ways of working and location as key to increasing innovation, performance and engagement as well as attracting diverse talent and representing the UK as a whole.
Carrying out tasks in the right place allows us to maximise efficiency and helps us to identify parts of the estate that are not optimally configured or can be released at the earliest opportunity, with appropriate lease breaks.
Hybrid working is important in making a success of the government’s Places for Growth Programme, including the creation of the non-London headquarters announced by ministers over the last year. The Treasury, for example, is positioning the new economic campus in Darlington as a full second headquarters with senior policy roles currently performed in Whitehall. Without hybrid meetings combining colleagues online and others ‘in the room’ this model cannot work.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority on the separation of functions and reporting arrangements, what steps they are taking to ensure greater transparency in the governance and enhancements of the statistical system.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The independent review of the UK Statistics Authority and the Government’s response to the recommendations were published on 12 March 2024. They can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-the-uk-statistics-authority-uksa-2023
The review made 19 separate recommendations to the UK Statistics Authority and Cabinet Office including amending the statistical legislation (Statistical and Registration Services Act 2007) to better reflect the governance arrangements in place and reflect the practical operation of the UKSA.
The Government agrees in principle with this recommendation but noted that - given that the report concluded the current arrangements were working in practice - this is not a current priority for legislation and will be a matter for the next Parliament to consider. However, in our response we said that the UKSA leadership in the meantime should take active steps to better communicate the current working arrangements to assure users and stakeholders that robust systems are in place to regulate the Office for National Statistics and the wider Government Statistical Service.
The Government also welcomed wider recommendations regarding transparency, such as establishing a triennial statistical assembly which will allow users and the Authority to discuss priorities in an open and constructive way.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to recommendations made by the House of Commons Business and Trade Sub-Committee on National Security and Investment on 9 February in their submission to the Government’s call for evidence ahead of reforms to the UK’s investment-screening regime, what steps they are taking to strengthen the screening processes under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to better align with the investment rules of UK allies.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Government is grateful for each response to the recent Call for Evidence on the National Security and Investment Act, including the submission from the Business and Trade Sub-Committee. The Government is now analysing all the responses and will respond publicly in due course.
The NSI Act brought the UK’s approach to investment screening in line with many of our allies. Whilst the vast majority of acquisitions pose no national security risk, where the government does identify risk, it will not hesitate to act.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports of concern from analysts regarding the reliability of figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), what steps they are taking to ensure that the ONS labour force survey is reliable and accurate.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Lord Taylor of Warwick
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
21 February 2024
Dear Lord Taylor,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking, following reports of concern from analysts regarding the reliability of figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), what steps they are taking to ensure that the ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS) is reliable and accurate (HL2453).
Following the suspension of publishing LFS estimates and micro-data in October 2023 because of quality concerns, the ONS put a comprehensive plan [1] in place to address these concerns and reintroduce LFS estimates and micro-data. The plan covers both data collection measures and methods used to make the survey estimates more representative of the UK population.
The planned improvements to data collection procedures were implemented in October/November 2023. These included the prioritisation of interviewer resource allocated to the LFS, the reintroduction of in-home interviewing, recontacting households that did not respond, and increasing the monetary incentive to participate. Furthermore, at the start of January we have increased the number of households we initially contact on the survey by 8,000 up to 25,800 for the quarter of January to March 2024. The combination of measures has already resulted in an increase in the achieved sample and we plan to maintain these measures for the foreseeable future.
As part of the improvements to our methods used to make the survey estimates more representative [2], the ONS have produced UK population projections specifically for the purpose of the LFS. This used 2022-based population projections for England and Wales combined with population estimates for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Additionally, we have reviewed and where appropriate adjusted the estimation method for the LFS to account for the challenges of low response levels in certain areas.
Both the improvements to data collection operations and methods to improve representativeness had a positive impact on the quality and reliability of the LFS data and enabled the ONS to reintroduce the publication of LFS-based estimates and micro-data from 13 February 2024.
As we expect to continue to see higher volatility in LFS data in the short term than might historically have been the case, we continue to advise users to apply caution when observing short-term changes in the survey-based estimates. As well as this, the commentary we publish alongside our statistics bulletins should also be considered.
While we are working hard to improve our LFS-based data, it remains our plan to make the transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS) our main measure for the UK labour market. The TLFS is an online-first survey that asks many more people about their employment status. While early returns from this survey look positive, we need a longer consistent time series to aid interpretation before we share these data with users. We expect the TLFS to become the primary source for the labour market release in September 2024.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1] Labour Force Survey: planned improvements and its reintroduction, ONS article, 2 November 2023,
[2] Impact of reweighting on Labour Force Survey key indicators: 2024, ONS article, 5 February 2024,