Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the performance and governance of the UK Statistics Authority.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) was established under the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The Authority is an independent statutory body governed by the UKSA Board. It operates at arm’s length from the Government as a non-ministerial department and reports directly to the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In June 2023 an independent review of UKSA by Professor Denise Lievesley CBE was announced by the Government. As part of the Public Bodies Review Programme the review has focused on governance, efficacy, accountability and efficiency. The review is currently in its final stages and the Government plans to publish it later this year.
Further information on the UKSA’s performance and governance arrangements are set out in their annual report and accounts, found here: https://uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/annual-report-and-accounts-2022-2023/
Additionally, a review of the UKSA, conducted by Professor Sir Charles Bean, was provided to the Government in 2016 which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-uk-economic-statistics-final-report. While that review primarily focused on UK Economic Statistics, it also covered governance.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the numbers of full-time civil servants, and (2) the percentages of the overall numbers of civil servants, who work from home on (a) Mondays, (b) Tuesdays, (c) Wednesdays, (d) Thursdays, and (e) Fridays.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
According to Civil Service statistics as at 31 March 2022, of 510,080 civil servants, 408,110 work full time. However the data on civil servants’ working patterns, including those working at home is not routinely captured or reported on by the Cabinet Office.
Decisions on flexible working requests are made locally by departments, based on their business needs and delivery requirements. As departments are individual employers they set out their employees’ terms and conditions, including any flexible working policies.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of any difference in life expectancy of prisoners to the population a whole; and if so, what is that difference.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question of 6 March is attached.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Patten
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
8 March 2023
Dear Lord Patten,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking whether any assessment has been made of any difference in life expectancy of prisoners to the population as a whole; and if so, what is that difference (HL6095).
The ONS produces the National Statistics on life expectancy for the population as a whole, local areas of the United Kingdom and for socioeconomic classes. The ONS have not estimated the life expectancy of prisoners in its regular portfolio of life expectancy releases and would require new complex analyses to produce such statistics.
Currently, the Ministry of Justice provides official estimates of deaths in prison custody in England and Wales [1] as part of their Safety in custody statistics [2] , with reference to broad cause of death categories assigned prior to coroner’s inquest.
The ONS produce Experimental Statistics [3] on deaths in prisoners, by linking the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data together to give additional insight into suicide and drug-related deaths in prison custody [4].
[1] Deaths in prison custody, Ministry of Justice.
[2] Safety in custody statistics, Ministry of Justice
[3] Experimental Statistics, ONS
[4] Drug-related deaths and suicide in prison custody in England and Wales: 2008 to 2019
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to postpone nominating any individual connected to the investigations into the conduct of 800 officers in the Metropolitan Police for (1) an honour, or (2) a life peerage.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
All honours are awarded on the basis of merit and checks are carried out at every stage of the process for an (1) honour and for a (2) life peerage. There are clear procedures in place to ensure the integrity of the independent assessment process.
There are specific professional standards measures in place concerning police nominees.
Robust probity checks for peerage nominations are conducted and assessed by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
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 - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
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 - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
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 - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
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 - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
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 - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
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 - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
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.