Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to strengthen trauma-informed training for police officers responding to domestic abuse cases.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
In our manifesto, we committed to strengthening training on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) for policing to ensure that all officers have the right skills to investigate all VAWG offences, included domestic abuse, and provide consistent support for victims.
The Home Office has already invested £13.1 million this year into the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). This funding includes an uplift of nearly £2 million to deliver a robust package of training improvements.
Launched in April 2025, the NCVPP provides coordinated leadership within policing to drive up operational standards and skills across all 43 forces in their response to VAWG crimes.
Through the NCVPP, we are working closely with the College of Policing to develop strengthened, specialist training for officers across all operational levels - frontline, specialist, and leadership.
Grounded in academic research and behaviour change science, new training programmes will prioritise trauma-informed learning to ensure that all officers are well equipped to manage VAWG offenders and provide support to victims.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of users of the Your Apprenticeship app in each month since 12 February 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Your Apprenticeship App has been developed with input from apprentices to ensure it meets their needs. The app allows apprentices to track their progress throughout their apprenticeship journey and to record evidence of their knowledge, skills and experience required to demonstrate occupational competency. As of 14 October, there have been almost 60,000 downloads and over 285,000 page views by users of the app.
The first phase of development is the minimum viable service, and this is being rolled out through a gradual onboarding of users as government continues to develop, test and enhance the functionality available.
In early testing the government identified a subset of users on the Android platform who could not access some features of the app. A solution was quickly implemented with users confirming it to be resolved.
Users are encouraged to contact the apprenticeship support team if they experience difficulties or have queries about the Your Apprenticeship app.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is he taking to ensure that reported faults in the Your Apprenticeship app are repaired.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Your Apprenticeship App has been developed with input from apprentices to ensure it meets their needs. The app allows apprentices to track their progress throughout their apprenticeship journey and to record evidence of their knowledge, skills and experience required to demonstrate occupational competency. As of 14 October, there have been almost 60,000 downloads and over 285,000 page views by users of the app.
The first phase of development is the minimum viable service, and this is being rolled out through a gradual onboarding of users as government continues to develop, test and enhance the functionality available.
In early testing the government identified a subset of users on the Android platform who could not access some features of the app. A solution was quickly implemented with users confirming it to be resolved.
Users are encouraged to contact the apprenticeship support team if they experience difficulties or have queries about the Your Apprenticeship app.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the number of civil servants working from home for three days a week or more is increasing or decreasing.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Data on Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) occupancy is collected and published quarterly on GOV.UK for all HQ buildings of Whitehall Departments, Office for Scotland, Office for Wales and Northern Ireland Office.
Data for the latest period for which data is available is copied below. No other information on occupancy data or workforce attendance is gathered centrally.
Departments manage their own arrangements for monitoring workforce attendance. Heads of departments have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.
Monthly Average HQ Building Occupancy (Quarter 1: April to June 2025)
| Departmental HQ | Building | April | May | June |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cabinet Office | 70 Whitehall | 62% | 92% | 83% |
Department for Business and Trade | Old Admiralty Building | 76% | 79% | 77% |
Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 100 Parliament Street | 69% | 72% | 62% |
Department for Education | Sanctuary Buildings | 65% | 66% | 70% |
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 3-8 Whitehall Place/55 Whitehall | 100% | 97% | 100% |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 2 Marsham Street | 74% | 59% | 72% |
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 22 Whitehall | 88% | 85% | 92% |
Department for Transport | Great Minster House | 61% | 61% | 61% |
Department for Work and Pensions | Caxton House | 61% | 61% | 62% |
Department of Health and Social Care | 39 Victoria Street | 76% | 81% | 72% |
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office | King Charles Street | 65% | 63% | 65% |
HM Revenue and Customs | 100 Parliament Street | 70% | 68% | 73% |
HM Treasury | 1 Horse Guards | 68% | 69% | 68% |
Home Office | 2 Marsham Street | 72% | 74% | 73% |
Ministry of Defence | MOD Main Building | 82% | 85% | 87% |
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 2 Marsham Street | 71% | 72% | 74% |
Ministry of Justice | 102 Petty France | 81% | 75% | 76% |
Northern Ireland Office | 1 HG/Erskine House | 57% | 59% | 59% |
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland | Dover House | 61% | 55% | 62% |
Office of the Secretary of State for Wales | Gwydyr House | 66% | 59% | 59% |
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the technical capabilities of the Your Apprenticeship app.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Your Apprenticeship App has been developed with input from apprentices to ensure it meets their needs. The app allows apprentices to track their progress throughout their apprenticeship journey and to record evidence of their knowledge, skills and experience required to demonstrate occupational competency. As of 14 October, there have been almost 60,000 downloads and over 285,000 page views by users of the app.
The first phase of development is the minimum viable service, and this is being rolled out through a gradual onboarding of users as government continues to develop, test and enhance the functionality available.
In early testing the government identified a subset of users on the Android platform who could not access some features of the app. A solution was quickly implemented with users confirming it to be resolved.
Users are encouraged to contact the apprenticeship support team if they experience difficulties or have queries about the Your Apprenticeship app.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to review the adequacy of the level of take-up of the Your Apprenticeship app.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Your Apprenticeship App has been developed with input from apprentices to ensure it meets their needs. The app allows apprentices to track their progress throughout their apprenticeship journey and to record evidence of their knowledge, skills and experience required to demonstrate occupational competency. As of 14 October, there have been almost 60,000 downloads and over 285,000 page views by users of the app.
The first phase of development is the minimum viable service, and this is being rolled out through a gradual onboarding of users as government continues to develop, test and enhance the functionality available.
In early testing the government identified a subset of users on the Android platform who could not access some features of the app. A solution was quickly implemented with users confirming it to be resolved.
Users are encouraged to contact the apprenticeship support team if they experience difficulties or have queries about the Your Apprenticeship app.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to review the framework for complaints handling by departments.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) - which is independent of Government - launched a new set of cross-Government complaint standards in October 2022, with the aim of making complaint processes quicker, easier and to help organisations learn from complaints.
The Cabinet Office supports the PHSO in disseminating its standards across Government.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to update the terms of reference for the independent commission into adult social care to include the level of spending on palliative care within the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock, commenced its work in April. The Terms of Reference have been published and are designed to be sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future.
The Terms of Reference are clear that recommendations should be considered within the context of the ongoing National Health Service reforms and, in phase 1, should focus on how to get adult social care working more closely with the NHS. Baroness Casey will do this by considering the existing funding for local authority adult social care services together with NHS funding for services at the interface of health and care and whether they are being best used.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has met the NHS Staff Council since 1 January.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Minister of State for Health meet regularly with individual Agenda for Change (AfC) trade union leaders and with representatives of NHS organisations to discuss matters affecting the NHS workforce.
It is not usual practice for Ministers to attend NHS Staff Council meetings, which are used to discuss policy issues affecting the AfC workforce and to maintain the NHS terms and conditions of service. Accordingly, there have been no meetings between the Secretary of State and the NHS Staff Council as a whole since 1 January.
Both ministers have written to the NHS Staff Council on issues relating to AfC pay, terms, and conditions since 1 January, and Department officials continue to attend meetings of the NHS Staff Council.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposals to introduce unitary government in Gloucestershire on democratic representation in towns with a population of more than 100,000 people.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Gloucestershire councils have not yet submitted their proposal(s) for local government reorganisation. They are due by 28 November. Once proposals are submitted, and following a statutory consultation, Ministers will carefully consider proposals against the criteria set out in the invitation letter sent to Gloucestershire councils on 6 February 2025, before a decision is taken on which proposal, if any, is implemented.