Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect those civil servants who have been working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic to resume working physically in departments. [T]
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Civil Service departments are planning for a phased return to the workplace from 1 August, in line with all relevant UK Government and devolved administration guidelines. Many civil servants have of course continued to attend their workplaces throughout the pandemic to support the government's response to this emergency, for example through delivering Universal Credit and the Furlough Scheme or other essential services.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Orders of Merit or Companions of Honour have been awarded in the last 25 years to those resident at the time in (1) London, and (2) Yorkshire.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Honours are bestowed on merit. However a key aim of the honours system is to make it more equitable and better representative of the whole of the UK.
In the last 25 years there have been 84 recipients of the Companion of Honour. We do not collect the information requested, nor do we collect information on recipients of Order of Merit, as this is within the personal gift of The Sovereign.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 20 January (HL106), how many people received a CBE or higher honour in the New Year Honours List 2020 in each of (1) the regions in England, and (2) the nations of the UK.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Significant progress has been made in recent years to improve diversity in the honours system. For example, we now consistently see around half of awards overall going to women, and in the New Year 2020 Honours List, 44% of senior honours went to women. Around 10% of awards go to recipients from a BAME background. We welcome more nominations from under-represented regions and we are running a programme of regional events to promote the system in those areas most under-represented.
Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of recipients at CBE level or higher on the New Year Honours List 2020 can be found below. Data is collected using county and aggregated into regional figures.
REGION | NUMBER OF NY20 RECIPIENTS AT CBE AND ABOVE | PERCENTAGE OF NY20 RECIPIENTS AT CBE AND ABOVE | PERCENTAGE OF UK POPULATION |
EAST | 8 | 5.2% | 9.3% |
EAST MIDLANDS | 3 | 1.9% | 7.2% |
LONDON | 74 | 47.4% | 12.9% |
NORTH EAST | 2 | 1.3% | 4.1% |
NORTHERN IRELAND | 4 | 2.6% | 2.9% |
NORTH WEST | 9 | 5.8% | 11.2% |
SCOTLAND | 7 | 4.5% | 8.4% |
SOUTH EAST | 32 | 20.5% | 13.7% |
SOUTH WEST | 3 | 1.9% | 8.4% |
WALES | 1 | 0.6% | 4.8% |
WEST MIDLANDS | 7 | 4.5% | 8.9% |
YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE | 5 | 3.2% | 8.4% |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of each category of honours were awarded in the New Year Honours List to people in (1) Wales, (2) Scotland, (3) Northern Ireland, and (4) each of the regions of England, as a (a) number, and (b) percentage, of that country or region's population.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of recipients on the New Year Honours List 2020 can be found below. Data is collected using county and aggregated into regional figures. Information on the number of nominations by mayoral region is not captured, as we are not able to break down the data in that way.
REGION | NUMBER OF NY20 RECIPIENTS | PERCENTAGE OF NY20 LIST | PERCENTAGE OF UK POPULATION |
EAST | 84 | 7.7% | 9.3% |
EAST MIDLANDS | 36 | 3.3% | 7.2% |
LONDON | 275 | 25.0% | 12.9% |
NORTH EAST | 24 | 2.2% | 4.1% |
NORTHERN IRELAND | 94 | 8.6% | 2.9% |
NORTH WEST | 103 | 9.4% | 11.2% |
SCOTLAND | 89 | 8.1% | 8.4% |
SOUTH EAST | 141 | 12.9% | 13.7% |
SOUTH WEST | 79 | 7.2% | 8.4% |
WALES | 42 | 3.8% | 4.8% |
WEST MIDLANDS | 59 | 5.4% | 8.9% |
YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE | 67 | 6.1% | 8.4% |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many honours were awarded in the New Year Honours List to people in (1) London, and (2) each English city region that has a mayor, per head of population of that city or region.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of recipients on the New Year Honours List 2020 can be found below. Data is collected using county and aggregated into regional figures. Information on the number of nominations by mayoral region is not captured, as we are not able to break down the data in that way.
REGION | NUMBER OF NY20 RECIPIENTS | PERCENTAGE OF NY20 LIST | PERCENTAGE OF UK POPULATION |
EAST | 84 | 7.7% | 9.3% |
EAST MIDLANDS | 36 | 3.3% | 7.2% |
LONDON | 275 | 25.0% | 12.9% |
NORTH EAST | 24 | 2.2% | 4.1% |
NORTHERN IRELAND | 94 | 8.6% | 2.9% |
NORTH WEST | 103 | 9.4% | 11.2% |
SCOTLAND | 89 | 8.1% | 8.4% |
SOUTH EAST | 141 | 12.9% | 13.7% |
SOUTH WEST | 79 | 7.2% | 8.4% |
WALES | 42 | 3.8% | 4.8% |
WEST MIDLANDS | 59 | 5.4% | 8.9% |
YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE | 67 | 6.1% | 8.4% |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many honours were awarded in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List to people in (1) London, and (2) each English city region that has a mayor, per head of population of that city or region.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Statistical information held in relation to The Queen’s Birthday List 2019 can be found below. Information on the number of nominations by mayoral region is not captured, as we are not able to break down the data in that way.
Region | K Level | C Level | OBE | MBE | BEM | Total | % of overall List | % of the UK’s population |
Wales | 3 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 12 | 51 | 4.75% | 4.8% |
Scotland | 2 | 14 | 29 | 41 | 30 | 116 | 10.81% | 8.2% |
Northern Ireland | 1 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 40 | 64 | 5.96% | 2.9% |
East | 3 | 9 | 16 | 34 | 22 | 84 | 7.83% | 9.3% |
East Midlands | 0 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 44 | 4.10% | 7.2% |
London | 15 | 41 | 56 | 58 | 29 | 199 | 18.55% | 12.9% |
North East | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 29 | 2.70% | 4.1% |
North West | 1 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 32 | 81 | 7.55% | 11.2% |
South East | 3 | 21 | 35 | 48 | 44 | 151 | 14.07% | 13.7& |
South West | 1 | 8 | 26 | 42 | 27 | 104 | 9.69% | 8.4% |
West Midlands | 0 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 28 | 66 | 6.15% | 8.9% |
Yorkshire and Humberside | 1 | 6 | 5 | 30 | 19 | 61 | 5.68% | 8.4% |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of each category of honours were awarded in the Queen's Birthday Honours List to people in (1) Wales, (2) Scotland, (3) Northern Ireland, and (4) each of the regions of England, as a (a) number, and (b) percentage, of that country or region's population.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Statistical information held in relation to The Queen’s Birthday List 2019 can be found below. Information on the number of nominations by mayoral region is not captured, as we are not able to break down the data in that way.
Region | K Level | C Level | OBE | MBE | BEM | Total | % of overall List | % of the UK’s population |
Wales | 3 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 12 | 51 | 4.75% | 4.8% |
Scotland | 2 | 14 | 29 | 41 | 30 | 116 | 10.81% | 8.2% |
Northern Ireland | 1 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 40 | 64 | 5.96% | 2.9% |
East | 3 | 9 | 16 | 34 | 22 | 84 | 7.83% | 9.3% |
East Midlands | 0 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 44 | 4.10% | 7.2% |
London | 15 | 41 | 56 | 58 | 29 | 199 | 18.55% | 12.9% |
North East | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 29 | 2.70% | 4.1% |
North West | 1 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 32 | 81 | 7.55% | 11.2% |
South East | 3 | 21 | 35 | 48 | 44 | 151 | 14.07% | 13.7& |
South West | 1 | 8 | 26 | 42 | 27 | 104 | 9.69% | 8.4% |
West Midlands | 0 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 28 | 66 | 6.15% | 8.9% |
Yorkshire and Humberside | 1 | 6 | 5 | 30 | 19 | 61 | 5.68% | 8.4% |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the next census, due in 2021, will include questions asking about respondents’ (1) main language, and (2) proficiency in English, as was the case in 2011; whether, when using census data to inform public policy, they consider a person’s main language to be the (a) first language learnt, or (b) language used most frequently; and what discussions they have had with the Office for National Statistics about how the terms in questions relating to language might be clarified for the 2021 census, including through associated guidance notes.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger, National Statistician, to The Lord Blunkett, dated 10 December 2018.
Dear Lord Blunkett,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question asking whether the next census, due in 2021, will include questions asking about respondents (1) main language, and (2) proficiency in English, as was the case in 2011; whether, when using census data to inform public policy, a person’s main language will be considered to be the (a) first language learnt, or (b) language used most frequently; and how the Office for National Statistics might clarify terms in questions relating to language for the 2021 census, including through associated guidance notes (HL12057).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published an update in December last year[1] laying out the latest position on the recommendations for which topics will be included in the 2021 Census. This included our intention to recommend main language and proficiency in English, as was the case in 2011.
In 2011, the guidance notes for the main language question in 2011 read: ‘Your main language is your first or preferred language. It could be the language you were brought up using, the one you feel most comfortable using, the language you use at home, or the one you use most often’.
ONS is finalising its plans for guidance notes (including a definition of the main language) for the 2021 Census and intends to complete this work in 2019. For the 2021 Census, ONS will offer a wide variety of services to provide all respondents with help and assistance to complete their questionnaires.
The 2011 Census was the first to gather information on main languages used and English language proficiency. This followed a programme of research, consultation, testing and analysis[2] to establish the most suitable questions. Data from these questions have been used to identify people for whom English is not their main language and to identify areas where a particular language is in use. This information helps councils and other organisations plan support strategies and monitor the impact of policies. Data have also been used for targeting the delivery of services, such as language support, translation, and study programmes at a local level to promote integration and cohesion within communities, to help eliminate discrimination, and to ensure that people are treated fairly.
The topic consultation[3] held in 2016 ahead of the 2021 Census established there was still a user need for the data produced by these questions. You may be interested to read our topic report on language[4] for more information.
Recommendations on the content and conduct of the 2021 Census are being put forward in a White Paper, which is planned for publication later this year. The final topics and questions to be included in the 2021 Census will be put before Parliament for approval, in the form of a Census Order in 2019 and Regulations in 2020.
Yours sincerely,
John Pullinger
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the anticipated date of publication of their review into democratic engagement.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government’s Democratic Engagement Strategy will be published in December.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent plans the Government has to undertake research into the reasons for the use of foodbanks.
Answered by Rob Wilson
The factors that impact on household food security are complex.
In February Defra published ‘Household Food Security in the UK: a Review of Food Aid’. The report is available at: