Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that internships are accessible to people from all backgrounds.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Civil Service offers a range of internship opportunities. A substantial number of these internships are accessed through positive action schemes, permitted by the Equality Act 2010, to alleviate disadvantage experienced by people from certain groups and to improve their representation.
The Summer Diversity Internship and Early Diversity Internship Programmes, for example, are targeted at BAME, lower socio-economic and disabled groups because they are currently under-represented in the Fast Stream graduate programme. We will continue to prioritise these under-represented groups and consider such schemes to be appropriate initiatives to help increase awareness of the Civil Service and ultimately lead to increased numbers of successful applications to the Fast Stream.
Other internships, not diversity specific, are run but tend to be overseen by specific departments or specialisms, such as the annual FCO internship programme and the Government Economic Service Summer Vacation Placement Scheme.
All recruitment for permanent positions conforms to the Civil Service Commission Principles of fair and open selection, based on merit.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to adopt contextual recruitment methods to increase the diversity of civil service recruitment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Ben Gummer
To date, the only Civil Service implementation of contextual recruitment was a trial of the methodology in 2016, conducted by the Civil Service Fast Stream graduate programme. Consideration will be given to further use of the approach, once the evaluation has been completed.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of National Youth Parliament's Votes at 16 campaign.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government is committed to a democracy that works for everyone in which every voice matters. It is important that young people are engaged in the democratic process and participate in our wider political dialogue.
The Government remains in favour of maintaining the current voting age and has no plans to lower it.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average salary for (a) men and (b) women was in (i) Greater London and (ii) the London borough of Newham in each year since 2010.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, whether during her recent visit to India she discussed the cases of Indian nationals who had their visas curtailed following investigations into the Test of English for International Communication operations of Educational Testing Services; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Theresa May
I discussed a range of issues on my visit to India, and launched a senior UK-India strategic dialogue on home affairs issues to make progress on key issues of mutual concern, including opportunities to make the visa system simpler and more efficient, and steps to improve the integrity of border and immigration systems.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many apprenticeships each government department will contribute to the Government's target of three million apprenticeships by 2020.
Answered by Ben Gummer
It is the responsibility of individual departments to project their workforce, including apprenticeships.
The Civil Service implemented a single apprenticeship target of a minimum 2.3% of the workforce in England as apprenticeships starts from 1 January 2016. To meet this, departments have agreed to achieve 2.3% of their workforce in England as apprenticeship starts. This is an annual target that will be measured by financial years based on headcount at the start of that reporting period.
We estimate that there will be at least 30,000 apprenticeship starts in England by the end of the Parliament.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38408, what the budget of the European Fast Stream was in each year since 2010.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The European Fast Stream was re-established in 2010 with the dual aim of increasing UK representation in the EU institutions, as well as building EU capability. It has been managed centrally by Civil Service Resourcing since 2014. The budget for the European Fast Stream for each year since 2010 is set out below:
Financial Year | Budget |
2010/11 | £713,000 |
2011/12 | £713,000 |
2012/13 | £756,000 |
2013/14 | £821,000 |
2014/15 | £771,000 |
2015/16 | £795,000 |
This is the specific EFS budget, it does not include the employment costs for individuals which are met by central charging to departments who are hosting fast streamers.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the mortality rate for people aged between 40 and 50 was in (a) England and Wales, (b) Newcastle, (c) Sheffield and (d) Newham in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, whether it is Government policy to promote multiculturalism in the UK.
Answered by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton - Foreign Secretary
We have been very clear: we are proud that Britain is one of the most successful multi ethnic, multi faith democracies in the world. The Government is clear that people have full freedom here to choose and practice their faith. It is right though to challenge the view held by some that we should encourage communities to develop separately and effectively live in a segregated way. The Government is committed to boosting integration in some of our most isolated communities, and to proudly promoting the British values that we all share.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) jobs and (b) residents in full-time employment there were in the London Borough of Newham in each year from 2010 to 2015.
Answered by Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.