Gareth Bacon

The Equality Hub is part of the Cabinet Office, therefore I refer the hon. Member to the answer to PQ 132385.

The Attorney Gerneral’s Office does not have any professional staff networks or social clubs operating within the department.

There has been unprecedented joint commitment and focus from the police and the CPS to finding solutions to the problem of getting the provision of material evidence and disclosure right. Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Inspectorate (HMCPSI) recently published a report on disclosure in the Crown Court, which shows that CPS and the police have made improvements in almost all areas. However, as the report notes, these improvements are from a low baseline and it is therefore crucial that lasting improvements continue to be made. I am working to update my Guidelines on Disclosure in order to provide clear guidance to all practitioners, and embed the recommendations I made in my 2018 Review.

The government is committed to investing in tools and training that can help to mitigate the challenges posed by large volumes of electronic evidence. The CPS provides extensive disclosure training for all prosecutors to ensure they are properly equipped to handle these challenges. The College of Policing figures, published last August, show that over 100,000 police officers and staff across England and Wales have completed all modules of disclosure training, and further advanced training packages are being developed by the CPS.

The Cabinet Office has a range of volunteer staff led staff networks and groups based on workplace disciplines, expertise and common interest areas. These do not have dedicated FTE but are carried out as part of their corporate objective. Central funding is at the discretion of the department and is decided on a case by case basis.

Additionally, there are a number of Civil Service employee networks that operate at cross government level, that can request funds for network-related activity from Civil Service HR on an ad-hoc business case basis from wider non-pay related costs. Decisions on granting funds depend on availability and alignment to Civil Service HR strategic priorities.

The Department does not hold a central list of all staff networks. However, the Department engages with and supports the activity of a group of networks which are recognised in an informal partnership agreement. These networks are: All Ages Network, Carers Network, Capability Action Network, EU Nationals Network, Faith and Minority Ethnic Network, LGBT+ Network, Parental Support Network, Part-Time Workers Network, Schools Outreach Network, Social Mobility Network, Volunteering Network, Wellbeing and Mental Health Network, and Women Empowered Network.

Networks that are recognised in the Department’s network partnership agreement are allocated 0.1FTE of their time to support these networks. All other staff support networks on a voluntary basis.

The Department does not hold a central list of all staff networks and social clubs.

Our gambling white paper set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. This included a number of measures to adjust outdated and overly restrictive rules to enable the land-based sectors to thrive sustainably. We recognise their contribution to the economy, including provision of employment in coastal towns and across the country.

We are working with the Gambling Commission to bring key measures, including those relating to gaming machines in casinos, arcades and bingo halls, into force as soon as possible. We will consult on details required for implementation this summer. Since publishing the white paper, ministers and officials have engaged with industry representatives across the land-based sector, including the Betting and Gaming Council, British Amusement Catering Trade Association and the Bingo Association.

Our gambling white paper set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. This included a number of measures to adjust outdated and overly restrictive rules to enable the land-based sectors to thrive sustainably. We recognise their contribution to the economy, including provision of employment in coastal towns and across the country.

We are working with the Gambling Commission to bring key measures, including those relating to gaming machines in casinos, arcades and bingo halls, into force as soon as possible. We will consult on details required for implementation this summer. Since publishing the white paper, ministers and officials have engaged with industry representatives across the land-based sector, including the Betting and Gaming Council, British Amusement Catering Trade Association and the Bingo Association.

Our gambling white paper set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. This included a number of measures to adjust outdated and overly restrictive rules to enable the land-based sectors to thrive sustainably. We recognise their contribution to the economy, including provision of employment in coastal towns and across the country.

We are working with the Gambling Commission to bring key measures, including those relating to gaming machines in casinos, arcades and bingo halls, into force as soon as possible. We will consult on details required for implementation this summer. Since publishing the white paper, ministers and officials have engaged with industry representatives across the land-based sector, including the Betting and Gaming Council, British Amusement Catering Trade Association and the Bingo Association.

Our gambling white paper set out a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new player protection checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to consumer redress and a statutory levy on operators to fund research, education and treatment.

We are working with the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to bring these measures into force as soon as possible, subject to further consultation where appropriate. The Government will publish a number of targeted consultations this summer, with the Commission also consulting on a number of priority areas, and will respond in due course.

(a) DCMS has the following staff networks:

• Ability Network (Beyond Disability)

• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network

• Carers Network

• Direct Appointee Network

• EU Nationals Network

• Faith and Belief Network

• Fair Treatment Ambassadors

• Flexible Working and Job Share Network

• Gender Equality Network

• Grade B Network (HEO / SEO Grade equivalent)

• Grade C&D Network (AO & EO Grade equivalent)

• Green Network

• Ideas Panel Network

• LGBT+ Network

• Mental Health and Wellbeing Network

• New Joiner Network

• North Network

• Parenting Network Group

• Social Mobility Network

• South West Network

• Volunteering Network

(b) The Sports and Social Network is a Network for all staff to access and organise sport and social activity in DCMS. The social clubs that currently operate within this network include:

• Choir

• Football teams:

• London Men’s team

• London Women's team

• Manchester team

• Netball

• Film Club

• Book Club

• Bake Club

• Board Games

• Meditation Club

(i) Budgets allocated to each group within each of the last three years

The annual budget allocated to all network activity is £10,000. This has been the same for the past three years. Networks are able to access funding on a case by case basis for events or training.

(ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years

FTE staff are not allocated to networks, the role of network chair is a voluntary role and as such the time they allocate to each network is not recorded or reported upon. As part of the DCMS ‘business deal’ for network chairs, in agreement with line management and subject to business need, 10% of the network chair’s working hours can be allocated to network activity increasing to up to 20% in periods of high demand.

The department has a variety of staff networks for all employees to join on a voluntary basis.

We have 11 core diversity staff networks, these are 50+, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), Carers, Disability, EU National, Interfaith, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) +, Neurodivergence, Parents, Social Mobility and Women’s Networks. Each core network has a budget of up to £3,000 per year and network chairs have 10% corporate time allowance for leading network activities.

The remaining staff networks do not receive a budget or corporate time allowance, these are Bereavement, Christian, Coaching Community, Eating Disorder, Fertility, Governor and Trustee, Greener, Hindu, Menopause, Positivity Wellbeing Group, Sikh, Vegan, Women of Colour, Working through Cancer, and Young People.

Teams or individuals may engage with social activities or clubs outside of work however this is not monitored by the department. Some of our employees are members of the Civil Service Sports Club (CSSC) but we do not have data on membership. CSSC provide sports, leisure, benefits, and discounts to our employees for personal use. Membership costs are paid by employees.

We received 896 responses to this consultation. Due to the large scope of the consultation, we wanted to carefully analyse the responses before making key policy decisions. Given the scale of change that will be required by this package of reforms we must ensure we take the time to get them right so they will be as effective as possible in achieving our objectives. We will be publishing our response to the consultation shortly which will confirm implementation dates and materials in scope for consistent collection, as well as our consultation on statutory guidance.

When we publish the Government response to the 2021 consultation on Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England, we will launch a consultation on statutory guidance to support implementation.

Any new financial burdens introduced through new statutory duties on local authorities will be assessed and the net additional cost covered by the Government, unless exceptionally Ministers at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities agree to waive the funding requirement.

In line with the New Burdens Guidance the Government will consult with local authorities or their representative bodies to decide on the approach to allocating funding.

Any new financial burdens introduced through new statutory duties on local authorities will be assessed and the net additional cost covered by the Government in line with the latest New Burdens Guidance. In exceptional circumstances, Ministers at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities might decide to waive the funding requirement.

We are working to assess net additional costs to local authorities.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) staff networks offer valuable peer support, raise awareness of the needs of staff, influence departmental policy and shape issues that cut across the diversity agenda such as career progression, leadership and culture. DIT has 11 professional staff networks.

Staff networks budget allocation aligns to network activity and the DIT Inclusion Framework. Allocation of funds is proportionate to network size and reviewed annually. The total budget for networks was £7000 in FY 20/21 and 21/22 and for FY19/20 it was £5090. Time allocated to staff network activity is agreed with line managers as a corporate contribution as part of the performance management process.

DIT staff may organise social groupings of their own volition; social clubs are not funded by DIT, and staff do not use contracted time to pursue or lead these activities. Therefore, there is no central monitoring of these activities.

The department holds daily usage figures as a percentage of the pre-covid baseline for rail, non-London bus, and TfL London bus and London tube from the start of March 2020 to date. The data covers Great Britain. This information is publicly available (Daily domestic transport use by mode).

Statistics are also publicly available which provide a regional breakdown including data for areas A, B and C for bus (annual bus statistics) and rail passenger numbers (Regional rail usage | ORR Data Portal).

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) Earned Recognition is a voluntary, and free to join, compliance scheme. It helps lorry and bus operators demonstrate that they consistently meet the driver and vehicle standards required as a condition of their Operator’s licence. The Agency monitors performance data shared by operators making the scheme a market leader across businesses and local authorities.

The Earned Recognition scheme will continue to expand to support the growth of the most compliant operators across the industry. This strategy supports the DVSA to identify and deal with law breakers ensuring the cost of non-compliance is always greater than the cost of compliance.

The Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) is a commercially available accreditation scheme administered through Sopra Steria Limited, and not managed or maintained by the Government.

The Department does not have any injunctions in place but is working closely with National Highways as the relevant highway authority. Injunctions are a matter for the respective highway authority and are granted by the High Court.

As of 7 November 2022, National Highways have two High Court Injunctions in force; one specifically relating to structures and gantries on the M25 until 10 December 2022, and one covering the M25, the M25 feeder roads and major roads in Kent and around the Port of Dover until May 2023.  The case for further injunctions is being kept under review.

Responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London, National Highways, and the 32 London boroughs, plus the City of London. The Department is not aware of any injunctions held by Westminster City Council regarding access to the highway. Information pertaining to injunction orders may be found on tfl.gov.uk.

Membership of DfT Networks is open to all staff who choose to be part of the network in question and most networks will have a lead or coordination group with individuals volunteering their time rather than FTE time being allocated. This time commitment will vary between the individuals and the networks depending on level of activity in the group. However, for Diversity and Inclusion related Networks, a budget is allocated which is held and monitored by the DfTc Diversity and Inclusion Team. There are 15 Diversity and Inclusion related Networks (though one of these, Young People’s Network, currently has no members and so is not included in the attached document) and in 2021/22 the budget allocated to them for the year amounted to £15,000 in total (based on £1,000 each). However, spend against budget is typically less than 50%. In 2019/20 & 2020/21, for accounting convenience, this budget was included in the ‘Room Hire’ account field and therefore it is not possible to ascertain exactly how much was allocated (though it was less than in 2021/22).

The Department captures lists of DfTc Staff Networks, clubs and groups on its internal website (MyDfT). From these lists, and only including organisations with more than one member, there are currently 33 staff networks and these are listed as in the attached document.