Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by John Whittingdale
As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021.
As at the end of January 2021, DCMS employed 1,726 FTE civil servants, 14 of whom are currently apprentices (0.81% of staff). This target is a percentage of the total workforce so the percentage attained will change in line with workforce fluctuations over time, making it challenging to predict when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found here. The data for 2019/20 can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019.
DCMS is committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed progress against the target due to priority work and logistics. DCMS had four apprentice starts in the first three quarters of 2020-21 and has a further 11 starts planned for Q4. This would take us to 1.68% by the end of the financial year.
With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, building on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much money his Department has spent on the UK’s participation in the European Solidarity Corps.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
To date DCMS has not funded the European Solidarity Corps. The Corps will be funded through the central EU budget once the first round of successful applications are announced at the end of the year.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, and pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2018 to Question 134113, on Travellers: Equality, what meetings (a) he and (b) his predecessor have had since 2016 with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on using the 2011 census classifications that differentiate Gypsies and Travellers.
Answered by Margot James
The Race Disparity Audit website displays data where possible using the Census 2011 ethnic categories, which includes Gypsy or Irish Traveller.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Race Disparity Unit work closely together to further progress the harmonisation of ethnicity data across the Government Statistical Service (GSS) and to improve the coverage of ethnic groups including Gypsy, Roma and Travellers.
The Race Disparity Audit Inter Ministerial Group chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster discusses matters pertaining to the progress of the Race Disparity Audit, including on the collection of ethnicity data.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what progress his Department has made in using the 2011 census classifications that differentiate Gypsies and Travellers.
Answered by Margot James
The Race Disparity Audit website displays data where possible using the Census 2011 ethnic categories, which includes Gypsy or Irish Traveller.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Race Disparity Unit work closely together to further progress the harmonisation of ethnicity data across the Government Statistical Service (GSS) and to improve the coverage of ethnic groups including Gypsy, Roma and Travellers.
The Race Disparity Audit Inter Ministerial Group chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster discusses matters pertaining to the progress of the Race Disparity Audit, including on the collection of ethnicity data.