Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with British Youth Council on its closure.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years.
Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25. I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we have been engaging with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost to the public purse was of supporting the (a) Youth Parliament, (b) Youth Select Committee and (c) Make Your Mark Programme since their inception.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the British Youth Council on the political literacy of young people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide funding to continue the operation of the Youth Parliament.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to ensure that his Department's (a) policy and (b) guidance is (i) trauma-informed and (ii) co-produced with lived-experience experts.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP is committed to being a more Trauma Informed organisation. We have a dedicated programme which will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December, 2022) which are safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration. Our programme looks at these six pillars within the contexts of application to our colleagues, our customers, our culture, and the context of our interaction- whether that is a physical, telephony, digital or postal interaction. We are learning from best practice demonstrated by organisations such as NHS Education Scotland, Work Services Australia and the Wales ACES Hub to shape the future prioritisation of this work.
The integration programme is in its early phases, and we appreciate that it will take time to realise the benefits of changes we implement. We are learning from the continued progress of leaders in the field including programmes such as the Scottish National Trauma Transformation Programme. We recognise that an important aspect of many programmes is policies and procedures and intend to replicate this focus within our own work whilst recognising that the programme does not seek to change what the department does, instead we are impacting how we do this, which will extend to supporting our policy development.
We recognise that any truly trauma informed system is shaped by lived experience experts and we fundamentally believe in the co-production of this programme. This is why we have an extensive network of diverse internal and external stakeholders who are engaged in shaping the programme through ongoing forums and insight activity. We are also currently collaborating with the University of Salford on research which explores how trauma informed the department is through conversations with customers, colleagues and external stakeholders. The outcome of this research will help to shape the future priorities of the programme. Finally, we are currently exploring how we establish our own co-production forums for the programme taking advice from expert stakeholders to ensure we create a safe, empowering space for lived experience experts to whilst establishing trust in the ongoing aims and progress of the programme.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Youth Parliament on the involvement of younger people in politics.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to help ensure that the British Youth Council remains active.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to direct the Horse Race Betting Levy Board to increase the proportion of the levy for aftercare provision for vulnerable horses leaving the racing industry.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is aware of the vital work the horseracing industry does in supporting and retraining former racehorses. However, we have no current plans to direct the Levy Board to make amends to levy schemes.
The Horserace Betting Levy Board’s expenditure covers all its three statutory purposes, all of which support horse welfare to some extent, with one of their goals to drive high quality care and support for the horse in Racing. In total, the Horserace Betting Levy Board spends around £3.5 million annually on horse-related areas, such as educational research and on a number of horse welfare projects. The Levy Board funds the Retraining of Racehorses charity, which is British Horseracing's official charity for the welfare of horses who have retired from racing.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for the safety of horses at races in Britain and works with animal welfare organisations like the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to keep racecourses as safe as possible for horses. The British Horseracing Authority created a cross-industry Horse Welfare Board in April 2019. The Board makes recommendations including a multi-year strategy for improving welfare. In February 2020, the Welfare Board published its five-year strategic plan for the welfare of horses bred for racing. The strategy focuses on the ambition that every horse bred to race should lead – and be seen to lead – “a life well-lived”. The Horse Welfare Board is funded by the HBLB and The Racing Foundation.
Furthermore, in April 2024 the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Great British Racing (GBR) launched a new campaign, HorsePWR, designed to promote the facts around welfare in horseracing and challenge and correct inaccurate information shared by people who are opposed to it.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the costs of error in the last three financial years.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department was recently requested to set out the steps it has taken to reduce the costs of fraud in the last three financial years: this response is provided in the Annex below. The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) defines the difference between fraud and error in relation to the dishonest intent of the individual or organisation involved in the incorrect payment. “Fraud” represents losses to the Department caused with intent by a counterparty. “Error” represents losses to the Department where intent cannot be proven. As the difference between fraud and error relates to the established intent of the counterparty rather than the activity itself, the Department has a single controls and assurance regime over fraud and error, which is set out in the Annex below.
In addition, the Department operates business-as-usual transactional and analytical controls to mitigate and detect risk of financial error caused by administrative errors.
Annex A – Parliamentary Question 22574 To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the costs of fraud in his Department in the last three financial years.
Response provided on 23 April 2024
Since the establishment of the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) in 2022, the Department has been working closely with PSFA to implement the Counter Fraud Functional Standard framework, a common set of standards required by government departments to counter fraud, bribery, and corruption. To support compliance with the Functional Standard, the Department internally published its Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Strategy for 2022-2025 to improve culture and awareness and build on the counter fraud activity delivered since the launch of DfT’s first strategy in 2019.
The following key activities have taken place to drive improvements in reducing fraud by improving detection activity, enhancing fraud prevention and building capability.
To support detection activity the department utilises Spotlight, a due diligence tool provided to departments by the Cabinet Office to help identify areas of risk and potential fraud and error. The department has also commenced a data analytics project utilising artificial intelligence to identify instances of fraud and error within high-risk spending areas. This initiative is providing comprehensive insights into fraudulent activities and errors that can be used to further strengthen controls and seek recovery of funds where fraud or error is identified. The Department’s contract management teams have furthermore increased their focus on fraud risks and detection, resulting in substantial sums recovered and returned to the Exchequer. Detected, prevented and recovered fraud is formally disclosed to the Cabinet Office who report publicly on these results across government in their annual Fraud Landscape Report.
On fraud prevention, a Fraud Risk Assessment (FRA) policy was introduced to enable accountable officers across DfT to take responsibility in ensuring that fraud, bribery, and corruption risks are adequately understood and effectively managed. The FRA process has been embedded into business-as-usual activity and has supported the department in identifying fraud risks, driving control improvements, and fostering continuous improvement in fraud risk management practices.
To build capability DfT has increased its engagement with the PSFA to enhance oversight, prioritisation of risks, delivery against counter fraud functional standards and sharing of best practice. We have increased our collaboration across the departmental group and across government networks to share lessons learnt, horizon scan for new and emerging trends and deliver collaborative best practice workshops, training sessions and awareness campaigns on areas of development e.g. risk assessment.
In 2023 and early 2024, DfT was one of the first departments assessed under the latest framework by PSFA for compliance against the Counter Fraud Functional Standard. The Department is now working with PSFA to take forwards the recommendations from this review to drive further improvements in the Department’s counter-fraud function.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2023 to Question 4035 on Veterans: Radiation Exposure, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the preparation of an instrument under the terms of section 3 of the Public Records Act 1958 to permanently retain the (a) ES and (b) AB series of files that were withdrawn from the National Archives in 2018.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Instruments under the terms of section 3 of the Public Records Act 1958 do not permit the permanent retention of records that have been selected for transfer to The National Archives. Instead, retained records must be reviewed by the Department after a maximum period of 10 years.
The review of the AB and ES files relating to the UK’s historic nuclear weapons programme is ongoing. The Ministry of Defence published an update on its review in January 2024, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-nuclear-archive-records/review-of-nuclear-archive-records-update-january-2024