Catherine West

We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

We appreciate the impact rising energy prices are having on organisations of all sizes, including on operators of swimming pools. At the Budget, we announced a dedicated £63 million support package for swimming pools. This is targeted at both addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and providing investment in energy efficiency measures to reduce future operating costs and make facilities sustainable in the long-term.

This follows the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme provided since September last year. This scheme has now been superseded with the Energy Bills Discount Scheme under which swimming pools will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills until March 2024.

We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

We appreciate the impact rising energy prices are having on organisations of all sizes, including on operators of swimming pools. At the Budget, we announced a dedicated £63 million support package for swimming pools. This is targeted at both addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and providing investment in energy efficiency measures to reduce future operating costs and make facilities sustainable in the long-term.

This follows the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme provided since September last year. This scheme has now been superseded with the Energy Bills Discount Scheme under which swimming pools will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills until March 2024.

The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology underpinning the popular Freeview platform.

We know that millions of households across the UK rely on DTT and we expect this to continue over the next decade. We also recognise the crucial role that DTT plays in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available to all audiences.

For these reasons, the Government has legislated to secure continuity of digital terrestrial television until at least 2034. We will continue to evaluate the future distribution of television as the sector evolves over the next decade, and we have asked Ofcom to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.

Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.

House officials regularly meet with the Home Office and related agencies to discuss a wide range of security matters including threats.

In Glasgow, COP26 made progress on the issue of loss and damage. It agreed to establish a process to discuss the funding of actions to avert, minimise and address loss and damage. It also recognised that funding for loss and damage already flows from a number of sources and called for this to be scaled up. COP further agreed on practical steps to deliver technical assistance to countries to set the needs they have and the action required on loss and damage.

In our Presidency year, we will be taking forward the decision made at COP, facilitating and encouraging further progress on the issue of loss and damage.

At both Ministerial and official level, we continue to raise the need for finance and action on loss and damage, noting that relevant finance for averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage comes from sources under and outside the UNFCCC.

As COP26 incoming Presidency, the UK has convened seven consultations which have devoted substantial time to the issue of operationalising the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage and included the question of finance to enable its work. The COP President also convened dedicated Ministerial sessions on loss and damage at the July Ministerial in London and at PreCOP. At these sessions, the issue of finance was discussed, including the post-2025 goal, with a view to political leaders providing the strategic framing for negotiator-level discussions at COP26.

As part of the COP25 Presidency and incoming COP26 Presidency joint informal work plan on finance, we have undertaken informal negotiator-level consultations on the post-2025 climate finance goal with all Parties that have expressed an interest. Public reflections notes on these engagements are available on the UNFCCC website. The COP26 Presidency role is to facilitate balanced progress on this item in Glasgow, reflecting the positions of all Parties as best possible.

We are currently developing plans related to the makeup of the COP26 UK delegation. It is too early to confirm names at this stage.

The UK has committed to championing diversity and inclusion throughout our COP26 Presidency and all civil servants in the Cabinet Office COP26 unit have been appointed in line with civil service guidance and rules. In the COP Unit, 45% of the senior management team in the COP26 unit are women. In 2020, the Prime Minister appointed Anne-Marie Treveylan as the COP26 Adaptation and Resilience Champion.

I welcomed the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, to London on Monday 8 March 2021, his first international visit since his appointment. We discussed the new US Administration’s climate ambition and our joint efforts to ensure that COP26 is a success. Our discussion built on previous conversations I have had with Secretary Kerry and with Gina McCarthy, US National Climate Advisor.

I refer the hon. Member to the joint statement on climate change from myself and Special Envoy Kerry published on GOV.UK on Tuesday 9 March 2021. The UK and US will be working closely together to ensure that President Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate on 22 April and the UK-hosted G7 build momentum on the way to COP26 in Glasgow.

The cost to the public purse of answering written PQs depends on numerous factors, including the size of parliamentary teams, volumes of parliamentary questions submitted, and the complexity of the question asked (and required policy work to answer it), amongst other factors. Across both Houses, there were 61,427 WPQs submitted in 2022, normally each requiring several hours of officials’ time, so the cost is likely to be substantial.

As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 1 February 2023, Official Report, Columns 335-336.

Subject to Cabinet Office and HM Treasury approvals, the new online skills platform will be rolled out in three phases from February 2024. The first phase to be rolled out will include the front-end of the online platform and launch the skills collection tool.

The Cabinet Office has no current plans to introduce a policy to record foreign language proficiency. Whilst we hope to make use of a future cross-Government skills platform, we do not currently have the functionality in our department to centrally record these skills. However, Government Business Service work to deliver a cross-Government skills platform has started and we would expect to capture this type of information centrally at a future date.

CSHR has no current plans to introduce a cross-department policy to record foreign language proficiency.

We do not currently hold a central record of Mandarin skills (or other languages) in the department.

Genetic data of Civil Servants is very rarely held by Government. There are a range of measures in place to protect the personal data of Civil Servants in addition to the UK’s robust data protection laws.

On 24 November, the Government issued a Written Ministerial Statement on surveillance equipment. However, the instruction relates solely to visual surveillance systems on the government estate.

While the genomics industry is not designated as critical national infrastructure in the UK, the UK Government Resilience Framework sets out the Government’s ambition to work in partnership across sectors to ensure they are able to fully contribute to national resilience whilst strengthening their own.

The UK Government believes that sharing biodata with all bona fide researchers focused on human health is essential to fostering innovation and enabling the rapid development of safe and effective medical countermeasures.

However, we recognise the dual-use potential of new and emerging technologies. This is why the Cabinet Office has conducted a thorough assessment of associated risks through the ongoing refresh of the biological security strategy. In implementing the strategy, we will engage with key organisations such as Genomics England to ensure the UK maintains effective policies which protect National Security while fostering innovation as science and technology evolve.

While the genomics industry is not designated as critical national infrastructure in the UK, the UK Government Resilience Framework sets out the Government’s ambition to work in partnership across sectors to ensure they are able to fully contribute to national resilience whilst strengthening their own.

I refer to the Minister for the Cabinet Office’s previous answer PQ72224 on 2 November 2022.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central during my statement on the G20 on 17 November 2022, Official Report, Column 839.

In a statement to the House at the time of the heatwave, CDL (then Kit Malthouse) noted that ‘although Britain may be unaccustomed to such high temperatures [reaching 40c], the UK, along with our European neighbours must learn to live with extreme events such as these.’

In response to this statement, the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, now the COBR Unit, commissioned all key delivery partners to submit lessons learned from responding to the heatwave as part of the continuous improvement process. A series of recommendations were designed to embed these reflections into working practices and make future responses to extreme heat more effective.

Central government departments and partner agencies are implementing these actions over the winter and autumn period to improve our resilience to severe summer and winter weather events.

The Government is reviewing the Business Appointment Rules, taking into account all relevant considerations, and will provide more information in due course.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 35990 on 18 July 2022.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 35990 on 18 July 2022.

Fast Stream places for this Autumn 2022 will be honoured and our direct entry and internship schemes will continue to bring new and diverse talent to the Civil Service. Whilst we pause the Fast stream for the 2023 intake, we will take the opportunity to further improve the Fast Stream offer. This reform will ensure that when the scheme reopens, it is focused on driving up specialist skills in the Civil Service, as well as improving the regional representation of the Fast Stream.

The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to prevent the flow of arms to Myanmar. On 27 March 2022, we coordinated a joint statement, agreed by 47 countries, which urged all countries to stop the flow of arms to Myanmar. We also worked with partners to secure strong language in the April 2022 Human Rights Council Resolution on Myanmar. We continue to raise this issue bilaterally with those who are reported to be providing arms to the Myanmar military.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Information regarding products within the UK public sector supply chain is not held centrally.

This government is committed to preventing modern slavery occurring in public sector supply chains.

The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle - focussing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The policy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0519-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Information regarding products within the UK public sector supply chain is not held centrally.

This government is committed to preventing modern slavery occurring in public sector supply chains.

The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle - focussing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The policy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0519-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains.

This information is not held centrally.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

This information is not held centrally.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has previously held a contract with Electronics Watch, which expired in June 2021. CCS are currently reviewing the service to assess whether it is the best source of data for labour rights monitoring and how this data can be shared more widely.

The proportion of ethnic minority groups overall being appointed to the Civil Service Fast Stream in 2021 was 23.3%, this aligns with the 2019/20 Higher Education Statistics Agency graduate population level of 23.7% for ethnicity.

Steps to ensure that students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are successful in their application to the Civil Service Fast Stream start with outreach, attraction and marketing activity, which is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations. This is undertaken via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial and internship placements. We have developed an inclusive website, social media strategy, and refreshed the target university list for outreach.

Further to this, the Cabinet Office is:

• expanding the range of internships we offer,

• undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes,

• increasing assessor diversity, and

• improving our fair and inclusive selection processes by incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

The proportion of ethnic minority groups overall being appointed to the Civil Service Fast Stream in 2021 was 23.3%, this aligns with the 2019/20 Higher Education Statistics Agency graduate population level of 23.7% for ethnicity.

Steps to ensure that students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are successful in their application to the Civil Service Fast Stream start with outreach, attraction and marketing activity, which is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations. This is undertaken via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial and internship placements. We have developed an inclusive website, social media strategy, and refreshed the target university list for outreach.

Further to this, the Cabinet Office is:

• expanding the range of internships we offer,

• undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes,

• increasing assessor diversity, and

• improving our fair and inclusive selection processes by incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

The proportion of ethnic minority groups overall being appointed to the Civil Service Fast Stream in 2021 was 23.3%, this aligns with the 2019/20 Higher Education Statistics Agency graduate population level of 23.7% for ethnicity.

Steps to ensure that students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are successful in their application to the Civil Service Fast Stream start with outreach, attraction and marketing activity, which is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations. This is undertaken via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial and internship placements. We have developed an inclusive website, social media strategy, and refreshed the target university list for outreach.

Further to this, the Cabinet Office is:

• expanding the range of internships we offer,

• undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes,

• increasing assessor diversity, and

• improving our fair and inclusive selection processes by incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 14211 on 29 June 2021.

Everyone who is eligible to vote will have the opportunity to do so.

Any voter who does not have one of the wide range of accepted documents will be able to apply for a free, locally issued Voter Card from their local authority.

We continue to work with local authorities and other stakeholders, including charities and civil society organisations, to make sure that voter identification works for all voters.

Everyone who is eligible to vote will have the opportunity to do so.

Any voter who does not have one of the wide range of accepted documents will be able to apply for a free, locally issued Voter Card from their local authority.

Cabinet Office will cover costs of Voter Cards for local authorities.

At the first UK-EU Partnership Council on 9 June, the UK raised the issues faced by touring performers and noted work under way with Member States to try to resolve the barriers presented by visa and work permit requirements.The UK and EU have not yet agreed a date or agenda for the next Partnership Council. We continue to discuss these issues with all EU Member States to find solutions that work for our great creative industries.