Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 132391 on civil service staff networks, what information he holds on (a) FTE staff time and (b) budgets available to recognised staff groups within his Department in each of the last three years.

Across the Civil Service, employee networks provide a valuable support structure for staff.

(a) All staff networks are entirely voluntary. A Network Business Deal introduced in February 2021 provides all network chairs/deputy chairs of networks up to 25% of their contracted hours to conduct activities aimed at running the network and delivery of their business plans. This is subject to the business need and agreement with line management. It also allows that Employee network executive team members who volunteer alongside the Chairs, Co-Chairs, and Deputy Chairs can be allocated up to 10%

(b) In each of the last three financial years a staff network budget of £20,000 per annum has been controlled by Human Resources. This covers all the networks listed below:

The Department currently recognises 15 staff network groups and unless stated otherwise all have been running over the last three years. They include the following: BAMENet, Carers, Disability, EU Nationals, Fair Treatment Ambassadors (from 2021), Gender Equality, Health and Wellbeing, Jobshare, LGBT+, LGBT+ Allies, Neurodiversity, Social Mobility, Working Parents, 50+, Inclusion Allies (from 2022). The Department also recognises the following three faith network groups: Group Christian Fellowship, Jewish Network, Network for Muslims.