Feryal Clark

I have regular discussions with the Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health on improving maternal outcomes for all ethnic minority women. I have also discussed this issue with Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, England’s Chief Midwifery Officer, and Dr. Gloria Rowland, who is leading NHS work to improve outcomes, progression and the well-being of ethnic minority maternity staff.

The Government will not be rejecting the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ report. The Prime Minister has established a new Inter-Ministerial Group to review the recommendations, and it is now right that the Government considers the report in detail and assesses the implications for future government policy.

The Government has responded to previous reviews and a significant number of the recommendations have been implemented; others are underway.

The independent Commission's report built on previous reviews in the scope of its work. It makes an important contribution to both the national conversation about race, and our efforts to level up and unite the whole country.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady Parliamentary Question of 20th April is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady Parliamentary Question of 20th April is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 25 April is attached.

The Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code both set out the requirement for Ministers and Civil Servants (including Special Advisers) to act with integrity. Under these codes, it is not appropriate for a conflict of interest to exist and any such conflicts must be resolved. Further requirements are set out in those Codes and in the Civil Service Management Code regarding the declaration, assessment and management of outside interest - these details include how any actual, perceived or potential conflicts should be handled. For Ministers, the Independent Adviser, Lord Geidt, provides independent advice about outside interests. For Civil Servants, the independent Civil Service Commission is able to consider where the requirements of the Civil Service Code have not been met.

The Prime Minister asked Nigel Boardman to conduct an independent review into the development and use of supply chain finance in government earlier this year. Mr Boardman provided recommendations which were published on 16 September, some of which were in relation to improved management of outside interests in the Civil Service.

The government also notes the work of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs and Treasury Committees, as well as the Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life. We will consider their work alongside Mr Boardman’s recommendations and set out a substantive government policy statement to Parliament in due course.

Throughout the pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the private sector, procuring expertise and large volumes of goods and services with extreme urgency – including 22,000 ventilators for use by the NHS and 32 billion items of PPE to protect our frontline workers.

Where products have not met required standards then Departments will pursue recourse under the terms of the respective contracts as appropriate.

In particular, the Department of Health and Social Care is pursuing contractual recourse against a small number of companies where they supplied goods or services that did not meet contracted requirements. Cabinet Office is supporting these efforts where appropriate.

The Declaration on Government Reform, announced in June, committed the Civil Service to draw on the broadest pool of talent possible. This means that the Civil Service should seek to hire people from varied social and career backgrounds and people from across every part of the UK; including citizens from minority ethnic backgrounds, those living with disabilities and those who have experienced disadvantage in their early lives. The Civil Service is committed to making sure all of these people can flourish in public service. The Civil Service is also looking beyond London - to all corners of the UK - to make sure that it is representative of the communities the Government serves.

A wide range of schemes, programmes and initiatives are aimed at fulfilling that commitment:

• The Places for Growth programme will bring the government closer to the people it serves, relocating 22,000 roles out of London by 2030 including 50% of Senior Civil Service roles. Over 1,000 roles are to be moved to Scotland, Birmingham and Darlington each, and by 2025, 550 roles will be moved to Stoke-on-Trent.

• Apprenticeships are a key mechanism for improving the diversity of the Civil Service, as set out in the Declaration on Government Reform. 40% of our apprenticeship intake is from a lower socio-economic background, which provides a more socially diverse talent pipeline into the Civil Service, and provides more opportunities for apprenticeships outside of London.

• We are extending our outreach and internship programmes. We are improving socio-economic diversity through the Early Diversity Internship programme, for those in their first year at university, providing work experience for people from underrepresented groups including those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

• The Fast Stream continues to seek out candidates from lower socio-economic backgrounds and although the number of candidates appointed from lower socio-economic groups tripled between 2016 and 2021 to 12.8%, the Government recognises the need to do more. We have, therefore, developed a new ‘target university list’ to further boost applications from people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. And, the Summer Diversity Internship Programme for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, ethnic minorities and those with a disability, offers a fast pass to the final stage of the Fast Stream for successful participants giving them a greater chance of success.

• The Going Forward into Employment scheme is run by the Civil Service Commission, which is hosted by the Cabinet Office. There are 28 accredited life chance schemes in operation across the Civil Service. These help groups of people such as veterans, military partners/spouses and prison leavers find work placements and fixed-term opportunities across Civil Service departments. The programme helps those people overcome barriers associated with entering the Civil Service and supports them into roles. Not only does the scheme help improve their life chances, but it helps make the Civil Service more representative of the country it serves.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The Cabinet Office has worked, and continues to work, closely with a wide range of charities and civil society organisations to make sure the proposals in the Elections Bill are implemented in a way that is inclusive for all eligible voters.

Details of meetings with external organisations are included in regular transparency reports and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

The Cabinet Office has worked and continues to work closely with a wide range of charities and civil society organisations to make sure that the proposals in the Elections Bill are implemented in a way that is inclusive for all eligible voters.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

All businesses – irrespective of their size, business sector or location – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.

National Minimum Wage enforcement data is not available at constituency level but regional data for London can be seen in the table below.

We anticipate approximately seven statutory instruments will be necessary to implement the leave and pay entitlements. These will be laid in due course, subject to parliamentary time.

The Government is committed to introducing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay as soon as possible. Discussions have taken place across Government on work necessary to deliver this entitlement and the implementation timeline. The Government does not hold any formal minutes of meetings to discuss the implementation of the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, and does not intend to publish notes of internal discussions.

The Department periodically monitors the impact of its work supporting the services sector to increase exports via our Made in the UK: Sold to the World Analytical Framework.

In 2021, Enfield ITL3 area exported £295 million services. The services sector generated £6.1 billion Gross Value Added (GVA), contributing towards 78% of total GVA in Enfield.

The same year, London exported £152 billion services. The services sector generated £452 billion GVA, contributing towards 93% of total GVA in London.

The Department does not hold trade and GVA data at a constituency level.

Within the Critical Minerals Strategy, we are seeking to maximise what the UK can produce domestically, where viable for businesses and where it works for communities and our natural environment. As part of this effort, we commissioned an assessment of the UK’s geological potential for critical mineral extraction. In April this year, the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre published its report on “Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK”, which highlighted the UK’s potential to produce a variety of critical minerals, including lithium – a key ingredient of electric vehicles. It is a preliminary assessment, and the Government is working with the British Geological Survey to understand next steps.

Information on company insolvencies is sourced from Companies House, which does not hold information on the size of companies or all types of businesses. Therefore, we cannot provide specific numbers of small business failures. Furthermore, the registered office address for a company may not be its trading location, and is often the address of the appointed Insolvency Practitioner handling the case. Subject to these caveats, estimated company insolvencies in Enfield North and Enfield in the periods up to 31 May 2023 were:

[1] 685 of the 756 company insolvencies registered in Enfield Borough have the same postcode, which is the location of an insolvency practitioner firm. Many of these companies may not have traded in Enfield Borough prior to insolvency.

Numbers of trader (self-employed) bankruptcies to 31 March 2023 (the latest date for which data is held) were:

The latest available data shows that at the end of March 2023 in the London Borough of Enfield there were:

- 560 business births in the last three months;

- 985 business births in the last six months;

- 2,035 business births in the last 12 months; and

- 4,720 business births in the last 24 months.

(ONS, Business demography, Quarterly experimental statistics, Low-level geographic breakdown, UK, Q1 2023)

The Postal Services Act 2011 delegates responsibility for the regulation of Royal Mail, as the UK’s universal service provider, including reporting requirements, to Ofcom.

The Government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions.

We are committed to introducing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay as quickly as possible. Work is ongoing across Government to deliver these new entitlements.

Delivery requires a significant amount of secondary legislation which will be brought forward in due course.

On 1 April 2023, the Apprentice National Minimum Wage (ANMW) rate increased by 9.7% to £5.28. This is an above inflation increase and worth over £850 a year before tax for a full-time apprentice.

The ANMW is designed and set at a rate that acknowledges the particular costs for employers and benefits for young people involved in the provision of apprenticeships and which does not adversely affect apprenticeship opportunities in the labour market.

The Government has published a full impact assessment on gov.uk that assesses the regional impacts of the National Minimum Wage increase.

The Government has recently consulted on how holiday entitlement is calculated for part-year and irregular hours workers. As part of our response to this consultation, we will consider what additional Government guidance may be required to help employers in calculating holiday entitlement for their workers including those who work more than their contracted hours.

The government has not yet published data on the number of households that applied or received funding through the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding per local authority or parliamentary constituency. This data will be provided in our next publication this autumn. The latest publication on the number of applications for the scheme can be found on GOV.UK - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support-scheme-alternative-fund-gb-ni-and-alternative-fuel-payment-alternative-fund-applications-made-by-customers.

We estimate that were approximately 97,700 households in London and 2,900 households located in the Enfield council area who were eligible for the scheme.