Jon Trickett Portrait

Jon Trickett

Labour - Hemsworth

First elected: 1st February 1996


Jon Trickett is not a member of any APPGs
Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
11th Feb 2017 - 5th Apr 2020
Shadow Lord President of the Council
27th Jun 2016 - 5th Apr 2020
Campaigns and Elections Chair
27th Jul 2016 - 11th Feb 2017
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
14th Jul 2016 - 6th Oct 2016
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
5th Jul 2016 - 14th Jul 2016
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Shadow Minister for the Constitutional Convention
14th Sep 2015 - 28th Jun 2016
Shadow Minister without Portfolio and Deputy Party Chair
8th Oct 2013 - 14th Sep 2015
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
7th Oct 2011 - 7th Oct 2013
Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
8th Oct 2010 - 7th Oct 2011
Public Administration Committee
26th Jul 2010 - 2nd Nov 2010
Unopposed Bills (Panel)
17th Oct 2001 - 6th May 2010
Public Accounts Committee
16th Jul 2001 - 5th Jun 2006
Employment Sub-committee
14th Feb 2001 - 11th May 2001
Education & Employment
13th Feb 2001 - 11th May 2001


There are no upcoming events identified
Division Votes
Wednesday 29th November 2023
Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
voted Aye - in line with the party majority
One of 140 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 194 Noes - 275
Speeches
Thursday 23rd November 2023
Oral Answers to Questions
If you are one of the tens of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises bidding for contracts from the public …
Written Answers
Thursday 22nd June 2023
National Residential Landlords Association
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what areas were covered during his meeting with …
Early Day Motions
Thursday 16th November 2023
Sewage discharges
That this House expresses its concern at the continuing dumping of sewage into UK waterways; recognises that the practice is …
Bills
None available
MP Financial Interests
Monday 30th October 2023
8. Miscellaneous
From 20 October 2023, a Trustee of the Amy Read Trust, which works to protect and preserve Engel’s House in …
EDM signed
Tuesday 28th November 2023
Free school meals
That this House notes that free school meals ensure millions of children get a hot and healthy meal each day; …

Division Voting information

During the current Parliamentary Session, Jon Trickett has voted in 520 divisions, and 2 times against the majority of their Party.

25 Mar 2021 - Coronavirus - View Vote Context
Jon Trickett voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 21 Labour No votes vs 176 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 484 Noes - 76
30 Dec 2020 - Sittings of the House - View Vote Context
Jon Trickett voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 7 Labour Aye votes vs 183 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 335 Noes - 212
View All Jon Trickett Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Penny Mordaunt (Conservative)
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
(23 debate interactions)
Rachel Maclean (Conservative)
(6 debate interactions)
Alex Burghart (Conservative)
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
(6 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Cabinet Office
(28 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(15 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(13 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Holocaust Memorial Bill 2022-23
(2,168 words contributed)
Public Order Act 2023
(1,414 words contributed)
Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023
(1,395 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Jon Trickett's debates

Hemsworth Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petitions with highest Hemsworth signature proportion
Petitions with most Hemsworth signatures
Petition Debates Contributed

The Government should create an emergency fund to deal with the massive waiting lists for autism & ADHD assessments for children AND adults. This would provide resources for local health services deal with current waiting lists and new patients.

The Government should commission a review of how Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) assessments are managed by the NHS, including through Shared Care Agreements, and increase funding to reduce waiting times.


Latest EDMs signed by Jon Trickett

27th November 2023
Jon Trickett signed this EDM as a sponsor on Tuesday 28th November 2023

Free school meals

Tabled by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
That this House notes that free school meals ensure millions of children get a hot and healthy meal each day; is concerned that children whose families meet financial eligibility requirements, but receive their education other than at school, do not benefit from these meals; congratulates both Brighton and Hove City …
14 signatures
(Most recent: 1 Dec 2023)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 13
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
27th November 2023
Jon Trickett signed this EDM as a sponsor on Tuesday 28th November 2023

154th anniversary of the founding of the Durham Miners’ Association

Tabled by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
That this House celebrates the 154th anniversary of the founding of the Durham Miners’ Association; recognises that, within three years of its founding, the Durham Miners’ Association had secured the abolition of bonded labour practices; further recognises its remarkable contributions to trade unionism and the wider labour movement; thanks the …
12 signatures
(Most recent: 30 Nov 2023)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 10
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Independent: 1
View All Jon Trickett's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Jon Trickett, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Jon Trickett has not been granted any Urgent Questions

1 Adjournment Debate led by Jon Trickett

Jon Trickett has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Jon Trickett has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


812 Written Questions in the current parliament

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
1 Other Department Questions
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Equality Hub (EH) consists of the Government Equalities Office (GEO), Race Disparity Unit (RDU), Disability Unit (DU) and Social Mobility Commission.

a) The Equality Hub did not incur any expenditure against advertising in 2019-20

b) The Equality Hub did not incur any expenditure against advertising in 2020-21.

c) The Equality Hub spent £62,000 on advertising in 2021-22.

d) The Equality Hub has not incurred any expenditure against advertising in this financial year to date.

Expenditure incurred in the remainder of the financial year will be reported in the usual way.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
17th Oct 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how much his Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

The table below set outs the amount spent by Attorney General’s Office on taxis over the last 3 years.

2020-21 £54.31
2021-22 £191.80
2022-23 £796.05
Total £1,042.16

Michael Tomlinson
Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
12th Oct 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how much his Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Nothing has been spent on first class train travel in a) 2020, b) 2021 and c) 2022.

Michael Tomlinson
Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how much her Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Agency workers are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area. Commentary on Contingent Labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports.

The Attorney General’s Office does not pay agency retainer fees and the annual spend on agency workers, since 2020, is set out below.

Year

Cost

2020-21

£27,841.17

2021-22

£78,790.99

2022-23 (P1-3)

£12,663.46

Total

£119,295.62

13th Jul 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The table below sets out the amounts the Attorney General’s Office spent on air travel per financial year.

2020-21

0.00

2021-22

£110.98

2022-23

£2,391.36

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The table below sets out the amounts the Attorney General’s Office spent on advertising in the periods requested. These costs relate to the advertising of communications roles externally

2019-20

£0.00

2020-21

£1,194.00

2021-22

£0.00

2022-23

£1,470.00

5th Jul 2022
To ask the Attorney General, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

In the period in question The Attorney General’s Office has had no contracts with any of the listed firms.

4th Jul 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

Details of Government contracts valued between £10,000 and £25,000 are published on Contracts Finder. As Contracts Finder was implemented in 2016, not all records before this period are held centrally.

The Government Legal Department, (GLD) frequently award contracts to support legal work, the size, nature and timing of these awards is uncertain, and it is not possible to ascertain how many of £1m - £3m or more than £3m will be agreed in the next 12 months.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) estimate 8 contracts will be between £1m to £3m and 10 above £3m over the next 12 months.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) are not able to provide this information due to commercial sensitivity.

The information on how much departments spend on monitoring the contracts or how many staff have monitored the contracts is not held.

30th Jun 2022
To ask the Attorney General, what the wage ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in her Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Attorney General’s Office wage ratio is as follows (a) 1:6.10 (b) 1:4.45 (c) 1:6.05.

As a small ministerial department with a limited number of staff disclosing salary figures would make staff potentially at risk of being identified.

29th Jun 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how much her Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) spent £18,547.96 on hospitality in 2020 financial year. This was the departments contribution towards the annual meeting of the five Attorneys-General from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, held in London on the 20th July 2019.

There was no spend on hospitality in the 2021 financial year. In 2022, the AGO spent £1146.09 hosting the Ukrainian Prosecutor General during her visit to the UK.

29th Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much from the public purse his Office has spent on hospitality since 25 October 2022.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 24 November 2022, Official Report, PQ 95960.

17th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

Spend on taxi cabs in as follows:

20/21

21/22

22/23 (to 30/09/22)

Total Taxi Spend

883,520.53

1,619,210.30

341,060.18

Of which Government Car Service

490,595.46

1,395,679.70

184,295.24

Spend on Government Car Service can be separated, however more widely we cannot split total spend by passenger so a broader breakdown of the spend is not available.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
12th Oct 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Based on our central contracts spend in the years requested is below:

2020 - £34,008.20

2021 - £44,083.40

2022 (until September) - £31,541.35

It is not possible to separate spend by ministers and civil servants.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Prime Minister's Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.

A) Spend on Agency staff is published as part of our Annual Report and Accounts, the last 3 years figures are:

Year

Spend £000s

2019/20

68,824

2020/21

61,860

2021/22

51,651

Note - 2021/22 figures remain provisional until our annual report and account is published later this year.

B) We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service, this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.

Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.

We do not specifically record expenditure on retainer fees paid to recruitment agencies, and they form part of our overall recorded recruitment costs. This includes assessments, search fees and vetting and is undertaken both for our own purposes and cross government. We cannot separate out expenditure paid solely on retainer fees.

21st Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.

A) Spend on Agency staff is published as part of our Annual Report and Accounts, the last 3 years figures are:

Year

Spend £000s

2019/20

68,824

2020/21

61,860

2021/22

51,651

Note - 2021/22 figures remain provisional until our annual report and account is published later this year.

B) We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service, this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.

Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.

We do not specifically record expenditure on retainer fees paid to recruitment agencies, and they form part of our overall recorded recruitment costs. This includes assessments, search fees and vetting and is undertaken both for our own purposes and cross government. We cannot separate out expenditure paid solely on retainer fees.

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Expenditure on advertising across the three years requested is:

Year

Spend (£000s)

2019/20

41,342

2020/21

376,029

2021/22

168,730

Expenditure in 2021/22 is subject to the Department's audit being finalised, and is therefore provisional.

11th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the COP26 unit has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

For management purposes the Prime Minister’s Office and COP26 unit are an integral part of the Cabinet Office. Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.

Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder).

11th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Prime Minister's office has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

For management purposes the Prime Minister’s Office and COP26 unit are an integral part of the Cabinet Office. Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.

Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder).

11th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

For management purposes the Prime Minister’s Office and COP26 unit are an integral part of the Cabinet Office. Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.

Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder).

6th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much their Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department is unable to provide spend on legal disputes, as this is not recorded separately from wider legal expenditure.

5th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

All of the contracts which the Cabinet Office has held with G4S, Serco and Capita worth over £10,000 since 2020 are available on Contracts Finder.

4th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder.

Contracts that are due to be agreed are on the Cabinet Office Commercial Pipeline. The next version of this is due to be published at the end of July 2022.

The amount spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010 and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010 is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

4th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million the (i) Prime Minister's Office and (ii) the Prime Minister’s Office agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much the Prime Minister's Office has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder.

For management and staffing purposes the Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. There are no contracts exclusive to No10 that are due within the next 12 months over £1m.

30th Jun 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Prime Minister spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Departments publish details of ministers' gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings on a quarterly basis. Cabinet Office returns include official hospitality provided by the Prime Minister, official No10 receptions and official hospitality at Chequers. More information can be found on GOV.UK.

30th Jun 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the wage ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in his Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Please find below information regarding the highest remuneration amounts in CO, the median remuneration amounts in CO and the remuneration ratio.

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

Highest remuneration (£000)

255-260

250-255

Not yet published

Median remuneration (£)

38,435

39,520

Not yet published

Remuneration ratio

6.70

6.40

Not yet published

The total remuneration includes salary, non-consolidated performance related pay and benefits in kind. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer value of pensions.

29th Jun 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department records hospitality and catering expenditure combined. Expenditure includes catering for events with external guests as well as expense claims made by staff.

Year

Spend (£)

2020

388,319.38

2021

323,462.06

2022

199,313.24

Expenditure in 2022 is from 1st January 2022 to 30 June 2022.

28th Jun 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the number of workers who are on zero-hours contracts in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) the Wakefield district.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Questions of 28 June is attached.

28th Jun 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of workers on zero hour contracts in the UK.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Questions of 28 June is attached.

16th May 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, whether he has participated in any events organised by the World Economic Forum in the last year.
31st Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Cabinet Office report entitled Investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during covid restrictions - update published on 31 January 2022, if he will publish existing policy governing consumption of alcohol at 10 Downing Street.

The Civil Service Code governs the overarching conduct of civil servants. This includes the requirement to “always act in a way that is professional”.

The Government has accepted the Second Permanent Secretary’s general findings in full. As the published update states, steps must be taken “to ensure that every Government Department has a clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace.”

31st Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral contribution of 31 January 2022, which Select Committee the Office of the Prime Minister will be subject to scrutiny by.

I announced to the House my intention to create an Office of the Prime Minister. Further details will be announced in due course. As Prime Minister, I am held to account each week at Prime Minister's Questions, answer written questions, and appear before the Liaison Committee at regular intervals.

The establishment and terms of reference of individual Select Committees is a matter for the House.

31st Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral contribution of 31 January 2022, what mechanisms he will introduce to ensure the accountability of the new Office of the Prime Minister to Parliament.

I announced to the House my intention to create an Office of the Prime Minister. Further details will be announced in due course. As Prime Minister, I am held to account each week at Prime Minister's Questions, answer written questions, and appear before the Liaison Committee at regular intervals.

The establishment and terms of reference of individual Select Committees is a matter for the House.

31st Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his Oral Statement of 31 January 2022 on Sue Gray Report, what estimate he has made of the projected full-time equivalent head count of staff to be working at the Office of the Prime Minister.

I announced to the House my intention to create an Office of the Prime Minister. Further details will be announced in due course. As Prime Minister, I am held to account each week at Prime Minister's Questions, answer written questions, and appear before the Liaison Committee at regular intervals.

The establishment and terms of reference of individual Select Committees is a matter for the House.

31st Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Cabinet Office report entitled Investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during covid restrictions - update published on 31 January 2022, if he will publish the independent advice as to the process for the investigation provided by the Treasury Solicitor and Daniel Stillitz QC.

It would not be appropriate to comment further while the Metropolitan Police Service’s investigation is ongoing. At the end of the process I will ask the Second Permanent Secretary to update her findings, which will be published in line with the terms of reference.

31st Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, Cabinet Office report entitled Investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during covid restrictions - update, published on 31 January 2022, if he will commit to publishing the (a) emails, (b) WhatsApp messages, (c) text messages, (d) photographs and (e) building entry and exit logs identified by Sue Gray as part of the investigation for that report.

It would not be appropriate to comment further while the Metropolitan Police Service’s investigation is ongoing. At the end of the process I will ask the Second Permanent Secretary to update her findings, which will be published in line with the terms of reference.

31st Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Cabinet Office report entitled Investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during covid restrictions - update, published 31 January 2022, if he will commit to publishing the transcripts of interviews of over 70 people conducted by Sue Gray as part of the investigation for that report.

It would not be appropriate to comment further while the Metropolitan Police Service’s investigation is ongoing. At the end of the process I will ask the Second Permanent Secretary to update her findings, which will be published in line with the terms of reference.

31st Jan 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office report entitled Investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during covid restrictions - update published on 31 January 2022, what the full-time equivalent head count of staff working at (a) 10 Downing Street and (b) 70 Whitehall has been in each year since 2010.

Owing to security considerations, I am unable to provide occupancy information specifically relating to the sites for which you have requested information. However, in each year since 2010, the total full-time equivalent headcount of staff recorded as working across both buildings never exceeded 1,500.

16th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to take steps to require the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and UK Statistics Authority to disaggregate taxation revenue from income on (a) earnings and (b) dividend payments in the tax revenues published annually by the ONS as part of the Country and Regional Public Sector Finances.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

16th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing measures to make the membership of Advisory Committee on Business Appointments more representative of society.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Cabinet Office. It considers applications under the business appointment rules about new jobs for former ministers, senior civil servants and other Crown servants. Political and independent members are appointed for five year, non-renewable terms.

Political members are nominated on the recommendation of the leader of the relevant political party.

In accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments, the appointments of Independent Members to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments are made on merit following an open and fair competition.

As outlined in its 2019 Public Appointments Diversity Action Plan, the government remains committed to ensuring that public appointees are drawn from all aspects of the society that they serve and this includes those on the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

16th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 to expand the reporting requirement to include (a) the specific nature of the lobbying engagement, who is being targeted and what policy areas are under discussion, on behalf of whom; (b) the estimated value of the lobbying activity registered and (c) a list of current employees engaged in lobbying that have worked in the public sector in the five years prior to registration.

The Government is currently undertaking post-legislative scrutiny of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (the Lobbying Act). The outcome of this process will look to take into account any relevant findings of the Boardman review and Standards Matter 2, and will be set out in due course.

16th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 to include contact made by individuals or organisations engaged in lobbying with any employee of government.

The Government is currently undertaking post-legislative scrutiny of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (the Lobbying Act). The outcome of this process will look to take into account any relevant findings of the Boardman review and Standards Matter 2, and will be set out in due course.

16th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 to include in-house employees engaged in lobbying.

The Government is currently undertaking post-legislative scrutiny of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (the Lobbying Act). The outcome of this process will look to take into account any relevant findings of the Boardman review and Standards Matter 2, and will be set out in due course.

16th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what requirement there is on each Department to oversee the application of business appointment rules.

As set out in Written Statement HCWS185, the Government is working with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to improve the operation and efficacy of the Business Appointment Rules.

The recommendations from Nigel Boardman’s report into the development and use of supply chain finance in government, as well as the Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, will be considered as a part of this work with an update to be published later this year.

The Civil Service Management Code requires departments to make appropriate arrangements that reflect the Business Appointment Rules for Civil Servants. Departments should provide an assurance statement outlining their application of the Rules. Departmental Audit and Risk Committees are required to consider the implementation of the Rules in their departments. Departments are also required to publish summary information in respect of individuals at director and deputy director grades, including special advisers of equivalent standing.

16th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing measures to (a) make compliance with Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) rulings mandatory and (b) provide powers of sanction for non-compliance with ACOBA rulings.

As set out in Written Statement HCWS185, the Government is working with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to improve the operation and efficacy of the Business Appointment Rules.

The recommendations from Nigel Boardman’s report into the development and use of supply chain finance in government, as well as the Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, will be considered as a part of this work with an update to be published later this year.

The Civil Service Management Code requires departments to make appropriate arrangements that reflect the Business Appointment Rules for Civil Servants. Departments should provide an assurance statement outlining their application of the Rules. Departmental Audit and Risk Committees are required to consider the implementation of the Rules in their departments. Departments are also required to publish summary information in respect of individuals at director and deputy director grades, including special advisers of equivalent standing.

16th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the average wage per hour for workers in West Yorkshire.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

16th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of workers on zero hours contracts in (a) the Hemsworth constituency, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Yorkshire and Humber.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2020 to Question 120796, what information the UK Statistics Authority holds on the number of excess winter deaths for each year since 2010.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant the Answer of 18 January 2021 to Question 134347, what information the UK Statistics Authority holds on the number of excess deaths recorded in Yorkshire and the Humber region in each year since 2010 and up to and including 2020.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2021 to Question 134354, what information the UK Statistics Authority holds on the number of education staff who have died from covid-19.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2021 to Question 135810, what information the UK Statistics Authority holds on people suffering from (a) chronic bronchitis, (b) emphysema and (c) pneumoconiosis who have died from covid-19.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
11th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people suffering from (a) chronic bronchitis, (b) emphysema or (c) pneumoconiosis have died from covid-19.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

8th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many excess deaths were recorded in Yorkshire and the Humber region in each year since 2010 and up to and including 2020.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

8th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many education staff have died from covid-19.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase the number of people from (a) working class and (b) disadvantaged backgrounds (i) applying for and (ii) securing places on the Civil Service Fast Stream programme.

In line with the Government’s approach to equality - which goes beyond the protected characteristics in the Public Sector Equality Duty - the Fast Stream graduate programme has a strong commitment to increasing the representation of all currently under-represented groups, including those from working class and disadvantaged backgrounds.

To increase success rates and broaden the entry pool of those from disadvantaged backgrounds the Fast Stream introduced programmes such as the Early Diversity and the Summer Diversity Internship Programmes.These programmes provide undergraduates from a socially or economically disadvantaged background the opportunity to gain experience of working for the Civil Service the Fast Stream. Undertaking an internship significantly increases the success rate onto the Fast Stream.

To attract an increased number of applications from those with working class and disadvantaged backgrounds, we have a range of specific interventions. These include targeted outreach (including virtual events) to universities with high proportions of socially and economically disadvantaged students, and working with partners (e.g. UpReach and Rare Recruitment) to advertise the Fast Stream as a scheme open to all.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
6th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of current Permanent Secretaries attended private schools.

This information is not held centrally.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
25th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the value is of Government contracts awarded to Serco since 2010.

This information is not held centrally.

Details of central government contracts above £10,000, including the value of those contracts, are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

It is also the case that councils including Leeds City, Hounslow, Newham Borough, North Tyneside, Cumbria County and Milton Keynes have entered into contracts with Serco. Further details are available online.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
25th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many excess winter deaths there have been in each year since 2010.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

7th Oct 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths due to covid-19 per head of the population there have been in each NHS Trust area since 4 July 2020.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

5th Oct 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2020 to Question 74443 on Coronavirus: West Yorkshire, what information the UK Statistics Authority holds on the number of people (a) under 50 years old, (b) aged 51 to 65, (c) aged 66 to 75, (d) aged 76 and above by (i) gender, (ii) ethnicity, (iii) socio-economic group and (iv) occupation who have (A) tested positive for and (B) died as a result of covid-19 in (1) Hemsworth constituency, (2) Wakefield Council area and (3) West Yorkshire Combined Authority area.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

5th Oct 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2020 to Question 74442 on Coronavirus: Death, what information the UK Statistics Authority holds on the number of people who have died as a result of covid-19 in each socio-economic group.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

5th Oct 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 70319 on Business: Closures, what information the UK Statistics Authority holds on the number of businesses that have ceased trading in Hemsworth constituency since March 2020.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

21st Jul 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with trade union representatives on adherence to covid-19 guidance for civil servants; and what steps civil servants can take to raise concerns about workplace safety in relation to covid-19.

Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published on gov.uk

The Government is engaging with civil service trade unions on Covid-19 related matters. Civil servants are able to raise any concerns with line managers, in line with existing departmental practice and procedures.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
21st Jul 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when staff of his Department will be required to return to the office as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

The Cabinet Office has ensured appropriate measures are in place to establish Covid secure workplaces in which as many staff as possible can work safely.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
15th Jul 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have died as a result of covid-19 in each socio-economic group.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

15th Jul 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people (a) under 50 years old, (b) aged 51 to 65, (c) aged 66 to 75, (d) aged 76 and above by (i) gender, (ii) ethnicity, (iii) socio-economic group and (iv) occupation have (A) tested positive for and (B) died as a result of covid-19 in (1) Hemsworth constituency, (2) Wakefield Council area and (3) West Yorkshire Combined Authority area.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many businesses have ceased trading in Hemsworth constituency since March 2020.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

6th Jul 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths due to covid-19 there were per head of the population in each NHS Trust area as of 28 April 2020.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many of the (a) 103 apartments for people over 55 and (b) 168 new homes scheduled to be built on the former Government Civil Service College site at Sunningdale Park will be classed as affordable housing.

Sunningdale Park was sold, generating £48.4 million for the public purse and unlocking surplus Government land for new homes.

Details of the proposed redevelopment, which has been granted planning permission, are available on the website of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council.

21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contractors have been hired by the Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street since 12 December 2019.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the hiring of Andrew Sabisky was paid for with funds from the public purse.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Secretary approved the hiring of Andrew Sabisky.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contingent workers work for the Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what was Andrew Sabisky's daily rate of pay as a contractor for the Government.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what internal approval processes were followed on the hiring of Andrew Sabisky.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Office approved the hiring of Andrew Sabisky.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Andrew Sabisky's employment was subject to (a) the Baseline Personnel Security Standard, (b) a Counter-Terrorist Check, (c) a Security Check or (d) Developed Vetting.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the hiring of Andrew Sabisky required Ministerial approval.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Andrew Sabisky was hired as (a) contingent labour or (b) as a consultant.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Andrew Sabisky was (a) employed as a contractor and (b) subject to the civil service code when working for the Government.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Dominic Cummings was involved in the recruitment of Andrew Sabisky as a special adviser.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether civil servants raised concerns the recruitment of Andrew Sabisky as a special adviser.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the recruitment process for Andrew Sabisky complied with the pre-employment controls set out in HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the contract signed by Andrew Sabisky stated the requirement for the application of the Baseline Personnel Security Standard.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who the designated Government contract manager was for the recruitment of Andrew Sabisky.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether concerns were raised internally by Ministers on the employment of Andrew Sabisky.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Andrew Sabisky's employment history was verified prior to his recruitment as a special adviser.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he made of the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard in evaluating the suitability of Andrew Sabisky for employment in Government.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Andrew Sabisky was employed as a special adviser on his Department's pay roll.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister approved the appointment of Andrew Sabisky as a special adviser.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings did Andrew Sabisky attend as a Government advisor with (a) officials, (b) members of the Cabinet, and (c) the Prime Minister.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Andrew Sabisky attended meetings where defence officials were present.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government's contract with Andrew Sabisky has been terminated.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether classified material was discussed at Government meetings attended by Andrew Sabisky.

Further to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 313), and the answers given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and myself to Oral Questions and Topical Questions on 27 February 2020 (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 456-457, 461-466), Andrew Sabisky was hired as a contractor between 10 and 17 February, and not as a Special Adviser.

Contractors are subject to the principles of the Civil Service Code. Information about the numbers of contingent labour workers in the Cabinet Office, which also covers 10 Downing Street, is published annually.

Government contractors are paid for from departmental budgets. The Government does not normally comment on individual personnel matters such as pay, or recruitment processes. The Government also does not normally disclose the names of individual line managers.

It has been the practice of successive administrations that the Government does not disclose details of internal meetings. Classified information is made available only to those with appropriate security clearance and whose responsibilities require it.

It would be inappropriate to comment further on the vetting status, checks or contractual arrangements of any individual.



21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the expenditure entries listed in the Cabinet Office transparency data for payments over £25,000 or above for December 2019, entitled, Exp - Purchase of Goods/Services - Marketing & Media - Advertising, refer to services performed before the entry date of December 2019.

The date in the expenditure entries listed in the Cabinet Office transparency data relate to the date payments were made.

21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the process of hiring Andrew Sabisky included communication through the email account ideasfornumber10@gmail.com.

I refer the Hon. Gentleman to the answer by the Rt. Hon. Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden) of 14 January 2020 (PQ 1411).

Dominic Cummings’ blog invited people to get in touch to discuss opportunities, and did not set out proposed recruitment processes. As this activity was not conducted by government, the Government does not hold information generated by it, including within the email account. This was not part of the appointment process of Special Advisers, Civil Servants or contractors by government.

Information contained within the email account is overseen by the Downing Street Political Office.

21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the email account ideasfornumber10@gmail.com is managed by civil servants.

I refer the Hon. Gentleman to the answer by the Rt. Hon. Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden) of 14 January 2020 (PQ 1411).

Dominic Cummings’ blog invited people to get in touch to discuss opportunities, and did not set out proposed recruitment processes. As this activity was not conducted by government, the Government does not hold information generated by it, including within the email account. This was not part of the appointment process of Special Advisers, Civil Servants or contractors by government.

Information contained within the email account is overseen by the Downing Street Political Office.

21st Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the email account ideasfornumber10@gmail.com complies with Government standards in relation to cyber security.

I refer the Hon. Gentleman to the answer by the Rt. Hon. Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden) of 14 January 2020 (PQ 1411).

Dominic Cummings’ blog invited people to get in touch to discuss opportunities, and did not set out proposed recruitment processes. As this activity was not conducted by government, the Government does not hold information generated by it, including within the email account. This was not part of the appointment process of Special Advisers, Civil Servants or contractors by government.

Information contained within the email account is overseen by the Downing Street Political Office.

6th Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts Interserve holds with central government departments; and (a) with which departments and (b) for what duration those contracts are held.

Central Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder, including details of the department awarding the contract and the duration of the contract. (https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk)

6th Feb 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Interserve contracts held with central government departments recognise a trade union for staff.

This information is not held centrally.

30th Jan 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the civil service median gross salary is by (a) English region and (b) grade.

The Cabinet Office publishes data on civil servants’ median pay by English region and grade. The relevant data, as of 31 March 2019, is available via the link below on table 26:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2019

28th Jan 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to improve Freedom of Information disclosure rates across Departments.

The Cabinet Office works with Departments across Government to make sure that all requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act are considered on a case-by-case basis, and exemptions are applied to withhold sensitive information where appropriate. The Government continues to lead the way on transparency, and routinely publishes data beyond its obligations under the FOI Act.

24th Jan 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the proportion of Freedom of Information requests granted in full across Government has decreased since 2005.

All requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act are considered on a case-by-case basis, and exemptions are applied to withhold sensitive information where appropriate. The Government continues to lead the way on transparency, and routinely publishes data beyond its obligations under the FOI Act.

24th Jan 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the civil service median gross salary is by (a) region and (b) grade.

The Cabinet Office publishes data on civil servants’ median pay by region and grade. The relevant data, as of 31 March 2019, is available via the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-median-salaries-by-uk-region-and-grade

22nd Jan 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) Government Departments, (b) agencies of Departments and (c) Non Departmental Public Bodies are permitted to sign up to the Trades Union Congress's charter entitled, Dying to Work.

As terms and conditions for sick absence are delegated, departments are able to decide whether they wish to sign up to the Trades Union Congress's charter entitled, Dying to Work.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the proposed remit is for the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission.

Further announcements will be made in due course.

8th Jan 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has for the structure of the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission.

Further announcements will be made in due course.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission will require legislation to be established.

Further announcements will be made in due course.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to identify potential members of the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission.

Further announcements will be made in due course.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission will be an independent body.

Further announcements will be made in due course.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission will be established.

Further announcements will be made in due course.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government's plans to roll-out Voter ID will require (a) primary or (b) secondary legislation.

The Government will bring forward measures requiring electors to show an approved form of photographic ID before casting their vote in a polling station in a UK parliamentary election in Great Britain and local election in England. Any voter who does not have an approved form of ID will be able to apply, free of charge, for a local electoral identity document.

The Government remains committed to introducing Voter ID ahead of the next scheduled general election. We will bring forward primary legislation enabling the implementation of Voter ID when Parliamentary time allows.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Statement, of 7 January 2020, HLWS17, The Government’s Legislative Programme 2019, whether the Government plans to bring forward an Electoral Integrity Bill in this Parliament.

The Government will bring forward measures requiring electors to show an approved form of photographic ID before casting their vote in a polling station in a UK parliamentary election in Great Britain and local election in England. Any voter who does not have an approved form of ID will be able to apply, free of charge, for a local electoral identity document.

The Government remains committed to introducing Voter ID ahead of the next scheduled general election. We will bring forward primary legislation enabling the implementation of Voter ID when Parliamentary time allows.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to issue the public consultation on electoral integrity.

The Government remains committed to ensuring elections are secure and fit for the modern age, and further detail will be announced in the coming months.

12th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to support the steel industry.

The Government is actively engaging with the steel industry for a sustainable future. The industry has been able to bid into competitive funds worth more than £1billion to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation. The British Industry Supercharger will bring energy costs for energy intensive industries, including steel, in line with the world’s major economies.

We have updated the Steel Procurement Policy Note to create a level playing field for UK steel producers, implemented a robust trade remedies framework to protect domestic industry, including steel, and acted to resolve market access constraints on steel trade with the US and the EU.

Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
12th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to increase the areas of the economy covered by sectoral collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining in the UK is largely a matter for individual employers, their employees and their trade unions. Many employers recognise a union voluntarily. Where an employer refuses to recognise a union, our trade union law provides for a statutory recognition procedure. This allows independent unions to apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to be statutorily recognised for collective bargaining purposes.

Unions that can demonstrate that they have majority support for recognition in the workplace will secure statutory recognition from the CAC.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
22nd Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill on wages in each of the next five years.

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill Impact Assessment and subsequent consultation-stage Impact Assessments for services in rail, fire and rescue, and ambulances were published and all provide an assessment of the potential impact on wages.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
13th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has held discussions with executives from (a) British Gas, (b) EDF Energy, (c) E.ON, (d) RWE npower, (e) Scottish Power and (f) SSE since 7 February 2023.

Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-energy-security-and-net-zero.

Data covering the 7 February 2023 until 31 March 2023 will be published shortly. In line with Cabinet Office Guidance, organisations are listed instead of individuals.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

Expenditure on taxi cabs was as shown in the following table. Taxi expenditure between Ministers and civil servants is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Taxi cabs expenditure

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

(a) ministers and (b) civil servants

£148,226

£20,632

£38,545

12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department’s policy is that staff should always seek to book standard class rail travel for Ministers and Civil Servants, and only by exception should first class rail travel be permitted. Expenditure on first class train travel was as shown in the following table. For 2022, the amounts shown are to the end of August only.

First Class Train travel

2020

2021

2022

(a) Ministers

£5,168

£3,923

£3,011

(b) Civil Servants

£627

£3,452

£2,694

21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department’s Agency Staff spend is published annually in BEIS Annual Report and Accounts here under note 3 ‘Staff costs’. Agency spend is shown as financial years in the ‘Wages and Salaries’ line under the ‘Others’ column, representing non-permanent core BEIS staff. Annual spend on Agency spend is not held centrally and can only be obtained disproportionally.

Spend relating to financial year 2021-22 will be published later this year. BEIS Annual Report and Accounts are laid in Parliament once they have been certified by the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG).

We do not pay agency retainers as our policy is only to use Crown Commercial Framework contracts.

13th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Table below shows Department’s air travel spend booked through our travel provider for years 2020, 2021 and 2022. There are occasions when ministerial travel is booked outside of our provider but are not included in this response as this information can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Department’s published ministerial overseas travel can also be found on gov.uk here.

Air travel Spend via Travel Provider

(i) 2020

(ii) 2021

(iii) 2022

TOTAL

(a) Ministers

£9,076

£30,615

£36,182

£75,873

(b) Officials

£265,381

£106,732

£308,566

£680,679

TOTAL

£274,457

£137,347

£344,748

£756,552

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department’s advertising spend is published in BEIS Annual Reporting Accounts within ‘Advertising and publicity’ costs and can be found in table 4.1 here.

Spend relating to financial year 2021-22 will be published later this year. BEIS Annual Report & Accounts are laid in Parliament once they have been certified by the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG).

All advertising costs with details of the provider are published on gov.uk here. Further transactions will be published during 2022.

6th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much their Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy does not hold centrally the breakdown between advice on legal disputes and other forms of advice and this can only be obtained disproportionally.

Legal, professional and consultancy costs are included within note 4.1 of the BEIS Annual Report and Consolidated Accounts here.

5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

The total value of contracts held by BEIS with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020 is detailed in the table below.

2020

2021

2022

2023 (committed)

Capita

£1,176,448

£1,662,948

£1,606,198

£264,050

Serco

£3,525,500

£2,510,000

£1,986,131

£6,786

G4S

£4,308

£26,880

£26,880

TOTAL

£4,701,948

£4,177,256

£3,619,209

£297,715

4th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

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

30th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the wage ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in his Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The information required to calculate the Annual wage ratio is not held centrally and can only be obtained disproportionally. However, financial year data is held centrally. The table below shows Department’s wage ratio in financial years 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Between the highest paid member of staff and the lowest

Pay Ratio

(a) 2019/20

10

(b) 2020/21

9.2

(c) 2021/22

10

29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Annual spend on hospitality is not held centrally and can only be obtained disproportionally. However, the table below shows Department’s hospitality spend in financial years 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Category (£)

(a) 2019/20

(b) 2020/21

(c) 2021/22

Hospitality

54,816

4,182

21,303

15th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the costs of electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks to consumers.

Data from the independent Great Britain energy regulator, Ofgem, show that the average estimated network costs per domestic customer per year in March 2021 were: gas distribution - £121; electricity distribution - £93; electricity transmission - £35; gas transmission - £10. This data is published at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-data-and-research/data-portal/all-available-charts?sort=created&page=2 (chart: ‘estimated network costs per domestic customer’).

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
15th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the report entitled Profiting amid the energy crisis: the distribution networks at the heart of the UK's gas and electricity system, published on 14 March 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report's findings on the profitability of electricity and gas distribution industries in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Network regulation is a matter for Ofgem as the energy regulator. While dividends are a matter for the individual companies and are a normal part of returns to equity capital providers, the return on capital network companies can earn is regulated by Ofgem.

Ofgem uses the RIIO price control to establish a regulatory framework which allows network companies to attract the investment they need to ensure a safe, secure and reliable supply of energy while saving consumers money by keeping returns as low as possible. In the most recent price control for gas distribution and electricity transmission RIIO-2, Ofgem has reduced the allowed return on capital to save consumers £2.3 billion over the five-year price control period. Ofgem will propose a similar reduction in allowed returns in the forthcoming electricity distribution price control.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
15th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the report entitled Profiting amid the energy crisis: the distribution networks at the heart of the UK's gas and electricity system, published on 14 March 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report's findings on the level of dividends paid by electricity distribution and gas distribution network operators to shareholders since 2017.

Network regulation is a matter for Ofgem as the energy regulator. While dividends are a matter for the individual companies and are a normal part of returns to equity capital providers, the return on capital network companies can earn is regulated by Ofgem.

Ofgem uses the RIIO price control to establish a regulatory framework which allows network companies to attract the investment they need to ensure a safe, secure and reliable supply of energy while saving consumers money by keeping returns as low as possible. In the most recent price control for gas distribution and electricity transmission RIIO-2, Ofgem has reduced the allowed return on capital to save consumers £2.3 billion over the five-year price control period. Ofgem will propose a similar reduction in allowed returns in the forthcoming electricity distribution price control.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
16th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to ensure consumers are protected from increases in consumer energy bills following supplier failures.

The Government and Ofgem ensure all consumers going through Supplier of Last Resort process will not go off supply and will have their credit balances protected.

Millions of domestic energy consumers on their supplier’s standard variable and default tariffs are protected by the energy price cap. The price cap limits the rates a supplier can charge for these tariffs. The cap level is set by the energy regulator Ofgem and represents a fair price for energy based on the actual costs associated with supplying energy to consumers’ homes.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
16th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the number of customers whose energy supplier has closed since August 2021 in (a) each English region, and (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland.

The Government and Ofgem strive for orderly market exits and that customers are protected, with their supply uninterrupted. The available data the Government can share on the number of customers whose energy supplier has exited the market since the beginning of August 2021 is in the table below. Government does not hold regional customer data.

Company

Date

Customers transferred

Hub Energy

9 August

c. 6,000 domestic, c.9,000 non-domestic

MoneyPlus Energy

7 September

c. 9,000 domestic

PFP Energy

7 September

c. 82,000 domestic, c. 5,600 non-domestic

Utility Point

14 September

c. 220,000 domestic

People’s Energy

14 September

c. 350,000 domestic, c.1,000 non-domestic

Green Supplier Limited

22 September

c. 255,000 domestic, non-domestic

Avro Energy

22 September

c. 580,000 domestic

Symbio Energy

29 September

c. 48,000 domestic, non-domestic

Igloo Energy

29 September

c. 179,000 domestic

ENSTROGA

29 September

c. 6,000 domestic

Colorado Energy

13 October

c. 15,000 domestic

Pure Planet

13 October

c. 235,000 domestic

Daligas

14 October

c. 9,000 domestic & non-domestic

GOTO Energy

18 October

c. 22,000 domestic

Bluegreen Energy Services Limited

1 November

c. 5,900 domestic, non-domestic

Ampoweruk Ltd

2 November

c. 600 domestic, c.2,000 non-domestic

Zebra Power Limited

2 November

c. 14,800 domestic

MA Energy Limited

2 November

c. 300 non-domestic

Omni Energy Limited

2 November

c. 6,000 domestic

CNG Energy Limited

3 November

c. 41,000 non-domestic

Social Energy Supply Ltd

16 November

c. 5,500 domestic

Neon Reef Limited

16 November

c. 30,000 domestic

Orbit Energy Limited

25 November

c. 65,000 domestic

Entice Energy

25 November

c. 5,400 domestic

Zog Energy Limited

1 December

c. 11,700 domestic

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
16th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take under the Energy Retail Market Strategy to (a) ensure that consumers can always choose the lowest price and (b) escalate duties on energy companies to finance investment in low-carbon technologies.

The Government is inviting views on how future policy can best achieve the vision set out earlier this year in the Energy Retail Market Strategy, and how the lessons from recent market developments should inform this to ensure the energy retail market is resilient, sustainable, and continues to protect consumers as we move to a net zero energy system. The Government aims to publish an updated Strategy as soon as possible, once the market has stabilised.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
16th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of OFGEM's final proposals for the Review of the Consolidated Segmental Statement.

As set out in their Statutory Consultation published in June 2021[1], OFGEM’s proposal for the Review of the Consolidated Segmental Statement (CSS) will ensure that the CSS better meets its aims, including providing transparency and market intelligence, ensuring consumers are treated fairly and supporting policy development. Further details can be found in the Final Impact Assessment published alongside the consultation.

[1] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/final-proposals-and-statutory-consultation-reviewing-consolidated-segmental-statement

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
16th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households at risk of fuel poverty following the increase in the energy price cap in (a) October 2021 and (b) April 2022 in (i) Hemsworth constituency, (ii) Wakefield local authority area and (c) Yorkshire and Humberside.

BEIS publish Fuel poverty statistics by Region (Table 1), Local Authority (Table 2) and parliamentary constituency (Table 4) in England, the latest data covers 2019. These are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-statistics#2019-statistics.

The Government’s projection for the number of households in England that were in fuel poverty for the year 2021 is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-statistics-projections-2021.

The energy price cap from 1 April 2022 will be announced by Ofgem later this year.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
16th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to mitigate any potential increase in fuel poverty when a new energy price cap is announced in April 2022.

It is Ofgem’s role, as the independent regulator, to set the price cap.

The Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty, reducing energy bills and delivering warmer, safer homes for the most vulnerable. The Government considers improving the energy efficiency of homes to be the best long-term method of tackling of fuel poverty. Energy efficiency schemes include the Energy Company Obligation and the Sustainable Warmth Competition.

Ofgem rules require energy suppliers to offer customers at risk of debt, or in debt, the facility to repay their debt in instalments and require suppliers to take into account a customer’s ability to pay, where they are facing financial difficulties.

In order to further help consumers, the Government has already introduced the extra £500m Household Support Fund for those more in need this winter, on top of other schemes like the Warm Home Discount, which is being increased to £150 and extended to an extra 780,000 households, to support the most vulnerable.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
6th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the introduction of covid 19 travel restrictions in November and December 2021, what plans the Government has to provide additional support to the to the travel industry.

The aviation sector is crucial to the UK’s economy and businesses across the industry that are experiencing difficulties have been able to draw from the unprecedented package of support, including around £8bn for the air transport sector since the start of the pandemic.

The travel and tourism industries are also crucial to the UK economy, and that is why we have provided support of over £35 billion to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks. On top of the Government’s wider economic support package, we have extended business rates relief and introduced Restart grants of up to £18,000 for many in the sector.

16th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department holds any information on companies where the Directors have made major decisions while not having quoracy.

Companies House does not hold any information on companies where the directors have made major decisions while not having quoracy.

14th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Sixth Report of Session 2019-21 of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme, published on 29 April 2021.

I am grateful for the Committee’s report, and I am considering their recommendations. I am due to the meet the Scheme Trustees on 21 June, and I am keen to hear their views before responding to the Select Committee.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
10th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people were in fuel poverty, in each year from 2010 to 2021.

Fuel poverty is measured at the household level. Using the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) indicator, a household is considered to be fuel poor if it is living in a property with a fuel poverty energy efficiency rating of band D, E, F or G and its after housing costs income minus its energy costs would be less than 60 per cent of the median after housing costs income.” The number of households in fuel poverty in England between 2010 and 2019, the latest year for which statistics are available is shown in the table below:

Table 1 - Total number of households living in fuel poverty, 2010-2019

Year

Number of households (000's)

Proportion of fuel poor households (%)

Fuel poor

2010

4,780

22.1

2011

4,726

21.6

2012

4,351

19.8

2013

4,186

18.5

2014

3,905

17.3

2015

3,778

16.7

2016

3,731

16.2

2017

3,739

16.1

2018

3,517

15.0

2019

3,176

13.4

Note: This is based on the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency metric, 2010-2019

Further details on trends in fuel poverty in England can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-trends-2021.

Following the publication of the 2019 fuel poverty statistics on 4th March, projections for 2020 and 2021 are due to be published on the 29th of April this year.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many post offices there were in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020.

The number of post offices that were in the Yorkshire and the Humber region was 1005 in March 2010 and 948 in March 2020.

8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people in (a) Hemsworth Parliamentary constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber region were living in fuel poverty in each year since 2010 and up to and including 2020.

The table below shows the estimated number of households living in fuel poverty for the requested areas:

Year

Hemsworth Parliamentary constituency

Yorkshire and the Humber region

2010

n/a

269,000

2011

4,100

271,000

2012

3,800

266,000

2013

3,600

244,000

2014

4,300

271,000

2015

4,300

282,000

2016

4,700

275,000

2017

4,200

244,000

2018

3,800

236,000

The latest available estimates are for 2018. Estimates for fuel poverty in 2010 have not been made at sub-regional level under the current Low Income High Costs metric.

Also note, estimates of fuel poverty at the sub-regional level are based on a small number households and are therefore subject to higher levels of uncertainty in particular when comparing changes over time.

The regional data in the table above was taken from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-trends-2020 table 4.

The parliamentary constituency data in the table above was taken from https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-statistics.

For example, the data for 2018 was found in table 5 of the following:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2020.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average dual energy bill was for a household in (a) Hemsworth Parliamentary constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber region in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Data on household electricity and gas energy bills are published as part of the Quarterly Energy Prices statistical series (here). The department collects this information at the regional level and does not hold it at the constituency level. Data on the average annual domestic electricity bills for UK regions are presented in table QEP 2.2.3 and average annual domestic gas bills for GB regions are presented in table QEP 2.3.3 (here).

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent jobs at Rolls Royce in Barnoldswick being offshored.

Rolls-Royce has made clear that the restructuring and global site review reflects the change in medium-term market conditions which have been impacted by the global COVID19 pandemic. Rolls-Royce has announced proposals to consolidate work into the UK including consolidating all widebody engine Assembly & Test capability in Derby, as well as closing a site in the US and consolidating the advanced manufacturing capabilities into Derby and Washington, Tyne & Wear.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to provide additional support to the hospitality sector affected by covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.

Hospitality businesses have been able to benefit from Government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Government-backed loans, Local Restrictions Support Grants, additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses and the Cultural Relief Fund.

On 5 January, when the new National Lockdown began, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a one-off top up grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring.  A £594 million discretionary fund has also been made available to support other impacted businesses.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to reduce fuel poverty in winter 2020-21.

Improving the energy efficiency of homes is the best long-term solution to tackle fuel poverty. The Energy Company Obligation is a GB wide energy efficiency scheme worth £640m per year until March 2022 and is focused on low-income and vulnerable households. The Green Homes Grant, launched in September 2020, is a £2 billion programme which will help improve the energy efficiency of homes in England. Of this, around half is specifically for low income, vulnerable and fuel poor households.

We recognise that some households may need immediate support this winter and so we provide assistance with energy bills for low income and vulnerable consumers through the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments.

We have also successfully negotiated an agreement with energy suppliers to support customers impacted by COVID-19. Based on the circumstances, this could include reassessing, reducing, or pausing debt repayments for households in financial distress and support for prepayment meter customers to stay on supply.

The energy price cap currently protects around 11 million households in Great Britain on standard variable and default tariffs. From January 2021 a further 4 million households with prepayment meters will also come under the protection of the cap after the prepayment meter price cap expires. The cap ensures that loyal energy customers are protected from poor value tariffs, saving consumers a total of around £1 billion on their bills annually.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
15th Dec 2020
What recent progress his Department has made on the Government's levelling-up agenda.

We have a clear commitment to level up all areas of the country. The recent announcement of our 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution to support green jobs, and a forthcoming Industrial Strategy refresh, are a critical part of this.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward proposals to tackle fuel poverty.

Improving energy efficiency is the best long-term solution to tackle fuel poverty and at the Summer Economic Update we announced more than £2 billion of funding for upgrading the energy efficiency of homes. The Green Homes Grant is a £2 billion programme which will help improve the energy efficiency of homes in England. Low-income homeowners in receipt of certain benefits may be eligible for a grant covering up to 100% of the cost of installation. The 2020 Spending Review committed a further £320 million in funding for the Green Homes Grant for 2021-22 and £150 million to help some of the poorest homes become more energy efficient and cheaper to heat with low-carbon energy.

The Energy Company Obligation scheme requires energy companies to deliver energy efficiency and heating measures to low income, vulnerable and fuel poor households. The current scheme is worth £640m per year and ends in March 2022. The Prime Minister announced an extension to this scheme until 2026 in his Ten Point Plan. We also recently closed our consultation on the extension of the Warm Home Discount until March 2022. This will continue to provide a £140 energy bill rebate to over 2 million low income and vulnerable households, and vital projects helping fuel poor households throughout the country through Industry Initiatives.

We are currently consulting on improving the standard of privately rented homes in England and Wales through a minimum energy efficiency performance standard of Band C, helping to tackle fuel poverty in that tenure.

An updated fuel poverty strategy for England will also be released in the coming months, outlining our commitments to delivering against our statutory target to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C, by 2030.

7th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on local economies in West Yorkshire of young people moving to urban centres for work.

We are investing over £695m in towns and cities across Leeds city region to provide the infrastructure and business support needed to grow the economy and jobs. In addition, investment of £30m per year will be made until 2035 for transport schemes to improve the connection between local areas and urban centres. The spatial concentration of jobs in the area has shifted over the last decade, and local priorities for investment are based on improving the local economy including increasing opportunities for work for young people.

7th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many business have submitted HR1 forms to the Insolvency Service's Redundancy Payments Service since April 2020.

Employers are required to file an HR1 Form with the Redundancy Payments Service where they are proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees at a single establishment. Between 1st April 2020 and 30th September 2020 HR1 forms were received from 4,112 businesses.

16th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate the Insolvency Service has made of the number of employees notified in HR1 forms as being at risk of redundancy in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber since March 2020.

The Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service collects HR1 data and shares it with Government Departments and Agencies which provide support for redundant employees and the unemployed. HR1s are submitted by employers where there is a proposal to make 20 or more redundancies at an establishment. HR1s may include proposed dismissals due to changes to terms and conditions or a proposed relocation of employees which may not necessarily result in any redundancies.

The HR1s received detail a maximum number of potentially affected employees and the Insolvency Service makes no estimations from the HR1 returns of the number of employees that may be at risk in any particular location.

21st Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when staff of his Department will be required to return to their workplace as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

Since 23 March 2020, the Department has applied the Government’s Safer Working Guidance (for England, Scotland and Wales) to ensure the safety of our staff.

In line with the Government’s latest guidance from 1 August 2020, we are gradually increasing the number of staff working in the office whilst also continuing to enable working from home. This follows a programme of ongoing activity across all our sites to complete COVID-19 Risk Assessments, prepare our buildings, and consult with staff.

21st Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when a covid-19 risk assessment was undertaken for his Department's office in Victoria Street; who carried out those risk assessments; what proportion of staff will be able to return to work in that office; what reduction in workplace capacity that risk assessment identified; how decisions on which staff will be required to return to his Department's offices are made; and if he will place a copy of the risk assessment in the Library.

The COVID-19 Risk Assessment for 1 Victoria Street was undertaken on 12 May 2020. The risk assessment was subsequently reviewed and updated on 2, 3, 4 and 11 June 2020. Prior to this, individual risk assessments were carried out for departmental staff needing to work in the building since the advent of COVID-19.

The risk assessment was undertaken by the Department’s Health, Safety & Wellbeing team in consultation with the Departmental Trade Union Side, with engagement from the Government Property Agency and ISS (our facilities contractor).

Based on current social distancing measures and maintaining a COVID-19 Secure building, 84% reduction in workplace capacity was identified resulting in 13% of the Department’s staff being able to work in the 1 Victoria Street office at any one time, when compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.

In line with the “Working Safely during Coronavirus guidance on office working”, the majority of staff are working from home. When deciding on whether staff can return to the workplace, the Department considers whether staff perform a critical role which cannot be performed remotely, or if there are personal circumstances which mean an individual is unable to work from home. This may include a lack of a safe, suitable working environment or a wellbeing concern.

The risk assessment results for 1 Victoria Street follow the Results summary of COVID-19 Risk Assessment for Civil Service Departments, which was published on GOV.UK by the Cabinet Office on 3 August 2020. A copy of the Results summary of COVID-19 Risk Assessment for Civil Service Departments has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

20th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to ensure the consistent application of Business Support Grants for organisations in receipt of Small Business Rates relief across local government; and if he will make a statement.

The Government has put forward a package support for businesses to help with their ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This includes the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF). Businesses in scope of this scheme are those with a property that, on 11 March 2020, were in receipt of either Small Business Rates Relief (including those with a Rateable Value between £12,000 and £15,000 which received tapered relief) or Rural Rates Relief.

Local authorities are responsible for delivering grants to eligible businesses and we have provided detailed Grant Funding Schemes guidance for local authorities on the eligibility for, and provision of, this fund: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding. We are also working closely with local authorities to ensure the appropriate assurance checks are made before grants are paid out and to promote and share best practice, including providing supplementary guidance and FAQs.

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what day he held discussions with representative from AirBus on safeguarding jobs in that company; and what support the Government has provided to that company during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government regular meets with Airbus to discuss a wide range of business issues. Details of meetings held by Ministers in the Department are recorded in our transparency data, which is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Airbus is benefiting from the Government’s £300 billion Covid-19 business support package, which includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Aerospace companies, such as Airbus, are also benefiting from over £6.25 billion of through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, as well as our grants for research and development, and through UK Export Finance over the next 18 months.

17th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

Between January and December 2020, £4,513.25 was spent on taxi cabs for Ministers using the DCMS Expenses System and Government Procurement Cards. £6,601.40 was spent on taxi cabs by civil servants.

Between January and December 2021, £1,429.91 was spent on taxi cabs for Ministers using the DCMS Expenses System and Government Procurement Cards. £4,455.59 was spent on taxi cabs by civil servants.

From January 2022 to present, £1,659.10 has been spent on taxi cabs for Ministers using the DCMS Expenses System and Government Procurement Cards. £23,014.25 has been spent on taxi cabs by civil servants.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spent the following on first class train travel during the requested periods.

April 2020 and March 2021

Ministerial spend - £192.40

Civil Servant spend - £66.70

April 2021 - March 2022

Ministerial spend - £1,054.90

Civil Servant spend - £1,181.40

April 2022 - present

Ministerial spend - £593.90

Civil Servant spend - £492.50

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department has spent the following on both agency workers and agency retainer fees through contracts in the past 3 calendar years. Values are exclusive of VAT.

2020

2021

2022*

Agency Worker

£8,403,206.79

£8,428,918.79

£4,269,004.52

Agency Retainer Fee

£0

£0

£0

*These figures are taken from 1 January 2022 - 24 August 2022 (to date).

The Department engages contingent labour through Crown Commercial Services Framework’s RM3749, ‘Public Sector Resourcing’ and RM6160, ‘Non Clinical and Temporary Fixed Term Staff’.

13th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

For Ministers, DCMS spent £1,064.99 in 2020, £12,117.80 in 2021 and £6,450.40 in 2022 (flights booked up to 24 July 2022).

For Officials, DCMS spent £57,597.22 in 2020, £34,302.00 in 2021 and £94,579.80 in 2022 (flights booked up to 24 July 2022).

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Financial Year

Advertising spend*

2019/2020

£6,487

2020/2021

£198,540.92

2021/2022

£274,906.72

2022/2023 (till date)

£0

*Advertising spend only includes money spent on media buying. Spend on marketing activities have been excluded

6th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much their Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The total amount that DCMS spent on litigation services provided by the Government Legal Department and any external law firms and Counsel representing the department was:

(a) £198,557.00 (inc VAT) in 2020

(b) £226,283.10 (inc VAT) in 2021

(c) £197,729.56 (inc VAT) in 2022 (as at 30 June 2022)

These figures do not include the cost of Government Legal Department advice in relation to employment matters or the cost of advice by external firms or Counsel in relation to matters which did not result in litigation.

DCMS has one associated agency, Building Digital UK (BDUK). BDUK has not been involved in any litigation since it was established as an executive agency on 1 April 2022 - before that time any costs would have been included in the figures set out above. The organisation does seek legal advice on various matters including to support internal appeals on subsidy control, commercial matters, and compliance cases during the regular course of business.

5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

Since 1 January 2020, the Department has not held any contracts with Serco, G4S or Capita. To note, the Department publishes details of all contracts, with a value over £10,000, on Contracts Finder.

4th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

Details of government contracts are published on Contracts Finder above £10,000, for the core Department, and above £25,000, for the wider public sector. As Contracts Finder was implemented from 2016, not all records before this time are held centrally.

The Department’s commercial pipeline is also publicly available on the GOV.UK.

The management of contracts held by the Department is devolved to individual Business Units and undertaken by identified Contract Managers within policy or operational teams, with the responsibility for monitoring contract performance resting with the Senior Responsible Officer. The contract management role is typically undertaken by policy or operational staff as part of their existing roles and therefore costs are not distinguishable. Specialist commercial oversight, training and support is provided by the DCMS Commercial function where necessary and as applicable, depending on the level of risk, complexity and value.

30th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the wage ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in her Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The DCMS Annual Report for 2020-2021 provides information on the highest and lowest remuneration for staff for the years 19/20 and 20/21:

Remuneration ranged from £22,375 to £185,000 (2019-20: £21,117 to £195,000).

2021-2022

2020-2021

2019-2020

Highest remuneration of any DCMS employee

Not yet published

£195,000

£185,000

Lowest remuneration of any DCMS employee

£22,375

£21,117

Ratio

8.72

8.76

This calculation is based on total remuneration, and therefore takes into account salary, allowances, non-consolidated performance related pay and benefits in kind. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer value of pensions.

Information for 2021-22 is not yet available and will be published in the 21-22 DCMS Annual Report and Accounts (publication aimed for October 2022).

The figures provided are subject to audit.

29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department spent the following amounts on hospitality between 2019-2022:

2019-20 - £18,040

2020-21 - £124

2021-22 - £102,073

*2021-22 figures are unaudited.

The expenditure for 2021-22 includes £92,000 in relation to the Future Tech Forum, a two day event in November 2021 where the Secretary of State for DCMS hosted leading figures from around the world, including Ministers.

18th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) people and (b) households that are considered digitally excluded (i) in the UK and (ii) in each region of the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

According to the latest Lloyds Bank 2021 Consumer Index, over 9 million people in the UK are lacking in foundation digital skills and 5% (2.6 million) of the population have not been online in the last 3 months.

There has been a substantial decrease amongst the amount of households that do not have internet access. Between 2020 and 2021, the percentage of households without internet access has decreased from 7% to 4% in the UK.

The Lloyds Bank Consumer Index estimates that 13% of people in Wales, 8% of people in the North East and 8% of people in the South West have not been online in the past 3 months. These are the areas with the highest proportion of people offline. The East Midlands is estimated to have 6% of people offline, the North West, South East, and Yorkshire and the Humber have an estimated 4% offline. Both the West Midlands and London have 3% of their population offline.

18th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the average internet (a) download and upload speed and (b) monthly cost for households in each region of the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Superfast broadband coverage is now available to over 97% of the UK, and Think Broadband reports that gigabit-capable networks now serve more than two in five (40%) premises in the UK.

Earlier this month, Ofcom published its UK Home Broadband Performance research which showed that the average download speed in the UK was 80.2 Mbps. This is an increase of 25% from 2019. The same report highlighted upload speeds of 21.6 Mbps which is equal to a 54% increase over the same period. Upload and download speeds will vary based on the type of connectivity installed within a property and the consumer’s individual retail package.

Ofcom published as part of its Connected Nations report in June 2020 the average speeds for each Nation. This showed the average download speeds as:

  • England: 74 Mbps

  • Wales: 58 Mbps

  • Scotland: 70Mbps

  • Northern Ireland: 64 Mbps

Regional data is produced on a quarterly basis by the website ThinkBroadband, and can be accessed at the following address: https://labs2.thinkbroadband.com/local/browse. Average speeds have been increasing each quarter as more premises have access to gigabit-capable broadband networks.

Different packages offered by suppliers may offer greater speeds, data allowances or other benefits, so it is difficult to assess the average cost. For example a number of broadband packages may include Pay TV subscriptions and other additional add-ons. However, to ensure decent broadband is affordable to everyone, a number of operators have brought in new nationwide affordable tariffs starting at £15 per month. For example, BT and Hyperoptic provide fibre social tariff products for households in receipt of Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits offering download speeds ranging from 40Mbps, up to 150Mbps.

10th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if spectators will be permitted to attend non-elite sport from 17 May 2021.

As set out in the roadmap announced by the Prime Minister on Monday 22 February, spectators at some large events will return subject to capacity caps from step 3 (expected to take place no earlier than 17 May). Government is working to produce both overarching guidance for all outdoor events and guidance for different spectator environments such as non-elite sports which will be available as we progress along the roadmap.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
10th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish all meeting minutes from all meetings between his Department and the National League, in relation to funding support for National League football clubs.

I am content to share copies of all my written correspondence with the National League with the Hon Member’s office which detail my discussions with them on this issue.

On 19 November 2020 I gave a statement to the House on the principles of the Sports Winter Survival Package, which was open to National League clubs.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much each sport has received from the £50 million fund as part of Sport England's 10 year plan announced on 26 January 2021.

Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.

The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support. On 22 October 2020, the Government also announced a £100million support fund for local authority leisure centres.

Sport England has also provided £220million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, via a range of funds including their £35million Community Emergency Fund. This sector support was recently boosted by an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations as part of Sport England’s new strategy Uniting the Movement. This funding is yet to be allocated and Sport England will provide further information in due course.

We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which (a) sports and (b) institutions have received funding from Sport England's £50 million covid-19 grassroots sport support funding issued as part of Sport England's 10 year plan announced on 26 January 2021.

Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.

The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support. On 22 October 2020, the Government also announced a £100million support fund for local authority leisure centres.

Sport England has also provided £220million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, via a range of funds including their £35million Community Emergency Fund. This sector support was recently boosted by an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations as part of Sport England’s new strategy Uniting the Movement. This funding is yet to be allocated and Sport England will provide further information in due course.

We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which (a) sports and (b) institutions have received funding from Sport England's £220 million Covid-19 grassroots sport support fund; and how much each (i) sport and (ii) institution has received.

Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.

The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support. The Treasury estimates that around £1.5 billion of public money has gone into sports.

As part of this, Sport England has committed £220m of National Lottery and Exchequer funding since March 2020 to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic. Up to 27 January 2021, £162m of this funding has been distributed to a range of sports activities. This sector support was recently boosted by an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations as part of Sport England’s new strategy Uniting the Movement. Further details of Sport England funding including the organisations that have benefited can be found at: https://www.sportengland.org/why-were-here.

The £300m Sports Winter Survival Package also aims to protect the immediate futures of major spectator sports in England over the winter period. On 22 October 2020, the Government also announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres.

We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them. We will also continue to promote exercise throughout the pandemic and encourage the usage of sports facilities when they are able to open again.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many youth centres there were in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020.

Youth services are provided by local authorities and the data concerning the number of youth centres there were in the Yorkshire and Humber region in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020 is not held by my department.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding he has provided to investigate the link between football and the risk of dementia.

My department has not provided funding to football for the specific purpose of investigating the link between football and dementia. Sports have a responsibility to understand the potential risks to the health and wellbeing of their participants, and put in place measures to ensure their safety.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many libraries there were in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020.

The Libraries Taskforce published the public libraries in England extended dataset on 11 January 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-libraries-in-england-basic-dataset#history This provides details of static libraries (statutory and non-statutory) in England as at 1 April 2010 and 1 July 2016. Data on mobile libraries was inconsistent and incomplete, and therefore was not included in this dataset.

Details of the number of libraries as at 31 December 2019 has been collected by Arts Council England and will be published shortly.

The following table lists the number of static libraries in each local authority within the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Local Authority

1 April 2010

1 July 2016

Barnsley

17

15

Bradford

35

33

Calderdale

22

22

Doncaster

26

25

East Riding of Yorkshire

23

23

Kingston upon Hull

14

14

Kirklees

26

24

Leeds

50

35

North East Lincolnshire

10

8

North Lincolnshire

15

15

North Yorkshire

42

42

Rotherham

15

15

Sheffield

29

28

Wakefield

27

19

York

15

15

Total

366

333


3rd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the average broadband speed is in the Hemsworth constituency.

Officials have checked the Ofcom Connected Nations performance data at constituency level, and it reports that as at May 2019, the average download speed in Hemsworth is 37.7 Mbit/s. This is the most recent performance data available - unlike coverage data it's only published once a year.

2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the role of (a) Government and (b) professional football governing bodies in examining the potential link between football and risk of dementia.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm, including serious injuries. With that in mind, we expect sports to do all they can to protect their players.

It is clear that further examination of the links between health, dementia and football is needed to better understand this issue. I welcome the Professional Footballers' Association’s recent move to set up a dedicated task force to further investigate the issue of brain injury diseases in football.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the average broadband speed is in England.

Ofcom’s latest UK Home Broadband report found that the average download speed in the UK was 72 megabits per second. The report did not break this down by nation.

In terms of access, ThinkBroadband estimates that a third of premises in England are now connected to gigabit-capable networks, while superfast broadband is available to 97% of English premises.


25th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people have cancelled their TV licence since 2010.

The BBC is responsible for administration of TV licences and, therefore, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold this information.

The TV Licensing website has some information on the number of cancelled licences for 2018/19 and 2019/20: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-licences-facts-and-figures-AB18

More information may be held by the BBC.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
15th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of financial support available to freelance musicians during the covid-19 outbreak.

We recognise the crucial role that freelance individuals play in making our arts and creative industries world-leading.

We recognise the crucial role that individuals play in making our arts and creative industries world-leading. As a result of these grants and loans, organisations will be more able to resume cultural activity, albeit in a socially distanced way, which will increase employment opportunities for freelancers. Each organisation that receives money will know what best they can do to support their workforce, including their freelance workforce.

And the culture recovery fund will benefit freelancers, because it will invest in organisations and help them to reopen, and restart performances. It will help many put on cultural activity within this Financial Year which wouldn’t have been possible without this funding.

The government has taken active steps to support the self-employed. Over three quarters of eligible people in the cultural sectors have benefitted from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

The Arts Council England has made £119 million available to individuals, with £23.1 million already distributed and £95.9 million currently available to apply for via open funds. This includes:

  • £17.1 million distributed through the Emergency Response Fund for individuals;

  • £6 million distributed by a series of Benevolent Funds focused on the self employed.

  • £18 million available through their Developing Your Creative Practice fund;

  • £77.9 million available through National Lottery Project Grants (available to both individuals and organisations).

And the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund will benefit freelancers, because it will invest in organisations and help them to reopen, and restart performances. It will help many put on cultural activity within this Financial Year which wouldn’t have been possible without this funding.

The 1,385 successful arts recipients that were announced on Monday 12 October set out in their applications that this support would enable them to deliver over £150million of cultural activity before the end of March 2021. As organisations prepare for this activity, they will likely increase their employment of cultural freelancers.

We continue to engage with the sector to discuss the on-going challenges facing the industry.

14th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will develop an action plan to support the response to the (a) community, (b) amateur and (c) professional sports funding crisis as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has also provided £210 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic.

We have also supported elite sports to return to "behind closed doors" competition, which enabled vital broadcast revenue, retained competitive integrity and brought joy to millions of sports fans. The Government recognises the implications for elite and professional sports clubs of not being able to admit spectators to stadia from 1 October, and are working urgently on what we can do now to support them.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is working with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what can be done to provide further support to the sector.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
14th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the role of (a) Government and (b) professional sporting governing bodies in providing financial support to financially stricken sports clubs during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses throughout the pandemic, including a comprehensive and sizable package of direct fiscal support for business through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support. Many sports clubs have benefited from these measures.

Where it can, we will expect the top tiers of professional sport to look at ways in which it can support itself, with government focusing on those most in need. I also welcomed the Premier League announcement to advance funds of £125 million to the EFL and National League to help clubs throughout the football pyramid and encourage the ongoing discussions

The Government recognises the impact that Covid-19 is having on the sporting sector, and has supported elite sports to return to "behind closed doors" competition, which enabled vital broadcast revenue, retained competitive integrity and brought joy to millions of sports fans.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is working with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what can be done to provide further support. The Department will also continue to work with colleagues across Whitehall to support the sector.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
13th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria need to be met for the resumption of pilot events with 1,000 spectators in sports stadiums.

The Government fully understands the decision not to reopen stadia on October 1 is frustrating for sports fans. But in the face of rising infections and further restrictions it would not have been possible. The decision was taken on advice from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Chief Scientific Officer (CSA) and takes into account travelling to and from games held in stadia, where there may be further social interaction and the risk of virus spread. The safety and security of players and spectators remains of paramount importance.

I am grateful to those clubs who have piloted the return of spectators so far. Work continues at pace to find solutions that will allow crowds safely back into stadia as soon as possible. The Government will continue to work closely with the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) and a whole range of sports to understand the latest thinking that might allow spectators to return. This includes the creation of a new Sports Technology Innovation Working Group of sporting bodies and health experts to analyse new technologies which might support this. Spectators will return to stadia when it is safe to do so.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
13th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria need to be met for the phased return of spectators to sporting stadiums to be resumed.

The Government fully understands the decision not to reopen stadia on October 1 is frustrating for sports fans. But in the face of rising infections and further restrictions it would not have been possible. The decision was taken on advice from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Chief Scientific Officer (CSA) and takes into account travelling to and from games held in stadia, where there may be further social interaction and the risk of virus spread. The safety and security of players and spectators remains of paramount importance.

I am grateful to those clubs who have piloted the return of spectators so far. Work continues at pace to find solutions that will allow crowds safely back into stadia as soon as possible. The Government will continue to work closely with the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) and a whole range of sports to understand the latest thinking that might allow spectators to return. This includes the creation of a new Sports Technology Innovation Working Group of sporting bodies and health experts to analyse new technologies which might support this. Spectators will return to stadia when it is safe to do so.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
13th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will allocate adequate financial support to ensure that no professional sports club goes out of business during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises the impact that Covid-19 is having on the sporting sector, and has supported elite sports to return to "behind closed doors" competition, which enabled vital broadcast revenue, retained competitive integrity and brought joy to millions of sports fans. The government also ensured Project Restart was shared with everyone by getting Premier League football on the BBC for the first time ever.

We have been clear that we expect those in sport with the broadest shoulders - where they can at the top tiers - to support itself. The Government is focusing its support on those in the sector most in need as a result of the decision not to readmit spectators to stadia from 1 October.

The safety and security of players and spectators remains of paramount importance.

The government recognises that fans will be disappointed that sports pilot events were paused and that spectators were not able to be admitted to stadia from 1 October. The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is working with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what can be done to provide further support. The Department will also continue to work with colleagues across Whitehall to support the sector.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
13th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason a maximum of 300 spectators are allowed to attend football matches at Step 7 of the pyramid but not in steps 5 and 6 during the covid-19 outbreak.

The safety and security of players and spectators is of paramount importance.

On Tuesday 22 September it was announced that all sports pilot events currently ongoing would be paused with immediate effect, due to the sharp upward trajectory of Covid-19 cases. As set out in our Roadmap, sports events pilots, and the full return of fans to stadia would only ever take place when it was safe to do so.

Under government guidance non-elite sport clubs are able to admit spectators, whilst adhering to COVID-19 guidance. It is up to the respective governing bodies to determine what constitutes the boundary between elite and non-elite within their sports, and consider any appropriate additional regulation including total spectator numbers should that be appropriate within their sport.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
15th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from the BBC on that organisation reversing its forthcoming changes to the free over-75s television licence allowance.

The government meets with the BBC on regular occasions to discuss a wide range of issues, including the over 75 concession. The Government has consistently made clear its disappointment with the BBC's decision to restrict the over 75 licence fee concession to only those in receipt of pension credit. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe they should be funded by the BBC.

The BBC remains responsible for the administration of the concession and it will be responsible for setting out what those affected will need to do. It must look urgently at how it can use its substantial licence fee income to support older people and deliver for UK audiences of all ages.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
17th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

The amounts spent by the Department on taxi travel for the requested financial years are:

  • 2019/20: £545,972
  • 2020/21: £195,022
  • 2021/22: £200,403.

These are the full amounts for both ministers and civil servants. The Department only has total figures readily available and so does not have the split for ministers and civil servants.

12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department is not able to separate data for ministers and civil servants. Therefore, this data covers all Department and Departmental Arm’s Length Bodies colleagues.

The Department spent the following on first class rail travel:

  • 2020 – £34,070.90
  • 2021 – £13,344.25
  • 2022 – £29,562.90.

First class travel can be booked in exceptional circumstances if one or more of the following applies:

  • where disability or reasons mean that suitable facilities in standard class would not otherwise be secured
  • where there are good grounds for security concerns. For example, significant risk of unwarranted attention from the press or the public
  • when travelling with a Minister who is travelling first class, to carry out Government business in relative privacy
  • where the overall cost of the first class ticket is less than the overall cheapest ticket for standard class. If applicable, evidence of the relevant price comparisons, such as a screen shot from the booking page, must be kept for audit purposes.

21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The department does not separate the costs of agency workers, contingent labour, or any associated agency retainer fees in our accounts. A breakdown could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The cost of contingent labour (including agency workers) is published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA), and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports. Figures for the 2021/22 financial year are included, although the audit is still ongoing and this value may be subject to change.

The figures below cover the entirety of the Departmental Group, including Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies, for the years specified:

Financial Year

Contingent Labour & Agency Fees (£ million)

2019/20

£30.8 million

2020/21

£32.5 million

2021/22 (subject to audit)

£39.2 million

13th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The amounts spent by the department on air travel in total for the requested financial years are shown below. The department does not have the split for ministers and officials readily available. These are the full amounts for both ministers and officials:

  • 2019/20: £296,227
  • 2020/21: £40,166
  • 2021/22: £38,294

The department always strives to keep costs as low as possible and to get the best out of available funds.

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department for Education uses advertising and publicity to help deliver manifesto commitments and policy objectives. It has spent the following amounts on advertising over the last three financial years.

  • 2019/20: £33.3 million
  • 2020/21: £20.5 million
  • 2021/22: £25.7 million

This includes spending on a range of different types of marketing activity, including advertising.

6th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The department does not hold the total spend information relating to legal disputes, as the financial system does not have a specific structure to extract the data and legal spend is not recorded centrally.

For contract spend, following a search of the department’s special payment register, the department has not made any payments in respect to the settlement of procurement disputes, either in or out of court, during the following three financial years:

  • 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020: £0.00.
  • 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021: £0.00.
  • 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022: £0.00.
5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

Following a search of the department’s records, the total value of contracts held by (a) G4S (b) Serco and (c) Capita is as below:

Supplier

Value of contracts 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020

Value of contracts 01/01/2021 to 31/12/2021

Value of contracts 01/01/2022 to 30/06/2022

G4S

£0

£0

£0

Serco

£4,000,000

£856,375

£856,375

Capita

£28,056,759

£35,816,679

£32,690,536

To note, the total value of the contract listed above is pro-rata over the length of the contract, using annualised contract values.

Details of government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder available here: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

4th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

Details of government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on the GOV.UK Contracts Finder site which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder. As Contracts Finder was implemented in 2016, not all records before this time are held centrally.

For the July 2022 to June 2023 period, the total anticipated number of contracts for the department only (not including agencies and non-departmental public bodies) worth between £1 and £3 million is currently three. For the same period, the total number of contracts over £3 million is 136. This is the anticipated project pipeline and the department makes no commitment that the annual value of any contract will be as stated, or the timing of any future procurement exercises will be as stated. The sourcing route for any subsequent procurement has not been determined. For example, it could be via frameworks managed by Crown Commercial Services or open competitions. The department cannot therefore guarantee that these opportunities will be available to all suppliers.

We do not hold spend data on contract monitoring or how many officials work on monitoring in each year from 2010.

30th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the wage ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in his Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The department’s wage ratio, based on gross basic salary only, on 1 April each year (the date when any pay award is implemented) is as follows:

  • 2020 – 8.0 : 1
  • 2021 – 7.6 : 1
  • 2022 – 7.4 : 1
29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The exact information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

1st Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the (a) number of children in care provided by (i) private companies and (ii) local authorities and (b) average cost differential between those two provisions.

The department does not hold specific data on the number of children in care placed with private providers or local authorities. Ofsted publishes data on the number of places available in children’s homes or foster care that are provided by local authorities or private companies, but not the proportion of places taken up by children.

As of 31 March 2021, private companies ran 83% of children’s homes (2,032) in England, providing 78% (7,555) of places. Local authorities ran 14% (339) of children’s homes, providing 16% (1,643) of places. Twenty-three of these local authority homes were run by organisations that provide the children’s services function of the council, including trusts. Voluntary providers ran 91 homes (4%), providing 501 places (5%).

There were 13 secure children’s homes in England as of 31 March 2021, offering 234 places in total. 12 of these homes are run by local authorities and one by a voluntary organisation.

Local authorities provided 64% (29,500) of foster placements in England as of 31 March 2021, with the remaining 36% (15,800) provided through independent fostering agencies.

The recent children’s social care market study completed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) considered evidence of cost differentials between private providers and local authority run children’s homes (excluding secure children’s homes) and foster care. Their analysis found that for children’s homes, the cost to local authorities to provide their own placements was no lower than procuring these through private providers. However, the analysis also found indicative evidence that for fostering placements, local authorities could provide some placements more cheaply in-house as opposed to purchasing them through private providers.

The department has welcomed the report and is carefully considering the CMA’s recommendations.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department has provided on education beyond 16 to young people with dyspraxia in each of the last ten years.

The Children and Families Act 2014 placed duties on early years providers, schools, further education colleges (FE), and some post-16 providers to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to succeed in their education. Our SEND Code of Practice sets out clear guidance that they should apply a 'graduated approach’, which means identifying a child or young persons’ needs, implementing appropriate support, reviewing it regularly and taking their views into account. The Code of Practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.

The department is committed to supporting the development of teachers' and educational professionals' skills, as well as evidence based and effective practice within nurseries schools and colleges. The department has funded the whole school SEND consortium, through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, to deliver a programme which supports school staff in identifying and meeting the needs of pupils with SEND, including dyspraxia. In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a further £2 million to this work, bringing the total funding for this contract to over £8 million since 2018.

In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a grant of almost £1.2 million to the Education and Training Foundation. This grant will support the FE workforce in identifying and meeting the needs of learners with SEND, including those with dyspraxia. The department also announced recently that it will offer training bursaries, worth £15,000 each (tax free), for a further academic year (2022/23), to those specialising in SEND teaching in the FE sector.

The department does not differentiate between different types of SEND in the way funding is allocated to schools, colleges and local authorities for the responsibilities they have for supporting children and young people with SEND. Over the last 10 years there have been substantial increases in core schools funding, which includes funding for mainstream schools and high needs funding for children and young people with more complex needs. In financial year 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22: an increase of 5% in real terms per pupil.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has provided to schools for support for students with dyspraxia in each year of the last ten years.

The Children and Families Act 2014 placed duties on early years providers, schools, further education colleges (FE), and some post-16 providers to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to succeed in their education. Our SEND Code of Practice sets out clear guidance that they should apply a 'graduated approach’, which means identifying a child or young persons’ needs, implementing appropriate support, reviewing it regularly and taking their views into account. The Code of Practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.

The department is committed to supporting the development of teachers' and educational professionals' skills, as well as evidence based and effective practice within nurseries schools and colleges. The department has funded the whole school SEND consortium, through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, to deliver a programme which supports school staff in identifying and meeting the needs of pupils with SEND, including dyspraxia. In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a further £2 million to this work, bringing the total funding for this contract to over £8 million since 2018.

In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a grant of almost £1.2 million to the Education and Training Foundation. This grant will support the FE workforce in identifying and meeting the needs of learners with SEND, including those with dyspraxia. The department also announced recently that it will offer training bursaries, worth £15,000 each (tax free), for a further academic year (2022/23), to those specialising in SEND teaching in the FE sector.

The department does not differentiate between different types of SEND in the way funding is allocated to schools, colleges and local authorities for the responsibilities they have for supporting children and young people with SEND. Over the last 10 years there have been substantial increases in core schools funding, which includes funding for mainstream schools and high needs funding for children and young people with more complex needs. In financial year 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22: an increase of 5% in real terms per pupil.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance and (b) support his Department offers to schools and teachers in (i) identifying and (ii) supporting pupils with dyspraxia.

The Children and Families Act 2014 placed duties on early years providers, schools, further education colleges (FE), and some post-16 providers to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to succeed in their education. Our SEND Code of Practice sets out clear guidance that they should apply a 'graduated approach’, which means identifying a child or young persons’ needs, implementing appropriate support, reviewing it regularly and taking their views into account. The Code of Practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.

The department is committed to supporting the development of teachers' and educational professionals' skills, as well as evidence based and effective practice within nurseries schools and colleges. The department has funded the whole school SEND consortium, through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, to deliver a programme which supports school staff in identifying and meeting the needs of pupils with SEND, including dyspraxia. In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a further £2 million to this work, bringing the total funding for this contract to over £8 million since 2018.

In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a grant of almost £1.2 million to the Education and Training Foundation. This grant will support the FE workforce in identifying and meeting the needs of learners with SEND, including those with dyspraxia. The department also announced recently that it will offer training bursaries, worth £15,000 each (tax free), for a further academic year (2022/23), to those specialising in SEND teaching in the FE sector.

The department does not differentiate between different types of SEND in the way funding is allocated to schools, colleges and local authorities for the responsibilities they have for supporting children and young people with SEND. Over the last 10 years there have been substantial increases in core schools funding, which includes funding for mainstream schools and high needs funding for children and young people with more complex needs. In financial year 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22: an increase of 5% in real terms per pupil.

16th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools there were in West Yorkshire in (a) 2010 and (b) 2021.

The most recent figures for pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals (FSM) are from the January 2021 school census, and are published in ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.

The publication includes an interactive table tool that can be used to create tables for different areas within England. The following shows FSM figures for pupils in local authorities within West Yorkshire: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f9b0f73c-883b-4ac5-a3b0-38980e89fe84.

School census data on the number of schools in England is also published annually in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’ release, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.

The January 2021 publication includes an interactive table tool which can be used to create tables for different areas within England. A table showing the number of schools in local authorities within West Yorkshire is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/caab6075-50cd-4724-9934-5891e31ecea6.

The January 2010 publication includes Excel tables showing data at local authority level, and Table 10a shows the number of schools.

16th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils received free school meals in West Yorkshire in the most recent period for which figures are available.

The most recent figures for pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals (FSM) are from the January 2021 school census, and are published in ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.

The publication includes an interactive table tool that can be used to create tables for different areas within England. The following shows FSM figures for pupils in local authorities within West Yorkshire: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f9b0f73c-883b-4ac5-a3b0-38980e89fe84.

School census data on the number of schools in England is also published annually in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’ release, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.

The January 2021 publication includes an interactive table tool which can be used to create tables for different areas within England. A table showing the number of schools in local authorities within West Yorkshire is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/caab6075-50cd-4724-9934-5891e31ecea6.

The January 2010 publication includes Excel tables showing data at local authority level, and Table 10a shows the number of schools.

30th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with his Hong Kong counterparts on international school students from Hong Kong who are unable to return to their families as a result of covid-19 restrictions and will be stranded in the UK for the summer 2021 holidays and whose schools will have closed.

We remain in close contact with the Hong Kong SAR Government in order to minimise disruption to UK and Hong Kong families and businesses. We will continue to work together to reduce the restrictions on international travel.

We are working on a number of possible outcomes for those pupils who are currently unable to get home. Some boarding schools will make arrangements for them to stay there, or perhaps go to another boarding school if necessary. Some may also be able to stay with guardians, or perhaps family in the UK, where that is an option.

27th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of schools in England containing asbestos.

The Department follows expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which states that as long as asbestos-containing materials are in good condition, well protected either by their position or physical protection, and are unlikely to be worked on, it is usually safer to manage them in place. Where that is not the case, the duty holder should have it removed, and the Department provides significant condition funding which can be used for this purpose.

Since 2015, the Department has allocated £11.3 billion to those responsible for school buildings for essential maintenance and improvements, including removal or encapsulation of asbestos when such is the safest course of action. This includes £1.8 billion committed for financial year 2021-22.

Through the Priority School Building Programme, the Department has been rebuilding or refurbishing buildings in the worst condition at over 500 schools across the country. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced a new 10-year rebuilding programme for schools, which will replace poor condition buildings with modern, energy efficient designs. The Department has announced the first 50 schools to benefit from the programme, as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade.

In July 2019, the Department published information from the Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP) designed to understand the prevalence of asbestos in schools and how well it is managed. Of the 19,522 (88.4%) state-funded schools in England which participated, a total of 15,796 (80.9%) of participating schools stated some asbestos was present on their estate. The responses also suggested that there were no systemic failures in the management of asbestos in schools.

The Department takes the issue of asbestos in schools seriously, and is committed to supporting schools, local authorities and academy trusts to fulfil their duty to manage asbestos safely. We have taken significant steps in recent years to strengthen schools’ approach to managing asbestos. In addition to conducting the AMAP, the Department published updated guidance on effectively managing asbestos in schools in October 2020, working closely with HSE experts, union representatives and other sector representatives to do so.

27th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to remove asbestos from schools.

The Department follows expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which states that as long as asbestos-containing materials are in good condition, well protected either by their position or physical protection, and are unlikely to be worked on, it is usually safer to manage them in place. Where that is not the case, the duty holder should have it removed, and the Department provides significant condition funding which can be used for this purpose.

Since 2015, the Department has allocated £11.3 billion to those responsible for school buildings for essential maintenance and improvements, including removal or encapsulation of asbestos when such is the safest course of action. This includes £1.8 billion committed for financial year 2021-22.

Through the Priority School Building Programme, the Department has been rebuilding or refurbishing buildings in the worst condition at over 500 schools across the country. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced a new 10-year rebuilding programme for schools, which will replace poor condition buildings with modern, energy efficient designs. The Department has announced the first 50 schools to benefit from the programme, as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade.

In July 2019, the Department published information from the Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP) designed to understand the prevalence of asbestos in schools and how well it is managed. Of the 19,522 (88.4%) state-funded schools in England which participated, a total of 15,796 (80.9%) of participating schools stated some asbestos was present on their estate. The responses also suggested that there were no systemic failures in the management of asbestos in schools.

The Department takes the issue of asbestos in schools seriously, and is committed to supporting schools, local authorities and academy trusts to fulfil their duty to manage asbestos safely. We have taken significant steps in recent years to strengthen schools’ approach to managing asbestos. In addition to conducting the AMAP, the Department published updated guidance on effectively managing asbestos in schools in October 2020, working closely with HSE experts, union representatives and other sector representatives to do so.

10th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance has been provided to Primary Schools on the wearing of facemasks by teaching staff within a classroom setting.

As new evidence or data emerges, the Government updates its advice accordingly to ensure that all our schools and colleges have the right safety measures in place.

The Department recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March 2021, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance.

As our updated guidance outlines, in primary schools, face coverings should be worn by staff and adult visitors in situations where social distancing between adults is not possible, for example, when moving around in corridors and communal areas. Children in primary school do not need to wear a face covering.

Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This applies to those who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate. The same exemptions should be applied in schools, and we would expect teachers and other staff to be sensitive to those needs.

We continue to work closely with Public Health England and the Department of Health and Social Care and stakeholders across the sector to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice.

These measures will be in place until Easter. We will keep this under review and update guidance at that point.

15th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many laptops have been (a) requested by schools for home learning and (b) delivered as of 14 January 2021.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. As of Monday 18 January, over 800,000 laptops and tablets had been delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities.

The number of devices available for each school, trust or local authority is based on children eligible for free school meals and takes into account existing devices available in schools. Schools, trusts and local authorities are responsible for distributing the laptops and tablets and are best placed to know which disadvantaged children and young people need access to a device.

The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. On 12 January, we announced that we will be providing a further 300,000 devices over the course of this term.

Figures on the number of devices delivered, including by local authority, are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data/2021-week-3. These figures are broken down by local authority and academy trust.

We have also partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.

15th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of people (a) applying for and (b) securing places at higher education institutions were from (i) working class and (ii) disadvantaged backgrounds for the academic year 2019-20.

It is more crucial than ever before that we tap into the brilliant talent that our country has to offer, and make sure that university places are available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so.

In the 2019/20 applications cycle, 11.4% of English 18 year olds applying for higher education were from disadvantaged backgrounds (POLAR4 Q1), and 11.3% of English 18 year olds accepted onto higher education places, were from disadvantaged backgrounds. This compares to 10.4% of English 18 year old applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds, and 9.7% of accepted English 18 year old applicants, in the 2011/12 applications cycle.

It is vital that students applying to university in 2021 have extra time to carefully consider their applications and make the best choices for their future. As such, for students applying to enter university in 2021, the UCAS deadline for most courses has been pushed back to 29 January 2021. We are encouraging universities to be flexible when making offers to individual students whose education has been disproportionally and adversely impacted from the COVID-19 outbreak, to ensure that these students are able to receive fair offers for 2021.

All higher education providers wanting to charge higher level fees must also have an Access and Participation Plan agreed by the Office for Students in which they set out the measures they intend to take to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups can access and succeed in higher education.

We have just launched a consultation on options for reforming the higher education admissions system in favour of post-qualification admissions. We are asking respondents to work with us to identify ways in which the system can be made to work better for disadvantaged students, particularly in terms of being able to access the most selective universities.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
15th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the number of people from (a) working class and (b) disadvantaged backgrounds (i) applying for and (ii) securing places at higher education institutions.

It is more crucial than ever before that we tap into the brilliant talent that our country has to offer, and make sure that university places are available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so.

In the 2019/20 applications cycle, 11.4% of English 18 year olds applying for higher education were from disadvantaged backgrounds (POLAR4 Q1), and 11.3% of English 18 year olds accepted onto higher education places, were from disadvantaged backgrounds. This compares to 10.4% of English 18 year old applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds, and 9.7% of accepted English 18 year old applicants, in the 2011/12 applications cycle.

It is vital that students applying to university in 2021 have extra time to carefully consider their applications and make the best choices for their future. As such, for students applying to enter university in 2021, the UCAS deadline for most courses has been pushed back to 29 January 2021. We are encouraging universities to be flexible when making offers to individual students whose education has been disproportionally and adversely impacted from the COVID-19 outbreak, to ensure that these students are able to receive fair offers for 2021.

All higher education providers wanting to charge higher level fees must also have an Access and Participation Plan agreed by the Office for Students in which they set out the measures they intend to take to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups can access and succeed in higher education.

We have just launched a consultation on options for reforming the higher education admissions system in favour of post-qualification admissions. We are asking respondents to work with us to identify ways in which the system can be made to work better for disadvantaged students, particularly in terms of being able to access the most selective universities.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
15th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils were attending (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in person on (a) 5 January 2021 and (b) 12 January 2021.

The requested data is presented in the table below. Please note that schools were not asked to complete the educational settings survey from 5 January while the survey was changed to reflect the changes in the national lockdown, Therefore, we present figures for 4 January instead.

4 January 2021

12 January 2021

Response rate[1] (%)

Overall attendance[2] (%)

Response rate (%)

Overall attendance (%)

State-funded Primary[3]

45

65

86

21

State-funded Secondary[4]

47

5

85

5

On Monday 4 January, many schools were expected to still be on Christmas break or have planned inset days[5]. The response rate to the survey of educational settings on 4 January was low and nearly half of responding schools reported an inset day or non-COVID related closure (47%). Therefore, figures for 4 January 2021 exclude schools in areas expected to still be on Christmas break and those that reported inset days or non-COVID related closures.

Figures have not been adjusted for non-response and are therefore may not be nationally representative.

[1] Response rates are included for context.

[2] Attendance figures are for in person attendance.

[3] Includes ‘middle deemed primary’ schools.

[4] Includes ‘middle deemed secondary’ and ‘all-through schools’.

[5] The vast majority of schools in the following local authorities were expected to still be on Christmas break on 4 January: Suffolk, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Rutland, Bury, Stockport, Wigan, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Central Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, West Berkshire, North Yorkshire. Some schools in other local authorities were also still on Christmas break or had inset days - academies are not required to follow local authority term dates and schools can set their own inset days.

8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many sure start centres there were in Yorkshire and the Humber region in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020.

Based on the information supplied by local authorities, the table attached shows the number of Sure Start children’s centres in the Yorkshire and Humber region in 2010 and 2020.[1]

[1] Source: Downloaded from Get Information about Schools database https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Based on information supplied by local authorities as at 11 January 2020. These figures may be different to previous answers, and could change again in future, since local authorities may update their data at any time.

8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the (a) advice and (b) guidance provided by (i) the Chief Medical Officer and (ii) Public Health England which informed the decision to allow nurseries to remain open during national lockdown restrictions from 6 January 2020.

Schools have been restricted since 6 January 2021, not because they are unsafe but because additional measures are needed to contain the spread of the virus. The wider significant restrictions in place as part of the national lockdown to contain the spread of the virus in the community enable us to continue prioritising keeping nurseries and childminders open, supporting parents and delivering the crucial care and education needed for our youngest children.

Early years settings remain low risk environments for children and staff. Current evidence suggests that pre-school children (0 to 5 years) are less susceptible to infection and are unlikely to be playing a driving role in transmission which is referred to in the 65th SAGE meeting, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/935102/sage-65-meeting-covid-19-s0863.pdf.

There is no evidence the new strain of the virus causes more serious illness in either children or adults and there is no evidence that the new variant of coronavirus disproportionately affects young children.

Public Health England (PHE) advice remains that the system of controls are the right measures for early years settings, which reduce risks and create inherently safer environments.

Early years settings have been open to all children since 1 June 2020 and there is no evidence that the early years sector has contributed to a significant rise in virus cases within the community. Early modelling evidence from SAGE evidenced in the report Modelling and behavioural science responses to scenarios for relaxing school closures’ showed that early years provision had a smaller relative impact on transmission rate when modelled with both primary schools and secondary schools. The report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/886994/s0257-sage-sub-group-modelling-behavioural-science-relaxing-school-closures-sage30.pdf.

We continue to prioritise keeping early years settings open in full because of the clear benefits to children’s education and wellbeing and to support working parents. Caring for the youngest age group is not something that can be done remotely.

PHE have endorsed a ‘system of controls’ which are the set of actions all early years settings must take. They are outlined in more detail in the ‘Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak’ guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

These build on the hierarchy of protective measures that have been in use throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. When implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, these measures create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced for children and staff.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to address regional inequalities in the UK for A-Level attainment.

The Department is committed to levelling up school standards and opportunities for all children, including those studying A levels. The Department does this through a mixture of policies that support disadvantaged pupils wherever they live in the country, as well as through extra support for places that fall behind.

Through the 16-19 funding formula, we provide additional funding to support disadvantaged students from economically deprived areas as well as students who have low prior attainment in maths and English. In the 2020/21 academic year, we allocated over £500 million of disadvantage funding (almost 10% of core programme funding).

For the 2020/21 academic year, we have also made up to £96 million available specifically for colleges, sixth forms and other 16-19 providers, to provide small group tutoring activity for disadvantaged 16-19 students whose studies have been disrupted through the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The evidence is clear that early intervention is the best way to address educational inequalities that appear at A level and beyond. The Department is spending £2.4 billion this year through the pupil premium to tackle educational inequality in the school system, as well as investing in a number of reforms to improve the quality of teaching. The Early Career Framework reforms and support for newly qualified teachers is the biggest teaching reform in a generation. In autumn 2020, the Department launched the early roll-out of the Early Career Framework reforms for eligible schools in the North East, Greater Manchester, Bradford and Doncaster. Meanwhile, the Department’s Opportunity Areas and One North East programmes are helping to raise standards in areas of the country that face particular challenges.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the change in the percentage gap from 2018 to 2019 between local authority areas with the highest proportion of A-Level results achieved at AAB or higher, and local authority areas with the lowest proportion of A-Level results achieved at AAB or higher.

The published data available from the Department’s most recent release showed a narrowing of the percentage gap between the local authorities with the highest and lowest AAB proportions between 2017/18 and 2018/19 academic years. The gap fell from 48.4ppts to 38.8ppts; the difference in 2017/18 and 2018/19 respectively in the proportion of students achieving AAB or higher, where Reading and Knowsley local authorities recorded the highest and lowest proportions in both years. This information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results/2019-20.

However, it is important to note that data for the worst performing and best performing local authorities sit at the extremes of the data, and as such naturally fluctuate from year to year. It would not be prudent for the Department to draw out significant policy implications from the change in the gap in just one year.

The Department remains committed to high attainment for all students across the UK. Since 2011, we have reformed the national curriculum, GCSEs and A levels to set world-class standards across all subjects and invested heavily in improving the quality of teaching.

UCAS sector-level data on higher education entry rates by English region shows that in 2020, 18 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds were proportionally 80% more likely to enter full time higher education than in 2009. This data is available here: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-sector-level-end-cycle-data-resources-2020.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of UNICEF ranking the UK 27 out of 38 OECD and EU countries for mental wellbeing, physical health and academic and social skills.

The government has made the attainment, health and wellbeing of children and young people a priority. Many of the challenges set out require a cross-government approach.

School standards in England have improved overall since 2010. 86% of schools are now rated good or outstanding – up from 68% in 2010. Over the last 9 years, the percentage of children meeting expectations in the phonics screening check has gone up from 58% to 82%. We achieved our highest ever score in an international assessment of reading in 2016. There has been a 9-percentage point rise in key stage 2 maths results since new tests were introduced in 2016, and a significant improvement in maths scores for 15 year olds in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) international test results, driven by a decrease in the number of low attainers. Results from the Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 international test results show our year 5 and year 9 pupils continue to perform strongly on the international stage - we particularly welcome the significant improvement in attainment for our year 5 pupils since 2015.

We are reforming the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and over 3,000 schools are early adopters this year. We have strengthened the high-level curriculum summaries and early learning goals, including a focus on areas we know are key predictors of later success: communication and language, literacy and mathematics.

The government plans to invest over £7 billion during 2020/21 academic year, to ensure there is a place in education or training for every 16 to 19-year-old who wants one (this includes spending on apprenticeships). Provision is funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, which works with local authorities to ensure that provision meets the needs of young people in their area.

Under Raising the Participation Age (RPA) requirements, all young people in England are now required to continue in education or training until at least their 18th birthday. In practice most young people continue until the end of the academic year in which they turn 18. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/raising-the-participation-age.

The Department for Education (DfE) works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. There is a joint programme overseeing the implementation of the Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision green paper. This includes the provision of mental health support teams linked to groups of schools and colleges and part of a wider NHS England investment in children and young people’s mental health, which is transforming how specialist services are provided and make links to other services.

DfE also works closely with DHSC and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) on physical health, contributing to the government’s childhood obesity plan. The healthy schools rating scheme celebrates the positive actions that schools are delivering in terms of healthy living, healthy eating and physical activity, and supports schools in identifying further actions that they can take in this area.

The School sport and activity action plan sets out how we are working to support the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation that all children and young people should have access to 60 minutes a day of physical activity. We have also introduced a new curriculum covering relationships, sex and health education, which became mandatory from September 2020 and means that all pupils will be taught about ways to be physically and mentally healthy and about healthy relationships with their peers.

2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many child protection referrals were made to Children's Services in each month of 2020.

The monthly figures on the number of child protection referrals that were made to children’s social care services in England, up to March 2020, are published in the ‘Characteristics of children in need’ statistical release: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need.

The Vulnerable Children and Young People Survey collects fortnightly data from local authorities in England on the number of referrals made to children’s social care services. The data for the full month is not collected.

The attached tables show the number of referrals to children’s social care services, where the data is available for 2020.

2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils classed as vulnerable were attending school as at 1 December 2020.

The Department does not collect attendance information for all pupil characteristics, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We do collect attendance data for vulnerable children with an education health and care plan (EHCP) and/or social worker on a daily basis. This data is published at a national level as part of the official statistics series. The publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. Data covering the period including 1 December will be published on 8 December.

We estimate that on 26 November 78% of all pupils with an EHCP on roll in all state funded schools were in attendance, and 78% of all pupils with a social worker on roll in all state funded schools were in attendance.

2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils classed as SEND were attending school as at 1 December 2020.

The Department does not collect attendance information for all pupil characteristics, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We do collect attendance data for vulnerable children with an education health and care plan (EHCP) and/or social worker on a daily basis. This data is published at a national level as part of the official statistics series. The publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. Data covering the period including 1 December will be published on 8 December.

We estimate that on 26 November 78% of all pupils with an EHCP on roll in all state funded schools were in attendance, and 78% of all pupils with a social worker on roll in all state funded schools were in attendance.

26th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that recently unemployed individuals are able to acquire new skills.

The department wants to ensure that a wide range of opportunities are available to people of all ages to meet their future skills needs.

The department has introduced a number of additional measures this year as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, such as through the Plan for Jobs announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in July 2020, and the Lifetime Skills Guarantee announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in September.

The Lifetime Skills Guarantee is aimed at eligible adults, including those that have become unemployed. As part of this, adults who do not currently have a level 3 qualification will be fully funded for their first full level 3 course, enabling participants to access the valuable courses that will help them get ahead in the labour market. This offer will be funded from the National Skills Funding, established to help people learn new skills and prepare for the economy of the future.

The Prime Minister has also announced skills bootcamps, which will be available in 6 areas across the country. The bootcamp training courses will provide valuable skills based on employer demand and are linked to real job opportunities, helping participants to find jobs, and employers to fill much-needed vacancies. We are planning to expand the bootcamps to more of the country from spring 2021, and we want to extend this model to include other technical skills training.

In addition, the government launched The Skills Toolkit in April 2020. This offers a wide range of digital and numeracy courses for all skills levels. Courses are available for free to the public, offering an opportunity for individuals to upskill and build on their CV. We have recently expanded The Skills Toolkit to increase the range of courses so that people can now choose from over 70 courses, covering digital, adult numeracy, employability and work readiness skills, which have been identified as the skills employers need the most. These courses will help people stay in work or take up new jobs and opportunities.

We are also investing £17 million in the sector-based work academy programme (SWAP) to triple the number of SWAP placements in 2020/21, enough funding to support an extra 40,000 job seekers with additional training opportunities and the chance of a job.

We are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), worth £1.34 billion in the 2020/21 financial year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship, or further learning.

Our apprenticeship reforms are driving up quality and delivering the skills that employers need. As an incentive to employers to take on new apprentices we are providing a new payment of £2,000 to employers (in England) for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25, and a payment of £1,500 for each new apprentice an employer hires aged 25 and over, before 31 January 2021. We have also introduced incentive payments, enabling employers to apply for £1000 per learner, for employers who offer traineeship work placement opportunities between 1 September 2020 and 31 July 2021.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
25th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start centres are (a) open and (b) operational as at 25 November 2020.

Based on information supplied by local authorities, there were 2302 Sure Start children’s centres and 699 linked sites open as at 25 November 2020.[1]

The decision to keep children’s centres operational in response to the COVID-19 outbreak is one for local authorities. Data on the number of children’s centres that are currently operational is held at a local level.[2]

[1] Source: Downloaded from ‘Get Information about Schools’ (GIAS) database: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk on 26 November 2020.

[2] Local authorities are required to update their children’s centre records on a regular basis to reflect any permanent changes that they make to their children’s centre provision. However, the GIAS does not provide a facility to report temporary closures.

25th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school pupils have tested positive for covid-19 since 1 September 2020.

The Department does not hold COVID-19 testing data.

We collect data on the open status of schools, the number of schools that have indicated they have sent children home due to COVID-19 containment, and the total number of pupils reported absent due to a confirmed COVID-19 case. The data is published from this collection at a national level as part of the official statistics series. The publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

On 19 November 2020, 18,000 pupils in state-funded schools were reported absent due to a confirmed case of COVID-19. This data is collected at school level, not pupil level. Therefore, we cannot estimate a total for the number of pupils absent since the beginning of term.

Please note that Public Health England (PHE) leads in holding data on infection, incidence, and COVID-19 cases overall. PHE publishes data on COVID-19 incidents by institution, including educational settings, which can be found through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-report.

25th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the value was of the block grant to England’s higher education institutions in 2019-20.

In the academic year 2019/20, the Office for Students distributed £1.3 billion of funding to higher education providers via the teaching grant. The majority of this was allocated via the recurrent teaching grant to fund high-cost courses and specialist providers and to support student access and success for particular student groups. A further £100 million was provided as capital funding in the academic year 2019/20.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
25th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the Union Learning Fund is due to end in April 2021.

The decision was taken to increase the scale and reach of our offer in response to the challenges facing our changing economy, by consolidating our support in larger, more comprehensive offers.

The Unionlearn model has its limitations. It is reliant on a trade union presence in the workplace, which is more focused on larger employers and does not necessarily reach the unemployed, self-employed, start-ups, and many more small and medium-sized businesses that do not have union representation. The 2018 evaluation by Exeter University found only 2% of people supported through Unionlearn were unemployed and 5% were self-employed.

We are focussing on a much larger and more comprehensive package of training support, including the establishment of a £2.5 billion National Skills Fund to help adults get the skills they need, including the Lifetime Skills Guarantee – to support any adult who does not yet have an A-level equivalent qualification to obtain one. This is in addition to the existing entitlement for adults without English and maths level 2 qualifications or Basic Digital Skills level 1 to get fully funded support to gain these essential qualifications.

As a result, it was decided not to continue to fund the smaller Unionlearn offer. All the money will be invested in skills and retraining that will be fully accessible to everyone.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
25th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have obtained qualifications using the Union Learning Fund since 1998.

Unionlearn and the Union Learning Fund provides very little training and education itself, but instead supports, encourages and mentors individuals to undertake learning. In most cases, the actual learning is funded through the Adult Education Budget.

In the financial year 2019/20, our grant to the Union Learning Fund allowed Unionlearn to support 189,094 people in learning. The learning itself is provided by a range of providers including colleges, independent training providers and others. The type of learning is very wide and covers informal Adult Community Learning, basic skills, continuing professional development, as well as learning which leads to a formal qualification. We do not keep records on the actual qualifications gained.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
25th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people obtained qualifications using the Union Learning Fund in 2019.

Unionlearn and the Union Learning Fund provides very little training and education itself, but instead supports, encourages and mentors individuals to undertake learning. In most cases, the actual learning is funded through the Adult Education Budget.

In the financial year 2019/20, our grant to the Union Learning Fund allowed Unionlearn to support 189,094 people in learning. The learning itself is provided by a range of providers including colleges, independent training providers and others. The type of learning is very wide and covers informal Adult Community Learning, basic skills, continuing professional development, as well as learning which leads to a formal qualification. We do not keep records on the actual qualifications gained.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
13th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve social mobility for children from working class backgrounds.

Social mobility is a top priority across the department. Every child should have the same opportunity to express their talents and make the most of their lives.

Evidence shows that what happens in children’s earliest years, before they start school, can have a huge influence on later outcomes. That is why the department has committed over £60 million to programmes to improve early language and literacy. Over 1 million disadvantaged two-year olds have taken up an early education place since the entitlement began in September 2013. Results show that the proportion of children achieving a ‘good level of development’ at age 5 is improving year on year. The percentage of children receiving free school meals (FSM) and achieving a good level of development was 57% in 2019, compared 36% in 2013.

A world-class education system that works for everyone is the surest way to spread opportunity across the country. That is why we are investing over £7 billion more in our schools by the 2022-23 financial year, compared to the 2019-20 financial year. This means schools around the country can continue to raise standards to give all children the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Schools continue to receive the pupil premium, worth £2.4 billion again this year, to enable them to arrange extra personalised support for disadvantaged pupils.

Our technical education reforms will also offer a real choice of high-quality training that has parity of esteem with traditional academic routes, so that all young people can follow the path that’s right for them and benefit from more choice in their education journey. The new T Levels will offer young people a high-quality alternative to A Levels. We are providing extensive support for their implementation, particularly around building capacity for industry placements and capital funding for high quality facilities and equipment.

We are making progress on spreading opportunity, with disadvantaged 18-year-olds entering full time higher education at record rates. The latest data shows that there were 24,900 placed English 18-year-old applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds, constituting an entry rate of 23.1%. Both are the highest on record.

Opportunity Areas (OAs) are working to improve outcomes for children and young people in 12 areas with low social mobility. This is at the heart of our work to level up and learn what works best in areas with entrenched social mobility barriers, so that we can roll out successful approaches across the country.

We are investing £90 million in the 12 OAs to tackle barriers preventing children and young people from achieving their potential. The OAs have also benefitted from £22 million through the “Essential Life Skills” programme, focused on developing resilience, wellbeing, and employability.

13th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to provide continued support to children leaving care upon turning 18 years of age.

I am committed to doing all I can to support our young people leaving care and ensure that turning 18 years old isn’t the ‘cliff edge’ it can be seen as.

Since 2014, local authorities have been under a duty to provide financial support to enable young people in foster care to remain living with their former foster family to age 21 in a Staying Put arrangement. The department is providing funding of over £33 million in the 2020/21 financial year to support implementation, an increase of approximately £10 million (40%) on the 2019/20 financial year.

Since 2018, we have funded 8 Staying Close pilots (£5.8 million over two years) to test an enhanced offer of support, with accommodation and well-being, for young people leaving residential care. In the 2020/21 financial year we are continuing the pilots and have announced our intention to begin national roll-out.

During National Care Leavers’ Week in October 2020, my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, and I contributed to sector-led events, including the ‘Empathy Summit’ staged by Spectra and the Care Leaver Covenant. We now have 155 organisations signed up to the Care Leaver Covenant, businesses, charities, public bodies, and 85 in the process of developing their offer of practical help. I urge others to follow suit and identify what opportunities they can offer to care leavers.

Policies across government impact on care leavers’ lives, such as housing, employment and health. That is why my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has set up a cross-government ministerial care leavers board, to focus on issues facing care leavers.

In summer this year, I launched the latest intake to the Civil Service care leaver internship scheme, which this year has received over 700 applicants to work in a range of paid roles across government. We are now working, with the cross-government ministerial care leavers’ board, to identify similar opportunities in other large public sector employers, such as the NHS, police and the fire service.

Since 2018/19, as part the government’s rough sleeping strategy, we have provided nearly £6 million funding to 47 local authorities with the highest number of care leavers at risk of homelessness/rough sleeping. The funding allows them to employ specialist Personal Advisers to provide intensive support to small caseloads of care leavers most at risk.

During National Care Leavers Week 2020, this department and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published joint guidance to local authorities on establishing positive accommodation pathways for care leavers, including developing joint protocols between local authorities Children’s and Housing Services.

13th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to provide young care leavers with educational opportunities.

Providing care leavers with the support they need to access educational opportunities that will allow them to reach their potential is one of my main priorities. We have already:

  • Launched 3 care leaver social impact bonds (£5 million over 4 years), which use ‘payment by results’ contracts to support care leavers into education, employment or training.
  • In August 2018, introduced a £1,000 bursary for care leavers starting an apprenticeship. Local authorities are required to provide a £2,000 bursary for care leavers who go to university; and care leavers are a priority group for the 16-19 bursary (£1,200 a year) if they are studying in further education.
  • In 2019, published the care leaver higher education (HE) principles guidance, which identify the areas where care leavers need extra support to access and succeed in HE, with examples of best practice from across the sector.
  • In September, my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, wrote to local authority virtual school heads encouraging them to arrange workshops for care leavers, using free resources designed to help young adults prepare for independent student living.
  • Launched the care leaver covenant, which provides a way for organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors to show their commitment to care leavers through providing concrete offers of support. There are now 155 organisations and around 60 HE institutions who have signed the care leaver covenant and published their ‘offer’ to care leavers.

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, my hon. Friend, the Minister of state for Universities, wrote to universities and other HE providers, to highlight the vulnerability of care leavers and estranged students, and asked them to prioritise these groups for additional support. In addition:

  • Care leavers were a priority group for the 220,000 laptops that the department provided to local authorities, for disadvantaged children and young people, so they can access education and social care services remotely. This included care leavers who are studying at university.
  • The government has worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS) to clarify that providers can draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Providers were able to use OfS Student Premium funding worth around £23 million per month for April to July this year and £256 million, for the academic year 2020/21 starting from August, towards student hardship funds, including the purchase of IT equipment and mental health support, as well as to support providers’ access and participation plans.
2nd Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the financial support available to the 900,000 children eligible for Free School Meal vouchers living in areas of the UK under enhanced covid-19 lockdown restrictions throughout the school holidays.

The provision of free school meals (FSM) to children from out-of-work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. The most recent statistical publication shows that there are around 1.4 million children eligible for and claiming a nutritious FSM, based on the January school census, saving families more than £400 per year. The 2020 publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2020. Take-up may currently be higher due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and current economic circumstances.

We are grateful for the hard work that school staff undertake throughout the school year to deliver this provision locally for the families that are eligible for FSM. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are especially appreciative of the actions that schools have taken to continue FSM provisions during such challenging circumstances. We want to make sure that as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their FSM, and schools continue to accept applications from pupils who are newly eligible. To support this, the department provides an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.

We have put additional guidance in place to ensure we support pupils eligible for FSM who are having to self-isolate during term-time, asking schools to work with their caterers to provide food parcels. Given the increased uncertainty of the COVID-19 outbreak we are taking steps to make sure that children and families get the extra support they need over the winter. Building on the significant financial support given throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, a new £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme will be run by councils in England. The funding will be ring-fenced, with at least 80% earmarked to support with food and bills, and will cover the period to the end of March.

We are also investing up to £220 million in the Holiday Activities and Food programme which will be expanded across England next year. Children eligible for FSM will have the option to join a holiday-time programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays, giving disadvantaged young people opportunities they might otherwise lose out on.

Additionally, we are increasing the value of Healthy Start Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 from next April. This scheme supports pregnant women or those with children under four who have a low income and are in receipt of benefits to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. This will help those on lower incomes to boost the long-term health of their children.

Finally, we have also pledged additional funding of £16 million for food distribution charities, conversations are ongoing as to how this is allocated. This is further to the £16 million distributed to food aid charities earlier in the COVID-19 outbreak.

2nd Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were eligible for Free School Meals in (a) Wakefield, (b) Leeds, (c) Kirklees, (d) Bradford and (e) Calderdale Local Authority areas on 1 January 2020.

The number of children that were eligible for Free School Meals in England and (a) Wakefield, (b) Leeds, (c) Kirklees, (d) Bradford and (e) Calderdale Local Authority areas in January 2020 is given in the table below.

Area

Headcount

Per cent

England

1,440,788

17.3

Wakefield

9,285

17.2

Leeds

25,488

20.1

Kirklees

14,215

21.0

Bradford

20,938

20.7

Calderdale

7,014

19.1

Source: School census, January 2020 - https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/96abea42-23cf-4412-910b-85d104f9be9d.

Data for October 2020 is currently being collected through the autumn term school census and is not yet available.

2nd Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were eligible for Free School Meals in (a) Wakefield, (b) Leeds, (c) Kirklees, (d) Bradford and (e) Calderdale Local Authority areas on 1 October 2020.

The number of children that were eligible for Free School Meals in England and (a) Wakefield, (b) Leeds, (c) Kirklees, (d) Bradford and (e) Calderdale Local Authority areas in January 2020 is given in the table below.

Area

Headcount

Per cent

England

1,440,788

17.3

Wakefield

9,285

17.2

Leeds

25,488

20.1

Kirklees

14,215

21.0

Bradford

20,938

20.7

Calderdale

7,014

19.1

Source: School census, January 2020 - https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/96abea42-23cf-4412-910b-85d104f9be9d.

Data for October 2020 is currently being collected through the autumn term school census and is not yet available.

2nd Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were eligible for Free School Meals on (a) 1 January 2020 and (b) 1 October 2020.

The number of children that were eligible for Free School Meals in England and (a) Wakefield, (b) Leeds, (c) Kirklees, (d) Bradford and (e) Calderdale Local Authority areas in January 2020 is given in the table below.

Area

Headcount

Per cent

England

1,440,788

17.3

Wakefield

9,285

17.2

Leeds

25,488

20.1

Kirklees

14,215

21.0

Bradford

20,938

20.7

Calderdale

7,014

19.1

Source: School census, January 2020 - https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/96abea42-23cf-4412-910b-85d104f9be9d.

Data for October 2020 is currently being collected through the autumn term school census and is not yet available.

30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the monthly cost to the public purse of the provision of £15 weekly food vouchers for pupils eligible for Free School Meals.

Our national voucher scheme supplier, Edenred, has reported that over £380 million worth of voucher codes have been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by families through the scheme as of 19 August 2020. The scheme was launched on 31 March 2020. Over 20,350 schools have placed orders for the scheme as of 28 July. The free school meal (FSM) voucher scheme has now closed. Now schools and their kitchens are open, normal free school meal provision has resumed, enabling children to have a nutritious healthy meal at school.

Our latest FSM guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

15th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of state schools paying for externally provided mental health support for students.

The department does not collect central information on the details of school expenditure, including whether they pay for externally provided mental health support for students. Schools and colleges have the freedom to decide what support to offer pupils based on their particular needs, drawing on evidence available on effective practice.

We are currently providing the biggest increase to schools funding in a decade. School budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in the 2020-21 financial year, £4.8 billion in the 2021-22 financial year and £7.1 billion in the 2022-23 financial year, compared to the 2019-20 financial year. We recognise that local authorities’ costs in providing for those with the most complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have increased. We have increased high needs funding for children and young people with the most complex SEND, from £5 billion in 2013 to over £7 billion in 2020-21 financial year, and it will continue to rise to £8 billion in the 2021-22 financial year. This increase means that in the 2021-22 financial year, every local authority will attract an increase of at least 8% per head of population, with some authorities seeing increases of up to 12%.

Schools are best placed to make decisions on how best to spend their funding to support their pupils, and we do not set restrictions on how much is spent on mental health provision. We know that there has been an increased need to focus on mental health and wellbeing as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Getting children and young people back into school and college is key to their wellbeing. We have worked hard to ensure that all pupils and learners were able to return to a full high-quality education programme in September. Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020/21 academic year, is supporting education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place.

To ensure that staff were equipped to support wellbeing as children and young people returned to schools and colleges, we made it a central part of our guidance both on remote education and on the return to school. We supported this with a range of training and materials, including webinars which have been accessed by thousands of education staff and accelerating training on how to teach about mental health as part of the new relationships, sex and health curriculum, so that all pupils can benefit from this long-term requirement.

To continue this support we have invested in £8 million in the Wellbeing for Education Return programme, which will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents, to help improve how they respond to the emotional impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The programme is funding expert advisers in every area of England to train and support schools and colleges during the autumn and spring terms. More information about the programme is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-for-education-return-grant-s31-grant-determination-letter.

Of course, schools and colleges are not mental health professionals, so access to specialist mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. All NHS mental health trusts have ensured that there are 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. We have also provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities, including charities such as Young Minds to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time.

To increase support further in the long term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, including introducing new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.

15th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the capacity of schools to meet demand for students mental health support through internal resources.

The department does not collect central information on the details of school expenditure, including whether they pay for externally provided mental health support for students. Schools and colleges have the freedom to decide what support to offer pupils based on their particular needs, drawing on evidence available on effective practice.

We are currently providing the biggest increase to schools funding in a decade. School budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in the 2020-21 financial year, £4.8 billion in the 2021-22 financial year and £7.1 billion in the 2022-23 financial year, compared to the 2019-20 financial year. We recognise that local authorities’ costs in providing for those with the most complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have increased. We have increased high needs funding for children and young people with the most complex SEND, from £5 billion in 2013 to over £7 billion in 2020-21 financial year, and it will continue to rise to £8 billion in the 2021-22 financial year. This increase means that in the 2021-22 financial year, every local authority will attract an increase of at least 8% per head of population, with some authorities seeing increases of up to 12%.

Schools are best placed to make decisions on how best to spend their funding to support their pupils, and we do not set restrictions on how much is spent on mental health provision. We know that there has been an increased need to focus on mental health and wellbeing as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Getting children and young people back into school and college is key to their wellbeing. We have worked hard to ensure that all pupils and learners were able to return to a full high-quality education programme in September. Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020/21 academic year, is supporting education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place.

To ensure that staff were equipped to support wellbeing as children and young people returned to schools and colleges, we made it a central part of our guidance both on remote education and on the return to school. We supported this with a range of training and materials, including webinars which have been accessed by thousands of education staff and accelerating training on how to teach about mental health as part of the new relationships, sex and health curriculum, so that all pupils can benefit from this long-term requirement.

To continue this support we have invested in £8 million in the Wellbeing for Education Return programme, which will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents, to help improve how they respond to the emotional impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The programme is funding expert advisers in every area of England to train and support schools and colleges during the autumn and spring terms. More information about the programme is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-for-education-return-grant-s31-grant-determination-letter.

Of course, schools and colleges are not mental health professionals, so access to specialist mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. All NHS mental health trusts have ensured that there are 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. We have also provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities, including charities such as Young Minds to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time.

To increase support further in the long term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, including introducing new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.

15th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the finding of research by Outwood Academy in Hemsworth constituency that states that between September 2019 and September 2020 the number of pupils requiring mental health safeguarding in that Academy had increased by 85 per cent as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

We know that, across society, the COVID-19 outbreak has had an impact on wellbeing and mental health, but it has had a particular impact on children and young people. Due to this, the government has made children’s wellbeing and mental health a central part of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The department has taken action to ensure schools and colleges are equipped to support children and young people.

To ensure that staff were equipped to support the wellbeing of children and young people as they returned to school, we made available a range of training and materials, including webinars which have been accessed by thousands of education staff and by accelerating training on how to teach about mental health as part of the new relationships, sex and health curriculum.

We have worked hard to ensure that all pupils and learners were able to return to a full high-quality education programme in September. Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year, is supporting education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. We are also?investing £8 million in the new Wellbeing for Education Return programme which is funding expert advisers who will be able to train and support schools and colleges in every area of England and can make links to available local authority provision.

Of course, schools and colleges are not mental health professionals, so access to specialist mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. All NHS mental health trusts have ensured that there are 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. We have also provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities, including charities such as Young Minds, to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time.

The government published its second annual ‘State of the Nation: Children and Young People’s Wellbeing’ report on 10 October 2020. This year, the report focuses on publicly available data on children and young people’s experiences associated with wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings in the report show that many elements of wellbeing have remained stable. However, there have been impacts in a range of areas, including friendships, worries about the future and personal finance, as well as differential impacts for some groups.

To increase support further in the long term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. This includes introducing new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.

The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, set out an ambition that all children and young people who need specialist support are able to access it within a decade, with a commitment to follow up the green paper 4-week waiting time pilots with a new national waiting time for specialist services. Mental health services will continue to receive an increased share of the NHS budget, growing by at least £2.3 billion a year by the 2023-24 financial year. Funding for children and young people's mental health services will grow faster than both overall NHS funding and total mental health spending. More details on the NHS Long Term Plan are available here:
https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-long-term-plan/.

5th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to introduce a mandatory provision of counselling services in secondary schools and colleges across England.

It is important for schools and colleges to have the freedom to decide what support to offer pupils based on their particular needs and to draw on an evidence base of effective practice. This support can come from a number of sources, including counselling.

The department has published guidance on how to put in place effective school-based counselling, which schools can use to identify where further counselling support is appropriate for their pupils. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.

Our most recent survey of mental health provision in schools and colleges in 2016 and 2017 found that 61% of schools and colleges (56% of primary schools, 84% of secondary schools and 93% of colleges) reported offering access to a counselling service for their pupils.

The government is investing £8 million in the new Wellbeing for Education Return Programme, which is funding expert advisers who will be able to train and support schools and colleges in every area of England and can make links to available local authority provision, including counselling.

To increase support further in the long term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, including introducing new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.

5th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to tackle the imbalance in education funding between the most deprived and least deprived areas of the country.

This Government is delivering the biggest funding boost for schools in a decade, which will give every school more money for every child.

The Department has increased core school funding by £2.6 billion this financial year, then £4.8 billion and £7.1 billion by 2021/22 and 2022/23 respectively, compared to the financial year 2019/20, including additional funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities. This investment has enabled us to increase school funding by 5% in 2020/21 alone.

Areas with high proportions of students from a disadvantaged background will continue to receive the highest levels of funding and the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed considerably in both primary and secondary schools since 2011. Through the National Funding Formula, we provide a total of £6.3 billion targeted at schools with higher numbers of pupils with additional needs, including deprivation. On top of that the pupil premium, worth £2.4 billion this financial year, provides additional support for disadvantaged pupils – those currently or formerly claiming free school meals and currently or formerly looked after – to tackle educational inequality.

The Department has also announced a new £350 million National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils, as part of the COVID-19 catch-up package. This will increase access to high-quality tuition for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people, helping to accelerate their academic progress and tackling the attainment gap between them and their peers.

30th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including teaching of British Sign Language in the curriculum of Key Stages one, two and three.

The Department recognises and acknowledges that British Sign Language (BSL) can be a beneficial subject for children to be taught. However, the Department does not have plans to introduce any new subjects to the National Curriculum.

Although BSL is not part of the National Curriculum, schools may choose to offer BSL in their school curriculum or include it as part of their extra curricular activities programme.

The Department is working with subject experts to develop draft subject content for a potential BSL GCSE. The Department is engaging with Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, to ensure that the subject content can be assessed appropriately and will be working with stakeholders to ensure that a wide range of views are reflected. Subject to being able to develop subject content, which meets the rigorous requirements which applies to all GCSEs, we are aiming to consult publicly on draft content early in 2021. The precise timings of this may be subject to change.

30th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools were classed as not fully open on (a) 1 September 2020, (b) 8 September 2020, (c) 15 September 2020 and (d) 22 September 2020.

The Department is currently collecting data from schools on a daily basis and publishes data from this collection, including the number and percentage of state funded schools that are fully open, as part of the official statistics series. The publication can be found here:
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Data has been published from 9 September. Data collected between 1 and 8 September has not been published because many schools had not started term or had inset days during this time.

Schools are considered fully open if they are able to provide face to face teaching for all pupils on roll for the whole school day and they have not asked a group of pupils to self-isolate. The number and proportion of state funded schools not fully open[1] [2] [3] on 15 and 22 September was as follows:

Number of state-funded

Percentage of state-funded

schools not fully open

schools not fully open

15/09/2020

1,200

6

22/09/2020

1,300

6

[1] All figures are adjusted for non-response.

[2] State-funded schools are state-funded primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and alternative provision.

[3] Schools can be not fully open for non-COVID-19 related reasons, such as staggering entry for nursery and reception pupils. Where schools are not fully open, most pupils are still attending. When pupils are unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical or public health advice, schools are expected to immediately offer them access to remote education.

30th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school (a) staff and (b) pupils have received positive covid-19 tests since 1 September 2020.

Keeping a close track of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in schools is a priority for the Government. Public Health England (PHE) leads in holding data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall. PHE have published data on COVID-19 incidents by institution, including educational settings. This data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-reports.

The Department is currently collecting data from schools on a daily basis, as well as gathering information from local areas and following up with individual settings. This is to confirm that procedures for requiring pupils to isolate are well understood and that necessary decisions are made on the basis of public health advice.

The Department collects data on the number of schools that have indicated that they have sent children home due to COVID-19 containment measures. The Department is currently looking at the quality of that data with a view to publishing it as part of the official statistics series. The series includes published data on school openings and attendance, which shows that at a national level approximately 93 per cent of state funded schools were fully open on 24 September. Of all schools that responded to the survey, 6 per cent said they were not fully open due to suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 on 24 September. Approximately 88 per cent of all children on roll in all state funded schools were in attendance on 24 September. More information is available at:
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the average weekly cost to the public purse is for a child in (a) residential care, (b) foster care and (c) other residential care settings.

The department publishes data about children and young people’s services, including weekly costs, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.

The approximate average weekly cost in England in 2018-19 for a child in residential care was £3,945 and for foster care was £580.

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has he made of the trends in the level educational attainment of children in care at (a) GCSE, (b) A level or equivalent and (c) undergraduate degree level.

Children in care generally have lower educational attainment than other pupils.

63% of looked-after children enter care due to abuse or neglect. They often have a disrupted experience of education and this pre-care experience can have a significant impact on their attainment. Looked-after children are almost four times more likely to have a special educational need (SEN) than all children and this in part can also explain the gap in attainment compared to non-looked after children.

We expect looked-after children to be placed in good or outstanding schools. Schools must appoint a designated teacher for looked-after children and local authorities must have a Virtual School Head who is accountable for the educational attainment of all children looked-after by the local authority. We have introduced the pupil premium plus for looked-after children (£2,345 per eligible pupil and is managed by the Virtual School Head) to deliver the outcomes in each looked-after child’s personal education plan. The department’s exclusions statutory guidance is clear that the headteacher should, as far as possible, avoid permanently excluding a looked after child. The rate of permanent exclusion for looked after children was 0.14% in 2014–15. That has reduced in recent years; in 2017-2018, the rate was 0.05%. The local authority must have regard to the relevant statutory guidance when carrying out its duties in relation to the education of looked after children.

Information on the performance of children who had been looked after continuously for at least 12 months at Key Stage 4 is published in a statistical release. Due to the introduction of reformed GCSEs and the 9-1 grading scale, comparisons over a long timeframe are difficult. Table 5a shows that the percentage of children who had been looked after continuously for at least 12 months achieving the threshold in English and mathematics at grade 5 or above decreased slightly from 7.4% in 2017 to 7.2% in 2019. The publication is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities-31-march-2019.

Equivalent figures are not available for A levels as we do not match data collected for looked-after children with Key Stage 5 attainment data on the national pupil database.

Information on the degree qualifications of children who have been looked after is not held centrally within the department.

The Office for Students published a report that looked at the effects of different characteristics on students’ degree attainment. Annex B describes how care-experienced students have lower rates of achieving a first or upper-second class degree when compared to students who have not been in care. For qualifiers in 2018-19, the attainment rate of care experienced students was 12.1% lower than the attainment rate of students who have not been in care. The report is available here:
https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/differences-in-student-outcomes-further-characteristics/.

Since 2018, we have been working with universities to encourage them to sign up to the Care Leaver Covenant and publish their offer to care leavers. The website is available here:
https://mycovenant.org.uk/offers/educational/.

We continue to work with the sector to better understand the needs of care leavers and increase their attendance and attainment.

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children in England there have been place in (a) foster care, (b) residential children’s homes and (c) other residential settings in each year since 2010.

The number of looked after children placed in foster care, residential homes and other residential settings since 2010 are shown in the attached table.

The latest figures nationally on children looked-after by placement are published in Table A2 of the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption: 2018 to 2019’, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019.

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils have been attending a (a) primary and (b) secondary school in (i) Hemsworth parliamentary constituency (ii) the Wakefield Council area on a daily basis since 1 June 2020.

The Department does not hold the information in the format required. National data on pupil attendance in educational establishments since 23 March was last published on Tuesday 7 July at the following link, covering data up to Thursday 2 July:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak-23-march-to-1-july-2020.

The publication includes breakdowns of attendance statistics for both primary and secondary schools and colleges from 1 June.

The data is collected from individual education establishments and the published figures include estimates for non-response.

23rd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether (a) one or (b) both parents are required to be classed as key workers for a child to attend school during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Department has recently published guidance for parents and carers in relation to the closure of educational settings, and this is available from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers.

The current guidance confirms that children with at least one parent or carer who is critical to the COVID-19 response can attend an education or childcare setting if necessary. However, many families with a parent or carer working in critical sectors will be able to ensure their child is kept at home. Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.

24th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the amount of time taken to inform candidates applying for jobs at the Environment Agency of the outcome of their application and whether they have been called for interview in each of the last five years.

The average time taken to inform candidates of the outcome of their application to a job advertised at the Environment Agency for each of the past full five calendar years is shown in the table below.

The data is for the period between the advert close date and the date the applicant was notified of the outcome of their application. The outcome of the application is either for the applicant to be invited to interview or for them to be informed that they have not been invited to interview

Year

Average time taken in working days for applicant to be notified of the outcome of an EA job application

2018

14.6

2019

12.7

2020

16.0

2021

12.7

2022

12.7 for posts advertised using the established EA recruitment system 13.7 for selected posts that have used a different recruitment system for part of 2022

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
20th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what was the average time taken for an environmental permit application to be processed in each year from 2015 to 2023 inclusive.

The average time taken to process applications in each year between 2015 and 2023 is shown below. This covers applications across Water Abstraction, Discharge to Water, Waste and Industrial Processes. There is a widely varying level of complexity in the applications determined which means drawing statistical comparisons across such a wide range doesn’t accurately account for the different requirements.

It is important to note that many application types have seen legislative change and increases in complexity during this time period, making year on year comparison difficult. The Environment Agency have seen a reduction in application quality during this time, requiring additional processing by their permitting department. Backlogs were built up during 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic which the Environment Agency have now largely recovered and they expect 2023/24 to see a reduction in average times.

Year Average of KPI3 (Days):


2015 - 41
2016 - 53
2017 - 64
2018 - 60
2019 - 72
2020 - 89
2021 - 85
2022 - 106
2023 - 107

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
17th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

The following table sets out expenditure on taxis in each of the given years. A split by ministers and civil servants could not be obtained on this occasion without incurring disproportionate costs.

Year

Taxi Spend (£)

2019

143,210.25

2020

30,288.49

2021

19,898.34

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The tables below set out the expenditure on first class train travel in each of the given years.

(a) Ministers

Year

Total Cost (£)

Number of Journeys

2020

£564

3

2021

£285

2

2022 to date

£0

0

(b) Civil Servants

Year

Total Cost (£)

Number of Journeys

2020

£1,550

13

2021

£2,066

13

2022 to date

£3,345

20

The department's travel and subsistence policy permits first class travel in a very limited number of circumstances, such as accompanying a Minister or due to a disability. Such travel requires a strong business justification and prior approval by a senior civil servant.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

(a) agency workers

Agency workers (more commonly referred to as “contingent labour” or “temporary workers”) are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingent-labour-spend-control

Commentary on contingent labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments

The Crown Commercial Service provides two frameworks specifically for the supply of Contingent Labour which are used by central government departments. These are:

RM3749 - Public Sector Resourcing.

https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/rm3749

This provides a managed service for departmental use including low supplier margins, regular pay rate benchmarking, comprehensive tracking and reporting of contingent labour assignments, full timesheeting and approvals technology and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.

RM6160 - Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff

https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6160

This provides access to a range of generalist, specialist and niche contingent labour agencies offering a wide range of suppliers, maximum margins, free transfer to permanent after 12 weeks and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.

Use of these frameworks provides robust governance, visibility, value for money and flexibility in meeting departmental contingent labour needs.

(b) agency retainer fees

We have interpreted agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service. This is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.

Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.

There is no recorded expenditure on agency retainer fees.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The attached table outlines the Department spend on advertising in the years 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
11th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

The provisional consultancy spend for 2021-22 is £26.970m for the Core Department and Agencies.

The department’s spend on consultancy is published each year in the Annual Report and Accounts.

2020-21

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021 (page 100)

2019-20

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020 (page 87)

The names of consultancies contracted are listed below

A LUCK ASSOCIATES

Actica Consulting Ltd

Aether Ltd

ALCHEMMY CONSULTING LTD

Alexander Mann Solutions LTD

Amber Employment Services Ltd

Amec Foster Wheeler

ARCADIS CONSULTING UK LTD

Arpexas (Scotland) Ltd

Bankserve

Beamans Ltd

Biopharma Consulting (BPC)

BLUE BORDER LTD

Broadhead Global Ltd

Business Solutions Limited

Capita

Change Associates Ltd

Commercial Consultancy Ltd

Costain Ltd

CURRIE and BROWN UK LTD

Daisy Communications Limited

Deloitte LLP

Dirac Delta Solutions Ltd

Dr Gabriele Hesselbein

Dr Marion Simmons

Dr Vanessa Carn

DTA ECOLOGY LTD

EBC CONSULTING LTD

ENGINEERING SAFETY CONSULTANTS LTD

Eric Crutcher

Ernst & Young LLP (EY)

FINYX CONSULTING LTD

FIRST RESPONSE TRAINING and CONSULTANCY SERVICES LTD

Frontier Economics Ltd

G2 Recruitment Solutions

Government Legal Department

Health Management Ltd

Ingentium Ltd

IVDEOLOGY LTD

J Weeks

JACOBS UK LTD

John Points

Jones P Consulting Ltd

JSA Services Ltd t/a Workwell

Julie Gibson

Keep IT Simple

KLIFOVET AG

KPMG

KPMG Safi Al Mutawa & Partners

L T S INTERNATIONAL LTD

Learning Light

Local Partnerships LLP

Lockhart-Garratt

Louisa Wood

LSSC Ltd

M Botony

Management and Risk Solutions Ltd

MCKINSEY & CO INC UNITED KINGDOM

Met Office

Methods Business Digital Technology

METHODS CONSULTING LTD

Mo Gannon & Associates Ltd

Modality Systems Ltd

Morgan Langley

Network Rail

Nibiru Ltd

PA CONSULTING SERVICES LTD

Park Health & Safety Partnership LLP

Perfect Circle JV Ltd

Philippe Sabot Consultant (PSC)

PJM-HS CONSULTING LTD

PKM Digital Ltd

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP

Proxima

PUBLIC DIGITAL LTD

RADMAN ASSOCIATES LTD

Rare Little Beastie Ltd

RBS

REED

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE LTD

Richard Parker

ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE.

RSK GROUP PLC

Seed Science

SGS UK Ltd

Silversands Ltd

Stentiford, Grant

THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP UK LLP

The Neoteric Tech Company Ltd

The Research Box Ltd

Triple G Consulting Ltd

University Of Liverpool

VETERINARY VACCINES CONS LTD

Whiteball Ltd

WILLS TOWERS WATSON LTD

WRAP

WSP GLOBAL

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
6th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much their Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Defra and its associated executive agencies1 have incurred the following costs on Litigation for the calendar years 2020 to 2022 (up to 30/6/22):

Amount (£m)2

Calendar Year

0.93m

2020

1.47m

2021

0.61m

2022

1: Includes the Animal and Plant Health Agency; the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science; Rural Payments Agency and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

2: Source data from the Government Legal Department’s (GLD) electronic systems as at 8 July 2022. These figures represent the costs charged by the litigation team in GLD. It does not include any costs awarded against Defra or damages.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

There have been two contracts held by the department with Capita since 2020, with a total value of £118,000. There have been no other contracts held since 2020 with G4S or Serco.

Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
4th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder. As Contracts Finder was implemented in 2016, not all records before this time are held centrally.

Information on contracts with start dates within the next 12 months has been provided in the attached spreadsheet, with contracts between £1m and £3m, and £3m and over, on separate tabs. The Customer Lead Department column has been highlighted for ease of reference.

There are 49 contracts between £1m and £3m and 92 contracts £3m and over with contract start dates within the next 12 months.

Once contracts are let they are “owned” by the relevant business area Senior Responsible Officer and managed within the appropriate team. Therefore, we cannot confirm the cost or resource invested in managing the contracts.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
30th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the pay ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in his Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The pay ratio between the highest paid member of staff and the lowest in Defra was 9:1 in 2020 and 8.88:1 in 2021. Pay awards for 2022 have not yet been implemented in Defra.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Total expenditure on hospitality by the Core Department is set out in the table below.

Financial Year

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22 Provisional

Expenditure

£293,052

-£4,312

£92,255

The overall credit for 2020-21 is primarily due to one large credit for £18,000 in April 2020.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
20th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with specific dietary needs as a result of a medical condition can obtain the food they need from supermarkets.

The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. We are aware of the additional availability issues faced by people who have particular dietary requirements and are working with the food industry to ensure that everybody is able to get the food that they need. We will continue to work closely with the industry over the coming days and months.

Our retailers already have highly resilient supply chains and they are working around the clock to adapt quickly to these changes in demands. Food supply into and across the UK is resilient.

To help industry respond to this unprecedented demand we have introduced new measures to keep food supply flowing. We have issued guidance to local authorities to allow extended delivery hours to supermarkets so that shelves can be filled up more quickly, and we have implemented extensions to drivers’ hours. We are also temporarily relaxing certain elements of competition law to ensure retailers are able to collaborate effectively in the national interest.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
30th Jan 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether his Department has made an assessment of the International Finance Corporation decision to support the Amulsar gold mining project in Armenia.

The UK is a shareholder of the International Financial Cooperation (IFC) and has a single seat on its Board. Our membership and support for international financial institutions like the IFC helps to advance sustainable and inclusive growth in developing economies. The IFC has robust environmental, social and governance safeguards, which it assesses all projects and investments against. The UK uses its seat on the IFC Board to ensure these standards are met and will take this into consideration when deciding whether or not to vote in favour of a particular project. The IFC has not been involved in the Amulsar gold mining project since 2017

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
17th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) spend on taxi cabs in each of the last three years for both ministers and civil servants is as follows

2020

2021

January – October 2022

£52,110.37

£28,383.35

£97,016.49


DIT Ministerial travel, gifts, hospitality and meetings are published on www.gov.uk -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) spend for first class train travel for ministers and civil servants is as follows:

Ministers

2020- Nil

2021 - £754.20

2022 - £169.20

Civil Servants

2020 - £318.10

2021 - £600.55

2022 - £496.15

13th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department for International Trade spent the following on air travel for the years ending 31 March 2020, 2021 and 2022 for both Ministers and officials.

2019-2020

2020-2021

2021-2022

£2,826,000

£148,000

£1,510,000


DIT Ministerial travel, gifts, hospitality and meetings are published on www.gov.uk -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) purchases all its advertising through Omnicom Media Group, the sole supplier for such services appointed by the Crown Commercial Service. Our expenditure with Omnicom was as follows:

a) £13.94m in 2019/2020

b) £15.47m in 2020/2021

c) £12.88m in 2021/2022

d) £1.11m to date in 2022/23

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
11th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

As per the Department for International Trade (DIT) Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1002839/DIT-annual-report-2020-to-2021.pdf ) consultancy spend in 2020/21 was £5,782k and in 2019/20 was £897k. This relates to the provision of objective advice to DIT relating to strategy, structure, management or operations in pursuit of its purposes and objective. This has been subject to audit.

The 2021/22 consultancy spend will be published in the 2021/22 Annual Report and Accounts in the coming weeks.

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has awarded contracts to Capita worth approximately £2.7 million in 2020; and approximately £61,000 in 2021.

DIT has not awarded any contracts to Serco or G4S since 2020.

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
4th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) was formed in July 2016 so represents the earliest date for DIT contracts. The number of contracts signed since this date is as below:

£1m-£3m+ contracts signed

£3m+ contracts signed

£1m-£3m next 12 months

£3m+ next 12 months

DIT

35

45

1

3

Trade Remedies Authority

1

0

0

0

DIT is a leading department in the implementation of contract management capability in seeking to ensure that contracts are managed by appropriately trained personnel but it does not hold the information pertaining to the amount spent or number of officials monitoring these contracts over this period.

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
30th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the wage ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in her Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Below are the ratios between the highest and lowest paid earner at the Department for International Trade for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22:

Period

Rounded Ratio

2019/20

14:1

2020/21

16:1

2021/22

Figures will be published in the July 2022 ARA.

Below are the ratios between the highest and lowest paid earner at UK Export Finance for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22:

Period

Rounded Ratio

2019/20

12:1

2020/21

12:1

2021/22

13:1

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department does not separately record expenditure on hospitality.

Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
4th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many visits has Quintessentially UK Limited (a) organised or (b) assisted as part of the Great Investors Programme.

The Department for International Trade has a contract with Quintessentially UK to support the attraction of international investment into the UK. Quintessentially UK provides:
support with events and visits, advice on potential investors, introductions for international investors to UK companies, investor engagement strategies, and assurances on the reputation of investors engaged.

The table attached details a breakdown of the visits, events, and support Quintessentially has provided through the Great Investors Programme.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to paragraph 9.1 of the Crown Commercial Service's document, Publication of Central Government Tenders and Contracts, for what reasons her Department's contract with Quintessentially (UK) Limited was not published on Contracts Finder until April 2019 when that contract began in May 2016.

The contract was procured prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) by UK Shared Business Services who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. DIT took ownership of UKTI’s contracts on formation. UK Shared Business Services is a shared services provider and is jointly owned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and UK Research and Innovation. UK Shared Business Services was responsible for adding the contract to Contracts Finder before responsibility for the contract was transferred to DIT. After DIT staff noticed the contract was not on Contracts Finder, in early 2019, the contract was added.

The Department are currently running a competitive procurement for a partner for inward investment services. This will replace the current contract with Quintessentially when it expires in May 2020. A notice was published on Contracts Finder and the Official Journal of the EU in January 2020 to inform the market of this opportunity.

Quintessentially won a competitive tender in 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Service who at the time managed UKTI’s procurement activity.

Key performance indicators are designed to reflect the service required and are determined on a case-by-case basis.

DIT does not hold any other contracts with Quintessentially (UK) Limited in addition to the contract for the GREAT Investors Programme.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department plans to renew its contract with Quintessentially (UK) Limited after that contract expires in May 2020.

The contract was procured prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) by UK Shared Business Services who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. DIT took ownership of UKTI’s contracts on formation. UK Shared Business Services is a shared services provider and is jointly owned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and UK Research and Innovation. UK Shared Business Services was responsible for adding the contract to Contracts Finder before responsibility for the contract was transferred to DIT. After DIT staff noticed the contract was not on Contracts Finder, in early 2019, the contract was added.

The Department are currently running a competitive procurement for a partner for inward investment services. This will replace the current contract with Quintessentially when it expires in May 2020. A notice was published on Contracts Finder and the Official Journal of the EU in January 2020 to inform the market of this opportunity.

Quintessentially won a competitive tender in 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Service who at the time managed UKTI’s procurement activity.

Key performance indicators are designed to reflect the service required and are determined on a case-by-case basis.

DIT does not hold any other contracts with Quintessentially (UK) Limited in addition to the contract for the GREAT Investors Programme.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the tendering process for the contract held with her Department by Quintessentially (UK) Limited was competitive and open to rival bids.

The contract was procured prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) by UK Shared Business Services who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. DIT took ownership of UKTI’s contracts on formation. UK Shared Business Services is a shared services provider and is jointly owned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and UK Research and Innovation. UK Shared Business Services was responsible for adding the contract to Contracts Finder before responsibility for the contract was transferred to DIT. After DIT staff noticed the contract was not on Contracts Finder, in early 2019, the contract was added.

The Department are currently running a competitive procurement for a partner for inward investment services. This will replace the current contract with Quintessentially when it expires in May 2020. A notice was published on Contracts Finder and the Official Journal of the EU in January 2020 to inform the market of this opportunity.

Quintessentially won a competitive tender in 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Service who at the time managed UKTI’s procurement activity.

Key performance indicators are designed to reflect the service required and are determined on a case-by-case basis.

DIT does not hold any other contracts with Quintessentially (UK) Limited in addition to the contract for the GREAT Investors Programme.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether it is standard practice for her Department to include in its contracts with suppliers a key performance indicator that specifies that the contractor does not offer services that are not in line with government offering and reputational agreement.

The contract was procured prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) by UK Shared Business Services who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. DIT took ownership of UKTI’s contracts on formation. UK Shared Business Services is a shared services provider and is jointly owned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and UK Research and Innovation. UK Shared Business Services was responsible for adding the contract to Contracts Finder before responsibility for the contract was transferred to DIT. After DIT staff noticed the contract was not on Contracts Finder, in early 2019, the contract was added.

The Department are currently running a competitive procurement for a partner for inward investment services. This will replace the current contract with Quintessentially when it expires in May 2020. A notice was published on Contracts Finder and the Official Journal of the EU in January 2020 to inform the market of this opportunity.

Quintessentially won a competitive tender in 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Service who at the time managed UKTI’s procurement activity.

Key performance indicators are designed to reflect the service required and are determined on a case-by-case basis.

DIT does not hold any other contracts with Quintessentially (UK) Limited in addition to the contract for the GREAT Investors Programme.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department holds any other contracts with Quintessentially (UK) Limited in addition to the contract for the Great Investors Programme.

The contract was procured prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) by UK Shared Business Services who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. DIT took ownership of UKTI’s contracts on formation. UK Shared Business Services is a shared services provider and is jointly owned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and UK Research and Innovation. UK Shared Business Services was responsible for adding the contract to Contracts Finder before responsibility for the contract was transferred to DIT. After DIT staff noticed the contract was not on Contracts Finder, in early 2019, the contract was added.

The Department are currently running a competitive procurement for a partner for inward investment services. This will replace the current contract with Quintessentially when it expires in May 2020. A notice was published on Contracts Finder and the Official Journal of the EU in January 2020 to inform the market of this opportunity.

Quintessentially won a competitive tender in 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Service who at the time managed UKTI’s procurement activity.

Key performance indicators are designed to reflect the service required and are determined on a case-by-case basis.

DIT does not hold any other contracts with Quintessentially (UK) Limited in addition to the contract for the GREAT Investors Programme.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential cost of bringing TransPennine Express into public ownership.

The decision was made balancing a number of factors, with outcomes for passengers the priority. An indicative assessment suggests that although some areas may see increased costs, there are expected to be offsetting savings elsewhere. The 2023/24 budget for the operator is unchanged.

Huw Merriman
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
12th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to introduce national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicles.

The Government remains committed to bring forward legislation to create national licensing standards for taxis and private hire vehicles, enhanced enforcement powers and a national licensing database, when parliamentary time allows.

Richard Holden
Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
12th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the development of sustainable aviation fuels.

The Government is focused on stimulating the demand and use of sustainable aviation fuel in the UK. To create demand for SAF, the Government will introduce a SAF mandate in 2025, which aims to deliver at least 10% of jet fuel from sustainable sources by 2030. The second consultation on the design of the scheme is currently open for consultation.

The Government is seeking to kickstart a domestic SAF industry through the £165 million Advanced Fuels Fund to support the development of commercial scale plants. The Government has already awarded funding to five projects and is currently considering applications to the second funding round.

In April 2023, the Government responded to Philip New’s report on developing a UK SAF industry. Officials are now working with industry to develop options for an industry-funded revenue certainty mechanism.

17th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

The following table provides the total spend on taxi cabs for the core Department and its agencies, covering financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22.

Financial Year

Expenditure (£’000)

2019-20

253

2020-21

24

2021-22

244

The Department is unable to break down travel expense costs for officials and Ministers by mode of transport.

12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Department for Transport policy states “All staff must travel standard class irrespective of grade, except under certain circumstances, including temporary or permanent disability or pregnancy related reasons”

To obtain the information in the format requested would be at disproportionate cost.

6th Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority on public ownership of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The Government is committed to regional airports. They are key to serving our local communities, supporting thousands of jobs in the regions, and they act as a key gateway to international opportunities. While the UK Government supports airports, it does not own or operate them.

The Minister for Aviation recognises the importance of Doncaster Sheffield Airport to the region and has made clear in meetings both with the South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard and the Peel Group the Government’s desire to see a viable aviation future for the airport. The Minister has urged Mayor Coppard to work with all parties to find a locally led solution to preserve aviation at Doncaster-Sheffield Airport.

21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department’s published figures in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts includes the total contingent labour expenditure figures for the core Department and its Executive Agencies. These numbers are available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-annual-reports-and-accounts.

The table below provides the total spend on contingent labour

for DVSA, covering financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21, as these figures are not included in the total Departmental contingent labour expenditure published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for those years:

Financial Year

Expenditure (£m)

2019-20

0.6

2020-21

0.5

Agency workers (more commonly referred to as “Contingent Labour” or “Temporary Workers”) are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingent-labour-spend-control

Commentary on Contingent Labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments

The Crown Commercial Service provides two frameworks specifically for the supply of Contingent Labour which are used by central government departments. These are:

RM3749 - Public Sector Resourcing. https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/rm3749

This provides a managed service for departmental use including low supplier margins, regular pay rate benchmarking, comprehensive tracking and reporting of contingent labour assignments, full timesheeting and approvals technology and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.

RM6160 - Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6160

This provides access to a range of generalist, specialist and niche contingent labour agencies offering a wide range of suppliers, maximum margins, free transfer to permanent after 12 weeks and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.

Use of these frameworks provides robust governance, visibility, value for money and flexibility in meeting departmental contingent labour needs.

We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service, this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.

Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
13th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The following table provides the total spend on air travel for the core Department, covering financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22:

Financial Year

Expenditure (£’000)

2019-20

1,478

2020-21

72

2021-22

356

The department is unable to break down travel expense costs for officials and Ministers by mode of transport.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The following table provides the total spend on advertising for the core Department, covering financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22:

Financial Year

Expenditure (£m)

2019-20

14.4

2020-21

6.4

2021-22

9.8

Note the majority of the above spend has been incurred on the THINK! road safety campaign.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
11th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

The Department publishes information on all tenders and contracts over £10,000 and a list of the consultancy contracts can be found via the link below:

Contracts Finder - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Department is also fully committed to the Government’s transparency agenda and publishes details of expenditure, including consultancy spend, over £25,000 by month. This information can be found via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-departmental-spending-over-25000

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
6th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much their Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

DfT and it’s Executive Agencies have spent the below amounts on Litigation Costs in the last 3 calendar years. The 2022 figure covers up until 8th July 2022.

Calendar years

£

2020

£5.1m

2021

£3.8m

2022 (up until 8th July)

£1.9m

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

The total value of contracts held since 2020 by DfTc with: -

(a)G4S £0

(b)Serco £0

(c)Capita £152,951

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
4th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

Based on records held within our new sourcing system launched from end of 2019:

(A)From 2020 (i)DfTc have (a)awarded 83 contracts with a value between £1m and £3m, and (b)43 contracts with a value exceeding £3m.

(ii)It is likely that the information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost as we would have to contact each of the agencies and non-departmental public bodies separately dedicating a resource(s) centrally to co-ordinate the response after identifying the relevant resource(s) within each of the agencies and non-departmental public bodies able to provide the answer; however, from the latest publication of Annual Accounts in terms of proportionality of the Department’s portfolio, the grey section (£0.386bn) of Image1 relates to size of DfTc spend in relation to the rest of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies (£41.887bn).

(B)In the next 12 months DfTc anticipate that 32 contracts shall commence with value between £1m and £3m and that 20 contracts shall commence with value over £3m. There are currently there are 732 contract managers within DfTc of which 452 have completed foundation contract management training with the remaining 280 working towards completion of the accreditation. It would cause a disproportionate cost to calculate the cost of deploying the 732 contract managers.

30th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the pay ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in his Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The highest and lowest value staff remuneration is declared in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts Remuneration Reports for 2020 and 2021. The values for 2022 will be published in the upcoming 2022 report.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The following table provides the total spend on hospitality for the core Department, covering financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22:

Financial Year

Expenditure (£’000)

2019-20

26

2020-21

14

2021-22

6

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
2nd Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Northern Rail on ending the extended use of temporary timetables on (a) the Pontefract Line and (b) all other services between Leeds and Pontefract for which that operator is responsible.

Rail services between Leeds and Pontefract are part of the Leeds-Knottingley and Goole routes. In December 2021, the timetable service level was broadly one train per hour on each route. As a result of Omicron, a number of services were withdrawn to ensure a consistent and reliable service. The Department, along with operators and Network Rail agrees timetables twice a year, ensuring that the level of service is appropriate to passenger demand.

The operator is currently engaging with the Department and the Rail North Partnership on its post-May 2022 timetable. As we recover from the pandemic, we want to provide a reliable and resilient service that has sufficient capacity to meet actual demand and provide value for money to the taxpayer.

2nd Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what level of service Northern Rail is required to provide on the Pontefract Line between Leeds and Pontefract as part of its franchise agreement.

Rail services between Leeds and Pontefract are part of the Leeds-Knottingley and Goole routes. In December 2021, the timetable service level was broadly one train per hour on each route. As a result of Omicron, a number of services were withdrawn to ensure a consistent and reliable service. The Department, along with operators and Network Rail agrees timetables twice a year, ensuring that the level of service is appropriate to passenger demand.

The operator is currently engaging with the Department and the Rail North Partnership on its post-May 2022 timetable. As we recover from the pandemic, we want to provide a reliable and resilient service that has sufficient capacity to meet actual demand and provide value for money to the taxpayer.

19th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has made for the provision of legal advice and financial support to people who have already sold their homes after receiving a compulsory purchase order relating to the now cancelled Phase 2b of HS2

No compulsory purchase orders have been issued in relation to Phase 2b of HS2. Where property has been acquired for HS2 Phase 2b, we have paid full compensation in accordance with the Compensation Code and the additional schemes that go beyond what the law requires and which we have set up as part of the HS2 programme. The HS2 Ltd Helpdesk is available to assist anyone who owns property on the route and is uncertain about their next steps.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
19th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made for the number of people residing in Hemsworth constituency who sold their homes after receiving a compulsory purchase order relating to HS2.

HS2 Ltd does not have compulsory purchase powers for the Phase 2b scheme. These are conferred by an Act of Parliament authorising the construction of each phase of HS2. Therefore, HS2 Ltd has not acquired, nor is in the process of acquiring, any properties in the Hemsworth constituency under such powers.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
19th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether new (a) rail and (b) tram stations will be opened in the Wakefield District, as part of the new West Yorkshire Mass Transit System.

The Government wants to work with and support West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) as they further develop and start work on their plans for a West Yorkshire Mass Transit System. The development of route options will be led by WYCA.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
19th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what part of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit System will be the focus of the first phase of the plan.

The Government wants to work with and support West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) as they further develop and start work on their plans for a West Yorkshire Mass Transit System. The development of route options will be led by WYCA.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
19th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has for Featherstone and Normanton in the context of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority mass transit scheme document.

The Government wants to work with and support West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) as they further develop and start work on their plans for a West Yorkshire Mass Transit System. The development of route options will be led by WYCA.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
19th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands, published by his Department on 18 November 2021, whether the new rail line expected under the West Yorkshire Mass Transit System are planned to have any stations in Hemsworth constituency.

The Government wants to work with and support West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) as they further develop and start work on their plans for a West Yorkshire Mass Transit System. The development of route options will be led by WYCA.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
19th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much local taxpayers will be expected to pay to support the capital costs of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit System as set out in the Integrated Rail Plan.

The Government wants to work with and support West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) on further developing and starting work on their plans for a West Yorkshire Mass Transit System. Funding contributions will be considered as plans are further developed.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
19th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of residents in Hemsworth constituency who are in the process of selling their properties after receiving a compulsory purchase order relating to HS2.

HS2 Ltd does not have compulsory purchase powers for the Phase 2b scheme. These are conferred by an Act of Parliament authorising the construction of each phase of HS2. Therefore the company has not acquired, nor is in the process of acquiring, any properties in the Hemsworth constituency under such powers.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of people waiting for their driving licence to be renewed by the DVLA; and what that estimate was for each of the last five years.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online services are the quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their driving licence within a few days. However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application for a driving licence. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. Industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union, along with having fewer staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government guidelines, has led to delays for customers who make paper applications.

There are currently around 638,000 paper applications for a driving licence awaiting processing. This includes those applying for a driving licence for the first time and those renewing an existing licence. It should be noted that the large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed. Information for each of the last five years is not available.

The DVLA continues to look into opportunities to reduce the backlog and has been developing additional new online services and recruiting additional staff. The DVLA is urgently exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to house more staff to help reduce backlogs.

Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the average length of delay at each UK port in January 2021.

As yet, it is too early to use observed information to predict whether any disruption may occur later in January and if so to what degree. However, alongside the Border and Protocol Delivery Group we shall continue to monitor the situation.

We have always been clear that some change is to be expected now that we have left the EU’s custom union and single market. Full compliance with the new rules is vital to avoid disruption, and the best way to ensure readiness is to follow the guidance on gov.uk and use the ‘Check an HGV’ service.

We stand ready to help keep goods flowing smoothly as we adjust to our new relationship with the EU and ensure we take advantage of the opportunities it brings.

26th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that plans are in place to enforce social distancing measures on public transport between 23 and 27 December 2020.

Travel restrictions across the UK and between tiers will be lifted over the Christmas period, allowing up to three households to come together between 23 and 27 of December in Great Britain and between the 22 and 28 for those travelling to and from Northern Ireland.

The pandemic will undoubtedly make journeys more challenging, longer and busier than usual over the Christmas period. We have therefore been working closely with delivery partners to devise a series of measures focused on supporting passenger and staff safety, reducing disruption wherever possible and helping people travel with confidence. Sir Peter Hendy has also been asked to scrutinise the plans of all rail, road, coach, maritime and aviation operators to ensure a collective focus across the transport industry on minimising disruption and supporting passengers.

26th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has in place to ensure that public transport networks can cope safely and in adherence to social distancing measures with a potential increase in passengers on services between 23 and 27 December 2020.

Travel restrictions across the UK and between tiers will be lifted over the Christmas period, allowing up to three households to come together between 23 and 27 of December in Great Britain and between the 22 and 28 for those travelling to and from Northern Ireland.

The pandemic will undoubtedly make journeys more challenging, longer and busier than usual over the Christmas period. We have therefore been working closely with delivery partners to devise a series of measures focused on supporting passenger and staff safety, reducing disruption wherever possible and helping people travel with confidence. Sir Peter Hendy has also been asked to scrutinise the plans of all rail, road, coach, maritime and aviation operators to ensure a collective focus across the transport industry on minimising disruption and supporting passengers.

25th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the High Speed Two rail project.

In April, the Government approved the Full Business Case for Phase One and set the funding envelope at £44.6bn (2019 prices), including Euston. The overall Phase 2a estimated cost is ranged between £5-7bn (2019 prices). Updated cost estimates will be provided for the Phase 2b links to Manchester and Leeds once the Integrated Rail Plan is concluded. The Government has committed to keeping Parliament regularly updated on the latest cost estimates of the scheme via twice yearly reporting. The first of these was published in October and can be accessed below: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hs2-6-monthly-report-to-parliament.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
15th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) restructure and (b) reassess the viability of the High Speed Two project as a result of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority issuing a red Delivery Confidence Assessment rating in its Annual Report on Major Projects 2019-20.

The IPA’s report refers to the status of the HS2 project in September 2019. This was before the project was comprehensively reset in February 2020 with a revised budget and schedule, and provision of adequate contingency. Steps have also been taken to ensure the project is delivered in a more disciplined and transparent manner with, for example, a dedicated HS2 Minister appointed and bi-annual updates to be provided to Parliament.

In line with the findings of the Oakervee Review, published in February 2020, we will also be creating new delivery arrangements for Euston, and have committed to drawing up an Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the North by the end of this year.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which individuals accompanied Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, on his visit to Beijing in April 2018.

Mark Thurston did not visit Beijing in April 2018. On 10 April 2019 Mark Thurston met representatives of the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) along with the HM Trade Commissioner to China. On 11 April 2019 Mark Thurston was accompanied by Department for International Trade officials to a round table meeting with NDRC and key Chinese rail companies. The purpose of the visit was to gather international best practice of core elements of High Speed Rail projects, such as station design, maintenance and operational processes.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the purpose was of the visit by Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, to Beijing in April 2018.

Mark Thurston did not visit Beijing in April 2018. In April 2019 Mark Thurston visited Japan, China and Hong Kong to meet with companies responsible for developing and operating high speed networks. He also visited high speed stations in Tokyo, Beijing and Kowloon. The purpose of the visit was to gather international best practice of core elements of High Speed Rail projects, such as station design, maintenance and operational processes.

At the advice of the previous Chairman, Sir David Higgins, Mark Thurston also undertook two other short, 48hr, overseas visits - to Italy and Spain - in March 2018 to learn from their experiences of delivering High Speed Rail. Spain has the largest high speed network outside of China.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether funding from the public purse was allocated to the visit to Beijing in April 2018 by Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd.

Mark Thurston did not visit Beijing in April 2018. In April 2019 Mark Thurston visited Japan, China and Hong Kong to meet with companies responsible for developing and operating high speed networks, hosted by the British Embassy and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and supported by HM Trade Commissioner to China and the Department for International Trade. The purpose of the visit was to gather international best practice of core elements of High Speed Rail projects, such as station design, maintenance and operational processes. The only business expense claimed was Mark Thurston’s international flights. Where travel is for business purposes it is reasonable for it to be covered by HS2 Ltd in line with its published policies. Mark Thurston covered his own internal travel expenses, accommodation, and expenditure for this trip.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the average time it takes his Department to respond to enquiries about Personal Independence Payments.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has experienced unprecedented levels of new claims from customers in recent months and, as a result, we have seen increased call traffic.

We are currently in the process of recruiting additional resource into telephony, so that we can increase the number of calls answered and reduce current wait times.

The average speed of answer (ASA) for May was 40 minutes and 43 seconds - however, this may vary at different times of the day.

The average speed of answer (ASA) figures relate to the enquiries line only and does not impact customers being able to make new claims or raise a dispute.

Additional information:

ASA from January 2023 – May 2023 is as follows:

Jan

Feb

March

April

May

Average Speed of Answer (ASA)

00:25:14

00:34:50

00:40:22

00:43:59

00:40:43

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
18th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department's planned increase to state pension will affect means-tested benefits, including housing benefit.

The Government is committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve. The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people. Subject to Parliamentary approval, State Pensions will increase by 10.1% from April 2023 in line with the Consumer Prices Index increase for the year to September 2022.

Housing Benefit is an income-related benefit which is intended to assist people who need help to pay their rent. Pension Credit is the other main income-related benefit received by pensioners. It is intended to help poorer pensioners with their day to day living costs. This year we are taking action to increase Pension Credit rates by 10.1%, in line with CPI, from April 2023. The personal allowances in Housing Benefit will also be increased by 10.1% from April.

Laura Trott
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

£'s

Ministers

Civil Servants

Total

First Class Rail Travel

2020

199.37

1,515.98

1,715.35

2021

-

910.10

910.10

2022

-

1,330.35

1,330.35

Total

199.37

3,756.43

3,955.80

Source: QS Travel App and ABM FTE App.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when changes to the eligibility criteria for Bereavement Support Payments for cohabiting couples will take effect.

On 11 October 2022, we laid the draft Bereavement Benefits (Remedial) Order 2022 to extend Widows Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment to cohabitees with dependent children. It will lay in Parliament for a 60-day period. The draft Order will be debated, and voted upon, in both Houses of Parliament before the Order can become law. You can find more information in the proposed draft Order and Explanatory Memorandum, which can be accessed on GOV.UK. We cannot at this stage say when the Order will become law and people will be eligible to claim, that will depend on the Parliamentary process.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

(a) Agency workers (more commonly referred to as “Contingent Labour” or “Temporary Workers”) are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area. Contingent Labour Spend Control - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Commentary on Contingent Labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports. Annual Reports and Accounts for Central Government Departments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Crown Commercial Service provides two frameworks specifically for the supply of Contingent Labour which are used by central government departments. These are:

RM3749 - Public Sector Resourcing.

Public Sector Resourcing - CCS (crowncommercial.gov.uk) - This provides a managed service for departmental use including low supplier margins, regular pay rate benchmarking, comprehensive tracking and reporting of contingent labour assignments, full time sheeting and approvals technology and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.

RM6160 - Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff.

Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff - CCS (crowncommercial.gov.uk) - This provides access to a range of generalist, specialist and niche contingent labour agencies offering a wide range of suppliers, maximum margins, free transfer to permanent after 12 weeks and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.

Use of these frameworks provides robust governance, visibility, value for money and flexibility in meeting departmental contingent labour needs.

(b) We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service, this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.

Julie Marson
Assistant Whip
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Total Advertising Spend

2019-20

16,317,534

2020-21

15,677,340

2021-22

18,128,093

Source: Hyperion

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
11th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes details about headcount and payroll costs for permanent staff and contractors on GOV.UK, monthly.

DWP workforce management information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The DWP consultancy spend for the financial years ending 2020 through to 2022 is shown below.

2019/20 £4,570,665

2020/21 £1,284,861

2021/22 £1,041,058

Information on the name of each consultancy contracted for each of the financial years is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
6th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much their Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

We have taken “legal dispute” to mean a case where DWP has instructed the litigation team at the Government Legal Department (GLD) to act on its behalf and “associated agencies” to include the arms’ length bodies (ALBs) and agencies included in this list: Departments, agencies and public bodies - GOV.UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

On this basis, the figures that we have been supplied by GLD litigation are calculated from 1st January each year are and are up to 30th June 2022:

2020 £6,271,760

2021 £6,566,573

2022 £3,262,113

These figures are inclusive of;

  • VAT
  • Bills to ALBs from GLD litigation and to DWP agencies, and
  • Costs awards either against or in favour of DWP, its ALBs or agencies

The figures are exclusive of;

  • Expenditure on advisory teams, which may include advice on disputes within the scope of their work, and
  • Employment advisory work.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder.

Under the Governments Transparency agenda, all spend data over £25,000 is published and can be found at DWP: departmental spending over £25,000 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
4th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many contracts that are worth (a) between £1 million and £3 million and (b) over £3 million their (i) Department and (ii) Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies (A) have agreed since 2010 and (B) are due to agree within the next 12 months; how much their Department has spent on monitoring each contract in each year since 2010; and how many officials have been working on that monitoring in each year since 2010.

Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder. As Contracts Finder was implemented in 2016, not all records before this time are held centrally.

In relation to funding, under the Governments Transparency agenda, all spend data over £25,000 is published and can be found at DWP: departmental spending over £25,000 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

For the Department, there are 166 contracts with a value between £1 million and £3 million, and 69 contracts with a value over £3 million, due to be agreed in the next 12 months.

The numbers represent the anticipated forecast number of contracts that may be agreed within the next 12 months to 31/07/2023. These figures are unsupported by any necessary dependent approval governance and/or change in demand signal.

For the Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies, there are 11 contracts with a value between £1 million and £3 million, and 4 contracts with a value over £3 million, due to be agreed in the next 12 months.

Due to a number of organisational and staff changes since 2010, information on Departmental spend on monitoring each contract and the number of officials working on them, is not readily available and would require a very high degree of manual processing. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
30th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the pay ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in her Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The pay ratio between the highest paid member of staff in DWP and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 can be found at:

DWP annual report and accounts 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

2021-22 information is not yet available, however will be published in the Remuneration Report in the Annual Accounts in due course.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Total Hospitality Spend

2019-20

121,796

2020-21

7,496

2021-22

11,800

Source: Hyperion

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
14th Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of parents who are required to pay child maintenance but are failing to meet that requirement.

Child Maintenance Service (CMS) compliance statistics for Paying Parents are published quarterly and can be found in “Table 2: Compliance (Collect and Pay) by quarter” of the “CMS Paying Parents” section of Stat-Xplore here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
14th Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of parents in receipt of child maintenance who have (a) contacted the Child Maintenance Service about late payment and (b) successfully received full payment of arrears.

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the Department.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
15th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the value in real terms of social security income.

The increase in benefits is linked to the rate of inflation in September 2021 which is published in October. This is the latest figure that the Secretary of State can use to allow sufficient time for the required legislative and operational changes before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year. Benefits and pensions will rise by 3.1% in April.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
15th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of auto-enrolling everyone in the UK on the universal credit system.

No assessment has been made to auto-enrol everyone in the UK on the Universal Credit system.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much financial support her Department has provided to job seekers with dyspraxia in each year of the last ten years.

There is no data held or collected that could highlight specific financial support provided to job seekers with dyspraxia.

The Government is wholly committed to support those on low income and will continue to do so through such measures as increasing the living wage, and by spending over £110 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22. With a record £59bn being spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.

A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to prepare for, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.

16th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made the potential merits of (a) providing additional financial support to pensioners during winter 2021-22 and (b) assessing the impact of additional support on the financial wellbeing of pensioners in (a) Hemsworth constituency and (b) Wakefield local authority.

The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people. Under this Government, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension is now over £2,050 higher in cash terms than in 2010.

Around 1.4 million eligible pensioners across Great Britain receive some £5 billion in Pension Credit which tops up their retirement income and is a passport to other financial help such as support with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and a free TV licence for those over 75.

We recognise that some people may still require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country can now access an additional £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. Up to 50% of the Fund is available for councils to spend on households without children, including those of State Pension age. Barnsley local authority has been allocated £2,351,263.96. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million.

In addition, Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be payable to customers of State Pension age. We will pay £200 to households with a customer aged between 66 and 79 and £300 to a household with someone aged 80 or over. We pay over 11m Winter Fuel Payments annually at a cost of £2bn which is a significant contribution to winter fuel bills.

Cold Weather Payments help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet additional heating costs, during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. This includes older people in receipt of Pension Credit. Those eligible will continue to automatically receive £25 when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0°C or below over seven consecutive days.

The Warm Home Discount Scheme provides those in receipt of Pension Credit guarantee credit a discount of £140 on their energy bill providing their supplier is part of the scheme.

Furthermore, the Government continues to protect benefits for older people including free eye tests, NHS prescriptions and bus passes.

No such assessments have been made for Hemsworth constituency or Wakefield local authority. However, the latest statistics show that in the three years to 19/20, absolute poverty for pensioners in Yorkshire and the Humber, after housing costs, had reduced significantly.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
16th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Hemsworth constituency are in receipt of any type of welfare payment as at 16 July 2021.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department does publish Experimental Statistics on Benefit Combinations and the latest available statistics to November 2020, which can be broken down by parliamentary constituency, are available on the Department’s Stat-Xplore website:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Guidance for users of Stat-Xplore is available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Statistics for a majority of the individual benefits administered by the Department are available at:

Statistics at DWP - Department for Work and Pensions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Most of these statistics are available by parliamentary constituency on the Stat-Xplore website.

The Department also publishes annual benefit expenditure tables and the latest publication by parliamentary constituency is for 2019/20 and available at:

Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

10th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the total cost per month, of extending the £20 weekly uplift in Universal Credit until September 2021.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered his Budget to Parliament on 3 March 2021. The Budget in full and supporting documents are published and available here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2021-documents

10th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which states that 56% of people in poverty are in a working family, compared to 39% 20 years ago.

No assessment has been made.

3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons 118,000 places in the Kickstart scheme are yet to be filled; and what the planned timescale is for filling those places.

We are pleased that over 2,000 young people have started in jobs created by the Department for Work and Pensions’ Kickstart Scheme since November.

After being approved and the grant agreement with the employer or Gateway is signed, a job placement becomes available once the employer has provided the job details and confirmed when they want to fill it. A Kickstart job does not have to start right away but anytime within the life time of the scheme. It is then advertised via Job Centre Plus for referrals of eligible young people.

Employers are taking appropriate care to help young people start their jobs safely and we are pleased that so many young people have been able to benefit from the scheme.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2020 to Question 124122, if she will publish an anti-poverty strategy.

I refer the Hon (or Rt Hon) Member to the answer I gave on 11 December 2020 to question number 124122

This Government champions the principle of work as the best route out of poverty and towards financial independence. Getting people back to work and supporting them to progress is at the heart of our approach and our new £30 billion Plan for Jobs is the first step on the ladder to achieving this.

8th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many food banks there were in Yorkshire and the Humber region in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020.

There are no official statistics on the number of food banks, which are independent, charitable organisations

Throughout this pandemic, this Government has delivered an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs and businesses and, for those in most need, injected billions into the welfare system. The new Covid Winter Grant Scheme builds on that support with an additional £170m for local authorities in England, to support families with children and other vulnerable people with the cost of food and essential utilities this winter and beyond.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the finding of research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that 1 in every 100 households in Blackpool, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham and Salford are in extreme poverty.

No assessment has been made.

2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policy on universal credit of recent Trussell Trust research which found that individuals using food banks are more likely to owe money to the Government through monthly deductions from universal credit payments than they are to owe family, friends and payday loan companies.

Tackling poverty will always be a priority for this Government. Our recent focus has rightly been on supporting people financially during these unprecedented times, with an injection of billions of pounds to strengthen the welfare system in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including a temporary increase in the Universal Credit Standard Allowance to support those facing the most financial disruption. Through the Covid Winter Grant Scheme, announced on 9 November, we are extending that support with an additional £170m for local authorities in England so that they can support families with children and other vulnerable people with the cost of food and essential utilities this winter.

From October 2019, the overall maximum level for standard deductions is normally limited to 30% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance except for last-resort deductions. From October 2021, this is being reduced to 25% of the claimant’s standard allowance except for last-resort deductions. Claimants can ask for New Claims and Change of Circumstances Advance repayments to be delayed for up to 3 months in exceptional circumstances.

2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will bring forward an anti-poverty strategy.

Tackling child poverty is a key priority for this Government. We have provided an unprecedented package of support throughout the pandemic, injecting billions into the welfare system for those most in need, including increases to the Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit standard allowances of up to £1040 this financial year, and uplifts to the Local Housing Allowance rates to cover the lowest 30% of market rents. The Covid Winter Grant Scheme builds on that support with an additional £170m for local authorities in England, to support families with children and other vulnerable people, with the cost of food and essential utilities this winter.

Our long-term ambition is to level up across the country and to continue to tackle child poverty, through our reformed welfare system that works with the labour market to encourage parents to move into, and progress in work, wherever possible. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for children.

Our £30bn Plan for Jobs is another step on the ladder to achieving this and will support economic recovery through new schemes including Kickstart and Job Entry Targeted Support. We are also doubling the number of work coaches who, through our Jobcentre network, will provide more people with the tailored support they need to move back into work and towards financial independence.

2nd Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of recent Legatum Institute research which found that 700,000 people in the UK including 120,000 children have been pushed into poverty as a result of the economic effect of the covid-19 outbreak.

Tackling child poverty is a key priority for this Government. We have provided an unprecedented package of support throughout the pandemic, injecting billions into the welfare system for those most in need, including increases to the Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit standard allowances of up to £1040 this financial year, and uplifts to the Local Housing Allowance rates to cover the lowest 30% of market rents. The Covid Winter Grant Scheme builds on that support with an additional £170m for local authorities in England, to support families with children and other vulnerable people, with the cost of food and essential utilities this winter.

Our long-term ambition is to level up across the country and to continue to tackle child poverty, through our reformed welfare system that works with the labour market to encourage parents to move into, and progress in work, wherever possible. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for children.

Our £30bn Plan for Jobs is another step on the ladder to achieving this and will support economic recovery through new schemes including Kickstart and Job Entry Targeted Support. We are also doubling the number of work coaches who, through our Jobcentre network, will provide more people with the tailored support they need to move back into work and towards financial independence.

1st Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the findings of the Royal British Legion in its report entitled Making the benefits system fit for service, improving support for veterans with military compensation, published in November 2020, that 8 per cent of survey respondents claiming personal independence payments and 6 per cent claiming employment support allowance felt that the assessor had knowledge of the Armed Forces and Service-related conditions.

We are currently giving this report the careful consideration it deserves. However, our early analysis finds some of the themes highlighted in the report – such as, effectively identifying veterans; making best use of data and evidence; and improving staff awareness and training - are areas where DWP has already taken action to improve the service we offer to veterans, or have future plans to do so. For example, where possible the healthcare professionals undertaking assessments will use paper based evidence alone, this will include Service Medical Board reports, where available.

For Personal Independence Payment, assessors have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder guidance which was developed with the help of the Royal British Legion.

26th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many food banks there were in (a) March 2020 and (b) November 2020.

There are no official statistics on the number of food banks, which are independent, charitable organisations.

26th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on making the £20 a week uplift in universal credit permanent.

The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until April 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context in the new year.

15th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the finding by the End Child Poverty Campaign that eight out of the 10 local authorities in which child poverty increased between 2014 and 2019 are in the North of England.

We have examined, from what has been published, Loughborough University’s methodology for estimating housing costs by constituency. We are unable to assess how robust the method for modelling local housing costs is and we do not know the process used for calibrating the local measures with regional level statistics on child poverty from Households Below Average Income.

National Statistics on the number and percentage of children in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. These remain the most accurate published measurements of low income. The latest HBAI statistics (2018/19) show that since 2009/10, 100,000 children have been lifted out of absolute poverty (both before and after housing costs) and levels of combined material deprivation and low income for children are at their joint lowest level.

7th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support the Government is providing to self-employed people who are ineligible for the £500 support payment and have to self-isolate due to having covid-19 symptoms.

We have relaxed the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed UC claimants affected by the impact of COVID-19. This means that that a drop in earnings due to sickness or self-isolation, or as a result of the impact of the outbreak, will now be reflected in a claimant’s award. It ensures that the self-employed are supported by the benefit system so that they can follow the Public Health England guidance on social distancing and self-isolation.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
5th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2020 to Question 33416 on Universal Credit: Coronavirus, what the average processing time was for a universal credit claim in (a) February, (b) March, (c) April, (d) May, (e) June, (f) July and (g) August 2020.

The latest available information on Universal Credit payment timeliness is published and can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

15th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many in-work households were living in poverty in (a) Hemsworth constituency, (b) Wakefield Council area and (c) West Yorkshire Combined Authority area as at (i) 15 July 2010 and (ii) 15 July 2020.

This information is not held.

15th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children were living in poverty in (a) Hemsworth constituency, (b) Wakefield Council area and (c) West Yorkshire Combined Authority area as at (i) 15 July 2010 and (ii) 15 July 2020.

National Statistics on the number and percentage of children in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. The rates of children in absolute poverty in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in the three years to 18/19 has decreased, both before and after housing costs, compared to the three years to 09/10.

Latest statistics for the number of children who are in low income for England and the Yorkshire and the Humber region can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201819, “children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2018-19-tables” in table 4.17ts (relative low income, before and after housing costs) and 4.23ts (absolute low income, before and after housing costs).

The Department now publishes supplementary official statistics on the number of children in low income families at constituency level. Children in Low Income Families data is published annually.

The latest figures from 2014/15 to 2018/19 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-201415-to-201819

15th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many unemployment young people there are in (a) Hemsworth constituency, (b) Wakefield Council area and (c) West Yorkshire Combined Authority area.

Estimates of the number of people who are unemployed are compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using the Annual Population Survey (APS), a large household survey.

Estimates are based on a sample of cases and therefore subject to sampling uncertainty. Estimates at sub-regional geographies such as local authorities and parliamentary constituencies or sub-groups such as unemployed young people are especially uncertain.

New figures were released on 16 July 2020 for the April 2019 - March 2020 survey period on the NOMIS website.

(https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/)

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of universal credit there were in Hemsworth consistency in each month since January 2020.

The available information on the number of people on Universal Credit, by Parliamentary Constituency, is published and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of pensioners in Hemsworth constituency are in receipt of pension credit.

As of November 2019, there were 2,626 Pension Credit claimants in Hemsworth.

The department does not hold information on the number of pensioners in Hemsworth constituency.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the covid-19 oubreak on the level of unemployment in Hemsworth consistency.

Estimates of the number of people who are unemployed for sub-regional geographies in the UK are compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). At parliamentary constituency level these estimates are subject to a high degree of statistical uncertainty. This is because the sample of the Annual Population Survey, upon which the estimates are based, includes small numbers of people matching this description at this level.

The latest available data is available on the NOMIS website (https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/) and covers the period January to December 2019.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for an application for universal credit to be processed in each of the last three years.

The latest available information on Universal Credit payment timeliness is published and can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

6th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the general public is aware that statutory sick pay is payable from the first day of sickness.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) guidance is available for the general public to access at https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay.

The guidance states that employees may get SSP for every day they are off work if they cannot work because of coronavirus (COVID-19). The SSP guidance can also be accessed through the coronavirus (COVID-19) hub on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

23rd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long after first applying can claimants for universal credit receive their first advance.

Universal Credit new claim advance payments have long been an integral part of the UC system, allowing claimants to access up to 100% of their total expected monthly award at the start of their claim, which can be paid back over a period of up to 12 months, which will be extended to 24 months from October 2021.

Applications are accepted by phone or online and payments can be issued on the same day.

23rd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of time taken to speak to a call handler on the universal credit helpline.

Since mid-March we have seen a huge volume of calls to the Universal Credit helpline, with over 2 million calls on a single day at one point. We are aware that this demand has meant that some claimants were not able to get through.

People making new claims for Universal Credit no longer need to call the Department as part of the process. Once they have completed their online application we will call them if we need to check any of the information they have given us. We have also introduced new processes to ease pressure on waiting times for identity verification over the phone and other processes.

The Department’s priority is to continue to ensure those who are entitled to benefit receive the support they need at a time when new claims for Universal Credit are at an unprecedented level.

Since 16 March 2020, we have received more than 1.5 million new claims for Universal Credit. 10,000 members of staff from other parts of DWP are being redeployed to support work on new claims and we are urgently recruiting additional people to assist with the processing of claims.

23rd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to manage an increase in claims for universal credit as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Since mid-March we have seen a huge volume of calls to the Universal Credit helpline, with over 2 million calls on a single day at one point. We are aware that this demand has meant that some claimants were not able to get through.

People making new claims for Universal Credit no longer need to call the Department as part of the process. Once they have completed their online application we will call them if we need to check any of the information they have given us. We have also introduced new processes to ease pressure on waiting times for identity verification over the phone and other processes.

The Department’s priority is to continue to ensure those who are entitled to benefit receive the support they need at a time when new claims for Universal Credit are at an unprecedented level.

Since 16 March 2020, we have received more than 1.5 million new claims for Universal Credit. 10,000 members of staff from other parts of DWP are being redeployed to support work on new claims and we are urgently recruiting additional people to assist with the processing of claims.

23rd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the increase in universal credit claims as a result of the covid-19 outbreak has affected claim processing times.

Since mid-March we have seen a huge volume of calls to the Universal Credit helpline, with over 2 million calls on a single day at one point. We are aware that this demand has meant that some claimants were not able to get through.

People making new claims for Universal Credit no longer need to call the Department as part of the process. Once they have completed their online application we will call them if we need to check any of the information they have given us. We have also introduced new processes to ease pressure on waiting times for identity verification over the phone and other processes.

The Department’s priority is to continue to ensure those who are entitled to benefit receive the support they need at a time when new claims for Universal Credit are at an unprecedented level.

Since 16 March 2020, we have received more than 1.5 million new claims for Universal Credit. 10,000 members of staff from other parts of DWP are being redeployed to support work on new claims and we are urgently recruiting additional people to assist with the processing of claims.

23rd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support the Government is providing to self-employed people who have to self-isolate as a result of covid-19 symptoms.

The Chancellor has announced a Self-Employed Income Support Scheme that will help millions of people across the UK, with those eligible receiving a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment.

The government has also announced a package of temporary welfare measures to support those on low incomes through the outbreak, including relaxing the Minimum Income Floor for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19. Taken together, these measures provide over £6.5bn of additional support through the welfare system.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) Council leaders on Unite the Union's pay dispute for health and social care workers.

No such discussions have been held.

12th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses (a) are only employed on permanent contracts, (b) work both on a permanent contract and bank shifts and (c) only work bank shifts, as of 13 June 2023.

The information requested is not held centrally.

19th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many contracts and for what services his Department has with Palantir.

The Department does not have any current contract with Palantir.

19th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the performance of Palantir in fulfilling its contract.

NHS England can confirm that throughout its delivery, Palantir has met its obligations as set out within the terms of its contracts.

19th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many officials have responsibility for monitoring the value for money of his Department's contract with Palantir.

The Department does not have any contract with Palantir to monitor. NHS England has responsibility for monitoring its contracts with Palantir.

NHS England manages the Palantir contract in line with the contract management framework to ensure value for money. NHS England has identified a Senior Responsible Officer, Contract Manager, Project Owner, Senior Supplier Relationship Manager, Benefits Manager, Exit Manager and Commercial Manager to the contract. A programme delivery team is also in place with benefits management and value for money processes and governance embedded into the working practices of the team.

19th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has discussions with relevant stakeholders on the extension of the NHS contract with Palantir in 2021.

All NHS England contracts follow standard processes for assurance and approval. The Department undertook the appropriate role as part of these standard approval processes that were in place at the time. There were no specific, planned discussions about the extension of the contract by NHS England in 2021.

19th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with NHS data staff on potential concerns on contracting Palantir to build the health service operating system.

My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not discussed with National Health Service staff any concerns they may have in relation to any potential contracting by NHS England with any potential supplier.

Any NHS data services that require a supplier contract will be procured via a compliant contracting mechanism and this will follow the standard processes for assurance and approval. The Department will perform the appropriate role as part of these standard approval processes. NHS England has not made any request to Palantir for them to build the health service operating system. NHS England is currently out to ITCD for a Federated Data Platform for the NHS, however, we would not define this as an operating system.

17th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.

The following table shows expenditure on taxis for Ministers and civil servants in each year since 2020. The information on Ministerial travel in 2022 refers to the period to 31 July.

Ministers

Civil servants

2020

£182.81

£11,779.53

2021

Nil

£5,619.84

2022

£18.30

£7,674.80

12th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

There was no first class train travel by Departmental Ministers in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Expenditure on Ministerial commercial travel is published quarterly on GOV.UK, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications#2022

The following table shows the cost of first class train travel taken by civil servants in each year since 2020.

2020

£12,135.40

2021

£5,464.55

2022

£4,031.50

Total

£21,631.45

11th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of (a) the level of podiatry vacancy rates in the NHS in Hemsworth constituency and (b) the potential impact of these vacancies on patient treatment for diabetic foot complications.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The following table shows Departmental expenditure on temporary and agency staff in 2020/21 and 2019/20. This includes agency retainer fees which are not recorded separately. Fully audited data for 2021-22 will be available later this year.

2020/21

2019/20

£542,021,000

£14,842,000

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
13th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The total cost of commercial flights taken by DHSC Officials are shown in the following table:

DHSC Officials (staff)

Calendar Year

Value

2020

£13,391

2021

£14,826

2022 up to the 31st May

£49,061

Spend on Ministerial commercial travel is published quarterly on gov.uk.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department’s expenditure on advertising is collected by financial year. In 2020/21, this spending was £7,079,778 and £28,597,578 in 2021/22.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
11th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what the name is of each consultancy contracted.

The information requested is collected by financial year. The following table shows expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in the core Department in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. Fully audited data for 2021/22 will be available later this year.

2020/21

2019/20

£171,613,000

£15,203,000

A table showing the suppliers contracted for each consultancy service in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 is attached.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
6th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The information is not collected in the format required and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.

Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
30th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the pay ratio was between the highest paid member of staff in his Department and the lowest in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

In 2020, the ratio between the highest paid member of staff and the lowest was 12.9. In 2021, the ratio was 12.3 and 10.7 in 2022.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

The Department's expenditure on hospitality was £4,984 is 2019/20 and £66,322 in 2020/21. Data for 2021/22 is currently subject to audit for publication in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts later this year.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money in total was paid by the National Health Service in England to private contractors in 2021.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
28th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made for the number of (a) doctors and (b) nurses working in Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The latest available data in March 2022 shows there were 810 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors and 1,700 FTE nurses working in the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
28th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the total number of patients who have received treatment funded by the National Health Service through private hospitals in (a) 2015 and (b) 2021.

No specific estimate has been made as this data is not collected in the format requested.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
28th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the total number of operations paid for by the National Health Service that were performed in private hospitals in (a) 2015 and (b) 2021.

No specific estimate has been made as this data is not collected in the format requested.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
6th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the letter from Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust to the hon. Member for Hemsworth stating that waiting times for gender services post-pandemic range from four to seven years, what steps he is taking to increase access to gender services in West Yorkshire.

The National Health Service has established pilot gender identity clinics which are trialling new service models in sexual health and primary care services to reduce waiting times and improving patient outcomes. These pilots have been established in London, Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and the East of England, with a further clinic planned in Sussex later this year. The evaluation of the pilots will inform the future commissioning and provision of gender identity services.

The NHS is also working with existing providers of gender dysphoria services to increase clinical capacity where possible. In 2021/22, additional funding was provided for gender dysphoria services in West Yorkshire based at Leeds Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
16th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has participated in any events organised by the World Economic Forum in the last year.

My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not participated in any events organised by the World Economic Forum in the last year.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
21st Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the educational backgrounds of doctors.

No specific assessment has been made.

The Medical Schools Council’s report ‘Selecting for Excellence’ sets out its work on selection and widening participation, including data on the backgrounds of medical students. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.medschools.ac.uk/our-work/selection/selecting-for-excellence

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
21st Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of junior doctors who started their training in each of the last five years.

The following table shows the number of applicants who accepted foundation year one medical training posts in the United Kingdom each academic year from 2017 to 2021. The foundation programme is a UK-wide.

2017

7,481

2018

7,470

2019

7,499

2020

7,577

2021

7,694

Note:

This data represents the numbers of accepted posts. The number of applicants which started these posts in trusts may vary with some withdrawals.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
20th Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP surgeries there were in the Yorkshire and Humber region in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

There were 661 practices registered in the Yorkshire and Humber region in February 2021. In February 2022, 655 practices were registered in this region.

A reduction in practice numbers can be for a variety of reasons, including practice mergers or closures and does not mean a reduction in the quality of care. Practice mergers can offer benefits such as consolidation of back-office functions and sharing of staff expertise and skills between practices. Where a practice closes, patients are informed and advised to register at another local practice of their choice within their area. Practices and commissioners must put in place appropriate measures to ensure that the affected patients have access to general practitioner services.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
14th Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on delivering dementia moonshot.

The Government has committed to invest at least £375 million in neurodegenerative disease research over the next five years to fund projects into a range of diseases, including dementia. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) launched a highlight notice on dementia in March 2021 and in November 2021, issued a call inviting research proposals on digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia. A new dementia strategy setting out plans for dementia in England will be published later this year. The strategy will include plans to increase dementia research and deliver a moonshot.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
10th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that covid-19 lateral flow tests are available to care homes free of charge.

The regular asymptomatic testing regime in adult social care after 1 April 2022 is currently under review. We will set out further details in due course.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) children and (b) adults who have dyspraxia but who have not been (i) diagnosed and (ii) able to access treatment in each of the last ten years.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) children and (b) adults have been diagnosed with dyspraxia in each region of England in each of the last ten years.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to dyspraxia (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment in each region of the UK for each of the last ten years.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in West Yorkshire were referred by their GP for a dyspraxia assessment in each of the last ten years; how many and what proportion of those assessments resulted in a diagnosis of dyspraxia; and what the average length of time was between GP referral and diagnosis in that period.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
19th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussion has he had with the (a) NHS Confederation, (b) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, (c) Care Quality Commission and (d) British Medical Association on engaging outside sponsors managing under-performing hospitals.

We have had no specific discussions. At present we have no plans to introduce a reform trust class of hospital, although we keep emerging developments under review.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)