Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what was the total salary cost of the civil service in each year between 2010 and 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office does not hold actual outturn salary cost information for all Civil Service departments and organisations since 2010.
However, estimated nominal Civil Service salary costs have previously been calculated for the years 2010 to 2024. These are provided in Table 1 below.
Table 1
Year | Estimated nominal salary cost (£ billions) |
2010 | 12.7 |
2011 | 12.4 |
2012 | 11.6 |
2013 | 11.4 |
2014 | 11.6 |
2015 | 11.7 |
2016 | 11.6 |
2017 | 11.8 |
2018 | 12.4 |
2019 | 13.2 |
2020 | 14.0 |
2021 | 15.4 |
2022 | 16.6 |
2023 | 17.8 |
2024 | 19.7 |
Source: Civil Service Statistics
Figures are based on Civil Service salaries as at 31st March in each year, and have been adjusted for missing values. They have not been adjusted for inflation (i.e. they are nominal values).
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many pensioners qualify for free bus passes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Concessionary travel is a devolved policy area, and legislation and assessment of eligibility with regarding concessionary travel in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the appropriate devolved administration.
In England, the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The Office for National Statistics mid-year estimates for 2021 show that around 9.9 million people in England were aged 66 and above and therefore eligible for an ENCTS bus pass.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what was the full-time equivalent headcount of the civil service in each year between 2010 and 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4 October 2024 is attached.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of the involvement of teachers working in schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency with Hamas; and whether any UK funding of that UN body is conditional.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We were appalled by the allegations that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attacks against Israel. The Secretary-General and the Commissioner General of UNRWA took these allegations seriously and acted decisively. We expect robust processes to continue to be followed. UNRWA have confirmed that a Hamas leader killed in Lebanon, Fatah Sherif, was a staff member, suspended without pay while under investigation, and that the termination of his employment was imminent. We take this very seriously; UNRWA must meet the highest standards of neutrality as laid out in Catherine Colonna's report, including staff vetting and acting swiftly when concerns arise. The UK has allocated £1 million to support UNRWA to implement the report's recommendations. The FCDO will continue its own annual assessment of UK funding to UNRWA, which plays a vital role in saving lives in Gaza.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of reports that UNRWA staff members were named as Hamas operatives planning attacks against Israel from the Al-Jawni School in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We were appalled by the allegations that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attacks against Israel. The Secretary-General and the Commissioner General of UNRWA took these allegations seriously and acted decisively. We expect robust processes to continue to be followed. UNRWA have confirmed that a Hamas leader killed in Lebanon, Fatah Sherif, was a staff member, suspended without pay while under investigation, and that the termination of his employment was imminent. We take this very seriously; UNRWA must meet the highest standards of neutrality as laid out in Catherine Colonna's report, including staff vetting and acting swiftly when concerns arise. The UK has allocated £1 million to support UNRWA to implement the report's recommendations. The FCDO will continue its own annual assessment of UK funding to UNRWA, which plays a vital role in saving lives in Gaza.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
At present, the department is working to ensure that our approach to lifelong learning will be as effective as possible and will enable people to gain the skills they need to support their careers.
The government recognises that lifelong learning is a core part of a sustainable higher education system, which provides opportunities for all and offers learners greater flexibility in an ever-evolving economy.
The department will make further announcements about this work shortly.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the growth and skills levy is available to people of all (a) ages and (b) levels.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s reformed growth and skills levy will deliver greater flexibility for employers and learners and is aligned with the government’s industrial strategy, both of which will create routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries, such as in construction, digital and green skills.
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity, which means rebalancing levy spending towards young people at the start of their careers whilst ensuring that adults at different stages of their lives can upskill and retrain. The department is developing new foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors that will help to give more young people a foot in the door and support clear pathways into work-based training and employment.
However, in order to do this, there are tough choices that need to be taken on how levy funding should be prioritised in future. That is why, taking advice from Skills England, the department will be asking more employers to step forward and fund Level 7 apprenticeships outside of the levy.
The department is in the process of designing the growth and skills levy and will set out more detail in due course, including on Skills England’s engagement plans.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review the opt outs for the teaching of religious education in secondary schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government has launched an independent review of Curriculum and Assessment and will also consider any changes it wishes to make to support the aim of delivering a rich and broad curriculum for every child whilst the review is conducted.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review group has launched a call for evidence, setting out a number of key questions and themes on which it would particularly welcome evidence and input to help direct the focus of the review and engagement with the sector over the autumn term. Anyone can access and respond to the call for evidence to provide a view on any area of the curriculum.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of pensioners qualify for free prescriptions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of identified patients aged 60 years old or over who received a prescription that was recorded as exempt from the single item prescription charge in England in 2023/24 was 13.6 million.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of arrangements for standards enforcement in local government.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is actively considering options to strengthen the standards regime for local government and provide councils with more effective means to address serious misconduct by elected members. We want to give local leaders the tools they need to establish and maintain a strong ethical culture within their authority, and give the people they serve the confidence that local democracy works for them.
Our intention is to engage with local authorities, sector representative bodies, and other key stakeholders in due course to ensure a wide range of views are heard.