3 Former APPG memberships
Indo-British, Loneliness, Psephologyvoted No - in line with the party majority
One of 268 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 198 Noes - 275
We are all heartbroken by what is happening in the middle east. As Israel works to root out Hamas terrorists, …
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2023 to Question …
From 25 April 2020 until 16 September 2021, Secretary and sole Director of China Research Group Ltd (CRG), a company …
Division Voting information
Neil O'Brien voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 103 Conservative No votes vs 113 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 297 Noes - 110
Neil O'Brien voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 107 Conservative Aye votes vs 109 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 116 Noes - 299
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
(34 debate interactions)
(29 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(301 debate contributions)
(234 debate contributions)
(22 debate contributions)
(13 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(35,462 words contributed)
(526 words contributed)
(447 words contributed)
(34 words contributed)
Harborough 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).
of 148,966 signatures (0.26%)
of 246,898 signatures (0.22%)
of 196,044 signatures (0.21%)
of 71,259 signatures (0.19%)
of 64,334 signatures (0.18%)
of 607,711 signatures (0.13%)
of 246,898 signatures (0.22%)
of 275,322 signatures (0.17%)
of 196,044 signatures (0.21%)
of 148,966 signatures (0.26%)
Petition Closed
'Owen's Law' - Change the law around allergy labelling in UK restaurants
Gov Responded - 14 Jul 2021 Debated on - 15 May 2023 View 's petition debate contributionsclosed 2 years ago
1.Restaurants to put all information about allergens in their food on the face of the main menu so customers have full visibility on what they're ordering.
2.Servers must initiate a discussion with customers about allergies on all occasions.
3.National register for anaphylaxis deaths
Petition Closed
Appoint an Allergy Tsar as a champion for people living with allergies
Gov Responded - 25 Aug 2021 Debated on - 15 May 2023 View 's petition debate contributionsclosed 1 year, 10 months ago
The Government should appoint an Allergy Tsar to act as a champion for people with allergies to ensure they receive appropriate support and joined up health care to prevent avoidable deaths and ill health.
Petition Closed
Protect free NHS prescriptions for over 60s
Gov Responded - 28 Jan 2022 Debated on - 6 Mar 2023 View 's petition debate contributionsclosed 1 year, 9 months ago
Continue to give free NHS prescriptions to over 60s. The Government is consulting on aligning the upper age exemption for NHS prescription charges with the State Pension age (SPA), which would render many people in their 60s ineligible.
Latest EDMs signed by Neil O'Brien
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Neil O'Brien, 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.
Neil O'Brien has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Neil O'Brien has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Neil O'Brien has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Neil O'Brien has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
136 Written Questions in the current parliament
(View all written questions)1 Other Department Questions
Currently eight people in the House of Commons have job roles including these words in the title: seven in the Diversity & Inclusion team and one person in HR, responsible for the disability specific workplace adjustment process.
No job titles in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Government Legal Department (GLD), and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) include the words equality, diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT or race.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) employs 6260 members of staff and 21 members of staff within the Department have one or more of the words equality, diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT or race in their job title.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has no staff with these words in their job titles, however, one of the SFO’s Strategic Objectives is to build an effective and inclusive workforce, treating their staff fairly and with respect and dignity. There are also a large number of people in the organisation engaged on improving equality, diversity and inclusion across the office.
A review is currently being done of what future diversity and inclusion learning should be provided as part of a cross-Civil Service Learning offer. This includes looking at unconscious bias training, and what training shall be promoted. The information on spend is not held centrally.
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
A review is currently being done of what future diversity and inclusion learning should be provided as part of a cross-Civil Service Learning offer. This includes looking at unconscious bias training, and what training shall be promoted. The information on spend is not held centrally.
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
As at 31 August 2020, at least 66 staff in the Cabinet Office have roles with equality, diversity, inclusion or disability, gender, LGBT and race in their job title. Further staff within the Department may have roles which contribute to aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion. This answer includes data for the Government Equalities Office, which for HR purposes falls under the Cabinet Office and which accounts for 41 of the 66 roles.
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
The data available indicates that over the last 5 years up to 22 July 2020, 4,615 Cabinet Office staff completed Civil Service unconscious bias e-Learning training.
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond. A copy of the UKSA response will be placed in the Library of the House.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond. A copy of the UKSA response will be placed in the Library of the House.
9 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
(View all Neil O'Brien's BEIS questions)I wrote in May to the FTSE 100 Group and accountancy firms, highlighting the importance of paying promptly.
We are engaging with Prompt Payment Code signatories on reforming the Code and will consult on strengthening the Small Business Commissioner’s powers.
Data regarding the number of staff employed by each Government Department is published monthly as part of routine Government transparency. The most recent report was published in August, covering the Department’s headcount and payroll data for July 2020, and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-workforce-management-information-july-2020.
There are six members of staff in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy that have equality, diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT or race in their job title.
The Department encourages all staff to complete Unconscious Bias training through Civil Service Learning.
We are only able to draw data from 1st April 2018, and 84% of Unconscious Bias training since that date was delivered online and therefore incurred no cost.
The estimated cost of the face-to-face training over the same period is shown in the table below.
| Face-to-face training | Cost |
2018/19 | 221 | £44,200 |
2019/20 | 167 | £33,400 |
|
|
|
There are six members of staff in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy that have equality, diversity or inclusion in their job title.
Higher education providers are independent, autonomous organisations. HM Government does not collect data of this sort.
Higher education providers in the UK are required to submit certain categories of data to the Higher Education Statistics Agency. This is published annually. This includes their overall income from a variety of sources and for a range of different activities, including teaching, research and commercial. This includes research grant and contract income from business. However HESA data does not indicate the individual businesses concerned.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Higher education providers are independent, autonomous organisations. HM Government does not collect data of this sort.
Higher education providers in the UK are required to submit certain categories of data to the Higher Education Statistics Agency. This is published annually. This includes their overall income from a variety of sources and for a range of different activities, including teaching, research and commercial. This includes research grant and contract income from business. However HESA data does not indicate the individual businesses concerned.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We will publish an ambitious place strategy for R&D in the next few months. This will build on existing and emerging research and innovation capabilities across the country, enabling areas to ‘level up’ and reach their economic potential. This is an important part of our ambition to increase R&D investment across the economy.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 1st September 2020, 10 members of staff in DCMS had equality, diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT or race in their job title.
This includes staff working on diversity and inclusion policy for the department in the People and Workplace directorate, as well as diversity and inclusion across DCMS policy areas.
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All staff are expected to complete Diversity and Inclusion e-learning on an annual basis. This includes modules on unconscious bias. All e-learning is free of charge to staff as it is covered by the department’s annual payment to access Civil Service Learning.
In addition to this DCMS spent £7,500+VAT in f/y 2019/20 on face to face unconscious bias training.
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 1st September 2020, 10 members of staff in DCMS had equality, diversity or inclusion in their job title.
This includes staff working on diversity and inclusion policy for the department in the People and Workplace directorate, as well as diversity and inclusion across DCMS policy areas.
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Gambling Commission has a range of sanctions at its disposal to hold operators to account for failures. These include financial penalties and the review of both operator licences and personal management licences, as well as criminal prosecution where appropriate. As part of its recent action against PT Entertainment Services (PTES), the Commission is continuing to investigate the roles of individual licence holders and will take appropriate action if necessary.
The government and the Gambling Commission monitor on an ongoing basis whether changes to legislation or licence conditions are needed. We are looking at the issues raised by this case and any lessons to be learned.
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A total of 23,570 pupils attended independent special schools in England in 2022/23. This is 0.26% of the 9,073,832 pupils in England that year. There are a high proportion of pupils with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans attending independent schools. There were 21,943 pupils at independent special schools in England in 2022/23 who had a EHC plan. The Department does not hold data on how many of the pupils attending independent schools have fees that are not paid by a local authority.
Minister of State (Education)
The Department currently has eight employees in central teams who work directly on issues relating to diversity, equality and inclusion. We do not, however, hold data on further teams across the Department who might work on these issues as part of their wider role.
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Harborough to the answer I gave on 10 September 2020 to Question 83930.
The Department pays an annual subscription cost to Civil Service Learning, which includes access to a large number of e-learning packages at no charge. This includes Unconscious Bias e-learning.
In 2018/19, the Department’s HR records show a spend of £92,500 on face to face Unconscious Bias training.
The figure provided does not include spending on Unconscious Bias training which may have been arranged by Department local business areas via the Civil Service wide offer or via local procurement routes.
The Department does not hold information on job titles as our records are by job grade only, so the information requested cannot be provided.
The department publishes forecasts of higher education student numbers, student loan outlay and student loan repayments in England. The most recent publication (June 2019) is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loan-forecasts-england-2018-to-2019.
These forecasts assume policies as set in June 2019 and the forecast of economic conditions at that point by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The forecasts of student loan outlay in 2020-21 and 2030-31 are also repeated in the attached table.
The long-term cost to the government of the student finance system depends on the proportion of the student loan outlay which is expected to be repaid. We do not routinely publish forecasts of the cost of student loans to the public purse to 2030 due to the high level of uncertainty inherent in such longer-term forecasts of income-contingent loans.
Updates to this forecast will be published in ‘Student loan forecasts, England: 2019 to 2020’, which is pre-announced for publication in September 2020.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Reliable estimates of the historic cost to the public purse of degree subjects at this level of disaggregation are not available.
Recent research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies looked at how financial returns to higher education, for both students and the taxpayer, differ by subject studied. They estimate that, on average, the taxpayer gains £110,000 per male graduate and £30,000 per female graduate through extra tax and National Insurance contributions less unpaid student loans, with economics and medicine seeing the greatest returns and creative arts seeing the lowest returns. The publication is available here:
https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/R167-The-impact-of-undergraduate-degrees-on-lifetime-earnings.pdf.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Reliable estimates of the historic cost to the public purse of degree subjects at this level of disaggregation are not available.
Recent research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies looked at how financial returns to higher education, for both students and the taxpayer, differ by subject studied. They estimate that, on average, the taxpayer gains £110,000 per male graduate and £30,000 per female graduate through extra tax and National Insurance contributions less unpaid student loans, with economics and medicine seeing the greatest returns and creative arts seeing the lowest returns. The publication is available here:
https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/R167-The-impact-of-undergraduate-degrees-on-lifetime-earnings.pdf.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The department publishes forecasts of higher education student numbers, student loan outlay and student loan repayments in England. The most recent publication, published in June 2019, covers financial years up to 2023-24 and academic years for the same period. These figures are available in the ‘Student loan forecasts, England: 2018 to 2019’, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loan-forecasts-england-2018-to-2019.
The figures can be used to derive the forecast cost of student finance, as set out in Table A in the attached tables under the policies and economic conditions of June 2019.
The Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge is the proportion of loan outlay that is expected to not be repaid when future repayments are valued in present terms. This takes into account the effect of inflation and the estimated cost of government borrowing over time.
The RAB cost is the product of student loan outlay and the RAB charge and represents the long-term monetary cost to government of providing student loan funding
Updates to this forecast will be published in 'Student loan forecasts, England: 2019 to 2020', which is pre-announced for publication in September 2020.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The proportion of students that achieved AAB or better at A level, broken down by ethnicity, is available for 2018/19 from the file ‘2019_REVISED_Performance_measures_by_characteristics’ on the ‘Underlying data: 2019 revised 16 to 18 results csv’ link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2018-to-2019-revised.
Similarly, data is available from the underlying data produced for the equivalent publications in 2016/17 and 2017/18 as set out below:
‘2018_REVISED_Performance_measures_by_characteristics’ from the underlying data available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2017-to-2018-revised.
‘SFR03_2018_Performance_measurse_by_characteristics’ from the underlying data available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2016-to-2017-revised.
The information is not available in the format requested.
The most equivalent A level attainment statistic is the Average Point Score (APS) per entry, data for 2018/19 is available from the file ‘2019_REVISED_Performance_measures_by_characteristics’ in the ‘Underlying data: 2019 revised 16 to 18 results csv’ link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2018-to-2019-revised.
Similarly, data is available from the underlying data produced for the equivalent publications in 2016/17 and 2017/18 as set out below:
‘2018_REVISED_Performance_measures_by_characteristics’ from the underlying data available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2017-to-2018-revised.
‘SFR03_2018_Performance_measurse_by_characteristics’ from the underlying data available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2016-to-2017-revised.
The information requested is not available in the format requested.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 9 July 2020 to Question 69679, which covered the percentage of pupils achieving 3 A*-A grades or better at A level by region between 2009-10 and 2018-19.
The number of pupils by year group is available in the National statistics publication ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.
This includes the number of pupils by national curriculum year group for state-funded schools. National curriculum year group is not collected for independent schools, however the same publication contains the number of pupils by age at school, local authority, region and national level.
Higher education spending is reflected in the national accounts in different ways. Net spending by government on higher education over the year contributes to Public Sector Net Borrowing (PSNB), also known as the deficit.
Grants to students and providers are government spending and increase the deficit. The recent classification decision by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) changed the way that student loans contribute to the deficit. Under the reclassification, the part of the maintenance and tuition loan which is not expected to be repaid is considered spending and increases the deficit. Any accruing interest which is expected to be repaid is considered as income, decreasing the deficit. The difference between spending on loans which are not expected to be repaid and expected interest income represents the net spending by the government on student loans over the year.
More detail on the reclassification by the ONS is at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/methodologies/studentloansinthepublicsectorfinancesamethodologicalguide.
A table summarising the total deficit cost of higher education is attached. Figures are not yet available for the 2019/20 academic year.
Historic information on student loans is published by the Student Loans Company and available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/student-loans-company/about/statistics.
The Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for distributing funding to the sector on behalf of the department. Details of future teaching grant allocation budgets from the department to the OfS are published at https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/regulation/guidance-from-government/.
The Office for Budget Responsibility publishes the forecast impact of student loans on PSNB. This is available in table 3.24 of the ‘March 2020 Economic and Fiscal Outlook’: https://cdn.obr.uk/EFO_March-2020_Accessible.pdf. These figures include student loans funded by the devolved administrations and the department.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The attached tables show the number and percentage of students who progressed to a Russell Group university in the year after reaching the end of 16 to 18 study in state-funded schools and colleges in each region of England. The tables cover the last 8 years for which data is available. The tables only include students who took approved level 3 qualifications, including A levels. Only students who were enrolled for at least 2 terms in the destination year are counted.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The table below provides information on the percentage of students achieving 3 A*-A grades or better at A level by region between 2009/10 to 2018/19[1],[2]
Region | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013[3] | 20143 | 20153 | 2016[4] | 20174 | 20184 | 20194 |
State-funded sector | 9.8 | 10.2 | 10.0 | 9.8 | 9.4 | 9.2 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 10.7 | 10.8 |
North East | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 8.8 | 10.0 | 9.3 | 10.2 |
North West | 10.4 | 10.9 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 10.1 | 10.2 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 8.8 | 9.5 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 10.8 | 10.2 | 10.0 |
East Midlands | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 9.0 | 9.9 | 11.4 | 9.1 |
West Midlands | 8.7 | 9.2 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 9.3 |
East of England | 10.3 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 10.2 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 9.8 | 11.6 |
London | 9.9 | 10.1 | 9.3 | 9.7 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.6 | 11.7 | 11.6 |
Inner London | 6.8 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 6.4 | 8.1 | 9.8 | 10.4 | 11.3 |
Outer London | 11.1 | 11.3 | 11.2 | 11.0 | 10.2 | 10.4 | 11.5 | 12.4 | 12.3 | 11.7 |
South East | 11.1 | 11.2 | 11.3 | 10.9 | 10.5 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 12.4 | 11.5 | 11.8 |
South West | 10.0 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 10.5 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
[1] Covers students at the end of advanced level study who were entered for at least one A level, applied single A level, applied double A level or combined A/AS level during 16-18 study, excluding critical thinking and general studies. This measure only includes A level students who have entered less than a total of size 1 in other academic, applied general and tech level qualifications.
[2] An applied double award A level at grade A*A* counts as two grade A*s, AA counts as two grade As and an award at grade AB counts as one grade A.
[3] Figures from 2012/13 to 2014/15 cover students at the end of advanced level study who were entered for at least one A level, applied single award A level, applied double award A level or combined A/AS level in the reporting year. Figures for earlier years cover students who were entered for at least one A level, applied single award A level, applied double award A level or combined A/AS level in the summer of the reporting year.
[4] Figures for 2015/16 onwards cover students at the of advanced level study who were entered for at least one A/AS level, applied single A/AS level, applied double A/AS level or combined A/AS level during their 16-18 study. As a result there was a jump in the A level cohort in 2016, since gradually reversed with reforms to A Levels, with the progressive decoupling of AS and A Level subjects. Therefore figures are not directly comparable to earlier years.
The attached table shows the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs (including English and mathematics) at grades A*-C (or equivalent) at the end of Key Stage 4 by ethnic grouping. The time series runs from 2004/05 to 2018/19 (the latest available). Care should be taken when comparing results over time due to the way the measures have changed in response to various reforms, e.g. Professor Alison Wolf’s Review of Vocational Education.
The Government is committed to ensuring that every child, whatever their background, has the opportunity to reach their full potential and our ambitious programme of reform is transforming the education landscape to ensure we deliver the world-class education that every young person deserves.
The table below contains the number of 17 year olds in full/part-time education in either state-funded or independent schools in England. The estimates relate to a snapshot of activities at the end of the calendar year, and are based on academic age, defined as ‘age at the start of the academic year’ i.e. age as at 31 August. The latest figures available are for the end of 2018.
Participation in full/ part-time education of 17 year olds by institution type, England, 1990 onwards:[1]
End of calendar year | All state-funded schools | Independent schools[2] |
end 1990 | 96,700 | 33,400 |
end 1991 | 101,800 | 33,500 |
end 1992 | 105,500 | 33,600 |
end 1993 | 106,500 | 33,200 |
end 1994 (a)[3] | 108,000 | 33,400 |
|
| |
end 1994 (b) | 108,800 | 32,600 |
end 1995 | 112,600 | 33,400 |
end 1996 | 123,800 | 34,900 |
end 1997 | 131,200 | 34,900 |
end 1998 | 132,900 | 34,600 |
end 1999 | 134,300 | 33,400 |
end 2000 | 138,900 | 33,500 |
end 2001[4] | 135,200 | 33,700 |
end 2002 | 139,600 | 34,900 |
end 2003 | 142,900 | 35,300 |
end 2004 | 147,300 | 34,600 |
end 2005 | 153,600 | 36,200 |
end 2006 | 153,600 | 35,500 |
end 2007 | 159,000 | 37,100 |
end 2008 | 164,100 | 37,800 |
end 2009 | 175,300 | 39,000 |
end 2010 | 177,400 | 38,200 |
end 2011 | 180,800 | 39,400 |
end 2012 | 183,200 | 39,200 |
end 2013 | 184,800 | 39,300 |
end 2014 | 190,700 | 40,500 |
end 2015 | 189,500 | 40,600 |
end 2016 | 190,900 | 40,900 |
end 2017 | 197,400 | 40,300 |
end 2018 (prov) | 202,700 | 40,000 |
This data is published in the National Statistics release ‘Participation in education, training and employment: 2018’ in table B4 of the ‘Additional tables – numbers: participation and NEET 2018’, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/810822/16-18_participation_and_NEET_statistics_additional_tables__numbers_.xlsx. In the publication the school numbers are sourced from the annual School Census.
[1] Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
[2] Includes all pupils in independent schools and independent special schools.
[3]The break in time series (1994) is due to changes in the source of further and higher education data.
[4]Pre 2001, includes all pupils in maintained/non-maintained special schools and pupil referral units. From 2001, these are reported under 'Special Schools' and are not included in the figures presented.
Secretary of State for Education
The latest data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for the academic year 2018/19 is shown in the attached table.
Information on the type of school that entrants to the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge have come from is only published for entrants under the age of 21. This is because the data collected is the previous educational provider that was attended by the entrant. Therefore, for mature students entering the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge, this may relate to study subsequent to key stage 5.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on the finances of higher education providers[1] in the UK.
Income data by source at each UK higher education provider is available in Table 7 of HESA’s ‘Higher Education Provider Data: Finance’ pages for the academic years 2015/16 to 2018/19 at https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/table-7.
More detailed information about income from tuition fees, such as the domicile status (UK, EU and non-EU) and the level of study it relates to, can be found in Table 6:
https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/table-6.
Data prior to 2015/16 can be accessed through HESA’s publications archive at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications.
The drop-down ‘Finances of Higher Education Providers’ shows the list of historical publications going back to the academic year 1994/95. Largely equivalent information can be found in Tables 2 to 5 of each publication year.
The financial information available from HESA is not collected for specific countries of origin. An indication of the relative importance to each provider of students from China, Macau and Hong Kong over the past 5 years is available in Table 28 of HESA’s ‘Higher Education Student Data’ pages: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-28.
[1] Since 2018/19, this includes both higher education (HEIs) and alternative providers (APs).
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on the finances of higher education providers[1] in the UK.
Income data by source at each UK higher education provider is available in Table 7 of HESA’s ‘Higher Education Provider Data: Finance’ pages for the academic years 2015/16 to 2018/19 at https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/table-7.
More detailed information about income from tuition fees, such as the domicile status (UK, EU and non-EU) and the level of study it relates to, can be found in Table 6:
https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/table-6.
Data prior to 2015/16 can be accessed through HESA’s publications archive at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications.
The drop-down ‘Finances of Higher Education Providers’ shows the list of historical publications going back to the academic year 1994/95. Largely equivalent information can be found in Tables 2 to 5 of each publication year.
The financial information available from HESA is not collected for specific countries of origin. An indication of the relative importance to each provider of students from China, Macau and Hong Kong over the past 5 years is available in Table 28 of HESA’s ‘Higher Education Student Data’ pages: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-28.
[1] Since 2018/19, this includes both higher education (HEIs) and alternative providers (APs).
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students enrolled in higher education.
Counts of student enrolments at each UK higher education institution (HEI) are available by level of study and region of domicile (UK, EU, non-EU) for the academic years 2014/15 to 2018/19 in Table 1 of HESA’s Higher Education Student Data pages: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-1.
In addition, data is available by level of study and individual countries of domicile for the academic years 2014/15 to 2018/19 in Table 28 of HESA’s Student Data pages: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-28.
Student enrolment data prior to 2014/15 can be accessed through HESA’s publications archive at https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications. The drop-down “Students in Higher Education” shows the list of historic publications going back to the academic year 1994/95. Equivalent information exists for Table 1 of each publication year.
Student enrolment data prior to 2014/15 by individual countries of domicile is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The information requested is not routinely available in 16 to 18 publications and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The closest available information can be found in tables 11a and 11b as part of the ‘A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (revised)’[1] national statistics, which were released on the 23 January 2020.
Students who are continuing to study English and mathematics, who are not yet at the end of 16 to 18 study, or who had previously achieved a grade 4/C or above in these subjects, will not be included in these figures.
[1] A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (revised): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2018-to-2019-revised. Please refer to table 11a “Matrix of prior attainment and progress point scores in GCSE English and other English qualifications by students at the end of 16-18 studies”, and table 11b “Matrix of prior attainment and progress point scores in GCSE mathematics and other mathematics qualifications by students at the end of 16-18 studies”.
The information requested is not routinely available in 16 to 18 publications and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The closest available information can be found in tables 11a and 11b as part of the ‘A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (revised)’[1] national statistics, which were released on the 23 January 2020.
Students who are continuing to study English and mathematics, who are not yet at the end of 16 to 18 study, or who had previously achieved a grade 4/C or above in these subjects, will not be included in these figures.
[1] A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (revised): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2018-to-2019-revised. Please refer to table 11a “Matrix of prior attainment and progress point scores in GCSE English and other English qualifications by students at the end of 16-18 studies”, and table 11b “Matrix of prior attainment and progress point scores in GCSE mathematics and other mathematics qualifications by students at the end of 16-18 studies”.
The information requested is not routinely available in 16 to 18 publications and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The closest available information can be found in tables 11a and 11b as part of the ‘A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (revised)’[1] national statistics, which were released on the 23 January 2020.
Students who are continuing to study English and mathematics, who are not yet at the end of 16 to 18 study, or who had previously achieved a grade 4/C or above in these subjects, will not be included in these figures.
[1] A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (revised): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2018-to-2019-revised. Please refer to table 11a “Matrix of prior attainment and progress point scores in GCSE English and other English qualifications by students at the end of 16-18 studies”, and table 11b “Matrix of prior attainment and progress point scores in GCSE mathematics and other mathematics qualifications by students at the end of 16-18 studies”.
4 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions
(View all Neil O'Brien's Defra questions)I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave him on 9 September 2020, PQ UIN 83985.
[questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-01/83985]
Attorney General
Defra obtains unconscious bias training for Senior Civil Servants and delegated grades from Civil Service Learning (CSL)[1]. All CSL online training is provided free of charge at point of use to our staff.
The information is in the table below:
Central departmental spend on unconscious bias training 2015-20
Course type | FY 2015/16 | FY 2016/17 | FY 2017/18 | FY 2018/19 | FY 2019/20 |
Unconscious bias workshop(s) | £2,833 | £21,095 | Nil spend | Nil spend | Nil spend |
Data source: Records of spend against a central learning and development budget.
[1] It is mandatory for civil servants to use CSL for their learning.
Attorney General
Job titles are not recorded in the Human Resources database. To obtain this data, we would have to contact all business areas and we estimate this would break the disproportionate cost limit. However, we do have six members of staff who work in HR’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team.
Attorney General
The Government is committed to increasing the number of trees on streets and in urban environments, in and around the places where most people live and work.
In 2019, we launched the £10 million Urban Tree Challenge Fund which is providing matched funding to councils, charities, community groups, private sector bodies and individuals to plant 130,000 trees, including 20,000 street trees, in our towns and cities.
In addition, we are giving hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren across England, mostly in urban areas, the opportunity to plant trees in schools and local communities, as part of our 1 million Trees for Schools programme in partnership with the Community Forest Trust and the Woodland Trust.
The Environment Bill includes new duties on councils to consult when felling street trees and increased penalties for illegal felling. As part of our 25 Year Environment Plant, we have worked with stakeholders to develop and publish an Urban Tree Manual and we are developing policies to ensure all new streets are lined with trees. These measures will help to ensure councils pick the right trees in terms of biosecurity, value for money, air quality impact and biodiversity.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department for International Trade employs both domestic and overseas staff, who are contracted separately through the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
There were 2,766 staff employed directly by the Department for International Trade (DIT), within DIT and UK Export Finance, as of 31 August 2020. Staff working on DIT objectives but contracted through the FCDO total 1,411, with a total employed figure for the DIT workforce of 4,177*.
*This figure does not include those on loan to DIT from other Government departments who remain on their home departments payroll, contractors, military staff, people on secondment from other organisations, those who are on loan or secondment out of DIT, on unpaid special leave or career break.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 9 September to Question 83937.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Unconscious bias training is mandatory for all staff in the Department for International Trade (DIT), including UK Export Finance (UKEF), who are required to complete an on-line learning module on an annual basis.
There is no cost to DIT for this training provided by Civil Service Learning which offers to their learning catalogue on an annual subscription model for Civil Service organisations.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are 10 employees in the Department for International Trade (including UK Export Finance) with Equality, Diversity or Inclusion in their job titles.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Transport wants to make transport better and accessible for all people in UK. Part of this objective is to consider diversity and inclusion in our policy and policy developments. In line with the Civil Service D&I strategy we are particularly focused on increasing the representation of talented Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, and people with disabilities, in our organisation. For 2020/21 we have a specific Race Action Plan, setting out how we will increase ethnic diversity, and equality of opportunity for ethnic minority staff.
There are 10.95 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the central Department and its Executive Agencies working on “internal” diversity and inclusion. Additionally, there are four staff working on equality, diversity and inclusion in the Active Accessible Travel team.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
There are 10.95 full time equivalent staff (FTE) in the central Department and its Executive Agencies with equality, diversity, inclusion, LGBT or race in their job title.
FTE has been used as a more accurate representation because some individuals carry out D&I work alongside other roles. FTE is also a better representation of resourcing compared to headcount.
The breakdown by business unit is as follows:
DfTc: 5.8 FTE
DVLA: 2.65 FTE
DVSA: 1 FTE
MCA: 1.5 FTE
VCA: 0 FTE
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Over the last five years, the total cost spent on unconscious bias training in DfT and its Executive Agencies is £44,962 and can be found in the attached table.
Figures for each Agency in the last five years can be found in the attached Table 2
Where data is not available, this is due to the Civil Service Learning Privacy Notice stating that management information will be retained by the Cabinet Office for no more than three financial years. Data may be retained by individual Department’s for the purposes of reporting beyond this period.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
There are 17 individuals in the central Department and it’s Executive Agencies with equality, diversity or inclusion in their job title.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Over the last five years, at least 9,976 members of staff have completed unconscious bias training in DfT including its Executive Agencies. This is set out in the attached table.
Figures for each Agency in the last five years is set out in the attached table
Where data is not available, this is due to the Civil Service Learning Privacy Notice stating that management information will be retained by the Cabinet Office for no more than three financial years. Data may be retained by individual Department’s for the purposes of reporting beyond this period.
Where data has not been provided within the last three years (e.g DVLA, 2018-2019), this is due to data being unavailable as a result of changes to the learning system where records have not been transferred.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Of the c.80,000 Civil Servants working in the Department, there are 72 people who work in the Wellbeing, Inclusion, Safety and Health team. The total number of colleagues working on issues relating to Inclusion is 22, including 1 SCS.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Of the c.80,000 Civil Servants working in the Department, there are 72 people who work in the Wellbeing, Inclusion, Safety and Health team. The total number of colleagues working on issues relating to Inclusion is 22, including 1 SCS.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP has a central Wellbeing, Inclusion, Safety and Health team which sits within the corporate HR function. Because of the cross-cutting nature of the team’s work it is not possible to split the numbers by diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT, or race alone.
In addition, there will be many colleagues throughout the Department involved in diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT, or race related activity, in both a formal and informal capacity.
Unfortunately, this information is not held centrally and would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Much of the Unconscious Bias training undertaken in DWP is by E Learning and therefore is cost neutral. The number of people to have undertaken Unconscious Bias E Learning over the last five years is as follows
2016 - 6835
2017 - 12359
2018 - 14121
2019 - 17354
2020 - 6051
In addition, there is a face-to-face Unconscious Bias course which employees can attend. We hold no centralised records for courses that were held for 2016 and 2017. In 2018 384 people completed that learning at a cost of £60,000 and in 2019 336 people completed the learning at a cost of £52,500. Due to Covid no one has attended a face to face event in 2020.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to diversity and inclusion and has a central Wellbeing, Inclusion, Safety and Health team which sits within the corporate HR function. Because of the cross-cutting nature of the team’s work it is not possible to split the numbers by diversity or inclusion alone.
In addition, there will be many colleagues throughout the Department involved in diversity and inclusion related activity, in both a formal and informal capacity.
Unfortunately, this information is not held centrally and would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not collected centrally.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This information is not collected centrally.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. NICE ensures that the price that the NHS pays for medicines represents value and it recommends the vast majority of medicines for use on the NHS, often as a result of commercial arrangements proposed during the NICE evaluation process. The NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE.
Since 2019, NHS patients have been able to access Orkambi, Symkevi and Kaftrio through an interim access agreement between NHS England, the company (Vertex), NICE, and the UK Cystic Fibrosis Trust. The agreement makes the medicines available for a limited time at a reduced price, while further information has been collected to inform a NICE appraisal. On 15 November 2023, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved a new licence extension and children as young as two years old with cystic fibrosis are now eligible to receive Kaftrio through the interim access agreement.
NICE is currently consulting on its draft recommendations on the use of Orkambi, Symkevi and Kaftrio and has not yet published its final recommendations. NICE continues to work with stakeholders to address the issues highlighted by the committee in the draft guidance. Under the terms of the interim access agreement for the cystic fibrosis medicines, Orkambi, Symkevi and Kaftrio, eligible children and adults with cystic fibrosis can continue to receive ongoing treatment and be initiated onto treatment with these medicines, as clinically appropriate, while NICE concludes its evaluation.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Public Health England does not collect data in the format requested.
Public Health England publishes the age/sex breakdown of hospitalisations for COVID-19 for the most recent four week period on a weekly basis in the slide set and excel sheet which accompany the National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, available at the following link:
The analysis is based on data from a sentinel network of acute National Health Service trusts contributing enhanced data.
The information is not held in the format requested. Data on all prescribed items is not routinely collected at English local authority level. Information is not held for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as this is a devolved matter.
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not held in the format requested.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not hold data in the format requested.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
CRITCON scores are used as part of operational data to support the day to day delivery of services. These scores are a snapshot and can change rapidly within hours of being recorded. In this context this data is not routinely published.
The ‘Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Report’, highlighting pressures on the National Health Service is published at trust level and is available at the following link:
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The following table shows the number of finished consultant episodes (FCE) where a main or secondary procedure for gender reassignment has been recorded for each year from 2000-01 to 2019-20.
Year | FCEs |
2000-01 | 87 |
2001-02 | 95 |
2002-03 | 108 |
2003-04 | 120 |
2004-05 | 135 |
2005-06 | 139 |
2006-07 | 146 |
2007-08 | 136 |
2008-09 | 168 |
2009-10 | 151 |
2010-11 | 169 |
2011-12 | 163 |
2012-13 | 167 |
2013-14 | 176 |
2014-15 | 192 |
2015-16 | 188 |
2016-17 | 204 |
2017-18 | 228 |
2018-19 | 293 |
2019-20 | 342 |
Total | 3,407 |
Notes:
- A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under on consultant within one healthcare provider.
- Figures so not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), with a strategy which aims to create an inclusive culture where difference is valued, diversity is harnessed, and everyone has equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
Within the Department we have 10 posts which have either ‘equality, diversity or inclusion, gender, LGBT or race’ in the job title. Seven of these roles are within Human Resources and the remaining are in the different business areas.
Within the Department, there are also five posts with ‘inequalities’ in the job title and two posts with ‘neurodiversity’ in the job title.
In addition to this, we have visible Senior D&I Champions in place and their role includes sponsorship and aligning priorities and forward plans with staff networks, such as the Equality Matters network for race and PRISM network for LGBT+ matters. The Departmental Champions works with other Civil Service D&I Champions to push forward the diversity and inclusion agenda across the Civil Service. In the Department, Champion roles include a LGBT+ Champion and Race Champion as well as Champions for other protected characteristics.
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The following table shows how much the Department has spent on unconscious bias training in each of the last five years:
Reporting year | Spend |
April 2019 – March 2020 | £12,234 |
April 2018 – March 2019 | N/A |
April 2017 – March 2018 | N/A |
April 2016 – March 2017 | N/A |
April 2015 – March 2016 | N/A |
Required Unconscious Bias online training for all staff which is accessed via Civil Service Learning forms part of the Civil Service Learning offer. Although we pay a yearly subscription cost for all Civil Service Learning, we are not able to provide a breakdown of spend for the required Unconscious Bias online training for all staff accessed via Civil Service Learning.
In addition to online training, in 2019-20 we held and paid for face to face Unconscious Bias workshops as part of Senior Civil Service and management training programmes.
Whilst our records show a spend of £12,234 for April 2019 to March 2020, learning on Unconscious Bias is built into other learning programmes, such as our line management training offer. This includes workshops on ‘Leading Inclusive Teams’ and ‘Building Effective Teams’. It is not possible to extract the amount spent on Unconscious Bias where this forms part of a broader training offer.
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department is committed to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), with a strategy which aims to create an inclusive culture where difference is valued, diversity is harnessed, and everyone has equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
Within the Department we have 10 posts which have either ‘equality, diversity or inclusion’ in the job title. Seven of these roles are within Human Resources and the remaining are in the different business areas.
Within the Department, there are also five posts with ‘inequalities’ in the job title and two posts with ‘neurodiversity’ in the job title.
In addition to this, we have visible Senior D&I Champions in place and their role includes sponsorship and aligning priorities and forward plans with staff networks. The Departmental Champions works with other Civil Service D&I Champions to push forward the diversity and inclusion agenda across the Civil Service.
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
To provide the highest standard of care it is vital that the National Health Service workforce reflects the diverse communities that it serves. With regards to current employees of NHS England with either of the three characteristics ‘Equality, Diversity or Inclusion’ in their job title, there are 28 employees and one secondee who fit this description.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows how many staff at the Department have undertaken unconscious bias training in the last five years.
Reporting year | 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 | 1 April 2019 - 31 March 2020 | 1 April 2020 - 24 July 2020 |
Number of staff who have undertaken training | 340 | 505* | 130** |
Notes:
- Data is held on the Civil Service Learning platform.
- Data is not held for the years prior to 1 April 2018.
- Figures are completion rates, however:
*figure includes 84 starts of unconscious bias training that is started, but not completed
**figure includes 24 starts of unconscious bias training that is started, but not completed
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department has made no such assessment. Elexacaftor, tezacaftor and ivacaftor combination therapy (or triple therapy, marketed in the United States as Trikafta) does not yet have a marketing authorisation for use in the United Kingdom and the dates for licensing have not yet been confirmed.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinical and cost effective use of NHS resources. It is a condition of the agreement reached between NHS England, NHS Improvement and Vertex that the company will submit its full portfolio of cystic fibrosis medicines, including its new triple therapy to NICE for appraisal.
NICE has begun work for the appraisal and further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/proposed/gid-ta10566
NICE will invite the company to provide an evidence submission immediately after the triple therapy has been formally referred to its work programme, expected in February.
Subject to licensing, in order to recommend the triple therapy for routine NHS funding, NICE will need to be assured that Vertex have priced it at a level that is fair to both the NHS and UK taxpayer. In the period leading up that, NICE will work extensively with the company and other stakeholders on putting the best possible evidence submission to its independent advisory committee.
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Diversity and inclusion work is the responsibility of a number of people working in HR and across the network in the FCDO, including circa 25 members of staff from the former FCO and DFID diversity and inclusion teams.
The FCDO is committed to putting diversity and inclusion at its heart, and is working towards its aspiration to be the most inclusive government department.
This information is not held centrally. The FCDO is committed to putting diversity, equality and inclusion at its heart.
This information is not held centrally. The FCDO is committed to putting diversity and inclusion at its heart.
There are three ways the FCDO supports staff in this learning: by direct access to the Civil Service Learning (CSL) website, by accessing CSL via the FCDO's internal learning system, Global Learning Opportunities (GLO), or by learning provided by specialists and learning champions overseas. There is no cost to departments for the online CSL unconscious bias training. We do not hold any data centrally for unconscious bias courses delivered overseas or for earlier periods.
This information is not held centrally. The FCDO is committed to putting diversity and inclusion at its heart.
An estimated 1.3 million families are eligible for Tax Free Childcare (TFC). The TFC Official Statistics show that 384,000 families (30%) used TFC in March 2022. 512,000 families (39%) used TFC at some point in 2021-22. TFC spend for the financial year 2021-22 was £411.3 million.
In 2022-23, the Department for Education is planning to spend approximately £2.3 million for the universal entitlement for all three and four year olds, and approximately £900 million for the extended entitlement for working parents of three and four year olds (also known as 30 hours free childcare). The Department for Education is also planning to spend approximately £400 million for the 15 hours free early education entitlement for disadvantaged two year olds, approximately £52 million on supplementary funding for Maintained Nursery Schools, approximately £39 million for Early Years Pupil Premium, and approximately £18 million for the Disability Access Fund.
In January 2022, 92% of all three and four year olds were receiving some form of funded early education (1.2 million children in total), and 384,100 eligible three and four year olds were registered for a 30 hours place in January 2022.
In the latest month for which data is available (February 2022) 119,900 Universal Credit (UC) households were paid the UC childcare cost element. Overall, 13% of households on UC with all parents earning and children aged between 0 to 16 were paid the childcare element in February 2022. Spending on the Universal Credit childcare element is calculated as part of the total Universal Credit spend and separate figures are not available.
There were an estimated 470,000 recipients of all forms of Employer Supported childcare in 2021-22. There is no estimate of the eligible population. Spend on all forms of Employer Supported childcare is estimated to be £460 million in 2020-21 and forecast to be £340m in 2021-22. Employer Supported Childcare is closed to new entrants.
An estimated 1.3 million families are eligible for Tax Free Childcare (TFC). The TFC Official Statistics show that 384,000 families (30%) used TFC in March 2022. 512,000 families (39%) used TFC at some point in 2021-22. TFC spend for the financial year 2021-22 was £411.3 million.
In 2022-23, the Department for Education is planning to spend approximately £2.3 million for the universal entitlement for all three and four year olds, and approximately £900 million for the extended entitlement for working parents of three and four year olds (also known as 30 hours free childcare). The Department for Education is also planning to spend approximately £400 million for the 15 hours free early education entitlement for disadvantaged two year olds, approximately £52 million on supplementary funding for Maintained Nursery Schools, approximately £39 million for Early Years Pupil Premium, and approximately £18 million for the Disability Access Fund.
In January 2022, 92% of all three and four year olds were receiving some form of funded early education (1.2 million children in total), and 384,100 eligible three and four year olds were registered for a 30 hours place in January 2022.
In the latest month for which data is available (February 2022) 119,900 Universal Credit (UC) households were paid the UC childcare cost element. Overall, 13% of households on UC with all parents earning and children aged between 0 to 16 were paid the childcare element in February 2022. Spending on the Universal Credit childcare element is calculated as part of the total Universal Credit spend and separate figures are not available.
There were an estimated 470,000 recipients of all forms of Employer Supported childcare in 2021-22. There is no estimate of the eligible population. Spend on all forms of Employer Supported childcare is estimated to be £460 million in 2020-21 and forecast to be £340m in 2021-22. Employer Supported Childcare is closed to new entrants.
The Government’s priority is to keep goods moving and avoid delays at the border. HMRC use a risk based, intelligence-led response to compliance issues working alongside Border Force.
There are a number of different customs checks which could take place, and the time required for a check will vary significantly based on:
- The type of check required;
- The nature of the import and the associated risk;
- The type and quantity of goods examined;
- The amount of time a trader or their agent takes to provide information at points in the process.
The information requested is therefore not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
HMRC have not carried out an assessment of trends in the time taken for goods to clear customs.
The Government has put in place a number of measures to facilitate trade with the EU and to avoid disruption at ports, including publishing comprehensive guidance on the new arrangements for trade with the EU and operating a staged approach to customs controls in Great Britain. Until 31 December 2021 most traders importing non-controlled goods from the EU can make a simplified declaration in their own records and defer making a customs declaration to HMRC for 175 days. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/delaying-declarations-for-eu-goods-brought-into-great-britain
HM Treasury have three job titles that include diversity, inclusion and race. Currently there are 5 staff matching with one of the three Job Titles below:-
Diversity and Inclusion Manager
Diversity lead Let's Talk About Race project
Head of Diversity & Inclusion
President of the Board of Trade
The information requested on spend is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, there is unconscious bias training available to all staff, at no cost to the department, via Civil Service learning.
President of the Board of Trade
The Treasury does not hold the data in the form requested and only retains records for staff completing unconscious bias training who still work at the organisation. These records do not capture either staff who attend unconscious bias training as part of their induction (which includes all staff below SCS who have joined the organisation since 2016, and SCS since 2018). The figures we hold will therefore be an underestimate – but they show the following attendance for staff who are still working in the organisation:
Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 (up to 5 August) | Total |
Number of staff trained | 73 | 277 | 185 | 453 | 83 | 1071 |
President of the Board of Trade
The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release. Data on whether arrivals are still in the UK or have left the UK is not published but some of the data in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK detailed datasets’ may provide an indication of these:
- Data on the number of arrivals is available in table Irr_D01.
- Data on initial decisions from asylum applications of small boat arrivals by asylum case outcome is available in table Irr_D03.
- Data on outcomes from NRM referrals of small boat arrivals by NRM case outcome is available in table Irr_D05.
The Home Office also publishes statistics on the number of returns from the UK in table Ret_D01 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’, as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this data includes all returns, not just returns of small boat arrivals.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release. Data on small boat arrivals by year is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’ with the latest data up to the end of June 2023.
The Home Office also publishes statistics on the number of returns from the UK in table Ret_D01 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’, as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this data includes all returns, not just returns of small boat arrivals.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
The Home Office publishes data on Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) grants in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data covering the period 2011 onwards are published in table se_06 of the Settlement summary tables. Earlier data are available in table se_06 at Settlement data tables. (Downloads new file).
The Home Office does not produce information on the UK population. These are the responsibility of the UK Office for National Statistics.
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
The Home Office publishes data on returns and asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Annual data going back to 2004 for enforced and voluntary returns by return type and back to 2010 for enforced and voluntary asylum-related returns are published in tables Ret_01 and Ret_05 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. Unfortunately, data going back to 1993 is not available.
Data going back to 2001 on initial decisions for asylum applications by case outcome and going back to 2010 on asylum applications awaiting a decision are published in tables Asy_D02 and Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’.
Earlier data on Returns can be found in ‘List of tables’ of the year ending June 2019 statistical release.
Earlier data on Asylum applications and decisions from 1993 to 2010 can be found in table as_01 and as_02 in the old table formats, available at: Asylum data tables, volume 1 (opens new file).
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
The Home Office publishes data on returns and asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Annual data going back to 2004 for enforced and voluntary returns by return type and back to 2010 for enforced and voluntary asylum-related returns are published in tables Ret_01 and Ret_05 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. Unfortunately, data going back to 1993 is not available.
Data going back to 2001 on initial decisions for asylum applications by case outcome and going back to 2010 on asylum applications awaiting a decision are published in tables Asy_D02 and Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’.
Earlier data on Returns can be found in ‘List of tables’ of the year ending June 2019 statistical release.
Earlier data on Asylum applications and decisions from 1993 to 2010 can be found in table as_01 and as_02 in the old table formats, available at: Asylum data tables, volume 1 (opens new file).
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
Since 2011, the Home Office has published data on the processing of applications for British citizenship on the Gov.uk website.
The link to the latest Migration Transparency Data can be found here:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/visas-and-citizenship-data-q2-2023
Data relating to earlier applications can be found here:
www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#citizenship
There are no records of the number of people who are automatically British from birth and no data is held to show the number of people who hold UK citizenship each year.
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
The Home Office does not hold data centrally on how many police officers were suspended pending a misconduct hearing.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on misconduct proceedings, including hearings (and accelerated hearings) in the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales year ending 31 March 2021’, available here: Police misconduct, England and Wales year ending 31 March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) However, information on whether the officer was suspended pending a misconduct hearing is not collected.
Separately, the Home Office also publishes information on the number of officers who are absent due to being suspended in the annual ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The information in this release is a snapshot of those absent on 31st March 2021 only, and does not cover all absences within the year. Information on the number of absences on both a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis, as at 31 March each year, since 2007 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ available here:
These open data tables will be updated at 9.30am on Wednesday 27th July 2022.
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office collects information from police forces in England on Wales on offences covered by the notifiable offence list. Whilst pet thefts are covered by the notifiable offence list, it is not possible to separately identify these crimes from others in the wider offence category of theft offences.
With regard to the Honourable Members question about the number of staff with the words equality, diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT or race in their job title I refer him to the response given to his question of the 9th September 2020, UIN 83931.
The table below shows the spend for the last two financial years. There was no spend for the financial years 16/17 or 17/18. Figures for the financial year 15/16 are not available.
Spend on Unconscious Bias Training
Period | Spend |
1 April 18 to 31 Mar 19 | £7,949 |
1 April 19 to 31 Mar 20 | £46,131 |
Job titles are not held centrally and could only be retrieved at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office central Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) team has 18 staff who work across the organisation for its workforce of nearly 37,000 staff. The team are responsible for setting the strategic direction for diversity and inclusion as set out in the Home Office D&I Strategy 2018-2025: Inclusive by Instinct.
The Home Office is committed to becoming a more diverse and inclusive Department and going beyond the mandated requirements established in EA2010. This inclusive approach will make the Department a stronger organisation that is better equipped to develop and deliver policy and services for the public we serve. Achieving this ambition requires action from everyone in the Department.
In addition to the central D&I team there are further roles which whilst not exclusively working on diversity and inclusion do have responsibilities for realisation of the D&I strategy, and delivery of D&I interventions. These roles are distributed across the HO, and include staff support network chairs/leads who have between 20 – 50% of their time allocated to this role, as well as some HR Business Partners that have specific D&I responsibilities.
1.) Training on unconscious bias is primarily provided through the Unconscious Bias eLearning package on the Civil Service Learning site. The table below shows the number of individual Home Office staff that have undertaken this course in each of the last five financial years:
Table 1: Take up of Unconscious Bias eLearning
Period | Number of staff |
1 April 15 to 31 Mar 16 | 1,893 |
1 April 16 to 31 Mar 17 | 2,862 |
1 April 17 to 31 Mar 18 | 5,179 |
1 April 18 to 31 Mar 19 | 7,925 |
1 April 19 to 31 Mar 20 | 15,306 |
2.) In addition to the Unconscious Bias eLearning package the subject of unconscious bias has been included in the Diversity & Inclusion eLearning package on the Civil Service Learning site from May 2019. The table below shows the number of Home Office staff that have undertaken this course from 1 May 2019 to 31 March 2020:
Table 2: Take up of Diversity & Inclusion eLearning
Period | Number of staff |
1 May 19 to 31 Mar 20 | 14,460 |
3.) Civil Service Learning also provide a half day workshop on unconscious bias, aimed at Senior Civil Servants. A total of 23 Home Office Senior Civil Servants staff have attended this workshop as shown below:
Table 3: Take up of Unconscious Bias workshop
Period | Number of staff |
1 April 18 to 31 Mar 19 | 2 |
1 April 19 to 31 Mar 20 | 21 |
4.) It should be noted that all figures include permanent Home Office Civil Servants only; contactors working on behalf of the Home Office are not included.
The number of valid British National (Overseas) passports in circulation as at 17th April 2020 was 357,156.
The Home Office does not routinely publish data relating to financial forecasts. Income data for the Immigration Health Surcharge is published annually in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts.
Please see page 137 of the Home Office 2018-19 Annual Report and Accounts for the most recent disclosure of Immigration Health Surcharge income
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/807126/6.5571_HO_Annual_Report_201920_WEB.PDF
The information is published on the gov.uk website and can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-biannual-civilian-personnel-statisticsindex
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
45 civilian positions in the Ministry of Defence and its Executive Agencies specifically include one or more of the words equality, diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT or race in their job title as recorded by the electronic Human Resources Management System.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
Unconscious Bias training is undertaken by members of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) via an e-learning package on the Civil Service Learning Platform. The learning is free at the point of use, so there is no associated per-person cost for this training to be carried out. The MOD contributes to the funding of Civil Service HR, including Civil Service Learning annually, therefore it is not possible to disaggregate the cost of Unconscious Bias training from the wider budget.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
44 civilian positions in the Ministry of Defence and its Executive Agencies specifically include the terms equality, diversity or inclusion in their job title as recorded by electronic Human Resources Management systems.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Unconscious Bias training is a mandatory requirement for all Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian employees and is integrated into Civil Service Learning's Diversity and Inclusion 2019 on-line course, with refresher training undertaken every two years. Furthermore, the MOD is exploring the possibility of making the Active Bystander Fundamentals course a mandatory training requirement to give staff the skills with which to tackle discrimination in the workplace.
The MOD is fully committed to creating an inclusive environment for all and to be truly identified as a 'Force for Inclusion'. The Joint Service Publication (JSP) 763 (Bullying and Harassment Complaints Procedures) has been revised to align with the Defence Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2018, providing an increased focus on promoting an inclusive culture in the workplace.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
6 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities Questions
(View all Neil O'Brien's DLUHC questions)The £1.3 billion Land Assembly Fund enables Homes England to work alongside private developers to acquire and de-risk sites and make them attractive for private sector firms to rapidly build out homes. This will help release land to deliver 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s. To date, Homes England have acquired 18 sites under the Land Assembly Fund programme.
In line with the Department's plan to bring together existing capital programmes across land and infrastructure into the National Home Building Fund, funds allocated to the Small Sites Fund have been used accordingly across the Department’s land funds and other Departmental priorities. This will meet the immediate need to support local economies and protect jobs across the supply chain, and help to build the homes this country needs.
The data requested is not held centrally and to gather the data for the whole department would exceed the disproportionate cost limit.
The Civil Service Talent Action Plan, published in 2014, included a requirement that all civil servants complete learning on unconscious bias. Online learning was made available via Civil Service Learning (CSL) for all staff and a face to face course for the Senior Civil Service (SCS). As part of the introduction of the CSL Learning Platform for Government website in Autumn 2019, MHCLG has set an updated curriculum which outlines 'required' learning for all staff, including the SCS. This is inclusive of an e-learning course on Diversity and Inclusion, which includes 4 modules covering unconscious bias in various contexts (e.g. recruitment) and a stand-alone course on unconscious bias. There is no cost per use charge to the Department for online learning; data on spend in relation to these courses is therefore not held centrally and to gather the data for the whole department would exceed the disproportionate cost limit.
The data requested is not held centrally and to gather the data for the whole department would exceed the time cost limit.
We can however confirm that there is a diversity and inclusion team that is based within the Department, this team contains 4 members of staff. The team leads on the Department’s aims to bring in and bring on diverse talent and to foster an inclusive culture. This involves working with staff across the department including staff network committees who are given time through the business deal to allocate to the work of their network with the aim of improving equality, diversity and inclusion for all in MHCLG.
The data provided below is for MHCLG central department staff only. It does not include staff from executive agencies and arms' length bodies. It covers the period from 1 April 2018 to 18 August 2020. All data has been extracted from the Civil Service Learning (CSL) website and the Learning Platform for Government (LPG), which do not allow for the extraction of data from before 1 April 2018. Learning completion data covering the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2018 is not held internally by MHCLG.
The figures outlined below are inclusive of any staff who have undertaken training on unconscious bias in the relevant period. Where staff have completed two or more courses on unconscious bias, they have only been included in the overall figure once. Please note that due to the way in which data is collated by the CSL website, the data below is inclusive of staff currently employed by MHCLG, but who completed training whilst employed by another government department
1 st April 2018 – 31 st March 2019
573 Staff
1 st April 2019 – 31 st March 2020
542 Staff
1 st April 2020 – 18 th August 2020
78 staff
The planning applications for new prisons next to HMPs Garth, Gartree and Grendon have been refused by the respective planning authorities. We have decided to appeal all of those planning refusals. As part of the evidence to those appeal inquiries, details of the site searches undertaken will be made publicly available.
The list of sites that were considered for the prison next to HMP Garth have been made available as part of that inquiry and can be found at: https://chorley.gov.uk/article/2612/Planning-appeals-HM-Prison-Wymott (document E1).
The proof of evidence in support of the new prison including the list of alternative sites considered at Gartree will be available after 6 September. The inquiry will run between 4 and 10 October 2022. The proof of evidence in support of the new prison at Grendon will be available in accordance with a timetable set by the planning inspector.
No decision has been made to change the number of new category C prisons from three to two.
The Deputy Prime Minister announced on 4 March this year that three of the four prisons will be run by the private sector and one will be run by the public sector. Planning permission has been granted for a category C prison at Full Sutton and construction of that prison is expected to commence in the summer. The MoJ has submitted planning applications for new category C prisons next to HMP Grendon Springhill and HMP Garth/Wymott in order to meet the forecast regional demand. A planning application has been submitted for a category B training prison next to the existing category B prison at Gartree in order to meet the forecast national need for category B places. The new prisons HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse way will meet the regional demand for category C prisons in the Midlands.
As outlined above, planning for the new prison on land to the south of HMP Gartree is subject to an appeal process which is currently ongoing. The cost of the new prison can therefore only be finalised if planning permission is secured following the appeal process. If planning permission is granted an announcement will be made on the contract value and contractor who will take the project forward.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The planning applications for new prisons next to HMPs Garth, Gartree and Grendon have been refused by the respective planning authorities. We have decided to appeal all of those planning refusals. As part of the evidence to those appeal inquiries, details of the site searches undertaken will be made publicly available.
The list of sites that were considered for the prison next to HMP Garth have been made available as part of that inquiry and can be found at: https://chorley.gov.uk/article/2612/Planning-appeals-HM-Prison-Wymott (document E1).
The proof of evidence in support of the new prison including the list of alternative sites considered at Gartree will be available after 6 September. The inquiry will run between 4 and 10 October 2022. The proof of evidence in support of the new prison at Grendon will be available in accordance with a timetable set by the planning inspector.
No decision has been made to change the number of new category C prisons from three to two.
The Deputy Prime Minister announced on 4 March this year that three of the four prisons will be run by the private sector and one will be run by the public sector. Planning permission has been granted for a category C prison at Full Sutton and construction of that prison is expected to commence in the summer. The MoJ has submitted planning applications for new category C prisons next to HMP Grendon Springhill and HMP Garth/Wymott in order to meet the forecast regional demand. A planning application has been submitted for a category B training prison next to the existing category B prison at Gartree in order to meet the forecast national need for category B places. The new prisons HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse way will meet the regional demand for category C prisons in the Midlands.
As outlined above, planning for the new prison on land to the south of HMP Gartree is subject to an appeal process which is currently ongoing. The cost of the new prison can therefore only be finalised if planning permission is secured following the appeal process. If planning permission is granted an announcement will be made on the contract value and contractor who will take the project forward.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The planning applications for new prisons next to HMPs Garth, Gartree and Grendon have been refused by the respective planning authorities. We have decided to appeal all of those planning refusals. As part of the evidence to those appeal inquiries, details of the site searches undertaken will be made publicly available.
The list of sites that were considered for the prison next to HMP Garth have been made available as part of that inquiry and can be found at: https://chorley.gov.uk/article/2612/Planning-appeals-HM-Prison-Wymott (document E1).
The proof of evidence in support of the new prison including the list of alternative sites considered at Gartree will be available after 6 September. The inquiry will run between 4 and 10 October 2022. The proof of evidence in support of the new prison at Grendon will be available in accordance with a timetable set by the planning inspector.
No decision has been made to change the number of new category C prisons from three to two.
The Deputy Prime Minister announced on 4 March this year that three of the four prisons will be run by the private sector and one will be run by the public sector. Planning permission has been granted for a category C prison at Full Sutton and construction of that prison is expected to commence in the summer. The MoJ has submitted planning applications for new category C prisons next to HMP Grendon Springhill and HMP Garth/Wymott in order to meet the forecast regional demand. A planning application has been submitted for a category B training prison next to the existing category B prison at Gartree in order to meet the forecast national need for category B places. The new prisons HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse way will meet the regional demand for category C prisons in the Midlands.
As outlined above, planning for the new prison on land to the south of HMP Gartree is subject to an appeal process which is currently ongoing. The cost of the new prison can therefore only be finalised if planning permission is secured following the appeal process. If planning permission is granted an announcement will be made on the contract value and contractor who will take the project forward.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The planning applications for new prisons next to HMPs Garth, Gartree and Grendon have been refused by the respective planning authorities. We have decided to appeal all of those planning refusals. As part of the evidence to those appeal inquiries, details of the site searches undertaken will be made publicly available.
The list of sites that were considered for the prison next to HMP Garth have been made available as part of that inquiry and can be found at: https://chorley.gov.uk/article/2612/Planning-appeals-HM-Prison-Wymott (document E1).
The proof of evidence in support of the new prison including the list of alternative sites considered at Gartree will be available after 6 September. The inquiry will run between 4 and 10 October 2022. The proof of evidence in support of the new prison at Grendon will be available in accordance with a timetable set by the planning inspector.
No decision has been made to change the number of new category C prisons from three to two.
The Deputy Prime Minister announced on 4 March this year that three of the four prisons will be run by the private sector and one will be run by the public sector. Planning permission has been granted for a category C prison at Full Sutton and construction of that prison is expected to commence in the summer. The MoJ has submitted planning applications for new category C prisons next to HMP Grendon Springhill and HMP Garth/Wymott in order to meet the forecast regional demand. A planning application has been submitted for a category B training prison next to the existing category B prison at Gartree in order to meet the forecast national need for category B places. The new prisons HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse way will meet the regional demand for category C prisons in the Midlands.
As outlined above, planning for the new prison on land to the south of HMP Gartree is subject to an appeal process which is currently ongoing. The cost of the new prison can therefore only be finalised if planning permission is secured following the appeal process. If planning permission is granted an announcement will be made on the contract value and contractor who will take the project forward.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The planning applications for new prisons next to HMPs Garth, Gartree and Grendon have been refused by the respective planning authorities. We have decided to appeal all of those planning refusals. As part of the evidence to those appeal inquiries, details of the site searches undertaken will be made publicly available.
The list of sites that were considered for the prison next to HMP Garth have been made available as part of that inquiry and can be found at: https://chorley.gov.uk/article/2612/Planning-appeals-HM-Prison-Wymott (document E1).
The proof of evidence in support of the new prison including the list of alternative sites considered at Gartree will be available after 6 September. The inquiry will run between 4 and 10 October 2022. The proof of evidence in support of the new prison at Grendon will be available in accordance with a timetable set by the planning inspector.
No decision has been made to change the number of new category C prisons from three to two.
The Deputy Prime Minister announced on 4 March this year that three of the four prisons will be run by the private sector and one will be run by the public sector. Planning permission has been granted for a category C prison at Full Sutton and construction of that prison is expected to commence in the summer. The MoJ has submitted planning applications for new category C prisons next to HMP Grendon Springhill and HMP Garth/Wymott in order to meet the forecast regional demand. A planning application has been submitted for a category B training prison next to the existing category B prison at Gartree in order to meet the forecast national need for category B places. The new prisons HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse way will meet the regional demand for category C prisons in the Midlands.
As outlined above, planning for the new prison on land to the south of HMP Gartree is subject to an appeal process which is currently ongoing. The cost of the new prison can therefore only be finalised if planning permission is secured following the appeal process. If planning permission is granted an announcement will be made on the contract value and contractor who will take the project forward.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment for all and Unconscious Bias training is mandatory for all staff. It is a requirement for all staff when they join the NIO and to complete refresher training every two years.
The NIO pays an annual fee, like all other departments, for access to a range of Civil Service Learning, including Unconscious Bias. The exact cost spent specifically on Unconscious Bias training in the last five years cannot therefore be quantified.
There are no staff members in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) who have equality, diversity or inclusion specifically in their job title, however the NIO understands the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, placing an emphasis on being an organisation that is equal, diverse and inclusive.
There is a requirement for every staff member to have a diversity objective as part of their performance agreement. The department has an active Diversity & Inclusion network and is wholly committed to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion for all.
In 2018, the NIO won the award for Best (Small) Employer for Equality & Diversity in Northern Ireland at the Legal-Island Gala Awards and in 2019 we were Highly Commended at the same awards for our gender initiative. The department obtained a Diversity Charter Mark from Legal-Island in 2019 and are a Disability Confident Leader organisation, and members of Employers for Disability Northern Ireland.
Staff at the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland undertake unconscious bias training through Civil Service Learning at no direct cost to the Office.
Secretary of State for Scotland
A number of staff undertake a wide range of functions and activities including equality, diversity or inclusion responsibilities, which are undertaken in conjunction with other duties and not specifically referenced in job titles.
Secretary of State for Scotland
Nothing. All staff at the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW) undertake unconscious bias training through Civil Service Learning at no direct cost to the Office.
Secretary of State for Wales
Although no staff at the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW) have diversity or inclusion (D&I) in their job titles, we have a Board Champion responsible for leading on these issues. Also, several staff, including the HR team, contribute to the D&I agenda by participation in relevant groups within the Ministry of Justice (the employer of our staff) and the UK Governance Group at Cabinet Office and by implementing best practice back at OSSW.
Secretary of State for Wales