Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide a list of all public bodies that have been delegated powers to (a) make amend or revoke, (b) enforce and (c) monitor compliance with regulations.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Cabinet Office publishes a list of public bodies classified as arm’s length bodies, the public bodies directory, which includes whether an organisation performs a regulatory function.
The arm’s length bodies which departments have flagged as performing a regulatory function through the most recent public bodies directory data collection are:
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Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186612 on Police: Workplace Pensions, if she will make it her policy to seek information on the number of serving police officers who opted out of the police pension scheme within the last ten years in each force.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Each Chief Constable is responsible for the administration of the police pension scheme for their force. This includes collecting and holding any data relevant to the running of the scheme.
The Home Office works with the Police Pension Scheme Advisory Board and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to understand how forces are managing their pension scheme and how members and officers are using the scheme.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186612 on Police: Workplace Pensions, what information she holds on the number of police officers by force who have left the police service for reasons other than retirement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers leaving the police service in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. Data on the number of police officers who’ve left the police service, by leaver type, can be accessed in the ‘Police Workforce Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1093591/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-270722.ods. The latest data covers leavers in the year ending March 2022.
The next release of the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which will cover leavers in the year ending March 2023, is scheduled for release at 9.30am on Wednesday 26th July.
Across England and Wales, we now have 149,572 officers, more than at any time in history and 3,542 more than the previous peak in 2010.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of serving police officers that have opted out of the police pension scheme.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish information on the number of serving police officers that have opted out of the police pension scheme.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of serving police officers in England and Wales, on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. The Home Office also provides a quarterly update on the number of police officers (headcount terms only), as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, in the ‘Police Officer Uplift’ statistical bulletin.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many ministerial red boxes belonging to his Department have (a) been reported missing or lost or (b) had their security features removed in order that they can be purchased for personal use by former ministers from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Departmental Security Unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries. It is a long standing convention under successive administrations that Ministers may pay to retain red boxes as a memento of their time in their role, as long as the security features are removed.
No ministerial boxes have been reported lost or missing to the Department’s Security Unit since 2018. One ministerial box has been purchased and the security feature was removed.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the capability of the Health and Safety Executive to investigate incidents that are deemed to meet the conditions for a mandatory investigation.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Britain continues to be one of the safest places to work in the world.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carries out planned inspection activity as well as investigating incidents. HSE has discretion as to what incidents it investigates and follows the principles laid out in Sections 6 and 11 in its Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS).
HSE’s published Incident Selection Criteria (ISC) gives guidance on matters that would normally be investigated, however there are a number of reasons why incidents meeting the ISC would not be investigated. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has discretion as to the matters it investigates, as such there are no mandatory investigations.
Where HSE decides not to investigate matters that are within the criteria, due to competing demands for resources, this is because they are deploying resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. Some investigations are unlikely to lead to further action so resource is better spent on proactive inspection work to prevent incidents happening in the first place.
HSE have appropriately trained and experienced inspectors, specialist inspectors and other regulatory staff who can carry out investigations in line with HSE’s policies and procedures, as required.
For 2022 / 2023, provisional figures show that 16,500 proactive inspections were carried out by HSE (against a target of 14,000) and were delivered through a mixture of high-risk programmes and campaigns, assurance and priority local visits. During this same period, 85% of fatal investigations were completed within 12 months of assuming primacy from the police (against a target of 80%) and 95% of non-fatal investigations completed within 12 months of the incident (against a target of 90%). This demonstrates HSE has appropriate measures in place to investigate incidents while also completing proactive inspection activity.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of public sector pay restraint on the economy.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Pay for most frontline workforces – including nurses, teachers, armed forces and police officers – is set through an independent Pay Review Body (PRBs) process. The PRBs consider a range of evidence when forming their recommendations, including the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified people; the financial circumstances of government; the government’s policies for improving public services; and the government’s inflation target. They consider the whole remuneration package of those working in the public sector when forming their recommendations, including the substantially more generous pensions available, on average, for public sector workers.
As part of the PRB process, HM Treasury publishes economic evidence to PRBs. HM Treasury published its economic evidence to PRBs for the 2023/24 pay round in January. This set out the economic, labour market and fiscal context within which we ask the independent PRBs to consider their recommendations for 2023-24 pay awards. Please see the evidence HMT has published.
Economic_Evidence_January_2023_-_final_version_PUBLISHED.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
More generally, the OBR will include any impact of government policy on the economy in their economic forecasts.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Health and Safety Executive on the suspected fatality of a UK resident worker employed on the Liberian registered Valaris vessel in the UK Continental Shelf on 22 January 2023; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
HSE and other regulatory bodies are providing support to Police Scotland’s enquiries. As this is an ongoing investigation the department is unable to respond.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the advice given by Defence Police Chief's Council in 2010 to delete records of investigations and dismissals into Armed Forces service people accused of homosexual conduct.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The historic policy prohibiting homosexuality in the armed forces was wrong and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) deeply regrets LGBT+ members serving in Defence suffered injustice as a consequence. The LGBT Veterans Independent Review (IR), co-commissioned by the MOD and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, launched its Call for Evidence (CfE) on 15 July 2022, where it sought testimony from those impacted by the Armed Force’s pre-2000 policy that homosexuality was incompatible with service in the armed forces. As part of this CfE, a testimonial referred to an accusation that in 2010 Service Police records relating to investigations where criminalised homosexuality was a factor had been deleted.
Service Police investigative records are routinely and lawfully destroyed, typically between three and 10 years after the offence is reported, in line with data protection legislation and MOD policy. Once records no longer have an investigative value there is no basis for retaining them, particularly as they contain sensitive personal information. Personal data contained in service records pre-dating 25 May 2018 were protected and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Data processed subsequent to this date is processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. In 2010 and 2011, in line with Government policy agreed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Home Office (HO), and Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the MOD enacted policy to destroy legacy police investigative records concerning decriminalised sexual offences so that historical decriminalised convictions would not show up on criminal record checks of Service Personnel. This was lawful, fully in line with appropriate Government policy on data protection, and mirrored Government policy in civilian life.
As part of the IR, the MOD have examined historic records and the policies and decisions made in relation to the retention of those records. We have found that the Single Services correctly followed policies and processes concerning the removal of records, in line with data protection legislation and government policy agreed with the ACPO and led by the HO and the MOJ. As the matter has been subject of an investigation within MOD as part of the IR, and to avoid prejudicing any recommendations stemming from the ongoing IR, there are no current plans to publish any documentation related to the decision of the Defence Police Chief’s Forum in 2010 to implement the government policy at the time
As the records no longer exist, it is not possible to quantify how many records have been destroyed. However, whilst Defence cannot give a precise figure for the number of veterans who had their records destroyed, I can advise that almost all such police investigative records concerning gay and lesbian personnel before 2000 have been destroyed.
The question of compensation, admissions of fault, and other such corrective and compensatory measures is a matter for the ongoing IR. Defence will not prejudice the outcome of the IR by speculating on any recommendations it may make. Pensions for Service Personnel are linked to their pay and length of service. Thus, Service Personnel dismissed or discharged in respect of their sexuality retained their accrued pension rights and are, therefore, out of scope of the IR.
The MOD’s priority now is to understand the full impact of the historic ban and find appropriate ways to address the wrongs of the past, where possible.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with officials in his Department on the potential impact of the deletion of records of investigations relating to homosexuality in armed forces will have upon Lord Etherton's review into the treatment of LGBT veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The historic policy prohibiting homosexuality in the armed forces was wrong and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) deeply regrets LGBT+ members serving in Defence suffered injustice as a consequence. The LGBT Veterans Independent Review (IR), co-commissioned by the MOD and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, launched its Call for Evidence (CfE) on 15 July 2022, where it sought testimony from those impacted by the Armed Force’s pre-2000 policy that homosexuality was incompatible with service in the armed forces. As part of this CfE, a testimonial referred to an accusation that in 2010 Service Police records relating to investigations where criminalised homosexuality was a factor had been deleted.
Service Police investigative records are routinely and lawfully destroyed, typically between three and 10 years after the offence is reported, in line with data protection legislation and MOD policy. Once records no longer have an investigative value there is no basis for retaining them, particularly as they contain sensitive personal information. Personal data contained in service records pre-dating 25 May 2018 were protected and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Data processed subsequent to this date is processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. In 2010 and 2011, in line with Government policy agreed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Home Office (HO), and Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the MOD enacted policy to destroy legacy police investigative records concerning decriminalised sexual offences so that historical decriminalised convictions would not show up on criminal record checks of Service Personnel. This was lawful, fully in line with appropriate Government policy on data protection, and mirrored Government policy in civilian life.
As part of the IR, the MOD have examined historic records and the policies and decisions made in relation to the retention of those records. We have found that the Single Services correctly followed policies and processes concerning the removal of records, in line with data protection legislation and government policy agreed with the ACPO and led by the HO and the MOJ. As the matter has been subject of an investigation within MOD as part of the IR, and to avoid prejudicing any recommendations stemming from the ongoing IR, there are no current plans to publish any documentation related to the decision of the Defence Police Chief’s Forum in 2010 to implement the government policy at the time
As the records no longer exist, it is not possible to quantify how many records have been destroyed. However, whilst Defence cannot give a precise figure for the number of veterans who had their records destroyed, I can advise that almost all such police investigative records concerning gay and lesbian personnel before 2000 have been destroyed.
The question of compensation, admissions of fault, and other such corrective and compensatory measures is a matter for the ongoing IR. Defence will not prejudice the outcome of the IR by speculating on any recommendations it may make. Pensions for Service Personnel are linked to their pay and length of service. Thus, Service Personnel dismissed or discharged in respect of their sexuality retained their accrued pension rights and are, therefore, out of scope of the IR.
The MOD’s priority now is to understand the full impact of the historic ban and find appropriate ways to address the wrongs of the past, where possible.