Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Equality Hub staff have left that organisation in each year since 2015.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We centrally hold some of the information requested.
In as far as data is centrally held, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service statistics, for the Cabinet Office, at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics
The Declaration on Government Reform (2021) stated: "There is however more we must do to attract a broader range of people to the privilege of public service... It should be natural for people with careers and skills built in business to serve in government for a period, and for those in public service to spend time in organisations which are not dependent on public money... We will develop new entry routes from industry, academia, the third sector and the wider public sector, with flexibility to suit those who want to build a career in government and those who want a shorter tour of duty."
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had discussions with the Cabinet Secretary on the contents of a response to the correspondence sent by the Civil Service Sex Equality and Equity Network in October 2023 on Civil Service impartiality.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place between Cabinet ministers and officials is not normally shared publicly. However, as mentioned in the Minister’s speech at the Institute for Government on 23 January 2024, the Cabinet Office will be introducing new impartiality guidance which will support Civil Servants to remain objective and impartial when engaging in diversity and inclusion work.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that facial recognition systems are used in a way that maintains the right of the privacy for members of the public.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Facial recognition technology is used by the police as an identification tool to search an image of an unknown suspect against the images of people taken on arrest and get results in minutes, or to locate people in an intelligence-led way, by scanning live crowds and comparing them with the images of wanted people on a specific watchlist instantaneously, with very high levels of accuracy.
The Government supports police use of the technology, which has been helping them to catch criminals, including murderers and rapists, more quickly and accurately. But it is important that the police use it appropriately and there are safeguards in place to ensure this.
There is a comprehensive legal framework governing its use. This includes the Data Protection Act 2018, Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, national guidance, and published police policies. This means that it can only be used for a policing purpose, where necessary, proportionate and fair.
We have ensured that there is effective oversight in this space. The Information Commissioner’s Office, which is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is responsible for upholding data privacy rights. It has issued guidance on facial recognition and has enforcement powers. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is sponsored by the Cabinet Office, is responsible for upholding equality and human rights and is also active in this space. His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services is responsible for inspecting, monitoring and reporting on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces. The courts system also provide oversight in this area.
We supported the College of Policing to publish an Authorised Professional Practice (APP) setting out how police forces should use live facial recognition and minimise interference with data privacy, equalities and human rights. The APP includes details on when the police can use it, the categories of people they can look for, the requirement for immediate deletion of unmatched biometric data, and the need to explain how issues such as privacy and equality are addressed.
We published a factsheet on police use of facial recognition and explained the different use cases, the safeguards, success stories and legal basis. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/29/police-use-of-facial-recognition-factsheet/
We also provided funding to the National Physical Laboratory to independently test the algorithms being used by South Wales Police and the Metropolitan Police Service. They found that the algorithms both forces have been using to be highly accurate and fair at the settings they use.
We are also undertaking more evaluation work to enhance our understanding of the impact of facial recognition and ensure we are able to continue to balance the benefits against the potential intrusion on privacy.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what information his Department holds on the (a) gender, (b) disability status, (c) sexual orientation, (d) marital status and (e) ethnicity of public appointments that it has made in each of the last five years.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
My Department collects diversity information in line with its equality duties and the requirements of the Governance Code on Public Appointments for all public appointments set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council.
Information collected on appointments and reappointments is published annually by the Cabinet Office in the Public Appointments Data Report and can be found on GOV.UK. The Commissioner for Public Appointments also includes data in his annual report which is published at:
https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/publications/annual-reports/
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what staff networks there are in his Department.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are 15 active networks listed below:
Flexible working and job share,
Carers,
Parenting,
CORE (Race),
ABLE (disability),
Social Mobility,
Menopause,
Faith & Belief,
Christian Network,
Civil Service Jewish Network,
LGBT+,
EU Nationals
EngAge (intergenerational/age)
Gender Equality Group.
Neurodiversity Network
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of unpaid internships on (a) social mobility and (b) equality of opportunity.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is only responsible for the Civil Service Summer Internship Programmes and the Autism Exchange Internship Programme. It does not oversee any unpaid internships. Both programmes pay the National Living Wage. Internships provide a fantastic opportunity for individuals at the beginning of their career to gain valuable experience in their field regardless of background. Last year, we offered over 500 internships to undergraduates through our Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme and 21.5% of these were to students from Lower Socio-Economic backgrounds.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have conditions of employment which impose (a) no and (b) a four day limit on the number of days each week that they can work from home; and whether he has made a comparative assessment of the productivity of those who work from home for four days or more each week and those who do not.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There is no information available centrally on how many civil servants have conditions of employment that impose no, and a four day limit on the number of days each week they can work from home. Decisions on terms and conditions of employment are made by the employing department, depending on their specific business requirements and nature of the role. Where business requirements allow for it, departments will operate flexible working arrangements.
Civil servants are expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office with decisions on implementing and evaluating this expectation made by departments. A small number of home working contracts are in place but these are not routinely approved other than for a very small number of roles, or where a workplace adjustment is agreed for conditions recognised under the Equality Act. Equally, there are also employees who work only from the workplace, due to the nature of their roles, or through personal choice.
There have been no specific central comparative assessments within the civil service of productivity of those who work from home for four days or more each week. It is recognised within departments that there are clear benefits of face-to-face working, including productivity, with complex tasks and problem solving undertaken more efficiently.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people work in her Department's (a) Human Resources and Transformation Directorate and (b) Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) team; and whether the PSED team is part of the Human Resources and Transformation Directorate.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Every department across government has a responsibility for equalities. Under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), all public authorities, including government departments, are required by law to ensure that they have due regard to certain equality considerations when carrying out their functions. The government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June, to ensure value for money for taxpayers.
The Minister for the Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course. As at the end of February 2024 there were 156 people working in the department’s Human Resources and Transformation Directorate. The PSED team is not part of the department’s Human Resources and Transformation Directorate.
The ‘general duty’ of the PSED is in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and requires public authorities in England, Scotland and Wales to give due regard to certain equality considerations when carrying out their functions.The department's PSED team sits within the department's central Strategy Group and ensures that the department is compliant with Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. The PSED team is resourced by 0.8 FTE. In addition, the department, through the PSED team, has a model of maintaining dispersed capacity across the department to comply with its duties.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which unit in her Department is responsible for equalities.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Every department across government has a responsibility for equalities. The Human Resources and Transformation Directorate is responsible for equalities in the Department for Education. The department also has a Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) team who can provide colleagues with advice on equalities-related issues. Under the PSED, all public authorities, including government departments, are required by law to ensure that they have due regard to certain equality considerations when carrying out their functions.
The government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June, to ensure value for money for taxpayers. The Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff in their Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Nine DBT staff members have the words equality and/or gender in their job titles. These roles are all externally facing roles, responsible for negotiating provisions and chapters within bilateral and multilateral contexts. There are no DBT staff members with diversity; inclusion; LGBT; or race in their job title.
The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the
equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI
spending announced last June. As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.