Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the transparency data entitled Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers in 2023, published on 23 May 2024, how his Department obtained the raw data on correspondence received from MPs by Government (a) Department and (b) agency.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office commissions each Government department and agency individually to request data to be included in the reports titled ‘Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers’ that are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Guide to Handling Correspondence, updated on 6 September 2024, and with reference to his Department's transparency data entitled Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers, 2023, updated on 23 May 2024, whether his Department (a) produces and (b) publishes correspondence performance data on responses to correspondence from Members of devolved (i) Parliaments and (ii) Assemblies.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Work and Pensions complies with correspondence reporting and data requests from the Cabinet Office. The data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers 2023 includes performance when responding to correspondence from members of devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. This information has not been separated out in this or previous reports. Correspondence performance data for 2024 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 22905 on State Retirement Pensions: Women and with reference to page 11 of his Department's guidance entitled Guide to Handling Correspondence, updated on 6 September 2024, whether the Department for Work and Pensions complies with reporting and data requests from his Department.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Work and Pensions complies with correspondence reporting and data requests from the Cabinet Office. The data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers 2023 includes performance when responding to correspondence from members of devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. This information has not been separated out in this or previous reports. Correspondence performance data for 2024 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Guide to Handling Correspondence, updated on 6 September 2024, and with reference to his Department's transparency data entitled Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers, 2023, updated on 23 May 2024, when correspondence performance data will be published for 2024.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Work and Pensions complies with correspondence reporting and data requests from the Cabinet Office. The data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers 2023 includes performance when responding to correspondence from members of devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. This information has not been separated out in this or previous reports. Correspondence performance data for 2024 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill on safety on trains.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 makes no changes to existing roles and responsibilities regarding safety or tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. As such, there is no reason to expect any adverse impacts. The Government expects publicly owned train operators to focus relentlessly on the interests of passengers rather than shareholders, resulting in better outcomes for passengers across a range of areas, which will include personal security on trains.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has a strategy for tackling violence against women and girls on trains after the passage of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Tackling violence against women and girls is a priority for the Government. We have set the ambitious target to halve this figure in the next decade using every lever available to us. The Department is working closely with the central mission delivery unit in the Cabinet Office to achieve the aims set out in the Government’s Safer Streets mission.
The British Transport Police will continue to police the rail network following the transition of passenger services into public ownership to prevent and investigate crime, and in particular to tackle violence against women and girls.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of lighting on trains on the levels of violence against women and girls travelling on the network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The National Travel Attitudes Survey on perceptions of safety when walking, cycling and using public transport, found that a ‘poorly lit vehicle or carriage’ was the joint seventh most popular reason for feeling unsafe when travelling on a public transport vehicle. The Rail Safety and Standards Board sets requirements around lighting for new rolling stock. We continue to work with the rail industry including the Rail Delivery Group and the British Transport Police to ensure the rail network remains a safe environment for the travelling public.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department will have responsibility for safety on trains following passage of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership Bill).
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 makes no changes to existing roles and responsibilities regarding safety or tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. Tackling crime is the responsibility of the British Transport Police, who will continue to police the rail network following the transition of passenger services into public ownership. Safety regulation will remain the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to measure links between differences in pay and the socioeconomic background of employees.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are committed to delivering better life chances for all - breaking the link between background and success.
At the Budget, the Chancellor announced increases to both the National Minimum Wage (16.3% for those aged 18-20) and the National Living Wage (6.7% for those 21 and over), as well as a £240 million Get Britain Working package to improve support for people who want to develop their careers (as well as for those who are economically inactive or unemployed).Through our Mission-driven Government, we will build the skills people need for opportunity and growth.
The Government will continue to draw on the work of the Office for National Statistics and others, such as the independent Social Mobility Commission, to understand the links between pay and socio-economic background.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21320 on written representations to the Department of Work and Pensions, whether there have been changes to the directions to Government departments on the logging of enquiries from (a) MPs and (b) Members of the devolved Parliaments and Assemblies.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Guide to Handling Correspondence, owned by the Cabinet Office and published on GOV.UK, sets out the guidance for Government departments to follow when handling correspondence from MPs and Members of the devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. The guidance was last updated in 2021.