Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, on Unconscious bias training, what steps he has taken to phase out unconscious bias training in his Department.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Defence is continually looking at ways to build a fairer, more inclusive, and more effective workplace.
Last year, the Government Equalities Office commissioned a report into unconscious bias and diversity training. It concluded that the training was not achieving its intended aims and would be phased out. In response to this, the Ministry of Defence has phased out unconscious bias training within the Department.
To ensure we continue to build fairer and more effective workplaces the Diversity and Inclusion 2020 course has been replaced by the Inclusion in the Civil Service course. The Inclusion in the Civil Service course comprises of four modules (Equality, diversity, and inclusion in the Civil Service; Our inclusive workplace; Our customers; the legal framework) and has had the unconscious bias training elements removed.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, on Unconscious bias training, what steps he has taken to phase out unconscious bias training in his Department.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In response to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, the Department has stopped providing interventions where the evidence does not support their continued use, this has been the case with unconscious bias training.
Most of Civil Service unconscious bias training was delivered via an e-learning platform, and is no longer available through this platform. The Department no longer promotes unconscious bias training to be included as part of any other training that is delivered elsewhere.
The Department is committed to maintaining a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. This includes deploying a range of evidence-based interventions within the Department, for example training to improve fairness in recruitment decisions, or new learning offerings targeted at working on creating more inclusive work cultures. We are using data to inform where bias may be occurring and to help eradicate it, for example in our approach to recruitment. This approach will allow us to ensure that activity can be focused on those interventions which do make a difference in order to progress this important work.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, on Unconscious bias training, what steps she has taken to phase out unconscious bias training in her Department.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Standalone unconscious bias training ceased within the Department at the end of December 2020.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, on Unconscious bias training, what steps he has taken to phase out unconscious bias training in his Department.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Civil Service is committed to maintaining a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. This includes deploying a range of evidence-based interventions but where the evidence does not support its continued use, as is the case with unconscious bias training, we have removed from our mandatory training.
In line with advice and guidance from Civil Service Human Resources, we provide training that focuses on inclusion.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of participation in training sessions based on Critical Race Theory on local authority employees.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
In the Written Ministerial Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, the Government outlined how unconscious bias training fails to deliver value for taxpayers' money and is ineffective. We indicated that it will be phased out in the Civil Service, and encourage the wider public sector to do the same.
Similar principles can be applied to "critical race theory" training, which is a controversial political ideology. Councils should be seeking to keep council tax down, and focus resources to supporting frontline services and covid recovery.
Moreover, the application of critical race theory to municipal public services threatens to undermine integration and community cohesion, by exaggerating differences within local communities; instead, councils should be seeking to build and strengthen a shared local and national identity across class, colour and creed.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the need for staff working in contingency asylum accommodation to have relevant experience for that role.
Answered by Kevin Foster
To ensure staff working in all asylum accommodation have the skills and experience for the role the providers have a training programme as required by the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC). Additionally, employees are subject to pre employment checks.
The contracts are published and the requirements of the contract are set out in the Statement of Requirements, this includes provisions around training and the training programme for those with face-to-face contact with our customers.
The Provider must fully equip and train staff (including volunteers) to ensure they are able to fulfil their roles and ensure appropriate and sufficient security provisions are made for all staff undertaking face-to-face activities. Those with face to face contact must cover the following:
As a minimum, provider staff should receive refresher training on the requirements listed above annually (i.e. refresher training completed every twelve (12) months), or more regularly if required.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the need for contingency asylum accommodation contracts to include training for frontline staff to understand the vulnerabilities of people seeking asylum.
Answered by Kevin Foster
To ensure staff working in all asylum accommodation have the skills and experience for the role the providers have a training programme as required by the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC). Additionally, employees are subject to pre employment checks.
The contracts are published and the requirements of the contract are set out in the Statement of Requirements, this includes provisions around training and the training programme for those with face-to-face contact with our customers.
The Provider must fully equip and train staff (including volunteers) to ensure they are able to fulfil their roles and ensure appropriate and sufficient security provisions are made for all staff undertaking face-to-face activities. Those with face to face contact must cover the following:
As a minimum, provider staff should receive refresher training on the requirements listed above annually (i.e. refresher training completed every twelve (12) months), or more regularly if required.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to (a) encourage greater standardisation in teacher assessments and (b) discourage racial bias in forthcoming transition from school exams to teacher assessments.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is confident that the system of teacher assessed grades, underpinned by clear guidance published by the Joint Council for Qualifications, will ensure the grades students receive are as fair and consistent as possible. In addition to this guidance, exam boards have provided grade descriptors and exemplar materials to support teachers. The grade descriptors and materials exemplify the established performance standard that is maintained each year by awarding organisations. To ensure that there is a common basis to all teacher assessed grades, teachers are being asked to apply the performance standards described in the grade descriptors to the evidence of students’ work this year.
Students should have confidence in their grades this year and it is vital that teachers are supported to avoid any unconscious bias. Awarding organisations will provide assessment materials, guidance, and training to support centres to make fair, consistent, and evidence-based decisions which are without bias. Ofqual have also published information for centres about making objective judgements this year, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-for-centres-about-making-objective-judgements.
Centres will be encouraged to allow students to see the evidence used to determine their grade in advance of that grade being submitted. This transparency should enable any errors or circumstances relating to particular pieces of evidence to be taken into account in advance of the grade submission. Students’ grades will also go through internal and external quality assurance processes to ensure errors are identified and that judgements are as consistent as possible. Internal standardisation will help mitigate the risk of unconscious bias in judgements of students’ grades. Centres will set out how they will ensure objectivity in their centre policies, which will be reviewed by exam boards.
There will also be an appeals system as a safety net to resolve any errors not identified during the earlier parts of the process. The Department has made clear that every student will have the right to appeal their grade.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many members of staff working for asylum accommodation providers have received the training specified in the Asylum Accommodation and Support Statement of Requirements; and whether training for staff who have face-to-face contact with service users is stipulated in Home Office contracts with providers.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) are published and the requirements of the contract are set out in the Statement of Requirements, this includes provisions around training and the training programme for those with face-to-face contact with our customers.
The Provider must fully equip and train staff (including volunteers) to ensure they are able to fulfil their roles and ensure appropriate and sufficient security provisions are made for all staff undertaking face-to-face activities. Those with face to face contact must cover the following:
As a minimum, provider staff should receive refresher training on the requirements listed above annually (i.e. refresher training completed every twelve (12) months), or more regularly if required.
The Home Office does not intend to publish data on the number of staff employed by accommodation providers, who will be expected to undertake training. However, provider performance and service delivery is discussed on a weekly basis. There are formal performance meetings each month, plus strategic boards with senior provider management, once a quarter.
The Home Office discusses performance of the contracts and service improvements with Local Authorities who participate in asylum dispersal. Durham is the only Local Authority in the North East of England who do not accommodate supported asylum seekers. We would encourage all Local Authorities to play their part and hope Durham will join their neighbours in doing so.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of (a) unconscious bias and (b) anti-racism training for decision makers of the England and Wales Cricket Board and its delegated authority to its regional bodies.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is clear that racism has no place in cricket, sport, or society at large. Our sport and physical activity strategy ‘Sporting Future’ has diversity and inclusion at its heart. In addition, Sport England’s new ten year strategy, “Uniting the Movement”, reinforces their commitment to increasing diversity and inclusion in grassroots sport and physical activity. However, it is ultimately for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), as for all individual sports’ national governing bodies, to decide on the specific aims and appropriate initiatives to increase diversity in their organisations, and to evaluate progress with these.
We welcome the steps taken by the ECB in recent years to increase diversity in cricket, including the recent establishment of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, chaired by Cindy Butts. This body looks to examine all issues relating to race and equity in cricket. The evaluation will play an important role in ensuring inclusivity, and that cricket is a game for everyone.
Since 2009, Sport England funding has directly contributed to a number of cricket participation projects with an equality, diversity and inclusion focus run by the ECB. This is in addition to the requirements around diversity set out in the UK Sport and Sport England Code for Sports Governance since 2017.
One example of the ECB’s work on diversity, funded by Sport England, is the South Asian Action Plan. This focuses on increasing racial diversity and opening up access to cricket, including facilities and delivery of bespoke formats of the sport for the community’s needs. After the success of the first investment of £1 million, this has recently been awarded an additional £1 million for the next 2 years.
There is still more to do, however, and we will continue to liaise with the ECB ensure this issue is tackled effectively and that recommendations from the commission are implemented.