Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade has not spent anything on media and voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024, the Department has spent £23668 on media and voice training for Ministers.

This spend only came to light after the original answer was published.

The training took place in 2023.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) training and (b) support local authorities will receive to ensure the Children Not In School register does not inadvertently disadvantage parents of children with special educational needs.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for statutory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, and the accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers to provide information for these registers, will support local authorities in identifying all children not in school in their areas, including those with special educational needs (SEN). By identifying these children, local authorities will be better able to support them and their families so they can achieve and thrive.

In order to make sure that these measures are implemented appropriately, the department has established stakeholder implementation forums to enable us to engage with a wide group of stakeholders at regular intervals during the progress of the Bill and subsequently after. This includes a group of home educating representatives and families, some of whom have children with SEN, and we are factoring their views into our delivery and the planned support offer to local authorities.

The department will be issuing statutory guidance to support local authorities to carry out their new duties proportionately. As part of our planned engagement with stakeholders, we will consider whether additional support is required, such as training for local authority staff.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to help tackle the ethnicity pay gap.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

As set out in the King’s Speech in July, the government is committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. These measures will be part of the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

We will shortly be consulting on our proposals to help us shape the legislation.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office routinely provides or procures media or voice training for Ministers and Senior Officials who carry out frequent or high-profile media appearances in the course of their official duties. The Cabinet Office spent c.£75,800 on this type of training during the time period stated.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 23666 on Cabinet Office: Media, tabled on 13 January 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I apologise to the Honourable Member for the delay in responding to her Parliamentary Question of 13 January. An answer has now been issued, as of 3 February.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) away days and (b) leadership conferences for senior civil servants his Department organised between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and what the cost of these were.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024, the Cabinet Office has not organised any away days for Senior Civil Servants. During the same period, there were a total of seven leadership conferences for Senior Civil Servants.

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell; Uma Kumaran

Found: present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden; Uma Kumaran

Found: present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden; Uma Kumaran

Found: Daniel Francis Anna Dixon Melanie Ward Marsha De Cordova Laurence Turner Anneliese Midgley Uma Kumaran

Found: Daniel Francis Anna Dixon Melanie Ward Marsha De Cordova Laurence Turner Anneliese Midgley Uma Kumaran

Found: Patricia Ferguson Anna Dixon Melanie Ward Marsha De Cordova Laurence Turner Anneliese Midgley Uma Kumaran

Found: Patricia Ferguson Anna Dixon Melanie Ward Marsha De Cordova Laurence Turner Anneliese Midgley Uma Kumaran

Found: Scott Arthur Anna Dixon Melanie Ward Marsha De Cordova Laurence Turner Anneliese Midgley Uma Kumaran

Found: Presented by Dame Siobhain McDonagh supported by Jim Shannon, Uma Kumaran, Peter Lamb, Luke Murphy,

Found: Ms Stella Creasy Mike Amesbury Rachel Taylor Siân Berry Jess Brown-Fuller Monica Harding Uma Kumaran

Found: Ms Stella Creasy Mike Amesbury Rachel Taylor Siân Berry Jess Brown-Fuller Monica Harding Uma Kumaran

Submit Evidence (by 24 Feb 2025)

Misinformation and disinformation campaigns are increasingly weaponised by hostile state and non-state actors and this inquiry will seek to understand which actors are primarily responsible, and which channels and technologies are being used. It will seek to map motivations, sources and locations of the most pressing disinformation threats to democracy, and to understand the impact of artificial intelligence. The inquiry will examine how the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) can work with allies and multilateral organisations to combat the spread of disinformation that seeks to undermine democratic values and institutions. The inquiry will also ask how the Government can coordinate its counter-disinformation work across departments and best work with private organisations. This inquiry will take a regional approach by examining disinformation campaigns within Europe, the Americas, Indo-Pacific and Africa, to understand how the UK can better counter disinformation from malign actors.

No description available