Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people aged over 65 who were victims of (1) physical, (2) psychological, and (2) sexual, abuse for the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question: HL3614 is attached.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of when civil servants, in all departments, will be working in their offices for all of their contracted hours.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Since the pandemic began, civil servants have been delivering the Government’s priorities from home and the workplace. This includes the vaccine rollout, one of the world’s most comprehensive economic responses and continuing to run vital public services.
Following the Government’s move to Step Four of the Roadmap on 19 July 2021, all Civil Service employers are making corporate decisions regarding the working arrangements of their staff and a return to greater workplace-working. Departments are gradually and steadily increasing the number of staff in workplaces, whilst ensuring they remain safe and secure through the regular review of building risk assessments.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value to the UK taxpayer of defined benefit pension payments to retiring civil servants.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Cabinet Office submits five year cash forecasts to the Office for Budget Responsibility in order for them to monitor the fiscal implications of the scheme, and the Government considers these long-term projections of expenditure, as published in their Fiscal Sustainability Reports, including expected pension cash flows as a percentage of GDP.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the Office for National Statistics’ population growth forecasts when used in planning for future house building needs in green belt areas of England; and whether algorithms are used in the construction of the forecasts.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Rt. Hon, the Lord Patten of Barnes
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
20 May 2021
Dear Lord Patten,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the accuracy of the Office for National Statistics population growth forecasts when used in planning for future house building needs in green belt areas of England; and whether algorithms are used in the construction of the forecasts (HL79).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes population estimates and the methods used are set out in the Mid-year Population Estimates Quality and Methodology Information paper.[1] Similar quality and methodology information papers are published for national population projections[2], subnational population projections[3] and household projections[4]. Each round of our mid-year population estimates and population projections is fully quality assured and where appropriate (such as for subnational outputs) includes reviewing differences between local authorities and small geographies.
The ONS’ projections are not forecasts but are based on the continuation of recent trends and do not take into account social or economic factors that could affect the population in the future. As such, they do not try to predict any potential demographic consequences of future political or economic changes.
Individual local authorities have responsibility for planning future housing needs through their own local plans. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) are responsible for setting out guidance and policy on the use of ONS statistics for the purposes of planning.
You may be aware of the recent Office for Statistics Regulation report[5] about the ONS’ population projections and estimates, which found that at the national level, the ONS’ approach to projections and estimates was fit for purpose. The ONS has published a National Statistical blog explaining how the Centre for Ageing and Demography (responsible for population estimates and projections) at the ONS will meet the challenges raised by the report[6].
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/methodologies/midyearpopulationestimatesqmi
[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/methodologies/nationalpopulationprojectionsqmi
[3]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/methodologies/subnationalpopulationprojectionsqmi
[4]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/methodologies/householdprojectionsinenglandqmi
[5]https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/news/osr-publishes-its-review-of-population-estimates-and-projections-produced-by-the-office-for-national-statistics/
[6] https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2021/05/17/meeting-the-challenges-in-population-estimation/
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on the use of algorithms by their departments.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Safe and ethical use of algorithms in the public sector offers major opportunities for government, including improving public service delivery and increasing productivity and efficiency. The Government’s Data Ethics Framework and ‘Guide to Using AI in the Public Sector’, alongside other area-specific guidance available on GOV.UK, support the ethical and safe use of algorithms in the public sector.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last conducted a review of the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns and the related costs; and what were the results.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Government constantly monitors and gains insight on public awareness. We use regular evaluations to maximise the impact of our campaigns across the UK.
Cabinet Office publishes expenditure on COVID-19 and other national campaigns on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the accuracy, and (2) the efficacy, of the use of algorithms in (a) the planning, and (b) the implementation, of their policies.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Government’s Data Ethics Framework and ‘Guide to Using AI in the Public Sector’, alongside other guidance are available on GOV.UK, to support ethical and safe use of algorithms in the public sector. Building on existing work on algorithmic and data ethics, the Government is now seeking to deliver more transparency on the use of algorithmic-assisted decision making within the public sector; and is working with leading organisations in the field of data and AI ethics on a proposed approach to algorithmic transparency.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 29 January (HL528), what was the proportion of successful candidates to the Civil Service Fast Stream with science-related degrees who graduated from (1) Oxford, (2) Cambridge, (3) Russell Group universities, and (4) all other higher education establishments.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Information relating to candidates' university background is published in the Fast Stream and Early Talent 2017-18 annual report.
We do not currently cross-tabulate information relating to science degrees and universities. Providing this information could only be done at disproportionate cost.
The Russell Group is not in of itself a kite mark of quality and is not considered as such.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 21 January (HL527), what plans they have to increase the number of those with science and engineering graduate-equivalent qualifications who enter the Civil Service Fast Stream.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Fast Stream responds to the needs of government departments and professions who request the number of Fast Stream entrants they require. These are called ‘bids’. Our marketing attraction campaign targets specific audiences to meet those needs.
The Fast Stream marketing campaign targets science and engineering graduate applications through paid media channels; advertising on job sites such as STEM graduates, Stats Jobs, Economist jobs and with the New Scientist; ensuring a Civil Service presence at the ‘Ultimate STEM Graduate Recruitment Fair’; and posting blogs and content targeting science and engineering graduates on our social media channels.
Furthermore the campus outreach programme involves Year 2 Fast Streamers sharing their Civil Service experiences on campuses including those with science and engineering faculties.
The attached Civil Service Fast Stream: Annual Report 2017-2018 shows appointments of candidates with a science and engineering degree background have increased from 13.5% in 2016 to 19.7% in 2018.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks made on 12 January by Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, that the Civil Service needs to recruit more science and engineering graduates.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The government plans to build on the successful reforms of the Civil Service since 2010, going further and faster to ensure that it has the right skills. In particular this means attracting more people with quantitative and data analytics skills - which are developed through training in science and engineering.
Demand for science and engineering graduates is increasing - with Fast Stream bids for this specialism having doubled this year.
Those with science-related degrees make up an increasing proportion of those entering the Fast Stream. Candidates with science-related degrees (where known) made up 19.7% of entrants in 2018 compared with 17.4% in 2017.