Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will publish all data it holds on the performance of the Legal Ombudsman scheme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As an arm’s length body, it is the responsibility of the Office of Legal Complaints (OLC), which administers the Legal Ombudsman Scheme (LeO), to publish performance data on the LeO scheme. A performance report is provided in its Annual Report and Accounts, which is published online. This provides an understanding of the OLC and how it has performed, drawing together performance data. The 2021-22 annual report will be published after the end of the financial year.
The OLC is also responsible for publishing corporate information relating to the LeO scheme, which is available on its website.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, by how much the Office for Budget Responsibility revised up or down its estimate of the impact of the Corporation Tax Super-deduction on business investment between the October 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook and the March 2022 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In the latest Economy and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR have said that the super-deduction and the easing of global supply bottlenecks means they still expect historically high growth in business investment over 2022. The OBR have revised down the anticipated peak amount of business investment brought forward by the super-deduction to 5 per cent in 2022-23 (from the 10 per cent previously assumed).
A full evaluation of the effectiveness of the super-deduction in stimulating business investment will require HMRC to hold corporate tax returns for the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23. Any externally commissioned evaluation will be published in the usual way, in line with the Government Social Research Publication Protocol.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the number of Civil Servants operating from Leeds as of 16 March 2022 by (a) pay grade and (b) responsibilities.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The total number of Civil Servants employed by this Department and operating from Leeds as of 16 March 2022 was 80. This figure will rise to 89 once we confirm and complete the location and workforce data for staff who have recently transferred into the Department from Cabinet Office.
(a) Total number of Civil Servant officials by pay grade:
Leeds headcount by Grade, 16th March 2022 | Count |
Administrative & Executive officers | 7 |
Higher and Senior Executive Officers | 48 |
Grade 7 and Grade 6 officers | 22 |
Senior Civil Servants | 3 |
Grand Total | 80 |
(b) Responsibilities of those Civil Servants operating from Leeds as of 16 March:
The Department’s staff in Leeds perform functions across a wide range of the Department's responsibilities and priorities. Approximately a third of staff are working directly in support of the Department’s Levelling-Up and place-based work. There are also staff from teams whose responsibility is to deliver high-quality, secure and affordable housing, as well as teams responsible for ensuring the country has strong local leadership, high quality public services, and safer and greener buildings. There are also a smaller number of staff from within the Department’s Executive and corporate service delivery teams.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether a senior official in his Department has responsibility for departmental sustainability.
Answered by Conor Burns
As a Department, we are committed to making our estate and operations more sustainable, and support, where possible, the delivery of the Greening Government Commitments. I can confirm that we have a Director who is responsible for overseeing the Department's corporate functions, including sustainability issues.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights Human Rights and Business 2017: Promoting responsibility and ensuring accountability (Session 2016–17, HL Paper 153), what steps they will take to introduce a mandatory human rights and due diligence law.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has a strong record on human rights protection, much of which results from our framework of legislation. The UK already requires companies to undertake due diligence on sustainability matters under existing legislation on corporate transparency. UK listed companies are required to report on relevant environmental, social and governance aspects in their annual reports. Large businesses are also required to publish supply chain transparency statements on steps they have taken to ensure that no modern slavery or human trafficking is taking place in their business or through their supply chains. Both reporting requirements compel disclosure of a company’s due diligence arrangements where these are in place.
In certain circumstances, companies can already be held liable for breaches of duties of care to others where harm is suffered as a foreseeable consequence of the breach.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to children who live in children's homes.
Answered by Will Quince
Children’s social care in Northern Ireland is a transferred power, making it a devolved matter. The answer reflects the position in England.
Children’s homes provide care for some of the most vulnerable young people unable to live with their families. This includes children who have suffered abuse or neglect, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, children on remand, and children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, disabilities, special educational needs, or mental illnesses.
Local authorities have primary responsibility for the children in their care. They have a formal role as ‘corporate parents’. Their responsibilities include identifying which children should come into the care system, ensuring there is sufficient accommodation locally to meet the range of needs of looked after children in their area, safeguarding and promoting their wellbeing, ensuring that children’s education and health needs are met, and supporting care leavers.
The government provides funding and support to local authorities to help them meet all their duties to looked after children, including those in children’s homes. As well as providing safe, excellent quality care, the government wants to ensure that all homes can meet each child's individual needs and enable them to achieve the best possible outcomes.
For example, it has ensured that all looked after children have top priority in school admissions, and all local authorities must appoint a virtual school head with a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care. The government has funded eight Staying Close pilots to test an enhanced offer for young people leaving residential care. Additionally, the government will invest £140 million to introduce new national standards for unregulated provisions for older children.
Although we are making progress, the sector still faces challenges. The independent review of children’s social care commenced in March 2021, with Josh MacAlister as Chair. It is looking at how the government can make the system work better.
The review is taking a fundamental look at the needs, experiences, and outcomes of the children supported by children’s social care. It is drawing on a broad range of expertise and prioritising hearing the voices of children, young people, and adults that have received the help or support of a social worker, or who have been looked after. The review is looking at the whole system of support, safeguarding, protection and care, and the child’s journey into and out of that system. We expect it to point to new directions in children’s social care and directly improve the lives of vulnerable children.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department manage ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has a Digital Communications team to create content to communicate departmental policies online via corporate channels. It is often appropriate for this content to be amplified on ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.
Content creation is one part of the digital team’s responsibilities, there is no individual cost per video or graphic created. The creation of these assets, as well with other communications products, is funded by the DWP’s Strategic Communications staffing budget.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department (a) is offering and (b) plans to offer financial support to driving instructors following changes to the BE driving licence.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The changes to BE licensing rules are amongst 32 different actions the Government is taking to increase the number of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers and the number of tests available.
All car drivers wishing to tow a trailer or caravan for leisure or business are still encouraged to undertake voluntary training through an accreditation scheme the trailer industry and training providers are developing with support from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. This will include training for those who tow for leisure and for business requirements.
Responses from the consultation indicated that many drivers who are required to tow as part of the work they do, will continue to take training, and that employers, as part of their corporate responsibility, insurance requirements and health and safety compliance, will also require their employees to undertake appropriate training. As such there will continue to be a market for trailer towing training.
Businesses that have been affected by the BE changes are advised to seek further advice and support from the Business Support Line at www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the oral evidence given by the then Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility to the Environmental Audit Committee on 18 December 2018, Session 2017-19, HC 1148, whether prosecutions were made after the investigations into underpayment of the national minimum wage and/or the national living wage in Leicester’s garment industry.
Answered by Paul Scully
A multi-agency taskforce operated in Leicester for over a year to investigate allegations of widespread labour market non-compliance, including underpayment of National Minimum Wage. HMRC investigate the National Minimum Wage, but the taskforce also included the Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority, Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, Health and Safety Executive, National Crime Agency, Leicestershire Police and Home Office Immigration Enforcement. The taskforce visited over 300 premises in the city to ensure compliance and also undertook a programme of community engagement in Leicester to encourage whistle-blowers to come forward. While the bodies involved remain vigilant, the activity undertaken so far has not uncovered evidence of widespread modern slavery.
HMRC have a number of open cases remaining and will continue to investigate based on intelligence and risk-modelling, sharing information as appropriate. Enforcement action will be considered according to the evidence. To date, HMRC have issued two Labour Market Enforcement Undertakings to employers in the Leicester garment industry. There have not been any criminal prosecutions. We cannot comment on ongoing investigations.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the oral evidence of the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility to the Environmental Audit Committee on 18 December 2018, HC 1148, published on 30 January 2019, which Government agencies were involved in the investigations into underpayment of the national minimum wage and the national living wage in Leicester’s garment industry.
Answered by Paul Scully
A multi-agency taskforce operated in Leicester for over a year to investigate allegations of widespread labour market non-compliance, including underpayment of National Minimum Wage. HMRC investigate the National Minimum Wage, but the taskforce also included the Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority, Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, Health and Safety Executive, National Crime Agency, Leicestershire Police and Home Office Immigration Enforcement. The taskforce visited over 300 premises in the city to ensure compliance and also undertook a programme of community engagement in Leicester to encourage whistle-blowers to come forward. While the bodies involved remain vigilant, the activity undertaken so far has not uncovered evidence of widespread modern slavery.
HMRC have a number of open cases remaining and will continue to investigate based on intelligence and risk-modelling, sharing information as appropriate. Enforcement action will be considered according to the evidence. To date, HMRC have issued two Labour Market Enforcement Undertakings to employers in the Leicester garment industry. There have not been any criminal prosecutions. We cannot comment on ongoing investigations.