Lord Lucas

The Government has no plans to lower the minimum age of application for a Gender Recognition Certificate.

There are currently no plans to display the asexual and aromantic pride flags at 10 Downing Street.

Allocation of working time spent on cross-government staff networks is an agreement between the staff network volunteers and their departments as employers.

The majority of staff time spent on the Civil Service LGBT+ Network is voluntary and unpaid. There are no central records on how many staff members participate in the network.

Applications and decisions about applications for external Equality Diversity and Inclusion expenditure lie with individual departments. No exemptions have been centrally reported since the General Election.

Criteria for assessing potential impacts of large-scale solar projects on the historic environment are set out in planning guidance. In most cases, applicants are required to seek expert assessment. Where assessments include investigative work, such as trial trenching, this should be proportionate.

Conducting this work during the pre-application planning phase enables developers to consider findings and, if necessary, mitigate impacts by adapting project design at an early stage.

No formal impact assessment has been made.

Planning guidance and consents set requirements for archaeological surveys where appropriate, and techniques used may include trial trenching. The most appropriate technique is likely to depend on the specific circumstances in each case.

Solar projects over 5MW were eligible to apply for Allocation Round 6. The Government is committed to accelerating solar deployment to meet clean power 2030 and reviews the Contracts for Difference scheme before every round to ensure it continues to deliver this and other objectives. We will confirm details for Allocation Round 7 in due course.

Solar projects over 5MW were eligible to apply for Allocation Round 6. The Government is committed to accelerating solar deployment to meet clean power 2030 and reviews the Contracts for Difference scheme before every round to ensure it continues to deliver this and other objectives. We will confirm details for Allocation Round 7, including eligibility and delivery years, in due course.

The review, led by Professor Alice Sullivan, is an independent review into data and statistics on sex and gender. Ministers are currently considering next steps on the review and will make decisions, including on publication, in due course.

Local authorities are required to comply with the School Admissions Code, which sets out various requirements to ensure they provide information on local admission arrangements to parents.

This includes a requirement to publish a composite admissions prospectus for parents. This must include information on the admission arrangements for each state-funded school, the number of parental preferences expressed for the school the previous year, and information relating to how to apply for schools in that area. Local authorities must also produce an annual report on admissions for all the state-funded schools in their area, which is published on the authority’s website and sent to the Schools Adjudicator.

Whilst the department does not routinely assess whether the required information is made available, if a parent or other party is unhappy that information is not available they can complain to the local authority through their complaints process. If they remain dissatisfied after exhausting the complaints procedure, they can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Additionally, if my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, becomes aware of an issue she can, if necessary, use her powers to direct the local authority, where it is failing in its duty.

The government has no plans to ask the Student Loans Company for data about its customers for these purposes.

The Office for Students (OfS) uses Graduate Outcomes survey data to monitor providers’ compliance with registration condition B3, which stipulates that at least 60% of a providers’ students must progress into professional employment or further study within 15 months of graduating. Students can see how providers are performing against this target on the OfS's website.

The OfS considers B3 and National Student Survey (NSS) data alongside submissions from providers and students to award ratings of Gold, Silver or Bronze to providers which take part in its Teaching Excellence Framework.

Students can also find information about different courses on the Discover Uni website, which is the official source of information about higher education across the UK and uses the NSS, Graduate Outcomes survey and Longitudinal Education Outcomes data.

The public consultation on the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education statutory guidance was open for eight weeks and received over 14,300 responses.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools and as such the government will look carefully at the consultation responses and consider the relevant evidence, including through stakeholder conversations, before setting out the next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence. This will include plans for responding to the consultation.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

We will continue to work with Natural England to develop our approach to beaver reintroductions in England. Further information on this will be published in due course.

There are fewer than 5 individuals in DWP in September 2024 who are claiming Trade Union (TU) Facility time and Diversity Network time.

In line with standard departmental practice in statistics, we do not publish details of numbers below 5, or where individuals might otherwise be identified in the data, as this would breach our data protection obligations.

DWP does not have a policy on colleagues claiming both Diversity Network Time and Facility Time at the same time.

DWP does not have a National Diversity Ambassador on Trans Issues.

Since 2018, under the current Permanent Secretary, there has been no formally recognised role of this description. Before this, the term Ambassador may have been used colloquially within the Department to raise awareness of Trans and wider Equity, Diversity and Inclusion matters. However, this role was not confirmed in any official capacity.

In light of the review of the National Health Service by Professor Lord Darzi, which highlights the importance of driving productivity in hospitals, the Government welcomes the manifesto of the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) and will consider its recommendations. The Government is already working with NHS England to improve perioperative care, which can reduce length of stay, improve patient outcomes, and increase productivity. In May 2023, NHS England published guidance setting out five core perioperative care requirements relating to the care of adult patients awaiting planned inpatient surgery. These measures address the key objective of identifying health needs as early as possible in perioperative pathways, and then using time on the waiting list to optimise health, through optimisation of both existing health conditions and of health-related behaviour. NHS England is working to oversee and support implementation, and will continue to do so throughout 2024/25. In addition, NHS England is also undertaking work on other areas addressed in the CPOC manifesto such as drinking, eating, and mobilising after surgery.

It is not the position of the Government, or NHS England, that a person whose biological sex is male can get pregnant.

The FCDO is committed to championing the rights of LGBT+ individuals globally. This year, for Bisexual Awareness Week, the FCDO flew the Bisexual flag within the grounds of our HQ in London to show support to our colleagues. An equalities assessment was made against our Public Sector Equality Duty commitments which concluded that this would raise awareness and promote tolerance. The FCDO stands for inclusivity, diversity and acceptance, both at home and abroad. We ­celebrate the diversity of our staff throughout the year and recognise various anniversaries, events or international days which can include flying flags or lighting up the FCDO in relevant colours.

Over the past twelve months, the British Army has undertaken civil service recruitment for two Chief Technology Officers. Both roles were advertised with salaries aligned with centrally approved remuneration frameworks, set by the Cabinet Office. This includes applicable allowances for the Digital, Data, and Technology (DDaT) profession, which remain under constant review.

Flag advertisements which benefit from deemed consent are set out in Class 7 of Schedule 3 to The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisement) (England) Regulations 2007. Guidance is set out in Flying flags: A plain English guide.

As set out at Autumn Budget, the Long-Term Plan for Towns will be retained and reformed, as part of a new regeneration programme.

The 75 places across the UK that were previously selected to receive funding under the Long-Term Plan for Towns will receive up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade.

The Public and Commercial Services Union has not made any representations to the Ministry of Justice regarding this motion and therefore no response was given.