Philip Davies

The Government Equalities Office does not collect or hold information regarding spend across government on International Women’s Day. It is for individual departments to decide if and how to celebrate this day.

I refer my Hon. Friend for Shipley to the answer I gave him today, UIN: 291337.

The economic effect on churches and vicarages of the ban on the use of house coal has been negligible.

Bishops’ see houses and vicarages have not used house coal for many years and the Church Commissioners are not aware of any churches that still use coal as a form of heating.

The Church of England supports the aim of the Government to improve air quality and public health; the Church has launched several initiatives to support this policy, which include planting more trees on its properties and encouraging churches to increase the biodiversity of their churchyards and green spaces.

The Government Equalities Office’s job is to champion equality and to work with people inside and outside government to help make Britain a place where everyone can succeed without facing discrimination. The GEO leads work on policy relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equality, and has responsibility for a range of equalities legislation.

All Government departments publish single departmental plans, which for the first time have also included equalities objectives. Due to the ministerial change shortly before these were published, GEO has not produced a plan.

The Secretary of State is considering her priorities for this role and will set these out in due course.

GEO does work with consultants hired under contract working on e.g. the gender pay gap portal, but these people would be procured for such activity via the government procurement service, and are not GEO employees.

GEO does work with consultants hired under contract working on e.g. the gender pay gap portal, but these people would be procured for such activity via the government procurement service, and are not GEO employees.

No civil servants in the Government Equalities Office are provided with an official car or a driver.

The Government Equalities Office and its Ministers are in regular contact with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on a range of issues to do with the running of the Commission.

The Government Equalities Office and its Ministers are in regular contact with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on a range of issues to do with the running of the Commission.

The Government Equalities Office and its Ministers are in regular contact with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on a range of issues to do with the running of the Commission.

The Government Equality Office and its Ministers are in regular contact with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on a range of issues to do with the running of the Commission. These discussions and communications are not routinely published.

The position of ‘Disability Commissioner’ was not a statutory one, and there was no requirement for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to put proposals about discontinuing it to Ministers. Following a period of consideration and discussion and the winding up of the statutory Disability Committee on 31 March 2017 under the Equality Act 2006 (Dissolution of the Disability Committee) Order 2014 (SI No.406), the Board of the EHRC decided to abolish the role of ‘Disability Commissioner’ at its meeting on 11 May 2017. We will, however, ensure that disabled people continue to be represented on the EHRC.

Eliminating the gender pay gap remains a key priority for the Government Equalities Office and increasing transparency among employers is a significant step towards this. A more diverse and inclusive culture in the workplace benefits everyone.

From April 2017, large employers must publish information showing the differences in average pay and bonuses paid to women and men. We are also taking action to address the main drivers of the gender pay gap because neither families nor the economy can afford to miss out on female talent.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and makes its own decisions about handling discrimination and equal pay claims. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of the Commission to write to the honourable member with the information requested. I will place a copy of the letter in the libraries of both Houses.

The most recent publication of Civil Service Statistics was released by the Office for National Statistics in October 2016, using data gathered from departments as of 31^st March 2016. The latest set of data can be found on the ONS website via this weblink:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

The Civil Service is committed to being a place where everyone can thrive, regardless of background - with the aim of becoming the most inclusive employer in the UK.

Whilst it is encouraging to see a positive trajectory in terms of diversity representation in the Civil Service, we recognise that there is more to do. That is why in March 2016 the Government published its refreshed Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service, identifying actions to support our staff, increase diversity in the Civil Service and deliver the best possible public services.

The Department does not hold this information.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics:

(a) In 2015, a total of 861 civil partnerships were formed in England and Wales.

(b) 7,732 couples in England and Wales converted their existing civil partnership into a marriage between 10 December 2014 and 30 June 2015.

(c) A total of 7,366 marriages were formed in England and Wales between same sex couples between 29 March 2014 (when the legislation came into effect) and 30 June 2015.

This information is available online at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages.

No staff receive the above allowances in the Government Equalities Office.

The Department commissioned econometric research to estimate the labour market impact of Further Education (FE), which found that FE generates significant economic effects, resulting in sustained higher earnings and increased employment chances. This report was published in December 2014 and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-comparing-labour-market-economic-benefits-from-qualifications-gained

There is evidence that adult education courses can have positive benefits for people with mental health problems:

• A 2012 LSE study^[1] reported health and wellbeing benefits associated with adult learning, with reductions in self-reported depression, improvements in life satisfaction, enhanced perceptions of self-worth, improvements in self-reported overall health and increased desire to find a better job.
• An Institute of Education study^[2] found that interest-related learning had the effect of increasing women’s life satisfaction and decreasing female depression, as well as having a positive effect on self-efficacy.
• In 2010, Northamptonshire County Council Adult Learning Service and the local Teaching Primary Care Trust developed community adult education courses for people with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. The project was evaluated over a three year period by the Mental Health Foundation (MHF)^[3]. The evaluation found that the adult education courses offered a simple, low-cost way of helping to reduce the symptoms of mild to moderate depression and anxiety.

To test this evidence more rigorously, the 2014 Autumn Statement announced new funding to pilot adult education courses targeted at adults with mild to moderate mental health problems. Adult education providers are developing courses in partnership with local mental health organisations. The project is being advised by a cross-government steering group which includes senior officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department of Health, Public Health England, NHS England and the Department for Work and Pensions.

A consortium led by Ipsos-MORI is undertaking an external evaluation and gathering anonymised evidence about participants’ progress in relation to anxiety, depression and wellbeing. Pilots are using the same standardised and validated assessment scores as used by the NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. For more information, including a map of the projects, go to: http://mhfe.org.uk/clmh-pilots/.

[1] Review and update of research into the wider benefits of adult learning (LSE) 2012

[2] The relationship between adult learning and wellbeing: Evidence from the 1958 National Child Development Study (Institute of Education), 2012

[3] Robotham : Learning for Life: adult learning, mental health and wellbeing (Mental Health Foundation), 2011

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to Question 15037:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-11-05/15037/.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to Parliamentary Question 15037 on 11 November 2015.

All regulations implementing EU legislation that have been introduced since 2013 and their associated impacts can be found on www.legislation.gov.uk. The impact of future regulations that implement EU legislation will also be available on this site in due course.

The Women and Broadband Challenge Fund was launched in May 2014 to help women to take full advantage of superfast broadband to either start a business or to work from home. The programme was extended to the current year with a further investment of £1.1m.

The information is in the tables.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change spent the following amounts on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years, and with the following companies:

The core Department for Business Innovation and Skills spent the following on carbon offsetting in the last 3 years:

F/Y 09-10 EDF Trading Ltd - £90063

F/Y 10-11 RWE Supply & Trade in Switzerland SA - £31496.33

F/Y 11-12 South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd - £2902.72

The Student Loans Company (SLC) administers and collects information on student support for each of the UK Government Administrations.

In February 2015, the SLC responded to the Freedom of Information (FOI) request: How many prisoners have received student finance in the UK in the past three years, and how much has been paid? The response provided can be found at the following link: http://www.slc.co.uk/media/886467/foi_response_199-14.pdf

Information on the tuition fee loans recovered from these prisoners could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Staff are not prevented from downloading any news applications for use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

The DECC work phone is provided with the standard preloaded news application, which is available by default. No other news applications are authorised.

No news application is authorised for DECC supplied tablets.

GEO users are not prevented from downloading any news applications for use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

The Government believes that standardised packaging is a proportionate and justified response to the considerable public health harm from smoking tobacco. We continue to consider carefully all issues relevant to the policy, including the impact on intellectual property rights.

Information on volumes in offender learning by gender is published in a supplementary table to a Statistical First Release (SFR):

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/354673/feandskills-OLASS-participation-and-achievement.xls.xls

Offender learning is recorded in the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). The ILR does not capture information on those who have declined education.

SFR data is not comparable with published prison population data in a way that would allow calculation of the proportion of offenders who engage in learning.

Most prisoners who study Higher Education (HE) in custody do so through the Open University (OU). Prior to September 2012, the costs of prisoners’ tuition were met from public funds in an arrangement that broadly mirrored the Grant arrangements for other part-time HE students. From September 2012, prisoners have been required to take out, and then repay, Tuition Fee loans in the same way as other learners.

The OU’s additional costs for delivering in custody are met through a Grant from the Department. Table 1 below shows a breakdown of grant payments in each of the last 10 years.

The costs of providing prison university education are found from a variety of sources and gathering the data could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.

Table 2 gives a breakdown of the number of prisoners studying towards an Open University degree whilst in prison in each of the last 10 years. There may be a very small number of prisoners, each year, who will have commenced HE with Universities other than the OU whilst on Release on Temporary Licence. We have no central data on these learners and therefore they are not included in the figures.

Table 1

BIS Grant payments to the Open University for additional costs for delivering OU learning in custody from 2005-06

* where indicated, the table shows available data on Grant funding drawn down rather than Grant available.

Table 2

Number of prisoners studying towards an Open University degree whilst in prison from 2004/05

England only

Information supplied by the Open University

Most prisoners who study Higher Education (HE) in custody do so through the Open University (OU). Prior to September 2012, the costs of prisoners’ tuition were met from public funds in an arrangement that broadly mirrored the Grant arrangements for other part-time HE students. From September 2012, prisoners have been required to take out, and then repay, Tuition Fee loans in the same way as other learners.

The OU’s additional costs for delivering in custody are met through a Grant from the Department. Table 1 below shows a breakdown of grant payments in each of the last 10 years.

The costs of providing prison university education are found from a variety of sources and gathering the data could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.

Table 2 gives a breakdown of the number of prisoners studying towards an Open University degree whilst in prison in each of the last 10 years. There may be a very small number of prisoners, each year, who will have commenced HE with Universities other than the OU whilst on Release on Temporary Licence. We have no central data on these learners and therefore they are not included in the figures.

Table 1

BIS Grant payments to the Open University for additional costs for delivering OU learning in custody from 2005-06

* where indicated, the table shows available data on Grant funding drawn down rather than Grant available.

Table 2

Number of prisoners studying towards an Open University degree whilst in prison from 2004/05

England only

Information supplied by the Open University

Most prisoners who study Higher Education (HE) in custody do so through the Open University (OU). Prior to September 2012, the costs of prisoners’ tuition were met from public funds in an arrangement that broadly mirrored the Grant arrangements for other part-time HE students. From September 2012, prisoners have been required to take out, and then repay, Tuition Fee loans in the same way as other learners.

The OU’s additional costs for delivering in custody are met through a Grant from the Department. Table 1 below shows a breakdown of grant payments in each of the last 10 years.

The costs of providing prison university education are found from a variety of sources and gathering the data could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.

Table 2 gives a breakdown of the number of prisoners studying towards an Open University degree whilst in prison in each of the last 10 years. There may be a very small number of prisoners, each year, who will have commenced HE with Universities other than the OU whilst on Release on Temporary Licence. We have no central data on these learners and therefore they are not included in the figures.

Table 1

BIS Grant payments to the Open University for additional costs for delivering OU learning in custody from 2005-06

* where indicated, the table shows available data on Grant funding drawn down rather than Grant available.

Table 2

Number of prisoners studying towards an Open University degree whilst in prison from 2004/05

England only

Information supplied by the Open University

A copy of the Department’s internal guidance will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

The Office of the Leader of the House also provides guidance to all Departments on the practice of answering Parliamentary Questions.

The full Guide is available on the gov.uk website at: http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work.

A copy of this guidance has already been placed in the libraries of the House. The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons intends to review the Guide to Parliamentary Work in the coming months.

Government welcomed the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) legal framework on board appointments. The Guidance was only recently published (July 2014) so it is still too early to assess its impact.

The EHRC Guidance is clear that the deliberate use of all-women long-lists or shortlists is likely to constitute unlawful sex discrimination. However, where there is no predetermination to draw up an all-women shortlist and an objective and consistent assessment of all candidates demonstrates that the best qualified candidates are all women, an all-women shortlist will be lawful, just as an all-male shortlist would be in the same circumstances.

The framework is also useful in highlighting that there are many good practices that focus on positive measures that will help create an even playing field. This best practice has led to great progress being made in the number of women on boards. For the first time, every board of Britain’s top 100 companies have at least one woman and we now have over 22% women on the boards of our FTSE 100 companies (up from 12.5% in 2011).

We could not have got this far without the excellent work of the Executive Search Community to improve gender parity in our boardrooms.

Below is a breakdown of the number of investigations conducted and convictions obtained by the Illegal Money Lending Teams in Scotland and Wales in each of the last five years, and in England for the last three years.

The England Illegal Money Lending Team was created in April 2011. Equivalent information is not available relating to the regional teams which existed prior to this.

The Illegal Money Lending Teams conduct complex and sensitive investigations. The length of each investigation will be influenced by the circumstances of the specific case. In some instances convictions can only be delivered through months of proactive intelligence gathering and community engagement. Because of this, some cases span multiple years and so there is not necessarily a direct link between the numbers of investigations and the numbers of convictions in any one year.

Government has no plans to change legislation to bring in a register of employees that take their employer to a tribunal, or of private settlements.

Employment tribunals are independent judicial bodies and, in line with the principle of judicial independence, Government cannot comment on, or intervene in, the tribunal's handling of individual cases or any decisions made.

Information on the Dignity at Work conferences is in the process of being placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Most prisoners who study higher education (HE) in custody do so through the Open University (OU). The table below shows the number of prisoners in England who have completed OU degrees whilst in prison from academic year 2003/04. Prior to September 2012, the costs of prisoners' tuition were met from public funds in an arrangement that broadly mirrored the grant arrangements for other part-time HE students. The OU's additional costs for delivering in custody are met through a grant from the Department. We do not have information on the public funding for these specific learners. From September 2012, prisoners have been required to take out, and then repay, tuition fee loans in the same way as other learners.

Number of prisoners completing Open University degrees in prisons from 2003/04

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and is responsible for its own staff management, including diversity training. The guidance papers requested are internal documents that were not intended for wider publication. However, I have asked the EHRC to send copies to the Hon Member.