Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to hold consultation and negotiations with Prospect, the Public and Commercial Services Union and the FDA on the Pay Remit Guidance for civil servants.
Answered by Oliver Dowden
In preparation for this year’s Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance, officials met with trade union representatives on a number of occasions.
Additionally I met with the General Secretaries of the FDA, Prospect and PCS trade unions on 27th June.
Departments set pay strategies appropriate to their workforce and the public services they deliver; they consult with trade unions as appropriate on these issues.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on enabling candidates for local authority elections to withhold their home address; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood to PQs 148916 and 148917 on 7 June 2018.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2018 to Question 136610, how the Government plans to evaluate the effectiveness of the Race Disparity Unit in Kirklees when it does not record how many people it has engaged with by location.
Answered by David Lidington
The Ethnicity Facts and Figures website features data across a wide range of areas including health, education, employment, housing and criminal justice. The Government is committed to updating the data as it changes. Some of the data details disparities by local authority, including Kirklees, and will identify changes over time.
The Race Disparity Unit does not collect data on the number of people engaged with in precise locations. Officials have met individuals including members of the public from Kirklees, local charity and community organisations and the local authority.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to reduce its use of single-use plastics.
Answered by Oliver Dowden
Interserve (our Facilities Management Contractor) have taken an active stance in reducing our impact on the environment, through their SustainAbilities programme. As a result, they have implemented a number of supply chain and contract specific initiatives to tackle waste, and impact on the environment.
Together with Interserve we have taken a number of visible actions across our catering operations, for example the use of Vegware coffee cups which are compostable.
Additionally, we are reviewing the benefits of switching plastic cutlery and take away plastic containers with a Vegware alternative, swapping out plastic water cups for glasses, and have implemented dispensers for condiments to replace single use sachets in our restaurant.
Beyond this Interserve are assessing our wider operations to determine where we can reduce avoidable plastic waste, and swap with more sustainable solutions where appropriate.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26th April 2018 to Question 136610, on Ethnic Groups: Kirklees, how many (a) individuals, (b) community organisations, (c) local authorities and (d) academics the Race Disparity Unit has engaged with since it was created.
Answered by David Lidington
The Ethnicity Facts and Figures website features data across a wide range of areas including health, education, employment, housing and criminal justice. The Government is committed to updating the data as it changes. Some of the data details disparities by local authority, including Kirklees, and will identify changes over time.
The Race Disparity Unit does not collect data on the number of people engaged with in precise locations. Officials have met individuals including members of the public from Kirklees, local charity and community organisations and the local authority.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in Kirklees have engaged with the Prime Minister’s initiative to tackle ethnic inequality that was launched in 2017; and how many of those people were under the age of 25.
Answered by Oliver Dowden
The Race Disparity Unit has engaged with wide range of national and local and community organisations, academics, local authorities and public service providers, and members of the public from across the UK. The Unit do not collect information on the age or number of individuals from different locations.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people who live in Colne Valley constituency, are employed on zero-hour contracts.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to consult the public on the merits of alternative methods to the first past the post system for voting in general elections.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government committed in its manifesto to retain the First Past the Post system for Parliamentary elections.
The Government’s view is that the First Past the Post system is well-established here. In each constituency, candidates are elected to represent the views of their constituents and in each case a candidate for whom more people voted than for any of the alternatives is elected. The current system also provides a clear and well-understood link between constituents and their representative in Parliament.
The Government does not, therefore, have plans to change the voting system at the present time.