Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Cookham on 23 April (HL15116), what well-evidenced assessment they made when deciding to outsource public service provision to Interserve; and what assessment has been made of the quality and reliability of its provision.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Contracts are never awarded lightly; each has an agreed and robust process. Government has always been compliant with public procurement regulations and follows these diligently when assessing the suitability of suppliers to deliver a particular contract
The various contracting authorities, such as individual Government Departments, manage their contracts with Interserve and monitor performance against each contract. I am unable to comment on specifics as this information remains commercially sensitive
The Cabinet Office also monitors the overall financial health and performance of all of our strategic suppliers, including Interserve, and has regular discussions with the company’s management.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative merits of public services being run directly by public service operations in comparison to private contractors.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Outsourcing is an important component in a “mixed economy” of government service provision which includes in-house and the voluntary sector. Research commissioned by the previous government has shown that outsourcing can deliver savings of some twenty to thirty percent.
Decisions on whether to outsource any particular service are made on a case by case basis according to Treasury guidance and the newly published Outsourcing Playbook. This guidance aims to ensure government makes well evidenced assessments when deciding whether to outsource a public service and helps government and industry work better together to deliver high quality public services.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action plans are in place to address the inequality deficiencies identified in the Race Disparity Audit; and what arrangements are in place to review and monitor developments and progress.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government has made a commitment to explain or change key ethnic disparities highlighted by the Race Disparity Audit in the Ethnicity facts and figures website.
The Government has launched an initial programme of work to tackle some of the disparities highlighted, including targeted action in employment areas, a review of school exclusions and a commitment to take forward a number of recommendations in the recent Lammy Review of the criminal justice system.
Detailed analytical work and engagement with external partners is underway across Departments to bring forward further data driven policies to tackle disparities highlighted by the Audit and will be announced in due course.
The Race Disparity Unit in the Cabinet Office is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the progress of the Government’s response to the Audit overseen by the Cabinet Office and the Race Disparity Inter-Ministerial Group.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
Her Majesty's Government whether the proposed public inquiry into the Grenfell House fire will consider the effects and impact of the deregulation of the building industry during the last decade.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
I refer the noble Lord to the Prime Minister's written Ministerial statement of 29 June 2017.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent increased incidence of hate crime, what assessment they have made of the letter to political parties from the Chair and Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission calling for policy debate to be conducted in a way which brings the country together and stating that elected representatives should engage people on contentious issues in a responsible and considered way.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
I am aware of the letter from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which addresses important issues. As the Prime Minister has made clear, hate crime of any kind, directed against any community, race or religion has absolutely no place in British society.
As the Equality and Human Rights Commission recognises, it is for political parties to monitor the content of their campaigns and challenge that of others, as part of free political debate.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for participation in the democratic processes as a consequence of reports that 8000,000 names have dropped off the electoral roll following the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has now published the statistics for the December 2015 electoral registers. The full report can be found here:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/elections/electoralregistration/bulletins/electoralstatisticsforuk/2015
The number of entries on a register is not a measure of success - entries need to be up-to-date and accurate. That is why completing the transition to Individual Electoral Registration was so important; it meant we could remove out of date or inaccurate entries from the register and retain those that had already been confirmed as genuine. Any eligible elector missing from the register can apply to register to vote at any time and with online registration it is now easier and more convenient than ever before.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of what has happened to the children previously cared for by Kids Company.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The wellbeing of the young people previously supported by Kids Company continues to be our top priority. Since the closure, Local Authorities have been reviewing the cases handed to them by Kids Company to determine the support services the young people require. Funding is being made available to local authorities to support the transition of Kids Company young people to other services.