Chris Stephens

Public Health England has confirmed that the measures put in place to ensure the House remains Covid secure are appropriate to manage the risk of infection. As the risks are being managed, Public Health England has issued no advice around where suspension of work on the estate may be necessary.

The Commission has received no advice from Public Health England on what level of increased risk of covid-19 infection would require the suspension of work on the Parliamentary Estate.

This answer is in respect of the Attorney General’s Office, the Government Legal Department, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

The introduction of GDPR has not affected the rights of unions in the organisations above in relation to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

This part of the response is in relation to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Government Legal Department (GLD), and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI).

The three organisations above, and Government more widely, recognise that there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services. Whilst facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money, departments have an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.

In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials is published annually by GLD, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The Serious Fraud Office (whose HR service is independent of the other Law Officer’s Departments) Facility Time Agreement allows for paid time off for health and safety representatives but that time off is set against the overall level of facility time agreed between the employer and the 3 recognised trade unions.

The Cabinet Office, as an employer, is an accredited member of the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and retains a level 3 position. This demonstrates the department has the ability to actively and effectively recruit, retain and develop disabled people.

As a DCS member, the Cabinet Office is committed to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process, and putting in place reasonable and workplace adjustments wherever required.

We offer an interview to all disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role they have applied for, demonstrating flexibility when assessing applicants so disabled people have the best opportunity to demonstrate that they can do the job for which they have applied.

Cabinet Office regularly reviews and challenges operating processes to ensure disability inclusion happens throughout the recruitment process and during all employees’ periods of employment with the department.

In 2021-22, 174 candidates who declared a disability and applied under DCS on promotion were interviewed and 40 candidates received a provisional offer.

In 2021-22, 74 candidates who declared a disability and applied under DCS on a level transfer were interviewed and 40 candidates received a provisional offer.

The Cabinet Office, as an employer, is an accredited member of the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and retains a level 3 position. This demonstrates the department has the ability to actively and effectively recruit, retain and develop disabled people.

As a DCS member, the Cabinet Office is committed to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process, and putting in place reasonable and workplace adjustments wherever required.

We offer an interview to all disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role they have applied for, demonstrating flexibility when assessing applicants so disabled people have the best opportunity to demonstrate that they can do the job for which they have applied.

Cabinet Office regularly reviews and challenges operating processes to ensure disability inclusion happens throughout the recruitment process and during all employees’ periods of employment with the department.

In 2021-22, 174 candidates who declared a disability and applied under DCS on promotion were interviewed and 40 candidates received a provisional offer.

In 2021-22, 74 candidates who declared a disability and applied under DCS on a level transfer were interviewed and 40 candidates received a provisional offer.

Following the Machinery of Government that was announced on 7 February 2023, there has been no change to the GPA’s plan for delivering the retendering of the facility management contracts. Furthermore, no changes to the retendering exercise are envisaged or being planned.

There is no legal requirement to publish duty assessment documentation, however, the relevant documentation is provided to staff and Trade Union colleagues upon request.

The Cabinet Office adheres to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) by completing an equality analysis for each HR policy that we update and/or introduce. This document records the analysis undertaken by the Cabinet Office to fulfil the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. The department meets the requirement by paying due regard to the need to:

1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination - direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, and harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act

2. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

3. Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not share it

We do this by giving consideration to protected characteristics, as well as other groups not included within the list of protected characteristics within the Act, such as varying socio-economic groups. We consider Public Sector Equality Duty before and during policy or service formation, and monitor how the policy or service is working once a decision is implemented. Considering equality in this way is a part of normal day-to-day activity and not a one off exercise.

The Cabinet Office meets regularly with Trade Union representatives. We share information and data requested on the Cabinet Office workforce where appropriate and in line with our privacy statements to help inform decision making.

We regularly communicate and meet with our Trade Union colleagues and have a standard process for engaging with them. In the context of HR policies, this includes, but is not limited to sharing draft HR policies for review, discussion and comment and provides Trade Union colleagues with the opportunity to provide feedback prior to publication.

I refer the hon. Member to PQ 128667

There is no central policy on buying/selling leave. Departments may consider introducing this benefit under their own delegated authority.

Cabinet Office does not currently offer a buying/selling annual leave scheme.

The Cabinet Office ensures that we are compliant with legislative increases to the National Minimum Wage. Our minimum salary (AO at a National Pay band) works out to £11.25 per hour.

For management and staffing purposes, the Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. All employees in the Cabinet Office are paid above the National Minimum Wage.

The Cabinet Office ensures that we are compliant with legislative increases to the National Minimum Wage. Our minimum salary (AO at a National Pay band) works out to £11.25 per hour.

For management and staffing purposes, the Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. All employees in the Cabinet Office are paid above the National Minimum Wage.

There is a range of HR information which is published on GOV.UK and which is therefore publicly available. In addition, Cabinet Office meets regularly with Trade Union representatives and presents and shares information and data requested on the Cabinet Office workforce, where it is appropriate and in line with our privacy statements to help inform decision making through formal negotiation and meaningful consultation and engagement.

Cabinet Office is therefore complying with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

There is a range of HR information which is published on GOV.UK and which is therefore publicly available. In addition, Cabinet Office meets regularly with Trade Union representatives and presents and shares information and data requested on the Cabinet Office workforce, where it is appropriate and in line with our privacy statements to help inform decision making through formal negotiation and meaningful consultation and engagement.

Cabinet Office is therefore complying with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The Cabinet Office complies with section 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code and relevant legislation including GDPR and Equality Act 2010. We collect diversity information and community background information during the job application process and on our workforce through our HR platforms. All personal and sensitive data collected is used in accordance with the Privacy Statement agreed by employees on the HR platforms.

This information is used to understand the workforce size and shape, as well as the level of turnover and diversity in our workforce. The data is used to help us invest in skills, and to inform our HR strategy and policy. Diversity and inclusion data also helps us understand how representative we are and identify those areas we need to improve. The data supports an evidence based approach to diversity and inclusion in the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office meets regularly with the unions and presents and shares information and data requested - where it is appropriate and in line with our privacy statements - to help inform decision making through negotiation and consultation.

The Cabinet Office is not the employer for all civil servants, and departments are responsible for engaging with recognised trade unions at departmental and local level. At Cabinet Office level, we engage with the National Trade Union Committee.

The Public and Commercial Services Union are currently in dispute with a number of Civil Service employers and have called for strike action in several departments. We remain open to continued dialogue in order to bring about a resolution.

The GPA’s Workplace Services Transformation Programme (WSTP) continues to progress the new Facilities Management contracts, with all Tender processes now complete and bid responses received across all Lots of the procurement exercise. There will now follow a due diligence process of evaluating the bids received on Quality and Price. The GPA remains on track to let the new contracts from April 2023, with the mobilisation of the new contractors taking up to six months to complete. A proposed final hand-over date is scheduled for October 2023.

The Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 sets out the detail and circumstances under which former Ministers are eligible for a severance payment. A Minister leaving office, who is below the age of 65 and who is not otherwise reappointed to a Ministerial position within 3 weeks of their last day of service, is eligible for a severance payment of 25% of their annual claimed salary at the time at which they ceased to hold office.

The Cabinet Office has not received pay business cases from these organisations. In line with pay delegation, consultation and negotiation on pay takes place between individual employers and local trade unions. The Cabinet Office does not consult or negotiate pay. A response to PCS Union's letter will be issued shortly.

The Cabinet Office has not received pay business cases from these organisations. In line with pay delegation, consultation and negotiation on pay takes place between individual employers and local trade unions. The Cabinet Office does not consult or negotiate pay. A response to PCS Union's letter will be issued shortly.

The Cabinet Office has not received pay business cases from these organisations. In line with pay delegation, consultation and negotiation on pay takes place between individual employers and local trade unions. The Cabinet Office does not consult or negotiate pay. A response to PCS Union's letter will be issued shortly.

The Cabinet Office has not received pay business cases from these organisations. In line with pay delegation, consultation and negotiation on pay takes place between individual employers and local trade unions. The Cabinet Office does not consult or negotiate pay. A response to PCS Union's letter will be issued shortly.

The department does not intend to publish this document because of commercial sensitivities and security considerations.

The current dates for the launch of the Physical Security Guard Services and Hard and Soft Facilities Management Services are (please note due to the nature of the programme the dates are subject to changes as required):

1. Security Services (Guarding) - CCS Framework RM 6089, Lot 1a - 04.08.22

1. North

2. South

3. Central

4. London

2. Hard FM and Soft FM - CCS Framework RM 3830, Lot 1b - 17.08.22

1. Soft FM - North

2. Soft FM - South

3. Soft FM - Central

4. Hard FM - North & Central

3. Hard FM and Soft FM - CCS Framework RM 3830, Lot 1c - 25.08.22

1. Soft FM - London

2. Hard FM - South & London

Please find a copy of the presentation attached.

The GPA can confirm that the Workplace Transformation Programme (WSTP) Supply Chain Project (SCP) which has been initiated to Procure and deliver the Workplace Service contracts in 2022 has completed a Delivery Model Assessment (DMA).

At this stage no Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken for the Government Property Agency (GPA) Workplace Services Transformation Programme that will see the procurement of new facilities management contracts in this current financial year. There is no legal requirement to carry out an Equality Impact Assessment and GPA is confident it has had due regard to the public sector equality duty.

The new facilities management contracts will be procured using Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework agreements. The commercial terms of these agreements include obligations on suppliers to follow all applicable equality law including protections against discrimination and also any other requirements imposed by the authority in relation to equality law.

Throughout the pandemic, the Cabinet Office has followed Government guidance on ensuring safety in the workplace, particularly the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance - recognising the different approaches taken by the devolved administrations. This includes undertaking appropriate premises risk assessments and implementing mitigation measures.

In addition to workplace risk assessments, we encourage managers to complete individual risk assessments with staff who come into the workplace. Any data acquired through use of the CIRI is confidential and will only be used to ensure any risks are identified and actions taken to respond to any issues relating to a return to the workplace. We do not store this information centrally.

The Government has made it clear that the Civil Service and its public bodies should have a truly national footprint. Places for Growth is working closely with departments and public bodies to relocate 22,000 Civil Service roles from Greater London to locations across the UK. The Government engages with Trade Unions regarding the Government’s overall ambition for Places for Growth.

Departments are responsible for their individual relocation programmes and own the associated business cases, Equality Impact Assessments and engagement with Trades Unions relating to their plans.

The majority of moves will involve roles becoming available through natural turnover, whereby roles identified as suitable for relocation will be advertised in the new location once a vacancy arises.

Places for Growth has an Equality Impact Assessment in place and departments are also responsible for ensuring they carry out, review and scrutinise Equality Impact Assessments for their specific relocation programmes.

The Government has made it clear that the Civil Service and its public bodies should have a truly national footprint. Places for Growth is working closely with departments and public bodies to relocate 22,000 Civil Service roles from Greater London to locations across the UK. The Government engages with Trade Unions regarding the Government’s overall ambition for Places for Growth.

Departments are responsible for their individual relocation programmes and own the associated business cases, Equality Impact Assessments and engagement with Trades Unions relating to their plans.

The majority of moves will involve roles becoming available through natural turnover, whereby roles identified as suitable for relocation will be advertised in the new location once a vacancy arises.

Places for Growth has an Equality Impact Assessment in place and departments are also responsible for ensuring they carry out, review and scrutinise Equality Impact Assessments for their specific relocation programmes.

The Government has made it clear that the Civil Service and its public bodies should have a truly national footprint. Places for Growth is working closely with departments and public bodies to relocate 22,000 Civil Service roles from Greater London to locations across the UK. The Government engages with Trade Unions regarding the Government’s overall ambition for Places for Growth.

Departments are responsible for their individual relocation programmes and own the associated business cases, Equality Impact Assessments and engagement with Trades Unions relating to their plans.

The majority of moves will involve roles becoming available through natural turnover, whereby roles identified as suitable for relocation will be advertised in the new location once a vacancy arises.

Places for Growth has an Equality Impact Assessment in place and departments are also responsible for ensuring they carry out, review and scrutinise Equality Impact Assessments for their specific relocation programmes.

The Government has made it clear that the Civil Service and its public bodies should have a truly national footprint. Places for Growth is working closely with departments and public bodies to relocate 22,000 Civil Service roles from Greater London to locations across the UK. The Government engages with Trade Unions regarding the Government’s overall ambition for Places for Growth.

Departments are responsible for their individual relocation programmes and own the associated business cases, Equality Impact Assessments and engagement with Trades Unions relating to their plans.

The majority of moves will involve roles becoming available through natural turnover, whereby roles identified as suitable for relocation will be advertised in the new location once a vacancy arises.

Places for Growth has an Equality Impact Assessment in place and departments are also responsible for ensuring they carry out, review and scrutinise Equality Impact Assessments for their specific relocation programmes.

The Government has made it clear that the Civil Service and its public bodies should have a truly national footprint. Places for Growth is working closely with departments and public bodies to relocate 22,000 Civil Service roles from Greater London to locations across the UK. The Government engages with Trade Unions regarding the Government’s overall ambition for Places for Growth.

Departments are responsible for their individual relocation programmes and own the associated business cases, Equality Impact Assessments and engagement with Trades Unions relating to their plans.

The majority of moves will involve roles becoming available through natural turnover, whereby roles identified as suitable for relocation will be advertised in the new location once a vacancy arises.

Places for Growth has an Equality Impact Assessment in place and departments are also responsible for ensuring they carry out, review and scrutinise Equality Impact Assessments for their specific relocation programmes.

The Government has made it clear that the Civil Service and its public bodies should have a truly national footprint. Places for Growth is working closely with departments and public bodies to relocate 22,000 Civil Service roles from Greater London to locations across the UK. The Government engages with Trade Unions regarding the Government’s overall ambition for Places for Growth.

Departments are responsible for their individual relocation programmes and own the associated business cases, Equality Impact Assessments and engagement with Trades Unions relating to their plans.

The majority of moves will involve roles becoming available through natural turnover, whereby roles identified as suitable for relocation will be advertised in the new location once a vacancy arises.

Places for Growth has an Equality Impact Assessment in place and departments are also responsible for ensuring they carry out, review and scrutinise Equality Impact Assessments for their specific relocation programmes.

Under the GDPR, the Cabinet Office is unable to provide specific data broken down year-on-year for the number of employment tribunal claims of a) race and b) disability that have been lodged. However, in total for the five year period from 01/01/2017 - 01/01/2022 there have been a total of 27 race, disability or race and disability discrimination cases lodged. Some claims are not defined for singular reasons; a claim may have multiple aspects.

Under the GDPR, the Cabinet Office is unable to provide specific data broken down year-on-year for the number of Employment Tribunal claims of a) race and b) disability that have been settled before a hearing. However, in total for the five year period from 01/01/2017 - 01/01/2022 there have been a total of 9 race, disability or race and disability discrimination cases that have been settled before a hearing.

The total cost of settlement provided by our third party provider for all disability and race discrimination cases for the Cabinet Office in the five year period is £280,085.15. This figure captures settlement only - not associated costs. Any settlements made during the ACAS Early Conciliation process are not included here as by definition they have not progressed to an employment tribunal claim.

Throughout the pandemic, the Government has published guidance on GOV.UK: Working Safely During Coronavirus (Covid-19) which supports all employers, including Civil Service employers, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the workplace and to keep people safe. All employers are required to conduct a health and safety risk assessment that includes the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace. Within the Civil Service managers are also encouraged to conduct an individual risk assessment with their employees, ensuring that personal risk factors are considered and, where identified, control measures are put in place to reduce their level of risk when returning to the workplace.

A decision on whether it is safe for an employee to return to the workplace will be based on the outcomes of those risk assessments.

Throughout the pandemic, the Government has published guidance on GOV.UK: Working Safely During Coronavirus (Covid-19) which supports all employers, including Civil Service employers, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the workplace and to keep people safe. All employers are required to conduct a health and safety risk assessment that includes the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace. Within the Civil Service managers are also encouraged to conduct an individual risk assessment with their employees, ensuring that personal risk factors are considered and, where identified, control measures are put in place to reduce their level of risk when returning to the workplace.

A decision on whether it is safe for an employee to return to the workplace will be based on the outcomes of those risk assessments.

The information requested is commercially sensitive and therefore we are unable to respond to this question.

The information requested is commercially sensitive and therefore we are unable to respond to this question.

We appreciate there is a huge appetite across the UK to say thank you to all those involved in the successful vaccination programme.

The recently published Birthday Honours List 2021 includes a range of nominations for those who have played crucial roles throughout the COVID-19 effort. A number of people were honoured for their contributions tackling the virus on the frontline and in their communities, building on the nominations brought forward in the Birthday Honours List 2020 and at New Year Honours List 2021. We expect to see more nominations come forward across future Lists, however, there are limits on the numbers who can receive recognition via the honours process.

The Prime Minister announced that the Government will establish a UK Commission on COVID Commemoration to consider the appropriate way to remember those who have lost their lives and to commemorate the service of all those involved in the unprecedented response. The Government will set out the Commission membership and terms of reference in due course.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman operates according to his powers in the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967. This includes investigating complaints made by MPs on behalf of members of the public about the benefits system administered by the Department for Work and Pensions. The current legislation does not include powers to investigate any issues proactively and ministers have no plans to introduce such reforms at the current time.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) did not ask companies that are part of its Facilities Management Marketplace whether they have had financial links with (a) Greensill Capital and (b) other supply chain financing providers.

The financial assessment of suppliers who are part of the Facilities Management Marketplace is undertaken using Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) checks, amongst other internal checks. The Facilities Management Marketplace framework has three lots (lots 1a - c) of which each has their own D&B risk threshold that suppliers are required to meet. This is monitored by CCS framework management and commercial finance teams. Where suppliers fall below the minimum D&B credit rating threshold, further investigation is undertaken which may result in a Financial Distress event as per the terms and conditions of the framework.

There is no intention in the future to assess, as part of its due diligence checks on companies wishing to join the Facilities Management Marketplace, whether suppliers have financial links with supply chain financing providers.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) did not ask companies that are part of its Facilities Management Marketplace whether they have had financial links with (a) Greensill Capital and (b) other supply chain financing providers.

The financial assessment of suppliers who are part of the Facilities Management Marketplace is undertaken using Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) checks, amongst other internal checks. The Facilities Management Marketplace framework has three lots (lots 1a - c) of which each has their own D&B risk threshold that suppliers are required to meet. This is monitored by CCS framework management and commercial finance teams. Where suppliers fall below the minimum D&B credit rating threshold, further investigation is undertaken which may result in a Financial Distress event as per the terms and conditions of the framework.

There is no intention in the future to assess, as part of its due diligence checks on companies wishing to join the Facilities Management Marketplace, whether suppliers have financial links with supply chain financing providers.

The Government Property Agency has not asked our facilities management suppliers whether they have, or have had, any financial links to Greensill Capital or another supply chain financing provider.

GPA's principal suppliers are government strategic suppliers; the Cabinet Office Market and Suppliers team closely monitors the financial health of these strategic suppliers and has regular discussions with their management.

GPA procurement processes are aligned with legal and commercial policy requirements. At the moment, there is no requirement to specifically enquire about company links with supply chain financing providers as part of due diligence.

The Government Property Agency has not asked our facilities management suppliers whether they have, or have had, any financial links to Greensill Capital or another supply chain financing provider.

GPA's principal suppliers are government strategic suppliers; the Cabinet Office Market and Suppliers team closely monitors the financial health of these strategic suppliers and has regular discussions with their management.

GPA procurement processes are aligned with legal and commercial policy requirements. At the moment, there is no requirement to specifically enquire about company links with supply chain financing providers as part of due diligence.

In line with Public Health England (PHE) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance, the House of Commons is implementing numerous measures to facilitate Parliamentary Business and the eventual full return to Parliament of staff; hon. Members; and visitors when it is safe to do so.

Measures to promote social distancing on the estate include the physical re-arrangement of workspaces; installation of floor markings and provision of signage to encourage people to stay 2m apart. Additional measures have been implemented to facilitate frequent hand washing; support workers getting to and from the estate; move around the estate and use communal areas safely.

The comprehensive list of measures being implemented is contained within the House of Commons’ COVID-19 risk assessment and has been shared with people working on the estate.

Contractors working on the estate have implemented commensurate measures as part of their assessment of their own activities.

The Cabinet Office works closely with all departments on many of the matters outlined within the Civil Service Management Code. All departments are expected to follow the instructions within the Civil Service Management Code when setting terms and conditions of Civil Service employment.

Paragraph three of the Civil Service Management Code outlines the authority delegated to Ministers in charge of departments.

Some legislative employment provisions are applied to Civil Servants. These areas, which include notice and redundancy, are as set out in the Civil Service Management Code and departmental policies.

The Cabinet Office works closely with all departments on many of the matters outlined within the Civil Service Management Code. All departments are expected to follow the instructions within the Civil Service Management Code when setting terms and conditions of Civil Service employment.

Paragraph three of the Civil Service Management Code outlines the authority delegated to Ministers in charge of departments.

Some legislative employment provisions are applied to Civil Servants. These areas, which include notice and redundancy, are as set out in the Civil Service Management Code and departmental policies.

The Cabinet Office works closely with all departments on many of the matters outlined within the Civil Service Management Code. All departments are expected to follow the instructions within the Civil Service Management Code when setting terms and conditions of Civil Service employment.

Paragraph three of the Civil Service Management Code outlines the authority delegated to Ministers in charge of departments.

Some legislative employment provisions are applied to Civil Servants. These areas, which include notice and redundancy, are as set out in the Civil Service Management Code and departmental policies.

The Ministerial Code makes clear that: “harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating behaviour wherever it takes place is not consistent with the Ministerial Code and will not be tolerated”. Sections 1.4 to 1.6 of the Ministerial Code sets out steps to investigate allegations of a breach of the Ministerial Code.

The model contract for Special Advisers and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the standards of conduct expected of special advisers, and the disciplinary procedures that will be followed where necessary.

The Ministerial Code makes clear that: “harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating behaviour wherever it takes place is not consistent with the Ministerial Code and will not be tolerated”. Sections 1.4 to 1.6 of the Ministerial Code sets out steps to investigate allegations of a breach of the Ministerial Code.

The model contract for Special Advisers and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the standards of conduct expected of special advisers, and the disciplinary procedures that will be followed where necessary.

Cabinet Office has an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.

In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials is published annually. Facility time, defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official (permitted by the official’s employer) includes, where this arises, under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974."

The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.

GDPR has not affected the rights of unions in the Cabinet Office to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy routinely collects a wide variety of data relating to its employees; much of this is published and is publicly available on GOV.UK. Human Resource teams use this data to review the impact of our policies and procedures in line with the Civil Service Code, and other our statutory obligations, and make recommendations for improvements, as necessary.

BEIS publishes a range of HR information which is available on GOV.UK and which is therefore publicly available. In addition, routine human resources information is shared with the recognised trade unions as part of normal engagement on a range of issues. BEIS also provides specific HR data/information to Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS) on request in line with our obligations under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

A key objective of the project to transition the Insolvency Service to a regional hub structure, is to ensure it continues to deliver high standards of service to business and the public. The regional hub structure will enable the Insolvency Service to operate more efficiently and effectively in the future.

There has been informal engagement with a number of stakeholders and this will continue as the transition to regional hubs is delivered over the next three years.

It would not be appropriate to place in the Library a copy of the business case for the Insolvency Service’s move to regional centres as it contains commercially sensitive information.

This transition involves closing 10 smaller sites and developing regional centres in 11 locations in which the Insolvency Service has offices. These centres will enable it to provide services more efficiently, with greater flexibility to respond to future changes in demand for services. The Insolvency Service has put in place measures to support staff in affected offices to transfer to their nearest regional centre.

In order to support employees moving to a new regional centre location, the Insolvency Service will be exploring with each employee what adjustments can be made to their working arrangements to support their move. The Insolvency Service offers a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working.

The Insolvency Service announced its transforming workplaces strategy on 11 May 2022. It is not the intention of that strategy to reduce workforce numbers either by redundancy or otherwise.

The number of Insolvency Service staff beginning but not completing the investigator programme over the last three years was:

Spending on the Insolvency Service’s investigator programme over the last 3 years was:

The Insolvency Service announced its transforming workplaces strategy on 11 May 2022. It is not the intention of that strategy to reduce workforce numbers either by redundancy or otherwise.

The supply of LPG remains sufficient to meet demand across the UK. BEIS works closely with industry to monitor the LPG supply position throughout the year and proactively take steps to mitigate any risks that may affect distribution to customers and essential services.

The Matrix shared services cluster will create a single shared service centre with a single technology and a single service provider, in line with the Government Shared Services Strategy. Current plans are that the Matrix shared services cluster will be formed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Cabinet Office in a first wave of rapid adopters, followed by the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Attorney General’s Office, and HM Treasury.

A programme team has been put in place to develop a business case and secure a budget for the implementation of the shared service centre for the cluster. Until a budget is secured, and a business case approved, any figures or options are only tentative and subject to finalising the scope and approach for the programme. Current options being considered include in-sourcing, UK Shared Business Services as provider and using a new provider. The business case will explore the merits of the options in line with standard Government practice, so all options remain a possibility, including those listed above.

The Matrix shared services cluster will create a single shared service centre with a single technology and a single service provider, in line with the Government Shared Services Strategy. Current plans are that the Matrix shared services cluster will be formed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Cabinet Office in a first wave of rapid adopters, followed by the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Attorney General’s Office, and HM Treasury.

A programme team has been put in place to develop a business case and secure a budget for the implementation of the shared service centre for the cluster. Until a budget is secured, and a business case approved, any figures or options are only tentative and subject to finalising the scope and approach for the programme. Following recent engagement with Trade Unions, we are working with them to discuss the merits of in-sourcing as an option, in line with standard Government practice.

The Matrix shared service cluster will create a single shared service centre with a single technology and a single service provider, in line with the Government Shared Services Strategy. Current plans are that the Matrix shared services cluster will be formed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Cabinet Office in a first wave of rapid adopters, followed by the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Attorney General’s Office. and HM Treasury.

A programme team has been put in place to develop a business case and secure a budget for the implementation of the shared service centre for the cluster. Until a budget is secured and a business case approved, any figures or options are only tentative and subject to finalising the scope and approach for the programme. Current options being considered include in-sourcing, UK Shared Business Services as provider or using a new provider. The preferred option will be determined by its merit in line with standard Government practice, including Cabinet Office Sourcing Playbook when relevant.

Shared Services Connect Ltd provides services for one department within the Matrix cluster, which is the Cabinet Office.

UK Shared Business Services provides services for two departments which are in the Matrix cluster: the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for International Trade (DIT).

Matrix shared services cluster is formed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Department for International Trade (DIT), Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Cabinet Office (CO) in a first wave of rapid adopters, followed by Department for Education (DfE), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT).

The following Departments have Department-defined in-house shared services:

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: The DCMS definition of shared services is provided by a combination of Outsource and Insource provision. HR transactional services (excluding payroll) are provided in-house across a geographically dispersed team, with people located in

• Edinburgh
• London
• Manchester
• Newcastle

Department for Education: The DfE definition of shared services is services provided by core DfE to other entities. DfE provides services to the core Department and a number of its ALBs. DfE staff are based in the offices below and the teams that operate our shared service provision are split site, with teams spanning multiple offices.

• Bristol
• Exeter
• Coventry
• Croydon
• Darlington
• Leeds
• London
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Nottingham
• Sheffield
• Watford

Department of Health and Social Care: The DHSC definition of shared services is provided by core DHSC. DHSC staff are geographically dispersed, with people located in:

- London

- Leeds.

HM Treasury: The HMT definition of shared services is provided by Treasury Group Shared Service centre to HM Treasury and its ALBs. Staff are geographically dispersed, with people located in:

- Norwich

- London.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) is already using machine learning to enable its caseworkers to compare documents more efficiently, to make the Land Register increasingly machine readable and to accelerate the migration of Local Authority data as part of the Local Land Charges programme.

HMLR’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 includes an update on the Digital Street research and development programme and is available on GOV.UK.

The Matrix shared service cluster was introduced as part of the Government Business Services “Shared Services Strategy for Government” in March 2021. A programme team has been put in place to develop a business case and secure a budget for the implementation of the shared service centre for the cluster.

The current number of civil servants that work directly on transactional shared services is c.80.

UK Shared Business Services provide shared services, including to BEIS and DIT. The number of public servants in UK Shared Business Services is c.640.

A progress update where available (in italics) on each of the items in the answer I gave the Hon. Member on 13 November 2022 to Question 112077 can be found below.

BEIS are exploring AI and machine learning techniques internally to enable more efficient working. Projects are being

(i) Undertaken:

• A proof of concept for the use of virtual assistants to help staff find information regarding corporate policies, whereby the assistant will improve by learning from the enquires responses. An HR chatbot was developed as a proof of concept.
• Planning a proof of concept using Machine Learning for automatic labelling, setting up retention periods for past and future documents that form the official record. A small-scale proof of concept was undertaken in Spring 2021 using a "machine teaching" tool to automate content processing and data classification to help identify information of value within a digital heap.

(ii) Considered:

• The use of AI handling of inbound enquiries into the department to create draft responses and to triage requests to the correct teams. An enquiries service using an AI builder to automatically categorise emails was developed as a proof of concept.

BEIS Analysts use machine learning techniques, under the umbrella of artificial intelligence, where appropriate as part of analysis supporting policy development.

Machine Learning projects are being

(i) Undertaken:

• Identifying the location of industrial strengths. Report on this has been published
• Pilot for targeting communications about business support
• Categorising internal documents by subject. Currently exploring feasibility for implementation
• Project to understand the labour market through analysing job adverts. Methodology shared with OGDs and academics
• A pilot for organising internal processes. Process implemented

(ii) Considered:

• A pilot for predicting economic impacts using real time indicators
• Exploring automatic text generation a pilot exploring natural language processing approaches for extracting economic intelligence
• Planning to repeat a machine learning exercise on HMRC data to identify high growth potential businesses, to build on the successful ‘DECA pilot’ of 2019. This would underpin further operations in 2021, depending on the outcome of the SR process. DECA activities have pivoted to other government priorities.

BEIS policy teams are exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence. AI projects are being considered by the Better Regulation Executive who are looking to convert the stock of regulatory requirements placed on business into machine readable code and pilot hosting this as open source a metadata set on the ‘Open Regulation Platform’ (ORP), freely available on The National Archives GOV.UK platform. The project is currently in discovery phase to identify all data that government holds on regulatory obligations that could be relevant for this platform. This application is closely related to work that has already been undertaken as part of BEIS GovTech challenge to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand the cumulative impact of regulation. The Open Regulation Platform project is currently at the private beta stage.

Standing charges are capped under the energy price cap which is set by Ofgem to protect customers on default tariffs.

In addition to the existing £12bn package, the government has announced a further package of support to help households with the rising cost of energy, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes:

• A £200 discount on energy bills this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain. This will be paid back automatically over the next 5 years.
• A £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England.
• £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.

Supplier licence conditions, enforced by independent regulator Ofgem, state that the differences in price between payment methods for energy, including by prepayment meter, must reflect the cost to the supplier of that payment method. The energy price cap protects prepayment meter customers and ensures they pay a fair price for their energy.

Staff at BEIS work a standard 36/37 hour full-time week. Pay and Time Off In Lieu for overtime, and flexitime, are available where agreed and recorded locally. Managers are responsible for monitoring the hours worked by their team members and for addressing any excess hours that are worked on a regular basis.

It is important that employers comply with the Working Time Regulations in respect of working hours and daily and weekly rest, and that they are held to account if they don't. Workers can take a case to employment tribunal concerning insufficient rest, and the Health and Safety Executive directly enforces maximum working hours. The Government has also committed to bringing forward state enforcement of the rules in the Working Time Regulations on holiday pay for vulnerable workers, to ensure that workers get the paid time off they deserve.

The Government Property Agency (GPA) is the contract holder for the facilities management provider ISS. Both GPA and BEIS work closely with all their suppliers on all aspects of service delivery. GPA and the Department draw facilities services from a Crown Commercial Service framework supplier to help ensure confidence in the supplier base.

BEIS collaborates closely with the Government Property Agency which manages the facilities management contract with ISS. BEIS has reviewed the COVID-19 health and safety practices of ISS, which include risk assessments, training information and protocols for ISS staff working within the BEIS demise of buildings.

The review of ISS practices gives the Department assurance that sufficient COVID-19 mitigations are in place to enable BEIS staff, or others working within the BEIS demise of buildings, to work safely.

The Government has recently published its consultation response on the single enforcement body for employment rights which sets out the high level remit, powers, and overall approach of the new body. The full government response can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/good-work-plan-establishing-a-new-single-enforcement-body-for-employment-rights.

The body will not specifically cover ‘bogus self-employment’. Employment status is based on the reality of the relationship between an individual and the person for whom services are provided. That might not be the same as what the employment contract states. For disputes around the interpretation of employment law, which are often complex and finely balanced, it is right that Employment Tribunals have the power to determine the result, taking into consideration all of the detail of each individual case to ensure any judgment is the conclusion of a fair and transparent process.

We recognise concerns around employment status and the potential for exploitation and the Government is clear that businesses cannot simply opt out of employment rights. The Government is considering options to bring further clarity around the employment status framework, making it easier for individuals and businesses to understand which rights apply to them.

Commercial and loyalty incentive schemes may be a legitimate business-to-business interaction, between the employment agency and an umbrella company. They are therefore outside the scope of the agency regulations enforced by the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate, which regulate the relationship between the agency and work-seeker.

The Government will continue to work with the recruitment sector to seek compliance with existing regulations. The Government will also continue to ensure current regulations remain fit for purpose, drawing on the expertise of trade bodies and businesses in the sector. Proposed regulatory changes would be announced in the usual way.

Protecting and enhancing workers’ rights, including those employed by umbrella companies is a priority for this Government. We have already introduced requirements to improve the information provided to new agency workers about their contractual terms and pay rates. We have also committed to extend the remit of the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate to include umbrella companies. This will enable EAS to take enforcement action against an umbrella company that has not paid holiday pay. We will bring forward the legislation to implement this in due course.

We have a strong tradition of supporting working families in the UK and our parental leave arrangements are generous and flexible.

We go much further than the EU minimum and employed women in the UK have access to up to 52 weeks of Maternity Leave , 39 weeks of which are paid. Where the mother does not intend to use her full maternity entitlements, she can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay with her partner , subject to the parents being eligible for Shared Parental Leave and Pay.

In 2020 we introduced Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay to support parents who suffered the loss of a child. We will also legislate to create a new Neonatal Leave and Pay entitlement to support new parents whose baby needs to spend time in neonatal care, as soon as parliamentary time allows.

The Government is sympathetic to the position that new parents have found themselves in during the pandemic. We have taken steps to support new parents by passing emergency legislation which ensures that parents who are furloughed during the period that is used to determine entitlement to Maternity, Adoption and other family-related statutory pay do not lose out. This legislation ensures that entitlement to pay and the rate of pay that parents receive is based on their normal earnings, not their furlough pay.

The Government is sympathetic to the unique challenges that new parents have faced because of COVID-19 and the social distancing measures that we had to put in place to protect lives and the NHS. We recognise that these restrictions have meant that some parents have been, or still are unable to participate in activities normally available to them, such as baby groups.

The Government is not minded at this stage to extend Paternity Leave and Pay entitlements. We believe current entitlements to Paternity Leave and Pay and Shared Parental Leave and Pay are generous enough to allow fathers to care for the child and support the child’s mother or adopter. Fathers have access to two weeks of Paternity Leave and Pay and through Shared Parental Leave and Pay, they can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay with the mother if she does not intend to use her full maternity entitlements.

We understand that social distancing guidelines have made finding childcare more challenging. Parents who are unable to find suitable childcare can contact their local authority where they will receive advice on available settings. In addition, parents of children aged under 14 are now able to form ‘childcare bubbles’ to allow friends or family from one other household to provide informal childcare. Early Years settings (including nurseries and childminders) also remain open during the new national lockdown.

The NHS has made arrangements to ensure that new parents were supported throughout the pandemic. Operating digitally where possible, community health services have continued to provide support, prioritising higher needs families, and NHS mental health services also remained open.

In 2019 we consulted on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay. We are also conducting a formal evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme, including large-scale, representative surveys of employers and parents. Together, these will give us a fuller picture of how well the current system of parental leave and pay is working for parents and employers.

We are currently processing and analysing the data from the research and analysing the information that we have collected through the consultation. We intend to publish our findings later this year.

The Government has also remained in close contact with stakeholders and charities supporting parents throughout the pandemic.

We have taken steps to support new parents by passing emergency legislation which ensures that parents who are furloughed during the period that is used to determine entitlement to Maternity, Adoption and other family-related statutory pay do not lose out. This legislation ensures that entitlement to pay and the rate of pay that parents receive is based on their normal earnings, not their furlough pay.

There are a number of projects currently being undertaken or considered by the Department, in some cases the progression will be dependent on availability of budget from next financial year.

BEIS are exploring AI and machine learning techniques internally to enable more efficient working. Projects are being:

(i) undertaken:

• a proof of concept for the use of virtual assistants to help staff find information regarding corporate policies, whereby the assistant will improve by learning from the enquires responses
• planning a proof of concept using Machine Learning for automatic labelling, setting up retention periods for past and future documents that form the official record.

(ii) considered:

• the use of AI handling of inbound enquiries into the department to create draft responses and to triage requests to the correct teams.

BEIS Analysts use machine learning techniques, under the umbrella of artificial intelligence, where appropriate as part of analysis supporting policy development.

Machine Learning projects are being

(i) undertaken:

• identifying the location of industrial strengths
• pilot for targeting communications about business support
• Categorising internal documents by subject
  

(ii) considered:

• project to understand the labour market through analysing job adverts
• a pilot for organising internal processes
• a pilot for predicting economic impacts using real time indicators
• exploring automatic text generation
• planning to repeat a machine learning exercise on HMRC data to identify high growth potential businesses, to build on the successful ‘DECA pilot’ of 2019. This would underpin further operations in 2021, depending on the outcome of the SR process

BEIS policy teams are exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence. AI projects are being:

(ii) considered:

• by the Better Regulation Executive who are looking to convert the stock of regulatory requirements placed on business into machine readable code and pilot hosting this as open source a metadata set on the ‘Open Regulation Platform’ (ORP), freely available on The National Archives .gov.uk platform. The project is currently in discovery phase to identify all data that government holds on regulatory obligations that could be relevant for this platform. This application is closely related to work that has already been undertaken as part of BEIS GovTech challenge to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand the cumulative impact of regulation

HM Land Registry has been exploring new and emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning as part of its Digital Street research and development project since 2017. It is aiming to begin to use Machine Learning capabilities within its casework management systems in 2021/22, and is building its Data Science capability to explore and exploit future opportunities that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning may provide.

The House authorities on behalf of the House of Commons Commission have met with representatives of the Trades Unions for staff in the House of Commons and PDS formally at least three times per week since the beginning of March, and with representatives of the Members’ and Peers’ Staff Association (MAPSA) and Unite as representatives of Members’ staff.

The safety of all of those on the estate is the key concern of the Commission. Working extensively with Public Health England and via the implementation of the Covid-19 workplace guidance the appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the safety of all on the estate.

The House authorities have met with representatives of the Trades Unions for staff in the House of Commons and PDS formally at least three times per week since the beginning of March, and with representatives of Members’ and Peers’ Staff Association (MAPSA) and Unite as representatives of Members’ staff.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is compliant with section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code - that Health and Safety representatives are entitled to reasonable paid time off to undertake relevant training. Time off for non-industrial staff is not set against the facility time allowed under existing arrangements unless the period of time also discharges a liability under Section 168 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The introduction of General Data Protection Regulation has not affected the right of recognised Trade Unions to bargaining information in accordance with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The Department shares data and information as set out in section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, as appropriate, with our recognised Trade Unions.

The process for sharing this information is set by our Trade Union Partnership Agreement and upon requests from our trade union representatives. The information is used to support engagement, consultation and negotiation on appropriate areas of policy development and organisational change.

DCMS routinely collects the data set out in section 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code (CSMC) and uses it to inform the department’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy. There is no obligation to share this information with Trade Union representatives. However, DCMS regularly shares D&I data, equality impact assessments and other relevant information in order to support engagement and discussion with the unions on areas of policy. Detailed information on the Civil Service workforce is also collected and published centrally as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Statistics.

DCMS’s D&I strategy is aligned to the new Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-2025 which recognises our success and builds on this good work to encourage a broader range of people into the Civil Service to give depth to our understanding of contemporary society in the United Kingdom. It provides the necessary framing for diversity and inclusion activity in the Civil Service as part of our wider workforce strategy, and through that, how the Civil Service delivers for its people, the government and our citizens.

A link to the Civil Service statistics can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics

DCMS regularly shares HR information and data with our recognised trade unions to support negotiations for the Department’s annual pay award, this includes data related to pay, headcount, turnover and diversity & inclusion. The Department also regularly provides data and information on our annual People Survey results.

In addition, DCMS shares other HR information on an ad-hoc basis, relating to various policies and processes, upon request by trade unions and where their engagement is required.

Staff at DCMS work a standard 36 or 37 hour week and paid overtime is allowed on an exceptional basis in priority areas. No members of staff have opted off of the Working Time Directive, and we do not have any workers in the categories set out in Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 at this time.

Staff are encouraged to discuss their working hours with their Line Manager and, where they may be working beyond their standard hours, to record their hours of work with managers keeping oversight. A flexi time sheet template is available for individuals to use to record their hours; records are not held centrally and staff are free to retain them for as long as useful.

The Secretary of State has had no specific discussions with Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) or their staff and trades union representatives on cuts to employer pension contributions. HRP has responsibility for the recruitment, remuneration, development, retention and motivation of its own staff.

DCMS officials have had no such discussions with representatives of trade unions on Historic Royal Palaces' (HRP) proposals for the reopening of the specific sites in their care, nor are DCMS officials in possession of the risk assessments referred to. Trade Union representatives have, however, been attending the Heritage Working Group which has discussed guidance for safe reopening within the heritage sector. Whether HRP can safely reopen is a matter for HRP to consider in-line with government and Public Health England guidelines.

The Secretary of State has had no such discussions with HRP on reinstating pension contributions in respect of HRP’s staff, which is a matter for HRP to consider in consultation with their staff, as appropriate, in-line with the affordability of any such measures and their obligations as employers.

The Department’s current annual leave policy does not include the option to buy and sell annual leave.

All employees in the Department are paid above the National Minimum Wage.

The Department considers the impact of its workforce policies and processes by routinely carrying out Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs). The Department discusses the impact of changes to internal policies with the Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS), and considers their comments when finalising EQIAs. 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code does not place an obligation on Departments to share this information with their representative trade unions.

The Department has data dashboards, including a Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard updated quarterly, to facilitate monitoring of trends regarding Human Resources activity and protected characteristics.

The Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard is available to all Departmental staff, including trade union representatives.

The Department shares data with DTUS which is relevant to the areas being discussed with them each month, or following ad hoc requests.

The Department does not have a prescribed set of data shared with the Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS) on a regular basis. Instead, the Department shares data which is relevant to the areas being discussed each month or ad hoc requests from DTUS.

Education is a devolved matter and so financial support with the cost of living for students in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be the responsibility of the devolved governments.

The Energy Price Guarantee announced on 8 September will save the average household at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October and this is in addition to the £400 energy bills discount for all households. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount.

To support disadvantaged students and those who need additional help in higher education in England, we have confirmed in our guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) on funding for the 2022/23 financial year that universities will continue to be able to support students in hardship through their own hardship funds and the student premium, for which up to £261 million is available for academic year 2022/23.

The government has also worked closely with the OfS to clarify that English providers can draw upon this funding now, to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by cost of living pressures.

Maximum grants and loans for living costs for England-domiciled students have also increased by 2.3% in the 2022/23 academic year. Students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the tax year 2022/23 has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.

In addition, maximum tuition fees, and the subsidised loans available from the department to pay them, remain at £9,250 for the 2022/23 academic year in respect of standard full-time courses. We are also freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years. As well as reducing debt levels for students, the continued fee freeze will help to ensure that the English Higher Education system remains sustainable while also promoting greater efficiency at providers.

16 to 19-year-old students in England who need help with the costs of participating in education can receive help from the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Over £133 million was allocated to colleges, school sixth forms and other providers to make discretionary bursaries available to young people in the academic year 2021/22 and more will be available in allocations for 2022/23.

We are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), inculding £1.34 billion in 2022/23. The AEB also funds colleges and training providers to help adult learners to overcome barriers which prevent them from taking part in learning. This includes Learner Support, to support learners with a specific financial hardship.

Education policy is devolved, and so cost of living issues for institutions is the responsibility of the devolved administrations. Ministers in the department meet regularly with their devolved counterparts and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is looking forward to attending the next meeting of education ministers from across the UK in Edinburgh next week.

The department secured an excellent settlement for England in the Spending Review, and so this will be reflected in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through the Barnett Formula.

It is for devolved administrations to determine how to spend this generous settlement, but in England we have carefully budgeted for a range of policies that will help universities, schools, their staff, and families which will help to meet the challenges in the cost of living right now. This includes our very successful Holiday Activities and Food scheme, National Tutoring Programme, and of course a huge increase in core school funding that means schools are better placed to cover cost increases.

The department is not mandating individual risk assessments for all employees. Instead, we are encouraging line managers and employees to have discussions regarding returning to the workplace, with consideration for individual risk assessments where deemed necessary by either the line manager and/or the employee.

The department does not centrally monitor working hours for any employee but requires all employees, regardless of work location, to keep an accurate record of the hours they work. This must be retained by the employee for 3 years and will be reviewed by their line manager on a regular basis.

Testing is available to all staff of the House who are symptomatic, and is arranged directly by the individual. Results therefore are a matter for the individual only, alongside whether any hospital treatment is needed. The records held by the House will only indicate whether the member of staff is available for work or not.

The Head of Parliamentary Safety has discussed with the Health and Safety Executive the key risks and control measures to allow everybody to work safely on the parliamentary estate during the Coronavirus outbreak. The Health and Safety Executive are content that the House administration is working to ensure Parliamentary business can continue, whilst meeting the Government guidelines to become “COVID-19 safe”. Regular discussions between the Head of Parliamentary Safety and the Health and Safety Executive will continue during the outbreak.

As education is a devolved matter, this answer refers to free school meals in England only.

It is critically important that eligible children continue to receive benefits-related free school meals during this period. We have published guidance for schools explaining what they should do to make sure that eligible pupils have continued access to this provision, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

As of 28 April our supplier, Edenred, reported that over 16,500 schools had placed orders for the scheme and as of Monday 4 May, Edenred has reported that over £47 million worth of voucher codes has been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by schools and families through the scheme. We do not collect data at pupil level. The department does not hold information on the number of children that have been fed via school collection and distribution models or other means since school closures.

The department does not hold data regarding how many children have become eligible for free school meals since the school closures. This information will be collected as part of the school census. Schools and local authorities should continue to accept free school meal applications during the closures to ensure that newly eligible children are able to receive meals they are entitled to.

As education is a devolved matter, this answer refers to free school meals in England only.

It is critically important that eligible children continue to receive benefits-related free school meals during this period. We have published guidance for schools explaining what they should do to make sure that eligible pupils have continued access to this provision, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

As of 28 April our supplier, Edenred, reported that over 16,500 schools had placed orders for the scheme and as of Monday 4 May, Edenred has reported that over £47 million worth of voucher codes has been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by schools and families through the scheme. We do not collect data at pupil level. The department does not hold information on the number of children that have been fed via school collection and distribution models or other means since school closures.

The department does not hold data regarding how many children have become eligible for free school meals since the school closures. This information will be collected as part of the school census. Schools and local authorities should continue to accept free school meal applications during the closures to ensure that newly eligible children are able to receive meals they are entitled to.

Responsibility for this policy area is devolved.

In England, the Holiday Activities and Food scheme is integral to our approach to provide healthy food to children over the summer and in 2019, our coordinators supported around 50,000 children. We are working with our 2020 coordinators to explore how support can be delivered in light of COVID-19.

In addition, the government continues to invest significantly each year on welfare benefits for people of working age, supporting people when they need it, including those who are out of work or on a low income. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has announced a package of temporary welfare measures. Taken together, these measures provide over £6.5bn of additional support through the welfare system for people affected by COVID-19

Responsibility for free school meals and disadvantage policy is devolved and is therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

Free school meals are intended as a benefit in kind, rather than a cash benefit, and our primary interest is that schools meet their legal duties to provide nutritious free lunches to eligible children. It is important that all pupils have access to healthy and nutritious meals at school and we would encourage all eligible children and parents to claim their free meals.

The department does not collect any information on the total or proportion of unspent funds at school or child level. We trust school leaders to make the best decisions in the interests of their pupils and it is right that they have flexibility around how they deliver free school meals. We know that some schools will allow pupils to carry over their benefit, however, we would not want to instruct schools to follow any specific approach nationally. We will consider how we can share the very best practice around the delivery of free school meals.

Responsibility for free school meals and disadvantage policy is devolved and is therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

Free school meals are intended as a benefit in kind, rather than a cash benefit, and our primary interest is that schools meet their legal duties to provide nutritious free lunches to eligible children. It is important that all pupils have access to healthy and nutritious meals at school and we would encourage all eligible children and parents to claim their free meals.

The department does not collect any information on the total or proportion of unspent funds at school or child level. We trust school leaders to make the best decisions in the interests of their pupils and it is right that they have flexibility around how they deliver free school meals. We know that some schools will allow pupils to carry over their benefit, however, we would not want to instruct schools to follow any specific approach nationally. We will consider how we can share the very best practice around the delivery of free school meals.

Responsibility for free school meals and disadvantage policy is devolved and is therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

In England, free school meal eligibility is used as a proxy measure for allocating the pupil premium. This remains the best available measure at an individual pupil level and the most reliable predictor of academic underperformance. Focusing pupil premium on pupils who have claimed free school meals in the past 6 years ensures schools have additional resources to tackle the educational impact of household economic deprivation.

The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. Take-up of free school meals is strong, estimated at 89% of eligible pupils.

We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this, we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals. We also provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.

Responsibility for free school meals and disadvantage policy is devolved and is therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

In England, free school meal eligibility is used as a proxy measure for allocating the pupil premium. This remains the best available measure at an individual pupil level and the most reliable predictor of academic underperformance. Focusing pupil premium on pupils who have claimed free school meals in the past 6 years ensures schools have additional resources to tackle the educational impact of household economic deprivation.

The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. Take-up of free school meals is strong, estimated at 89% of eligible pupils.

We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this, we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals. We also provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.

Defra Group complies with section 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code and regularly monitors EDI data, as regards all protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010.

This Data is captured via self-declaration via Shared Serves Platform. This data is utilised to monitor all aspects of employee lifecycle, including recruitment, retention, in year award / recognition, performance ratings, L&D / Talent and promotions to ensure equal access of opportunity to all. Furthermore, Equality impact Assessments are conducted at the point of policy creation and revision in order to assess impact and effectiveness of internal policies and action plans across protected characteristics.

All monitoring data collated and analysed by the department is shared with the trade unions representing staff covered by the Departmental Trade Union framework (the core department and Executive Agencies), Natural England and the Environment Agency. Workforce data is published annually via Defra Annual Report.

Please note, that 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code (CSMC) does not place an obligation on departments to share this information with their representative trade unions.

We have made good progress in recent years in diversifying the Civil Service. The percentage of civil servants from an ethnic minority background is at 15.0% and the percentage of those who declare themselves disabled is at 14.0%. Staff who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or other (LGBO) is 6.1% and the proportion of female civil servants stands at 54.5%. These rates are all at their highest recorded levels. However, we know there is still progress to be made in ensuring we are representative of the citizens we serve across all our grades.

The new Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-2025 recognises our success and builds on this good work to encourage a broader range of people into the Civil Service to give depth to our understanding of contemporary society in the United Kingdom. It provides the necessary framing for diversity and inclusion activity in the Civil Service as part of our wider workforce strategy, and through that, how the Civil Service delivers for its people, the Government and our citizens.

A link to the Civil Service statistics can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics

Defra is grateful for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) recommendations for reforming the Veterinary Surgeons Act to ensure that vets and veterinary nurses are regulated in line with modern regulatory practice in the future. My officials have maintained regular contact with RCVS on these matters. Defra supports the need to make changes to improve veterinary retention and simplify the rules and processes used. The Government's legislation for the forthcoming session will be announced in due course. The department will continue to work with stakeholders and RCVS to prioritise other non-legislative work to support improvements to veterinary retention.

Defra is aware of the many potential benefits associated with updating the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 and is considering the most effective and proportionate approach for full or partial reform of the Act. There is currently no timescale as to when any reforms of this legislation might take place. Any proposals taken forward would be subject to a public consultation.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.

The capability, levers, and expertise to respond to disruption lie with industry. They have highly resilient supply chains, and this was proven in the initial COVID-19 response. The Government’s role is to support and enable an industry-led response.

The UK Government has well established ways of working with the industry and with the Devolved Administrations to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

The UK’s high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years.

Agricultural commodities are linked to global gas prices, and we recognise that farmers and food producers are facing increased input costs – namely fertiliser, energy, fuel and feed. We have taken steps to support farmers with fertiliser availability, brought forward BPS payments, implemented maize tariff reductions and introduced flexibility in the labelling of certain oils in products.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Easington on 17 January 2022, PQ UIN 102586.

Defra recognises how central innovation and technology are to boosting productivity, enhancing the environment and feeding a growing global population. The Government is making significant investment to unlock innovation and translate our world leading research into practical, farmer-led solutions that improve productivity, environmental sustainability and resilience, and which move towards net zero emission farming systems.

We have several funding programmes open to industry as well as our own farming and food science research. These funding streams address key areas such as soil systems and land management, regenerative agriculture, sustainable feed and pest management, automation, alternative proteins, and precision farming.

The Government’s £90 million investment in the 'Transforming Food Production' (TFP) challenge, launched by UK Research and Innovation in 2018, is already supporting ground-breaking research and development to enable farmers and growers to harness the latest technology to produce high quality food, increase their productivity and move towards net zero emission farming systems by 2040.

On the back of this programme’s success, Defra launched a £14.5 million collaborative agricultural R&D competition called 'Farming Innovation Pathways' in spring 2021, targeting existing and new farm focused innovation, which will be delivered through the TFP initiative.

In October 2021, Defra launched the first £17.5 million share of funding in its ambitious new Farming Innovation Programme – as part of the proposed measures to stimulate innovation and boost sustainable productivity in England’s agricultural and horticultural sectors as we move away from the EU system of farming subsidy payments. This Programme will enable more farmers, growers, and agri-food businesses to become involved in collaborative agricultural and horticultural R&D, and will enhance knowledge exchange and adoption of innovation by farmers and growers to ensure innovation can make a real difference to the sectors. It will comprise three separate funds that will pull through innovation in different areas, from small farmer-led innovative research projects to larger industrial R&D projects that can transform the sector.

On January 19 we will launch the Improving Farm Productivity theme of the Farming Investment Fund, part of the £27 million grant scheme fund launched last November. Farmers and growers in England will be able to apply for grants to invest in cutting edge robotic and automation technology to boost productivity. Farmers will benefit from grants ranging from £35,000 to £500,000 to invest in innovative equipment including state of the art autonomous driverless tractors, and cutting-edge robots that harvest, weed and spray crops and voluntary robotic milking systems.

Defra is also engaged with the £47.5 million UK Research and Innovation led Strategic Priorities Fund in Food Systems, which is addressing planetary and health challenges to transform the food system.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central on 10 September 2020, PQ UIN 83796.

[questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-01/83796]

Defra recognises the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to play an important part in ensuring that data and science are at the heart of decision making.

All of Defra’s ongoing and previous research projects, including a number involving AI and ML, are published on Defra’s research and development website: randd.defra.gov.uk Planned projects are advertised on Bravo: defra.bravosolution.co.uk.

Areas particularly benefitting from these tools include the interpretation of Earth Observation and automated sensor data, the development of advanced modelling techniques, and improved customer service.

We will continue to work in partnership across Government, with academia and industry to develop the use of AI and ML for Defra.

GDPR has not affected the rights of unions in Defra to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Defra, as with other Government Departments, has an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.

Defra Health and Safety representatives can use their paid facility time for the following TU duties (this list is not exhaustive):

• Representing employees in consultation and discussions with the employer on health, safety or welfare,
• Investigating accidents, near misses and other potential hazards and dangerous occurrences in the workplace
• Investigating a complaint made by an employee they represent about their health, safety or welfare in the workplace
• Undertaking training relevant to the role of H&S representative, beyond “Stage One”

Defra makes the following provisions to enable Health and Safety Representatives to discharge their duties effectively, without using facility time.

• Undertaking “Stage One” Health and Safety training, as this course is recognised as providing good basic standard training and the department wants to ensure those carrying out Health and Safety functions are properly qualified
• Carrying out inspections where they form part of an agreed joint program
• Attending Joint Health and Safety Committee meetings

In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time in Defra for relevant union officials is published annually, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “Regulations made under Section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.

The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.

The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code. This is also referenced in the internal Industrial Relations Policy, which is accessible to staff.

DIT also publishes information relating to facility time for recognised trade union representatives at Gov.uk.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) works closely with our recognised Trade Unions and values the benefit of these effective working relationships in delivering the department’s objectives.

General Data Protection Regulation has not affected the rights of unions in DIT to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The Department complies with section 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code by collecting and analysing a range of data on, for example, recruitment, career development, promotion, job allocation and resignations. This data is published in the Department’s Equality Monitoring report. The department also carries out pay modelling and analysis of performance pay. This includes analysis to monitor diversity impacts.

This information is both publicly available and can be shared with trade unions on request.

The Department for Transport offers staff the opportunity to sell leave once a year. The last opportunity was between November to December 2022.

The Department released communications to staff through the staff intranet during November, reminding staff that the benefit window was opening, giving information regarding the buy/sell leave policy and reminding staff when the window was closing. Emails were also sent to all staff email addresses as a reminder of the employee benefit annual window.

All employees within the Department for Transport are currently paid above the National Minimum Wage.

The Department complies with section 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code by collecting and analysing a range of data on, for example, recruitment, career development, promotion, job allocation and resignations. This data is published in the Department’s Equality Monitoring report. The Department also carries out pay modelling and analysis of performance pay. This includes analysis to monitor diversity impacts.

This information is both publicly available and can be shared with trade unions on request.

There is a range of human resources information on the Department for Transport which is published on GOV.UK and is therefore publicly available. The Department also shares routine human resources information with its recognised trade unions as part of its regular engagement.

At the current time there are no plans to mandate the use of the risk assessment tools.

As any such risk assessments are voluntary, DfT does not hold data centrally on the number of risk assessments completed or reviewed as of 21 February 2022.

The Department responded to your letter of 29 March on 9 April, and your letter of 8 June on 25 June. Copies of both are in the attached documents.

The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place for road safety reasons; to ensure that a candidate’s knowledge is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.

It is important that road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point that they drive unsupervised for the first time. Those with theory test certificates expiring may have taken their test in early 2019. Since then, their lessons and practice sessions will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns and it is likely that their knowledge base will have diminished. Research suggests that this would be particularly harmful for hazard perception skills, a key factor in road safety.

Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the training of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Taking all this into consideration, the decision has been made not to extend theory test certificates and learners will need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning have many potential applications including in the transport sector. Innovation teams across the DfT family support research and development initiatives conducted both within and outside of DfT.

One specific initiative is investigating a proof-of-concept study into a non-intrusive AI-model capable of detecting the number of face-coverings, and the number of uncovered faces, in an image. The model would then display message responses focussed on positive engagement. This work will not be able to identify or track individuals, and no images will be stored by the system.

We don’t hold information centrally regarding further AI or machine learning projects being undertaken or planned by the department at this time.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the safety of its staff and the wider public. That remains its priority as it restarts its services.

The DVSA has consulted with Public Health England and has released an updated version of its standard operating procedure and risk assessments to driving examiners, which contains social distancing measures and safety precautions, to ensure the safe restart of driving tests. The DVSA is currently engaging with Scottish and Welsh Governments to ensure it engages with Health advisors before services are resumed in both.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the safety of its staff and the wider public. That remains its priority as it restarts its services.

The DVSA has consulted with Public Health England (PHE) to ensure the safety of all its staff when resuming testing services. The DVSA will be following the guidance PHE has provided to Government for those who are Extremely Clinically Vulnerable and those who are Clinically Vulnerable.

Driving examiners will wear face coverings on test and have the option to wear gloves and use disposable seat covers. Candidates will be asked to bring and wear a face covering attending for test, unless they have a good reason not to. Candidates are reminded they should not come for test if they have any symptoms or have been asked to self-isolate by test and trace. Similar guidance has been provided to the approved driving instructors.