Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has published a plan setting out the steps it plans to take to transition to net zero emissions.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Justice is currently updating its Net Zero Carbon Strategy which sets out plans to put the department on course to meet Net Zero by 2050 or sooner.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Yes. The new Government Curriculum will include modules on the implications of Net Zero, climate change and wider environmental issues for government. In the first phase, the Government Skills & Curriculum Unit (GSCU) is working with other Departments (including BEIS, DEFRA and FCDO) to create an awareness level training resource for all civil servants.
This will be piloted from April 2022. In the next phases, GSCU will look at tailored provision for specific Functions and Professions and will signpost the training and other resources on Net Zero which are already being provided internally at practitioner and expert levels by government Departments.
In MoJ, some Net Zero-related training has already been provided to specific professional functions including Commercial and Property teams.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether a senior manager in his Department has been given the portfolio for leading on departmental sustainability.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is committed to making its estate and operations more sustainable and resilient, through the Greening Government Commitments. We report on these commitments every quarter. In the Ministry of Justice, this is led by an appointed Minister, myself, with support from the Chief Sustainability Officer, other senior officials and an appointed Non-Executive Director.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total floor area of his departmental estate was in each year from 2010-11 to 2020-21.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Details of the department’s total floor area in each year are published as part of the annual State of the Estate report.
The most recent report can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1040332/CCS118_CCS1021490260-001_State_of_the_Estate_Report_PAGES.pdf
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the compliance of his Department's staff working from home with the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For staff working from home the Working Time Regulations 1998 will apply in the same way as for staff in a workplace environment. Line Managers will look to ensure that their members of staff manage their working time to meet their contracted hours.
Central records are not held of hours worked, so it is not possible to assess compliance with the Regulations formally, but MoJ’s smarter working guidance supports flexibility in local ways of working whilst meeting the requirements of the role, and seeks to ensure better wellbeing and a more inclusive culture.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what records relating to staff working times are kept by his Department under Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998; and how long those records are kept for.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Records relating to staff working times under the Working Times Regulations 1998 are locally managed in the Department’s business areas, Agencies and ALBs, and the 2 year retention of these records under the Regulations will be managed locally also.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his timeframe is for bringing forward legislative proposals on marriage law after the conclusion of the Law Commission’s weddings review.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has yet to receive the Law Commission’s proposals for consideration. The Law Commission expects to deliver its final proposals for reform of the law on marriage ceremonies later this year. The Government will give them careful consideration and decide on next steps.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his oral Answer on 2 February 2021, Official Report, column 829, whether he has placed any restrictions on future recommendations by the Prison Service Pay Review Body; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
It was announced by the Chancellor on 25 November 2020 that, in the interest of fairness, pay rises in the public sector will be restrained and targeted for the coming year (2021/22), whilst also ensuring an uplift for lower earning staff who need it most. This announcement reflects the substantial and unprecedented impact of Covid-19 on the economy, labour market, and fiscal position, which combined, have supressed earnings growth and increased redundancies in the private sector.
As such, the remit of the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) and other public sector pay review bodies for the 2021/22 pay round has been restricted. The PSPRB will be gathering and considering a range of evidence in the usual way in order to develop recommendations which fall in line with the public sector pay policy
The pay policy involves a pause to any headline uplifts for all public sector workforces outside of the NHS who earn £24,000 or above. Anyone earning less than £24,000 will be protected and will receive a minimum uplift of £250, or the National Living Wage (whichever is the higher) should they qualify. The Departments proposals on how the uplift should apply to prison staff will be published and submitted to the PSPRB shortly.
The pay pause allows Government to protect public sector jobs and investment in public services as Covid-19 continues to have an impact. The position will be reassessed ahead of pay round 2022/23.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his oral Answer on 2 February 2021, Official Report, column 829, how many and what proportion of prison officers are planned to receive the £250 rise next year, by grade.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
It was announced by the Chancellor on 25 November 2020 that, in the interest of fairness, pay rises in the public sector will be restrained and targeted for the coming year (2021/22), whilst also ensuring an uplift for lower earning staff who need it most. This announcement reflects the substantial and unprecedented impact of Covid-19 on the economy, labour market, and fiscal position, which combined, have supressed earnings growth and increased redundancies in the private sector.
As such, the remit of the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) and other public sector pay review bodies for the 2021/22 pay round has been restricted. The PSPRB will be gathering and considering a range of evidence in the usual way in order to develop recommendations which fall in line with the public sector pay policy
The pay policy involves a pause to any headline uplifts for all public sector workforces outside of the NHS who earn £24,000 or above. Anyone earning less than £24,000 will be protected and will receive a minimum uplift of £250, or the National Living Wage (whichever is the higher) should they qualify. The Departments proposals on how the uplift should apply to prison staff will be published and submitted to the PSPRB shortly.
The pay pause allows Government to protect public sector jobs and investment in public services as Covid-19 continues to have an impact. The position will be reassessed ahead of pay round 2022/23.