Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 21 November 2022 to Question HL3309 on Prisons: Rehabilitation, whether HM Prison and Probation Service has introduced additional measures to build relationships between prison officers and prisoners with protected characteristics in prisons equipped with PAVA incapacitant spray.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We are determined to stamp out discrimination wherever it is found and HMPPS has committed to changing its culture for the better and relationships between staff and prisoners. Our approach includes refreshing our mental health support and education services, reviewing the impact of incidents where force is used, developing a nationwide mentoring programme, and creating targeted recruitment campaigns to ensure our staff fully reflect the communities they serve. Prisons have responsibility to analyse information on who PAVA is used on, and the staff who use it, with appropriate actions taken to challenge disproportionality identified in relation to any of the protected characteristics.
We will continue working closely with third sector partners, trade unions and our staff networks, who represent colleagues with protected characteristics, to continue building relationships between staff and people in prison.
Asked by: Lord Sahota (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to promote free movement for lawyers between England and Wales and India, including steps (1) to make visas easier to obtain, and (2) to streamline processes relating to qualifications.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The ongoing UK-India trade negotiations present an opportunity to facilitate legal services trade which is a key professional and business services sector contributing to over £34bn to the UK economy in 2022.
Whilst I am unable to disclose details of live negotiations, as part of extensive stakeholder engagement we know that UK businesses struggle with barriers to services trade, including legal services. Stakeholder input helped to inform our negotiation objectives, which can be found on gov.uk.
Outside negotiations, the UK Ministry of Justice is closely engaged with Indian counterparts on shared interests, including India's new legal services regulations, through existing fora.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) impact of the prison officer retirement age on safety in prisons and (b) merits of aligning the retirement age of prison officers with police officers.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We highly value our hardworking prison officers and take very seriously the safety of all staff working within prisons, whatever their age. The Ministry continues to review and roll out new safety equipment and provide new skills to prison officers to deal with challenging situations and reduce the risk of assault.
The pension age in all public sector pension schemes is set under legislation by HM Treasury and the merits of any review in pension age would be for them to consider. I am committed to listening to and working with officers, staff and trade unions on a range of issues.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting the proposals of the Senior President of Tribunals to have employment cases heard by a single judge by default.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Senior President of Tribunals has published a consultation seeking views on proposals for the composition of panels in the Employment Tribunals. This will help inform his decisions on the future arrangements for panel composition in the Employment Tribunals, when he becomes responsible for them when the provisions of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 are brought into effect. This will bring the arrangements for Employment Tribunals into line with those that apply to the tribunals in the Unified Tribunal Structure.
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics on the diversity of the judiciary. The most recent statistics, published in July 2022, can be found at the following link and includes comprehensive data on the age, ethnicity, gender of judges and non-legal members of tribunals.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2022-statistics
The Ministry of Justice, as a member of the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), works closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Legal Services Board and the legal professions to take actions to increase judicial diversity.
The Ministry of Justice keeps the operation and performance of the Employment Tribunals under regular review. We are working closely with the Department for Business and Trade on measures to increase capacity, reduce demand and improve the efficiency of the employment dispute system.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of the diversity of panel members who hear Employment Tribunal cases.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Senior President of Tribunals has published a consultation seeking views on proposals for the composition of panels in the Employment Tribunals. This will help inform his decisions on the future arrangements for panel composition in the Employment Tribunals, when he becomes responsible for them when the provisions of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 are brought into effect. This will bring the arrangements for Employment Tribunals into line with those that apply to the tribunals in the Unified Tribunal Structure.
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics on the diversity of the judiciary. The most recent statistics, published in July 2022, can be found at the following link and includes comprehensive data on the age, ethnicity, gender of judges and non-legal members of tribunals.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2022-statistics
The Ministry of Justice, as a member of the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), works closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Legal Services Board and the legal professions to take actions to increase judicial diversity.
The Ministry of Justice keeps the operation and performance of the Employment Tribunals under regular review. We are working closely with the Department for Business and Trade on measures to increase capacity, reduce demand and improve the efficiency of the employment dispute system.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to review the operation of employment tribunals.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Senior President of Tribunals has published a consultation seeking views on proposals for the composition of panels in the Employment Tribunals. This will help inform his decisions on the future arrangements for panel composition in the Employment Tribunals, when he becomes responsible for them when the provisions of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 are brought into effect. This will bring the arrangements for Employment Tribunals into line with those that apply to the tribunals in the Unified Tribunal Structure.
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics on the diversity of the judiciary. The most recent statistics, published in July 2022, can be found at the following link and includes comprehensive data on the age, ethnicity, gender of judges and non-legal members of tribunals.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2022-statistics
The Ministry of Justice, as a member of the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), works closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Legal Services Board and the legal professions to take actions to increase judicial diversity.
The Ministry of Justice keeps the operation and performance of the Employment Tribunals under regular review. We are working closely with the Department for Business and Trade on measures to increase capacity, reduce demand and improve the efficiency of the employment dispute system.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to help prevent racial discrimination in prisons in England.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Our response to the HMI Prisons thematic on the experiences of adult black staff and black prisoners recently set out our ambition to take a zero-tolerance approach to racism and discrimination. This is a long-term commitment to change the culture of HMPPS for the better, with a plan focussed on actions and underpinned by clear accountability.
Our approach includes short, medium, and long-term actions to ensure there is equal opportunity and equal outcomes for all staff and people in custody. This will include reviewing the impact of use of force, developing a nationwide reverse mentoring programme, creating more targeted recruitment campaigns and continuing to work closely with third sector partners, trade unions and our staff networks, such as RISE, which focuses on black and other underrepresented staffing groups.
Routinely, prisons are responsible for identifying and tackling disproportionality locally. This is done via diversity and inclusion forums where racial issues are raised, discussed, and solutions actioned. In addition, the HMPPS Tackling Unacceptable Behaviour Unit (TUBU) began work in August 2020 in order to change workplace behaviours (focussing on staff on staff behaviour) for the better, by providing additional support to managers investigating concerns and ensuring that investigations are carried out fairly and consistently and any unacceptable behaviour is challenged and dealt with appropriately.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2023 to Question 153888 on Disability, which Ministerial Disability Champions attended the meeting on 14 March 2023; if he will publish the minutes of that meeting; and when the next meeting of Ministerial Disability Champions is due to take place.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Ministerial Disability Champions (MDC) roundtable took place on 14 March 2023. It was an opportunity for me to welcome the new cohort of MDCs who have been appointed across Government, to thank them for their commitment to improve disabled people’s lives and to emphasise how they and their departments are key to the development and delivery of the upcoming Disability Action Plan.
MDCs who attended:
Tom Pursglove MP - Dept for Work and Pensions (DWP) (Chair)
Trudy Harrison MP - Dept for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Mike Freer MP - Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
Claire Coutinho MP - Dept for Education (DfE)
Kevin Hollinrake MP - Dept for Business and Trade (DBT)
Sarah Dines MP - The Home Office (HO)
The Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP - Dept for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
The Rt Hon Johnny Mercer MP - Cabinet Office (CO)
The Rt Hon Dr Andrew Murrison MP - Ministry of Defence (MOD)
Richard Holden MP - Dept for Transport (DfT)
David Rutley MP - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
Dr James Davies MP - Office of the Secretary of State for Wales
John Lamont MP - Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland
Steve Baker MP - Office of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP - Attorney General (Attorney General’s Office)
We intend to hold a further roundtable meeting for those MDCs who could not attend the meeting on 14 March, ahead of the next full roundtable meeting.
The Government does not plan to publish the minutes from MDC roundtables.
The next full MDC roundtable is currently scheduled to take place on Monday 15 May 2023.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2023 to Question 166164 on Government Departments: Staff, what the overall rating out of 100 recorded was in the most recent Leesman office surveys undertaken through the Government Property Agency by the (a) Cabinet Office, (b) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (c) Department for Education, (d) Department for International Trade, (e) Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, (f) Department for Work and Pensions, (g) Treasury, (h) Home Office, (i) Ministry of Defence, and (j) Ministry of Justice.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The results from the most recent Leesman surveys participated by those departments listed is set out in the table below:
Department | Date of participation of most recent Leesman survey | Leesman Index Score (out of 100) |
Cabinet Office | November 2022 | 68.7 |
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | November 2022 | 74.9 |
Department for International Trade | November 2022 | 69.5 |
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities | November 2022 | 70.9 |
HM Treasury | November 2022 | 73.1 |
Ministry of Justice | November 2022 | 60.0 |
Department for Education | September 2022 | 49.4 |
Ministry of Defence | September 2022 | 65.5 |
Department for Work and Pensions | September 2021 | 54.6 |
Home Office | July 2021 | 52.8 |
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled The GPA rated best UK public sector workplace experience, published by the Government Property Agency on 15 March 2023, which (a) Departments and (b) executive agencies have undertaken Leesman Office surveys since 1 January 2020 to assess the views of their staff concerning the main offices in which they work.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
GPA has launched 9 office based surveys with Leesman, starting in January 2021. The full list of departments, agencies and bodies as listed as such on the UK Government Departments, agencies and public bodies website (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations) that have taken part in Leesman surveys through GPA can be found below:
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Cabinet Office
Care Quality Commission
Companies House
Consumer Council For Water
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Crown Commercial Service
Crown Prosecution Service
Defence Equipment and Support
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Department for Education
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Department for International Trade
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Department for Work & Pensions
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
Environment Agency
Government Internal Audit Agency
Government Legal Department
Government Property Agency
Health and Safety Executive
Health Education England
Health Research Authority
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS)
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS)
HM Treasury
Home Office
Homes England
Infrastructure and Projects Authority
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Legal Aid Agency
Ministry of Defence (MOD)
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Natural England
NHS
NHS England
Office for National Statistics
Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)
Office of Rail and Road
Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman
Regulator of Social Housing
Serious Fraud Office
Small Business Commissioner
Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA)
Trade Remedies Authority
UK Health Security Agency
Other organisations/groups:
Asylum Protection
Border Force
Government Art collection
HM Passport Office
Immigration Enforcement (IE)
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
Pubs Code Adjudicator
Single Competent Authority (SCA)
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)