Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation affects the right of recognised unions in his Department to bargaining information as set out in Section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
Answered by Jake Berry
Government Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has not affected the rights of unions in the Department to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department complies with the requirement set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code that time off with pay for safety representatives will not be set against facility time allowed under existing arrangements.
Answered by Jake Berry
The department has an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This also includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code
In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials is published annually, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official. Time off is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.
The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the additional staff required by his Department in the event that the UK leaves the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Department is continuing to prepare for a smooth exit from the EU, whatever the circumstances of that exit, ensuring that we effectively manage the policies, activities and priorities for which we are responsible. Forty staff are currently working on the central management and co-ordination of the Department's EU Exit activity and we anticipate that additional people will join these central teams in the near term. Additionally, individual teams across the Department are focused on those issues that will require action or support in relation to our exit from the EU.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Department’s workforce statistics are published on a quarterly basis by the Office for National Statistics as part of its Quarterly Public Sector Employment estimates. Data for the two quarters in question, June 2016 and September 2018 (latest available quarterly release) can be viewed and obtained via the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable (table 9) in the attached xlsx files for the dates in question.
At the end of June 2016 the Department employed a reported 1,420 full-time equivalent staff in comparison with 1,890 full-time equivalent staff at the end of September 2018. Please note that these figures are rounded to the nearest ten at the point of release and do not include the Department’s Executive Agencies or non-departmental public bodies (NDPB). The difference between the two reported numbers represents a 33 per cent increase in staffing levels during the period in question. It is important to note that in March 2010 there were 2109 full-time equivalent staff working in the Department.
Please note that the numbers reported to ONS are based on directly employed officials where the Department bears at least 50 per cent of salary costs through its payroll. Staff employed directly by the Department who are on an unpaid leave of absence, or paid on a reimbursed basis, are not included in management information published on GOV.UK and supplied to ONS.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many employment grievances which have been submitted to his Department since 1 January 2016 were (a) wholly upheld, (b) partially upheld or (c) remain outstanding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Department can confirm that there have been a total of 15 informal and formal employment grievances raised by staff and registered centrally in the time since 1 January 2016. Complete outcome data for these cases is not held centrally and therefore we are unable to confirm the number of cases that were (a) wholly upheld, (b) partially upheld or (c) remain outstanding.
In November 2017 the Department introduced improved internal processes for monitoring and managing employee grievances and central data retention was improved to aid decision and investigation officers involved in grievances and disputes.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many formal employment grievances have been lodged by employees of his Department since January 2016; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jake Berry
There have been eight formal employment grievances raised by staff and registered centrally in this Department in the time since 1 January 2016. This includes cases that have subsequently been withdrawn, not upheld, upheld, and still presently under investigation.
In November 2017 the Department introduced improved internal processes for monitoring and managing employee grievances and central data retention was improved to aid decision and investigation officers involved in grievances and disputes.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of staff employed by his Department in receipt of universal credit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jake Berry
The department has no central record from which to determine the number and proportion of its staff currently in receipt of universal credit. There are a number of different factors which determine whether or not an individual is eligible to receive universal credit and, as most of this information is not held centrally, we are unable to estimate the number and proportion of staff eligible to receive or likely to have applied for universal credit.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what meetings his Department has had with representatives of (a) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (b) the Confederation of British Industry, (c) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (d) the Adam Smith Institute, (e) the Freedom Association, (f) the Politics and Economic Research Trust and (g) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 calendar months.
Answered by Marcus Jones
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries meetings with external organisations are published up to 31 March 2015 and can be accessed on Gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications
Further publications of Ministerial and Permanent Secretaries meetings will be published in due course.