Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in his Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service. In our most recent People Survey 11% of respondents, on average, told us that they'd experienced bullying or harassment at work in the 12 months preceding the survey.
While this figure has remained stable since 2016, we recognise that some staff are more like to say they have experienced this type of unacceptable behaviour than others. This includes those with long-term limiting conditions who, in the vast majority of departments and agencies, were more likely to say they'd been bullied or harassed in the last 12 months than staff members with no long-term limiting conditions.
We are strengthening the routes for all staff to report bullying and harassment to ensure that they are fully supported throughout the process, and to ensure cultures are positive and inclusive.
The high level People Survey results for each organisation, including reported rates of bullying and harassment, were published last December on gov.uk.
Each spring the Cabinet Office conducts and publishes a range of further analysis on the People Survey responses, including the results by gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and health status. Similar analysis will be conducted again this year and made available on gov.uk.
The results for the 2017 survey are summarised below with the organisations that make up the MoJ highlighted. A copy of this table has been placed in the House.
Civil Service People Survey 2017: results by organisation and health status
Long-term health status is captured in the People Survey through questions J04 and J04A. J04 asks if the individual has a "long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability?" and, if they answer yes, J04A asks whether their condition, illness or disability has an impact on their daily activity or the work they can do.
Results are aggregated in to two broad categories: "No long-term limiting condition", combining those who answer “No” to either J04 or J04A; and, "Long-term limiting condition", those who answer “Yes” to J04 and who answer that their condition limits what they can do either "a little" or "a lot" at J04A.
Answered “Yes” to the question “During the past 12 months have you personally experienced bullying or harassment at work?” | No limiting long-term illness | Has a limiting long-term illness |
Acas | 8% | 21% |
Accountant in Bankruptcy | 4% | 0% |
Animal and Plant Health Agency | 10% | 23% |
Attorney General's Office | 4% | .. |
Cabinet Office | 9% | 19% |
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science | 7% | 22% |
Charity Commission | 10% | 22% |
Civil Service HR | 13% | 22% |
Companies House | 4% | 11% |
Competition and Markets Authority | 11% | 33% |
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | 8% | 31% |
Crown Commercial Service | 10% | 20% |
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service | 10% | 35% |
Crown Prosecution Service | 8% | 21% |
Defence Electronics and Components Agency | 17% | 38% |
Defence Equipment & Support | 10% | 25% |
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 6% | 15% |
Department for Communities and Local Government | 6% | 19% |
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | 4% | 12% |
Department for Education | 7% | 17% |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 7% | 16% |
Department for Exiting the European Union | 6% | 25% |
Department for International Development | 10% | 20% |
Department for International Trade | 10% | 17% |
Department for Transport | 6% | 14% |
Department for Work and Pensions | 8% | 20% |
Department of Health | 6% | 9% |
Disclosure Scotland | 9% | 27% |
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | 6% | 16% |
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | 17% | 37% |
Dstl | 10% | 27% |
Education Scotland | 19% | 36% |
Estyn | 5% | .. |
FCO Services | 9% | 37% |
Food Standards Agency | 16% | 27% |
Food Standards Scotland | 8% | 7% |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 12% | 22% |
Government Actuary's Department | 7% | .. |
Government Internal Audit Agency | 9% | 21% |
Government Legal Department | 8% | 11% |
Health and Safety Executive | 10% | 21% |
HM Courts and Tribunals Service | 8% | 21% |
HM CPS Inspectorate | 31% | .. |
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services | 20% | 23% |
HM Prison and Probation Service HQ | 10% | 14% |
HM Revenue & Customs | 9% | 22% |
HM Treasury | 7% | 20% |
Home Office: Border Force | 14% | 40% |
Home Office: HM Passport Office | 11% | 25% |
Home Office: Immigration Enforcement | 13% | 28% |
Home Office: Policy and Enablers | 9% | 21% |
Home Office: UK Visas and Immigration | 9% | 20% |
Intellectual Property Office | 7% | 10% |
Land Registry | 6% | 14% |
Legal Aid Agency | 5% | 16% |
Maritime and Coastguard Agency | 14% | 42% |
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency | 9% | 23% |
Met Office | 8% | 21% |
Ministry of Defence | 10% | 26% |
Ministry of Justice HQ | 7% | 18% |
MoJ Arms Length Bodies | 6% | 18% |
National Crime Agency | 11% | 26% |
National Records of Scotland | 5% | 12% |
National Savings & Investment | 7% | 45% |
Office for National Statistics | 9% | 18% |
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets | 7% | 11% |
Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation | 7% | 6% |
Office of Rail and Road | 12% | 20% |
Office of the Public Guardian | 15% | 26% |
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator | 15% | .. |
Ofsted | 5% | 15% |
Public Health England | 11% | 19% |
Registers of Scotland | 7% | 5% |
Revenue Scotland | 7% | .. |
Rural Payments Agency | 10% | 25% |
Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland Offices | 7% | 15% |
Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service | 7% | 19% |
Scottish Government | 8% | 17% |
Scottish Housing Regulator | 5% | .. |
Scottish Prison Service | 15% | 40% |
Scottish Public Pensions Agency | 13% | 23% |
Serious Fraud Office | 9% | 20% |
Student Awards Agency Scotland | 8% | 16% |
The Insolvency Service | 6% | 13% |
The National Archives | 5% | 21% |
The National Probation Service | 10% | 25% |
The Planning Inspectorate | 4% | 11% |
The Prison Service | 13% | 28% |
Transport Scotland | 9% | 17% |
UK Debt Management Office | 7% | .. |
UK Export Finance | 16% | 7% |
UK Hydrographic Office | 8% | 17% |
UK Statistics Authority | 15% | .. |
Valuation Office Agency | 6% | 17% |
Vehicle Certification Agency | 12% | .. |
Veterinary Medicines Directorate | 6% | 27% |
Welsh Government | 7% | 18% |
Wilton Park | 8% | .. |
Note: ‘..’ indicates value supressed due to small sample size |
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Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in her Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.
In our most recent People Survey, 11% of respondents, on average, told us that they'd experienced bullying or harassment at work in the 12 months preceding the survey.
Whilst this figure has remained stable since 2016, we recognise that certain groups of staff are more like to say they have experienced this type of unacceptable behaviour than others. This includes staff members with long-term limiting conditions who, in the vast majority of departments and agencies, were more likely to say they'd been bullied or harassed in the last 12 months than staff members with no long-term limiting conditions.
We are strengthening the routes for staff to report bullying and harassment to ensure that all staff are fully supported throughout the process, and to ensure cultures are positive and inclusive.
The high level People Survey results for each organisation, including reported rates of bullying and harassment, were published last December on gov.uk.
Each Spring, the Cabinet Office conducts and publishes a range of further analysis on the People Survey responses, including the results by gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and health status. Similar analysis will be conducted again this year and made available on gov.uk.
The results for the 2017 survey are summarised below. A copy of this table has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Civil Service People Survey 2017: results by organisation and health status
Long-term health status is captured in the People Survey through questions J04 and J04A. J04 asks if the individual has a "long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability?" and, if they answer yes, J04A asks whether their condition, illness or disability has an impact on their daily activity or the work they can do.
Results are aggregated in to two broad categories: "No long-term limiting condition", combining those who answer No to either J04 or J04A; and, "Long-term limiting condition", those who answer Yes to J04 and who answer that their condition limits what they can do either "a little" or "a lot" at J04A.
Answered “Yes” to the question “During the past 12 months have you personally experienced bullying or harassment at work?” | No limiting long-term illness | Has a limiting long-term illness |
Acas | 8% | 21% |
Accountant in Bankruptcy | 4% | 0% |
Animal and Plant Health Agency | 10% | 23% |
Attorney General's Office | 4% | .. |
Cabinet Office | 9% | 19% |
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science | 7% | 22% |
Charity Commission | 10% | 22% |
Civil Service HR | 13% | 22% |
Companies House | 4% | 11% |
Competition and Markets Authority | 11% | 33% |
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | 8% | 31% |
Crown Commercial Service | 10% | 20% |
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service | 10% | 35% |
Crown Prosecution Service | 8% | 21% |
Defence Electronics and Components Agency | 17% | 38% |
Defence Equipment & Support | 10% | 25% |
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 6% | 15% |
Department for Communities and Local Government | 6% | 19% |
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | 4% | 12% |
Department for Education | 7% | 17% |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 7% | 16% |
Department for Exiting the European Union | 6% | 25% |
Department for International Development | 10% | 20% |
Department for International Trade | 10% | 17% |
Department for Transport | 6% | 14% |
Department for Work and Pensions | 8% | 20% |
Department of Health | 6% | 9% |
Disclosure Scotland | 9% | 27% |
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | 6% | 16% |
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | 17% | 37% |
Dstl | 10% | 27% |
Education Scotland | 19% | 36% |
Estyn | 5% | .. |
FCO Services | 9% | 37% |
Food Standards Agency | 16% | 27% |
Food Standards Scotland | 8% | 7% |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 12% | 22% |
Government Actuary's Department | 7% | .. |
Government Internal Audit Agency | 9% | 21% |
Government Legal Department | 8% | 11% |
Health and Safety Executive | 10% | 21% |
HM Courts and Tribunals Service | 8% | 21% |
HM CPS Inspectorate | 31% | .. |
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services | 20% | 23% |
HM Prison and Probation Service HQ | 10% | 14% |
HM Revenue & Customs | 9% | 22% |
HM Treasury | 7% | 20% |
Home Office: Border Force | 14% | 40% |
Home Office: HM Passport Office | 11% | 25% |
Home Office: Immigration Enforcement | 13% | 28% |
Home Office: Policy and Enablers | 9% | 21% |
Home Office: UK Visas and Immigration | 9% | 20% |
Intellectual Property Office | 7% | 10% |
Land Registry | 6% | 14% |
Legal Aid Agency | 5% | 16% |
Maritime and Coastguard Agency | 14% | 42% |
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency | 9% | 23% |
Met Office | 8% | 21% |
Ministry of Defence | 10% | 26% |
Ministry of Justice HQ | 7% | 18% |
MoJ Arms Length Bodies | 6% | 18% |
National Crime Agency | 11% | 26% |
National Records of Scotland | 5% | 12% |
National Savings & Investment | 7% | 45% |
Office for National Statistics | 9% | 18% |
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets | 7% | 11% |
Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation | 7% | 6% |
Office of Rail and Road | 12% | 20% |
Office of the Public Guardian | 15% | 26% |
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator | 15% | .. |
Ofsted | 5% | 15% |
Public Health England | 11% | 19% |
Registers of Scotland | 7% | 5% |
Revenue Scotland | 7% | .. |
Rural Payments Agency | 10% | 25% |
Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland Offices | 7% | 15% |
Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service | 7% | 19% |
Scottish Government | 8% | 17% |
Scottish Housing Regulator | 5% | .. |
Scottish Prison Service | 15% | 40% |
Scottish Public Pensions Agency | 13% | 23% |
Serious Fraud Office | 9% | 20% |
Student Awards Agency Scotland | 8% | 16% |
The Insolvency Service | 6% | 13% |
The National Archives | 5% | 21% |
The National Probation Service | 10% | 25% |
The Planning Inspectorate | 4% | 11% |
The Prison Service | 13% | 28% |
Transport Scotland | 9% | 17% |
UK Debt Management Office | 7% | .. |
UK Export Finance | 16% | 7% |
UK Hydrographic Office | 8% | 17% |
UK Statistics Authority | 15% | .. |
Valuation Office Agency | 6% | 17% |
Vehicle Certification Agency | 12% | .. |
Veterinary Medicines Directorate | 6% | 27% |
Welsh Government | 7% | 18% |
Wilton Park | 8% | .. |
Note: ‘..’ indicates value supressed due to small sample size | ||
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the annual budget for Wilton Park Executive Agency for 2018-19 is.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) budget for Wilton Park in 2018-19 consists of £500,000 core funding, £1.4 million in Official Development Assistance, and £250,000 in capital funding. In addition, FCO Directorates provide discretionary spending on individual events, coming to just over £900,000 for 2018-19. Wilton Park's total turnover for the year will be just under £6 million, with the rest coming from other sources.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the outcomes were of the Wilton Park Forum on Climate Change and Resilience in relation to improving climate resilience in the Pacific Region.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK and New Zealand Governments cosponsored the Wilton Park Forum on Climate Change and Resilience, which took place between 16th and 18th December 2018, as part of our shared commitment to support international action on climate change. The Pacific Island countries are uniquely affected by climate change and this high-level dialogue brought together Pacific leaders, development partners, civil society and academics to look at the Pacific priorities and concerns and identify options to support and amplify the Pacific Islands' powerful call for ambitious international action.
The detailed discussions helped to promote new partnerships and develop fresh perspectives, and potential policy responses that respond to Pacific needs and priorities.
Participants collaborated on the identification of key challenges to the Pacific region resulting from climate change, focussing on four key areas of climate change for the Pacific – finance, the oceans-climate nexus, security and migration. The consensus on all four areas was that further work was needed to tackle the range of challenges that existed.
Wilton Park will release a formal report, including future policy options, by the end of January. Officials in both London and Wellington will consider these policy options. There is a clear desire from participants to have further discussions in the Pacific region on these issues ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum next August.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost was of (a) electricity and (b) natural gas used by (i) his Department and (ii) Wilton Park in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The quantity and cost of electricity and gas to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) UK estate and Wilton Park since April 2015 is as follows:
| FCO | Wilton Park | ||
| Usage | Cost | Usage | Cost |
Electricity | kWH | GBP | kWh | GBP |
2015/16 | 26,750,416 | £3,285,904 | 277,496 | £17,811 |
2016/17 | 24,776,275 | £3,309,304 | 15,660 | £14,269 |
2017/18 | 23,126,619 | £3,052,563 | 247,222 | £13,997 |
Gas |
| |||
2015/16 | 682,365 | £24,060 | 276,274 | £11,170 |
2016/17 | 603,753 | £24,440 | 308,927 | £12,835 |
2017/18 | 738,219 | £26,742 | 313,945 | £11,378 |
Wilton Park electricity usage during 2016/17 was not accurately monitored due to a faulty meter. The fault was finally resolved by British Gas in July 2017. Costs for the period have been confirmed and reconciled
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the quantity was of (a) electricity and (b) natural gas used by (i) his Department and (ii) Wilton Park in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The quantity and cost of electricity and gas to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) UK estate and Wilton Park since April 2015 is as follows:
| FCO | Wilton Park | ||
| Usage | Cost | Usage | Cost |
Electricity | kWH | GBP | kWh | GBP |
2015/16 | 26,750,416 | £3,285,904 | 277,496 | £17,811 |
2016/17 | 24,776,275 | £3,309,304 | 15,660 | £14,269 |
2017/18 | 23,126,619 | £3,052,563 | 247,222 | £13,997 |
Gas |
| |||
2015/16 | 682,365 | £24,060 | 276,274 | £11,170 |
2016/17 | 603,753 | £24,440 | 308,927 | £12,835 |
2017/18 | 738,219 | £26,742 | 313,945 | £11,378 |
Wilton Park electricity usage during 2016/17 was not accurately monitored due to a faulty meter. The fault was finally resolved by British Gas in July 2017. Costs for the period have been confirmed and reconciled.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) women and (b) men his Department has appointed to each of its non-Departmental Public Bodies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Commissioner for Public Appointments completes and publishes an annual data survey of all new appointments and reappointments made to boards of public bodies by Government including the overall gender diversity.
Data on the gender diversity of new non-executive appointees to public boards for 2012 to 2015 are published on Gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-in-public-appointments
In the last five years, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has appointed 27 people (11 women and 16 men) to its five Non-Departmental Public Bodies (Wilton Park, British Council, Westminster for Democracy, Great Britain China Centre and Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission).
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials in his Department have held with representatives of (a) Cambridge Analytica, (b) SCL Group, (c) Global Science Research and (d) Alexander Nix.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I, the Foreign Secretary, and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials in London, Washington and New York met representatives, including Alexander Nix, from Cambridge Analytica, in 2016-17. This was part of the government’s work to better understand the 2016 US presidential election, the political environment that followed and to build relationships with the Trump Presidential campaign and transition team. This outreach was part of normal diplomatic business.
In addition the FCO has identified: one former project from 2008-2009 with Strategic Communications Laboratories Group Limited (SCL) involvement; that SCL attended a conference organised by the FCO at Wilton Park on ‘Diplomacy in the Information Age’ in February 2017; and an official dialled into a general briefing of the outcome of a SCL research study on counter extremism campaigns in March 2018. The FCO is not planning any further contact with that organisation or those linked to it.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which external recruitment agencies are used by his Department's non-departmental public bodies.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has five Non-Departmental Public Bodies: the British Council, Marshal Aid Commemoration Commission, Wilton Park, Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Great Britain China Centre. The external recruitment agencies used by them, or by the FCO on their behalf, are: Russell Reynolds Associates, Hays Specialist Recruitment, Pro Group, Rencai, DGH Recruitment Limited, La Fosse Associates, Interquest Group UK Limited, Whitehall Resources Limited, Sentinel IT LLP, The Audit & Risk Recruitment Company, Michael Page UK Ltd, Stop Gap Group Ltd, Elevate Recruitment, Morgan Law Partners LLP, Perrett Laver, Minerva, Neutral Vendor (Comensura), Women on Boards, NEDonBoard, Nurole Ltd, Accountancy Recruitment Worthing, Reed, Checkmate Resourcing, GCS Recruitment, Gatenby Sanderson, Badenoch and Clark, Mark Sattin, Huntress, Prospect-Us, Pulse, Business in the Community, Mentoring Foundation, The Women's Organisation, Board Ready, Business Disability Forum, Gay Business Association, Association of Disabled Professionals, Egon Zehnder.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will publish a response to the report of Save The Children entitled War on Children, published in February 2018; and what steps her Department is taking better to protect children in those conflict zones referred to in the report.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is firmly committed to ensuring that the needs of children affected by conflict are addressed. 50% of DFID’s spending is directed towards fragile states and regions, including the many countries which Save the Children highlights are the most dangerous for children.
Our investment in protecting children in conflict zones is emphasised through our many multi-lateral and bilateral programmes around the world. Some of the examples of how we achieve this are as follows. We are the largest contributor to Education Cannot Wait, the first global movement aid fund dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises. Through this, we target some of the world’s most vulnerable children, aiming to reach 3.4 million children through its first set of investments. We contribute funds to the No Lost Generation Initiative, a commitment by the international community to support children and youth affected by the Syria and Iraq crises, mainly in education and protection. In Somalia, we work with the UN and international NGOs to ensure the rights of children affected by conflict are addressed through family reunification, support to their nutrition needs and reducing the risks faced by displaced children. In Yemen and Iraq we fund UN agencies to undertake critical child protection work. In Afghanistan we seek to change the way the conflict is fought to reduce child casualties and ensure that vulnerable children have access to supportive services.
We do not have plans to publish a response to Save the Children’s report, The War on Children - DFID officials are in regular contact with Save the Children on this agenda. We recently partnered to co-host a high level Wilton Park dialogue to address the mental health and psychosocial support needs of children affected by conflict in the Middle East.