Lloyd Russell-Moyle

Whilst IPSA cannot enter into formal negotiations that would have any binding effect on the individual decisions of MPs as employers, IPSA is happy to work in any effective way that it can with staff representatives to ensure that their voice is heard, and seen to be heard.

IPSA does not set MPs’ staff pay as MPs are the individual employers of their staff as a matter of law. IPSA has, however, proactively sought meetings and discussions with staff representatives and has significantly increased engagement with MPs’ staff over recent years. This has included regular meetings with its MP Staff User Group, joining the House of Commons’ Office Manager group, and through inviting staff representatives, such as Unite, the Members and Peers’ Staff Association (MAPSA), and Wellness Working Group, to IPSA Board meetings to share their insight and views. IPSA has also liaised in recent years with the GMB trade union.

IPSA is very grateful for the high volume of valuable feedback it has received through these series of feedback channels. This has enabled IPSA to survey MP staff on casework workload, budgets, and wellbeing, and check in at each House Office Manager meeting, with such engagement valuable to IPSA in proposing a staffing uplift during the covid-19 pandemic and in establishing an exceptional funding process for the pressures created during the Afghan withdrawal in August 2021.

In addition to the channels above, direct representations from staff groups were considered as part of the proposals which IPSA made on MPs’ staffing budgets. Specific examples for 2023/24 budgets include meetings with Unite and MAPSA on 26 May, 14 June, and 21 November 2022, and with the GMB union on 16 December.

In 2023, the IPSA Board has scheduled Board meetings on 22 February, 29 March, 28 June, 12 and 13 September, 18 October, and 13 December.

The Government has been liaising with territorial offices and the devolved administrations including the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on this important issue.

Officials will continue to work with their counterparts across the devolved administrations to discuss the UK Government’s approach to protecting everyone in England and Wales from conversion therapy practices.

The Government has been liaising with territorial offices and the devolved administrations including the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on this important issue.

Officials will continue to work with their counterparts across the devolved administrations to discuss the UK Government’s approach to protecting everyone in England and Wales from conversion therapy practices.

The Government has engaged with a wide range of international counterparts including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Malta, to understand the approaches they have taken to ban conversion therapy. We will continue to engage with counterparts around the world that are committed to protecting everyone from conversion practices to share insight and develop our approach.

The Equality Hub Ministers and officials have met with healthcare professionals in developing the policy approach to protecting all individuals from conversion practices. Many such organisations responded to the public consultation that closed in February 2022.

We will continue to meet with healthcare professionals to inform our approach and will respond to the consultation in due course.

The Equality Hub Ministers and officials have met with healthcare professionals in developing the policy approach to protecting all individuals from conversion practices. Many such organisations responded to the public consultation that closed in February 2022.

We will continue to meet with healthcare professionals to inform our approach and will respond to the consultation in due course.

Since May 2022, the Government has launched a support service open to all victims or those at risk of conversion practices regardless of their background or circumstances. The Government has committed up to £360,000 over three years to this service. The service includes a helpline, instant messaging service, and website to enable people to get the support they need.

More widely, the Government remains committed to protecting everyone from these practices. We are carefully considering the responses to the public consultation which closed earlier this year and will respond in due course.

The 2018 LGBT Action Plan was introduced by the previous administration. We have set out our plan for LGBT advancement for this Government and our priorities are banning Conversion Therapy and hosting the Global LGBT Conference. The objective was, and continues to be, to defend, extend and promote the rights and freedoms of LGBT people here and abroad.

We have achieved a great deal for LGBT people since 2018, including appointing the UK’s first National LGBT Health Adviser, more than doubling the number of places available on the PrEP Impact Trial, running a world-leading anti-homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying programme in schools and working with the Home Office to update the Hate Crime Action Plan.

Any ban we bring forward must work for those who need it most, especially victims and survivors. We have also already met with conversion therapy survivors, to hear about their experiences. We have committed to launching a consultation in September and this will be vital for ensuring the action we take is informed, effective and proportionate. I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of conversion therapy to respond to our consultation when it launches in September.

Further to the answer given to PQ 43737 on 11 May 2020, it is taking longer than usual to compile a new List of Ministerial Responsibilities document including as a result of the challenges of Covid-19. An update will be published in due course.

Further to the answer given to PQ 43737 on 11 May 2020, it is taking longer than usual to compile a new List of Ministerial Responsibilities document including as a result of the challenges of Covid-19. An update will be published in due course.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 43737 on 11 May 2020.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 43737 on 11 May 2020.

Details of ministerial responsibilities can be found on GOV.UK. The List of Ministerial Responsibilities document was last updated in October 2019 and was made available in PDF and CSV formats. An update will be published in due course.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Pay for Civil Servants outside of the Senior Civil Service is a matter delegated to departments. Pay awards are informed by a range of factors including recruitment, retention, affordability and the scope for productivity gains.

Departments set pay within the Civil Service pay remit guidance which is published on gov.uk annually. The remit guidance for 2019/20 will be agreed in 2019 and it will then be for departments to determine their pay levels within that framework.

The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) uses both Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA resources. The value of CSSF’s budget allocation from ODA resources was £498.3m in Financial Year (FY) 2016/17, £549.5m in FY 2017/18 and £597.2m in FY 2018/19.

Details of where the Fund's money is spent can be found in the Fund's two annual reports which are on GOV.UK.

Information on the implementing organisations contracted by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is included in programme summaries which are on GOV.UK. Where there might be a risk to staff safety or security, the names of implementers are not published.

116.2, 227.3 and 287 FTE civil servants worked on the CSSF respectively in 2015/16, 2016/17, and 2017/18. Staff were sourced principally from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for International Development (DFID), Ministry of Defence (MOD), Home Office (HO), National Crime Agency (NCA) and Stabilisation Unit (SU). Staff from the following departments and agencies also worked on the CSSF: Government Legal Department; Department for Culture, Media and Sports; Department for Education; HM Treasury; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Transport; Department for Energy and Climate Change; Department for Work and Pensions; Ministry of Justice; HM Revenue and Customs; Metropolitan Police; Cabinet Office; National Offender Management Service; Police Scotland; Thames Valley Police; HM Prison & Probation Service; Police Sussex; Treasury Solicitor’s Department; Public Health England; Competition and Markets Authority; Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) uses both Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA resources. The value of CSSF’s budget allocation from ODA resources was £498.3m in Financial Year (FY) 2016/17, £549.5m in FY 2017/18 and £597.2m in FY 2018/19.

Details of where the Fund's money is spent can be found in the Fund's two annual reports which are on GOV.UK.

Information on the implementing organisations contracted by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is included in programme summaries which are on GOV.UK. Where there might be a risk to staff safety or security, the names of implementers are not published.

116.2, 227.3 and 287 FTE civil servants worked on the CSSF respectively in 2015/16, 2016/17, and 2017/18. Staff were sourced principally from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for International Development (DFID), Ministry of Defence (MOD), Home Office (HO), National Crime Agency (NCA) and Stabilisation Unit (SU). Staff from the following departments and agencies also worked on the CSSF: Government Legal Department; Department for Culture, Media and Sports; Department for Education; HM Treasury; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Transport; Department for Energy and Climate Change; Department for Work and Pensions; Ministry of Justice; HM Revenue and Customs; Metropolitan Police; Cabinet Office; National Offender Management Service; Police Scotland; Thames Valley Police; HM Prison & Probation Service; Police Sussex; Treasury Solicitor’s Department; Public Health England; Competition and Markets Authority; Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) uses both Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA resources. The value of CSSF’s budget allocation from ODA resources was £498.3m in Financial Year (FY) 2016/17, £549.5m in FY 2017/18 and £597.2m in FY 2018/19.

Details of where the Fund's money is spent can be found in the Fund's two annual reports which are on GOV.UK.

Information on the implementing organisations contracted by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is included in programme summaries which are on GOV.UK. Where there might be a risk to staff safety or security, the names of implementers are not published.

116.2, 227.3 and 287 FTE civil servants worked on the CSSF respectively in 2015/16, 2016/17, and 2017/18. Staff were sourced principally from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for International Development (DFID), Ministry of Defence (MOD), Home Office (HO), National Crime Agency (NCA) and Stabilisation Unit (SU). Staff from the following departments and agencies also worked on the CSSF: Government Legal Department; Department for Culture, Media and Sports; Department for Education; HM Treasury; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Transport; Department for Energy and Climate Change; Department for Work and Pensions; Ministry of Justice; HM Revenue and Customs; Metropolitan Police; Cabinet Office; National Offender Management Service; Police Scotland; Thames Valley Police; HM Prison & Probation Service; Police Sussex; Treasury Solicitor’s Department; Public Health England; Competition and Markets Authority; Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) uses both Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA resources. The value of CSSF’s budget allocation from ODA resources was £498.3m in Financial Year (FY) 2016/17, £549.5m in FY 2017/18 and £597.2m in FY 2018/19.

Details of where the Fund's money is spent can be found in the Fund's two annual reports which are on GOV.UK.

Information on the implementing organisations contracted by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is included in programme summaries which are on GOV.UK. Where there might be a risk to staff safety or security, the names of implementers are not published.

116.2, 227.3 and 287 FTE civil servants worked on the CSSF respectively in 2015/16, 2016/17, and 2017/18. Staff were sourced principally from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for International Development (DFID), Ministry of Defence (MOD), Home Office (HO), National Crime Agency (NCA) and Stabilisation Unit (SU). Staff from the following departments and agencies also worked on the CSSF: Government Legal Department; Department for Culture, Media and Sports; Department for Education; HM Treasury; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Transport; Department for Energy and Climate Change; Department for Work and Pensions; Ministry of Justice; HM Revenue and Customs; Metropolitan Police; Cabinet Office; National Offender Management Service; Police Scotland; Thames Valley Police; HM Prison & Probation Service; Police Sussex; Treasury Solicitor’s Department; Public Health England; Competition and Markets Authority; Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and the Crown Prosecution Service.

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the Prime Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement of 28 June (HCWS808).

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the Prime Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement of 28 June 2018 (HCWS808).

The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) is a cross government fund, which delivers and supports security, defence, peacekeeping, peace-building and stability activity around the world.

This CSSF project provides technical assistance to support the Tunisian civil service to transparently communicate with citizens in order to support the development of effective, accountable institutions that promote good governance. Cabinet Office civil servants undertake implementation of this project. M&C Saatchi were competitively appointed to offer creative services to the Cabinet Office and do not work directly with the Tunisian government. The value of this sub-contract is up to £275,000.

The Government is taking a series of measures to further increase the effectiveness of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) following the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s (ICAI) review. The reviewers praised the fund for being flexible and responsive to UK national security priorities, for demonstrating excellent conflict analysis and for mainstreaming gender equality and conflict sensitivity across programmes. Details are set out in the Government’s response to the Commission’s review, published on 10 May and available on GOV.UK. More detail about the CSSF’s wider work to improve global security will be in the Fund’s 2017-18 Annual Report, to be published this month.

The Cabinet Office has provided event and promotion materials to the partner-led National Democracy Week Council. For example, on 24 March this year we launched the National Democracy Week website, which provides details for the events being run across the country during this week. National Democracy Week branding, in addition to ideas for events activities, is also available from the website for our partners to utilise.

These contributions to the success of National Democracy Week have been resourced from existing budgets for democratic engagement. To date, Cabinet Office expenditure has been less than £60k and is not expected to change significantly.

The Cabinet Office announced plans for a new National Democracy Week on International Democracy Day, 15 September 2017. We established a National Democracy Council to develop and deliver the week. The Council comprises leading electoral community group representatives, notably including SOLACE who represent Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers, as well as a range of civil society groups. Details of the Council are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-democracy-week-council-members

By law, the work of Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers is separate from local authority functions and they are represented in the work they do by the Society of LA Chief Executives (SOLACE). Electoral Administration staff are represented by the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA). We engage with SOLACE and the AEA on a regular basis and not via other channels, such as the Local Government Association.

The information requested is not available.

National Democracy Week was established to mark the 90th anniversary of equal suffrage. It was announced on International Democracy Day in 2017. To support the development and delivery of the week, we established the National Democracy Council. Council members and others who have been involved in National Democracy Week, which has had a particular focus on under-registered groups, have done so voluntarily and in recognition of the importance of democratic engagement.

The Government will publish external versions of cross-government strategies, as they are updated, where this is compatible with UK national security.

I discussed a number of defence and security matters of mutual interest during my recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

I was not accompanied by staff from the Defence and Security Organisation.

The Government has no plans to change the daylight saving arrangements. The Government believes that the current daylight saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK.

While there is the potential for some benefits from a change in the current arrangements, there is also a real risk of negative impacts. A change to permanent summertime or double summertime may also have significant impacts on certain sectors and businesses.

The Government believes that clients who commission work from small firms or individual tradespeople, should pay invoices as swiftly as possible. This ensures that they have the cash flow to enable them to continue to operate. Firms and tradespeople have recourse to the Small Claims Court, in cases where clients persistently refuse to pay. On 2 October, the Government announced new measures to back small businesses and tackle late payments as part of the Prompt Payment and Cash Flow Review, including extending and improving the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017. The full review will be published shortly.