Christine Jardine

We conducted thorough research in collaboration with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to verify our understanding of each overseas system in question, to then measure against the UK’s standard route to obtain gender recognition.

Any update to the list of approved countries and territories is a periodic administrative task that does not require formal public consultation. As per the requirements of the Act we have consulted with the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

As DWP Ministers, we have frequent discussions with other members of the Government and we are collectively seeking to understand the full impact of the current cost of living on disabled people, across a range of sectors, including energy prices.

Unlawful discrimination because of sex is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010. However, the differential pricing of products marketed towards men or women is not unlawful discrimination: there is no requirement on anyone to buy a product because it has been marketed to them on the basis of their gender.

This Government is committed to tackling the abhorrent practice of ‘conversion therapy’ in the UK.

The Government’s 2017 National LGBT Survey provides some evidence of the prevalence of conversion therapy in the UK; it found that 2% of respondents had previously undergone conversion therapy and a further 5 % had been offered it. We have commissioned further research to inform policy development in this area. Following a competitive tendering exercise, in 2019 the Government Equalities Office commissioned Coventry University to undertake research which explores evidence of practices, experiences and effects of conversion therapy. Officials are currently reviewing the findings of this report prior to publication, and reviewing the efficacy of both legislative and non-legislative measures in ending these practices.

Once this work is complete, the Government will bring forward proposals to end conversion therapy in due course.

Both myself and my Ministerial team on equality issues engage with a wide range of relevant interested parties. On the matters of gender recognition and transgender rights, I have held a number of meetings with external stakeholders and relevant colleagues across government to gather a wide range of views, and will continue to do so going forward.

Officials in the Government Equalities Office also engage broadly with interested parties, feeding the insights gathered into policy advice. They regularly meet with relevant stakeholders, including most recently the LGBT Advisory Panel, devolved administrations and the National LGBT Health Advisor, Dr Michael Brady. Officials also met with around 140 organisations before and during the consultation on the Gender Recognition Act.

The Scottish Government’s use of electronic communications is a matter for the Scottish Government.

The tables below provide the estimates requested, long term sick days lost per department (Table 1), along with our preferred measure, Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition (Table 2). Data is provided for the main Ministerial Departments and excludes those that have been most impacted by Machinery of Government changes, for which times series comparisons between 2015 and 2022 are not possible.

Table 1: Long Term Sickness Absence by Main Department, Days Lost, 2015-2022

Table 2 : Long Term Sickness Absence by Main Department, Average Working Days Lost per Staff Year, 2015-2022

Notes:

• Annual Data for year ending 31 March 20xx

• Source – Management Information

• Days rounded to nearest 10 days, AWDL rounded to 1 decimal place

• Ministerial Departments which have been most impacted by Machinery of Government changes over the period, and for which, consistent comparisons are not possible, are not shown.

• For sickness absence publications see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence

Cabinet Office publishes sickness absence data for the Civil Service on an annual basis on gov.uk. Our preferred measure is Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition. The table below provides the data requested, days lost per department, along with AWDL for context. Data for 2023 are in production for planned publication by end March 2024.

Table: Long Term Sickness Absence by Department 2021 and 2022

Notes:

• Annual Data for year ending 31 March 2021 and 31 March 2022

• Source – Management Information

• Days rounded to nearest 10 days, AWDL rounded to 1 decimal place

• s = suppressed due to data review, * = suppressed due to low counts

• For sickness absence publications see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence

The Downing Street Briefing Room is in regular use for media briefings twice a day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and once a day on Fridays when Parliament is sitting, and once a week during parliamentary recess. There have been more than 30 televised press conferences held in it so far. It is also used for other events such as virtual calls with world leaders. It is also routinely used for internal Cabinet Office events.

Details of ministerial and senior official travel and hospitality are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on GOV.UK.

UK product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe. Products using lithium-ion batteries must comply with essential safety requirements set out in law.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business and Trade, has established a multi-disciplinary safety study to understand data and evidence of risks in this area and has commissioned Warwick Manufacturing Group, to conduct research examining the safety of lithium-ion batteries. This forms part of cross Government work involving the Home Office and the Department for Transport alongside London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Department for Business and Trade was created on 7 February in a Machinery of Government change. During the period in question, the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) were operating as two separate Departments.

DIT expenditure was: £648,408.47.

It is not possible to disaggregate the BEIS expenditure.

DIT spend

Powering Up Britain sets out the policies that enable our carbon budgets to be met. It demonstrates we are world leaders delivering on both energy security and net zero - two sides of the same coin.

This information is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Under competition law, responsibility for investigating the impact of mergers and acquisitions on competition falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s independent competition authority. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers and expertise to investigate the benefits and risks of mergers in relation to competition.

Under competition law, responsibility for investigating the impact of mergers and acquisitions on competition falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s independent competition authority. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers and expertise to investigate the benefits and risks of mergers in relation to competition.

Under the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, eligible Ministers who leave office are entitled to a one-off payment equivalent to one quarter of their annual salary at the point at which they leave Government.

This applies only where a Minister is under 65 and is not appointed to a ministerial office within three weeks of leaving government.

Individuals may waive the payment to which they are entitled. That is a matter for their personal discretion, but this approach has been taken in the past.

Details of such payments are published in departmental annual reports and accounts, and ministerial salaries are published on GOV.UK.

The Government has reversed the National Insurance rise, which will save small businesses approximately £4,200, cut fuel duty for 12 months and brought in the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, to protect small business’ high energy bills over the winter.

The BBC Funding Review is looking at how alternative funding models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers. It is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel that incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk.

Stakeholders are submitting evidence on the basis that evidence provided is confidential in nature, especially given potential commercial sensitivities, and there is no intention for these submissions to be made public, either in full or in part.

The BBC Funding Review is looking at how alternative funding models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers. It is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel that incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk.

Stakeholders are submitting evidence on the basis that evidence provided is confidential in nature, especially given potential commercial sensitivities, and there is no intention for these submissions to be made public, either in full or in part.

The BBC Funding Review is looking at how alternative funding models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers. It is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel that incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk.

Stakeholders are submitting evidence on the basis that evidence provided is confidential in nature, especially given potential commercial sensitivities, and there is no intention for these submissions to be made public, either in full or in part.

The Department publishes details of consultancy and professional services spending on an annual basis, in the Annual Report and Accounts. Due to the categorisation of spend within Department systems, it is not possible to extrapolate consultancy spend specifically in relation to recruitment activity. However, a total of £233,056.01 (excluding VAT) has been identified as spend on external recruitment consultants within the last three years, broken down as follows:

This spending relates to external consultancy support, engaged by the Department, for the recruitment of substantive Civil Servants at delegated grades, Senior Civil Servants and Board Members, and excludes the recruitment and delivery of Apprenticeship schemes, and contingent labour workers.

Under the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, eligible Ministers who leave office are entitled to a one off payment equivalent to one quarter of their annual salary at the point at which they leave the government.

This applies only where a Minister is under 65 and is not appointed to a ministerial office within three weeks of leaving government.

Individuals may waive the payment to which they are entitled. That is a matter for their personal discretion, but this approach has been taken in the past.

Details of such payments are published in departmental annual reports and accounts, and ministerial salaries are published on GOV.UK.

Unlike some education sectors, where the government has taken part in negotiations with trade unions, universities are autonomous. They are therefore responsible for the pay and pension provision of their staff. Whilst the government plays no formal role, we are concerned about the potential impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students, particularly those who are coming up to graduation, and looking to enter the jobs market or progress to further study.

The department understands that the majority of students will remain unaffected by the industrial action and, in most cases, will receive their full results on time and progress and/or graduate as normal.

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has published research findings which surveyed 49% of higher education (HE) institutions in the New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff. These institutions provided feedback on the impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students at their institutions:

• Over 70% of HE institutions said that ‘less than 2% of students’ will be unable to graduate this summer due to the boycott.
• A further 20% were ‘unsure’ of the number.
• 4% of HE institutions said ‘between 2% and 9% of students’ would be impacted.

These research findings can be accessed at: https://www.ucea.ac.uk/news-releases/23june23/.

On 22 June 2023, I met with Universities UK (UUK), the Russell Group, and UCEA to better understand the impact of the boycott and the mitigating actions their members are taking to protect students’ interests. I have also written to the Russell Group and UUK, encouraging them to continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of students.

On 27 June 2023, I met with a number of HE representative groups to discuss the marking and assessment boycott, including the mitigating actions HE institutions are taking.

HE institutions are working on minimising disruption to students in a variety of ways, including reallocating marking to other staff members, and hiring external markers. Many HE institutions can award degrees when they have enough evidence of a student’s prior attainment to do so. Others will be able to assign provisional grades to students to allow them to progress and, once all papers have been marked, degree classifications will either remain as provisionally assigned or be uplifted to reflect the student’s achievements.

The government believes students should be at the heart of the HE system. This is why we set up the Office for Students (OfS) to regulate the HE sector in England, protect student rights, and ensure the sector is delivering real value for money. The OfS published guidance to students on their rights during industrial action at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-rights-and-welfare/student-guide-to-industrial-action/.

On 12 June 2023, the OfS wrote to institutions affected by the boycott to reiterate its expectations in relation to its conditions of registration. The OfS will continue to monitor this situation through their normal regulatory mechanisms.

The Department continues to engage with the HE sector and we hope all parties can reach an agreement that delivers good value for students, staff and universities, so further industrial action can be avoided.

I refer the hon. Member for Edinburgh West to the answer I gave on 15 November 2022 to Question 76168.

The provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation.

Details of the severance payments made to Ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts.

The department does not collect information on the number of pupils who learn British Sign Language (BSL) in primary schools as it is not a mandatory subject for schools in England.

The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes funding for primary and secondary mainstream schools in England. Funding is distributed fairly, based on the needs of schools and their pupil cohorts. Within the NFF, the department does not allocate funding specifically for British Sign Language resources and teaching (nor for any other subjects), and school leaders have flexibility over how they use their budgets to support the attainment and progress of their pupils. They may, if they choose, include BSL in their curriculum or offer it as an extra curriculum subject.