Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of police offers in Cheshire who have taken sick leave have been diagnosed with a mental health condition in each year since 2016.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not collect information on how many and what proportion of police officers who have taken sick leave have been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers on long term absence, which includes sickness, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
Information on long term absences, by Police Force Area, and the reason for absence, between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 2023, can be found in the ‘Absences Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ba613a2059dc00125d2782/open-data-table-police-workforce-absence-260723.ods.
The data are broken down by absence type which includes sickness. However, the reason for sick absence is not collected and as such it is not possible to determine how many police officers on sick absence have been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of his Department's budget was spent on AI development in each year since 2016.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence AI Centre is monitoring over 250 projects and programmes that are exploring the use of AI technologies as part of a capability or system. However, it is difficult to calculate the Department’s overall spend on AI as cost data for these component elements is typically integrated within broader programme costs. Work is underway to better delineate this investment across MOD and improve our understanding over time.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to engage with small and medium-sized enterprises that express interest in developing defence-related AI technologies.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) make a significant contribution to the defence AI supply chain and we are pursuing several initiatives to more clearly communicate our AI requirements, address barriers to frictionless collaboration, and incentivise engagement and co-creation with small and medium-sized enterprises.
In addition, MOD published its SME Action Plan in 2022 outlining specific commitments to improve engagement with smaller businesses including improving visibility of opportunities and simplifying our procurement approach. We are also encouraging our major suppliers to publish their own sub-contract opportunities through the Defence Sourcing Portal, making it easier for SMEs to find and bid for defence work.