First elected: 7th May 2015
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Kirsty Blackman, 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.
Kirsty Blackman has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Kirsty Blackman has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress.
Universal Jurisdiction (Extension) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Brendan O'Hara (SNP)
Miscarriage Leave Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Angela Crawley (SNP)
Employee Share Ownership (Reform) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - George Howarth (Lab)
Arms (Exports and Remote Warfare) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Alyn Smith (SNP)
Workers (Definition and Rights) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Chris Stephens (SNP)
Universal Credit (Application, Advice and Assistance) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Philippa Whitford (SNP)
Feeding Products for Babies and Children (Advertising and Promotion) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Alison Thewliss (SNP)
On 17 January 2024, there was an exchange of letters between the Cabinet Office and the Home Office regarding the future implementation of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill which set out draft guidance to the Civil Service.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-guidance-safety-of-rwanda-bill. Full guidance will be issued when the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum
and Immigration) Bill becomes law.
As is usual practice following accession, an Official Portrait has been taken of His Majesty The King to mark the start of the new Reign, for use in public buildings and for other official purposes. His Majesty’s Government will use this portrait for the Official Portrait Scheme, announced by the Deputy Prime Minister in April last year.
The scheme opened in November 2023 to enable certain Public Authorities across the UK to apply for a free, framed official portrait of His Majesty The King for display in their buildings.
The scheme is ongoing and is due for completion by mid year 2024. While the scheme is ongoing, we will not be releasing figures on total uptake but requests have been made by Public Authorities across all four nations of the United Kingdom.
As at April 2023 the percentage of Senior Civil Servants (SCS) at Director level (Payband 2) working full-time who are women is 41.0%.
The answer has been calculated by dividing the number of women at Payband 2 in the Senior Civil Service by the total number of staff in the Senior Civil Service at Payband 2 where sex is known. All Civil Service organisations have been included in the calculation.
On Civil Service recruitment more broadly, in 2022/23 more than half of new entrants to the Civil Service were women (54.1%) up from 51.6% in 2021/22. 53.9% of promotions to the Senior Civil Service were women.
This data is available in the Public sector employment Dataset published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics. For the most recent data, June 2023, the details requested are found in Table 8.
A detailed assessment of the resourcing requirements, and estimated spend associated with the operation of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee will be made once it is fully established.
Following the appointment of the Chair, Lord Janvrin, the Committee's Secretariat is being delivered by existing civil servants as part of their wider duties. Any increase in dedicated resources to support the work of the Committee will be considered in due course.
It is right that as a country we honour Her Late Majesty’s legacy. For more than 70 years, she was our greatest public servant, an anchor of stability in an ever-changing and often uncertain world.
The Emergency Alerts contract was awarded to Fujitsu in line with procurement regulations and transparency guidelines through Crown Commercial Services.
The contract was let on 10th October 2022 and runs until 9th October 2025. The estimated contract value for Year 1 is £1,013,200, with a contingency to increase the value up to £1,600,000 (excluding VAT). Subject to further approval, the total contract value may be uplifted to £5,000,000.00 (excluding VAT) for years 2 and 3 of the contract, if the provider meets the performance objectives specified.
The Cabinet Office operates a triple gateway process of approvals to ensure compliance and transparency in procurements. All contracts are reviewed and approved by delegated Cabinet Office Commercial Heads and then published. All procurements over £10,000 are subject to Commercial approvals. All contracts are then managed by accredited Contract Managers in accordance with Cabinet Office Commercial guidance.
Contract agreements are published within 30 days in accordance with our obligations.
The Government’s number one job is to keep people safe. Emergency Alerts are a critical new tool in the Government’s toolkit for warning and informing people where their lives are at risk, such as flooding and extreme weather.
Civil Service Human Resources who sit within the Cabinet Office developed the Due Diligence and Impartiality guidance for all Cross-Government Diversity networks, and this requires the networks to carry out checks on external speakers prior to inviting them to participate in Civil Service events.
The revised guidance advises that cross-Government Diversity Networks conduct checks to avoid invitations being issued to individuals and/or organisations that have provided adverse commentary on government policy, political decisions, approaches or individuals in government that could undermine the Civil Service’s position on impartiality and create reputational damage.
The guidance emphasises that it is imperative that we retain impartiality across the Civil Service, avoiding any politicised events or groups impacting on the working life of civil servants and distracting from the excellent work delivered on Diversity and Inclusion.
The guidance was introduced in November 2021.
This helps to ensure when Cross-Government Diversity Networks organise events the Civil Service is not prejudiced by political views but helps deliver efficient public service for the taxpayer.
The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department.
The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department.
Cabinet Office has sponsored nineteen pieces of primary legislation in Parliament from the 2010-2012 Parliamentary session to the current Parliamentary session.
The number of pieces of secondary legislation is not held by the Department.
These figures may not be not exhaustive as a result of machinery of government changes and departmental structures over the past decade.
Government and industry are working collaboratively to train the existing workforce in England through programmes including Skills Bootcamps, Higher Technical Qualifications and apprenticeships. Government is working with trade associations like the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board to encourage career pathways across the energy sector, including in offshore oil and gas.
The Government is developing a Green Jobs Plan for publication in the first half of 2024, which will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the skills within the UK workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets.
Government is developing a Green Jobs Plan, which will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the skills within the UK workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets. Drawing on work by the Government convened Green Jobs Delivery Group, this will be published in the first half of 2024.
To support ongoing investment and protect the 200,000 jobs supported by the offshore oil and gas sector, Government has introduced the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. Work is ongoing to enable workers to move between sectors, to protect jobs and to ensure skills, which are vital for the transition, are not lost.
The Government welcomes the recent reports from the Regulatory Horizons Council and the Information Commissioner's Office, and agrees on the importance of appropriately protecting neurodata. The UK’s data regime already provides enhanced protection for personal neuro-data when it takes the form of biometric, genetic, or health data. The Government is keeping protections under review and will not hesitate to take action in future as needed.
The Government is also actively monitoring threats to UK data, including neuro-data, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.
The Government welcomes the recent reports from the Regulatory Horizons Council and the Information Commissioner's Office, and agrees on the importance of appropriately protecting neurodata. The UK’s data regime already provides enhanced protection for personal neuro-data when it takes the form of biometric, genetic, or health data. The Government is keeping protections under review and will not hesitate to take action in future as needed.
The Government is also actively monitoring threats to UK data, including neuro-data, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.
The Government welcomes the recent reports from the Regulatory Horizons Council and the Information Commissioner's Office, and agrees on the importance of appropriately protecting neurodata. The UK’s data regime already provides enhanced protection for personal neuro-data when it takes the form of biometric, genetic, or health data. The Government is keeping protections under review and will not hesitate to take action in future as needed.
The Government is also actively monitoring threats to UK data, including neuro-data, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.
The Government welcomes the recent reports from the Regulatory Horizons Council and the Information Commissioner's Office, and agrees on the importance of appropriately protecting neurodata. The UK’s data regime already provides enhanced protection for personal neuro-data when it takes the form of biometric, genetic, or health data. The Government is keeping protections under review and will not hesitate to take action in future as needed.
The Government is also actively monitoring threats to UK data, including neuro-data, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.
The Department has regular discussions with the Devolved Administrations on matters of mutual interest. The Government will work with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and industry to build a sustainable, competitive UK based floating wind supply chain.
The Department holds regular discussions with representatives of the offshore wind industry. The Government has a world-leading target of 40GW by 2030 including 1GW of floating wind and anticipates further rapid expansion of both fixed and floating offshore wind through the 2030s and beyond.
Network regulation, including ensuring security of supply, is a matter for Ofgem, the independent energy regulator. Ofgem uses the RIIO price control framework to incentivise electricity network companies to invest efficiently in the grid – providing a safe, secure and reliable network for all consumers at the lowest possible cost.
As part of the BEIS-led Offshore Transmission Network Review, National Grid Electricity System Operator will shortly publish a Holistic Network Design (HND) which brings together the coordinated planning of wider onshore network reinforcements and the connections for around 23GW of offshore wind, including over 3GW of floating wind.
The objective of the OTNR is to ensure that the transmission connections for offshore wind generation are delivered in the most appropriate way, considering the increased ambition for offshore wind to help achieve net zero. This will be done with a view to finding the appropriate balance between environmental, social and economic costs.
In the last five years, the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy have undertaken the following Post Implementation Reviews (PIR) on primary and secondary legislation.
Year | Total PIRs | Primary PIRs | Secondary PIRs |
2017 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
2018 | 10 | 2 | 8 |
2019 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
2020 | 20 | 3 | 17 |
2021 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
Totals | 57 | 6 | 51 |
Notes:
The number, and proportion, of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department. However, the number of PIRs undertaken in the last five years is available as follows.
The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy have undertaken the following Post Implementation Reviews (PIR) on primary and secondary legislation.
Year | Total PIRs | Primary PIRs | Secondary PIRs |
2017 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
2018 | 10 | 2 | 8 |
2019 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
2020 | 20 | 3 | 17 |
2021 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
Totals | 57 | 6 | 51 |
Notes:
The first ever UK Hydrogen Strategy will be published shortly and will set out the key steps needed in the 2020s to deliver our 5GW production ambition and set the context for further scale up on the way to net zero.
In the Energy White Paper we outlined our plans to publish a Biomass Strategy in 2022. On 20th April this year, we launched a Call for Evidence to inform the strategy. The Call for Evidence is now closed, and we are reviewing the responses received.
The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last five years is not held within the Department.
The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department.
Below are the estimated numbers for the pieces of primary and secondary legislation sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport over the last 10 years. It is important to note that this information is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive - for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the past decade.
Year | Pieces of Primary Legislation | Pieces of Secondary Legislation |
2012 | 0 | 24 |
2013 | 2 | 13 |
2014 | 0 | 28 |
2015 | 0 | 10 |
2016 | 3 | 18 |
2017 | 4 | 28 |
2018 | 1 | 32 |
2019 | 1 | 19 |
2020 | 3 | 23 |
2021 | 6 | 19 |
The number of post legislative reviews the department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last five or ten years is not held within the department.
The number of post legislative reviews the department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last five or ten years is not held within the department.
The number of pieces of both primary and secondary legislation sponsored by government departments could be calculated utilising publicly available information. This information is not held within the department.
Information on the number of pieces of primary and secondary legislation that have gone through post-legislative scrutiny by the department in the last five years is not held by a central team in Defra. It would therefore incur disproportionate costs to obtain this information in full. We do have some information that we are able to provide on the last five years which we have detailed here.
This information is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the past decade.
These post-implementation reviews have been made publicly available and links are included below.
Number of post-implementation reviews undertaken for primary and secondary legislation in each of the last five years:
Year | Primary Legislation | Secondary legislation |
2021 | 0 | 3 |
2020 | 0 | 4 |
2019 | 1 | 3 |
2018 | 0 | 1 |
2017 | 0 | 1 |
Links to publications by year publicly available on legislation.gov.uk:
Year | Link to Publication | Type of Legislation |
2021 | The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2021 | Secondary | |
Year | Link to Publication | Type of Legislation |
2021 | The Energy Information Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2020 | The Ozone-Depleting Substances Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2020 | The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2020 | The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2020 | Secondary | |
2019 | Primary | |
2019 | The Tuberculosis (Deer and Camelid) (England) Order 2014 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2019 | Secondary | |
2019 | The Products Containing Meat etc. (England) Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2018 | The Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2017 | The Tuberculosis (England) (Amendment) Order 2012 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
Information on the number of pieces of primary and secondary legislation that have gone through post-legislative scrutiny by the department in the last ten years is not held by a central team in Defra. It would therefore incur disproportionate costs to obtain this information in full. We do have some information that we are able to provide on the last five years which we have detailed here. We are unable to provide information older than five years without incurring disproportionate costs as this information is not held within the department.
The information provided here is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the past decade.
These post-implementation reviews have been made publicly available and links are included below.
Number of post-implementation reviews undertaken for primary and secondary legislation in each of the last five years:
Year | Primary Legislation | Secondary legislation |
2021 | 0 | 3 |
2020 | 0 | 4 |
2019 | 1 | 3 |
2018 | 0 | 1 |
2017 | 0 | 1 |
Links to publications by year publicly available on legislation.gov.uk:
Year | Link to Publication | Type of Legislation |
2021 | The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
Year | Link to Publication | Type of Legislation |
2021 | Secondary | |
2021 | The Energy Information Regulations 2011 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2020 | The Ozone-Depleting Substances Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2020 | The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2020 | The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2020 | Secondary | |
2019 | Primary | |
2019 | The Tuberculosis (Deer and Camelid) (England) Order 2014 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2019 | Secondary | |
2019 | The Products Containing Meat etc. (England) Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2018 | The Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
2017 | The Tuberculosis (England) (Amendment) Order 2012 (legislation.gov.uk) | Secondary |
(a)
The number of pieces of primary legislation sponsored by Defra over each of the past ten years is publicly available and can be calculated using the Parliament.uk website (https://bills.parliament.uk/).
(b)
The number of statutory instruments introduced by Defra over each of the past ten years is publicly available and can be calculated using the Defra Lex website (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/defralex). This information may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the past decade.
The Government recognises that the way land is used and managed has a range of environmental impacts, both positive and negative. We regularly review and assess these impacts, working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Increasing the public and private benefits of land-use, and of land management, will be critical to achieving our environmental goals – particularly on climate change and nature recovery.
It is critical that the right environmental actions are delivered in the right places, while maintaining food security and sustainable development. In recognition of this, we have recently published our trees and peat actions plans. In addition we are:
o developing new schemes that will reward environmental land management;
o introducing a mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain via the Environment Bill; and
o introducing Local Nature Recovery Strategies across England that will propose priority locations for nature recovery and the delivery of nature-based solutions.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has not undertaken any post legislative reviews of primary legislation.
The number of post legislative reviews undertaken by DIT on secondary legislation is not held within the Department.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has not undertaken any post legislative reviews of primary legislation.
The number of post legislative reviews undertaken by DIT on secondary legislation is not held within the Department.
The number of pieces of both primary and secondary legislation sponsored by Government departments could be calculated utilising publicly available information at the following link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/
The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
The DVLA is continuing to expand its driver application online services over the next year. This will allow customers to upload their own photograph and signature instead of using one from a UK passport, as the current service requires. The DVLA is also working with the Home Office to create an electronic link to its View and prove your immigration status service. This will allow those with a non-UK passport to be authenticated online and use the DVLA online application service.
Drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, a visual impairment, a sleep condition or a heart condition are also able to renew their licence online.
The DVLA has also recently introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis and is piloting this for some mental health conditions. This renewal process has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver. The DVLA is looking at adding more medical conditions to this new process.
The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department.
The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on primary and secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department.
Due for example to machinery of Government changes to Departmental structures over the past decade, accurate comparisons between years cannot be made. However, based on the best available data, the number of primary and secondary legislation sponsored by the Department in the last 10 years is as follows:
Year | Primary Legislation | Secondary Legislation |
2021 | 2 | 207 |
2020 | 0 | 133 |
2019 | 0 | 226 |
2018 | 4 | 206 |
2017 | 3 | 174 |
2016 | 0 | 139 |
2015 | 1 | 587 |
2014 | 0 | 1825 |
2013 | 2 | 1831 |
2012 | 1 | 1884 |
Levelling up connectivity across our regions and nations is a top priority for this Government. Our review of regional air connectivity will ensure the UK has the domestic transport connections local communities need. We will publish the terms of reference shortly.
Our preliminary assessment is that Flybe entering administration will have a minimal impact on the provision of air freight but we will keep this under review.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has established a Net Zero Hub dedicated to reviewing the measures in place for effective regulation of Net Zero technologies. The Hub comprises Senior Managers, Policy Advisors, Operational Staff and Scientists and is underpinned by full governance arrangements including authorisation at HSE Board level.
As part of this, the suitability of existing legislation for both on and offshore wind industries will be considered.
The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) research report ‘RR968’ remains one of a range of studies, guidance and industry data used to assist in the evaluation of risk to people from wind turbines and operations.
Further, HSE continues to support industry in the development of industry specific guidance for this rapidly developing sector.
In the first six months of 2022:
In the first six months of 2022:
In the first six months of 2022: