Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the granularity of data produced by the ONS for the purposes of policy decisions relating to support for businesses.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to working closely with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to ensure continued improvements to data and statistics.
In 2016, Sir Charles Bean published an independent review of economic statistics. This made several recommendations, including to make data more granular and timely through greater use of large scale datasets. The government fully supported those recommendations and has since provided the ONS with £25m to implement them, which led to improvements such as use of VAT data in National Accounts estimates, and the publication of monthly GDP.
Subsequently, at Spending Review 2021, the government funded ONS to undertake a further ambitious programme of improvements to its suite of economic statistics. This includes introducing scanner data into price statistics and further upgrades to the granularity of business statistics through greater use of administrative data.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a family reunification visa scheme for people in Gaza.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza closely to ensure that it is able to respond appropriately.
British citizens and those with settled status in the UK, together with their foreign national dependants may come to the UK provided that they have valid travel documents, and existing permission to enter or remain in the UK; or are non-visa nationals. They must also pass appropriate security checks.
The government allows individuals with protection status in the UK to sponsor their partner or children to stay with or join them here through their refugee family reunion policy, provided they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin to seek protection. Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules also provides a route to enter the UK as the parent of a child who is in the UK.
Individuals who do not meet these criteria should apply for a visa to enable them to enter the UK in the normal way.
The Home Office has not considered establishing a separate resettlement route for Palestinians to come to the UK. Since 2015, over half a million people have been offered safe and legal routes into the UK. Our approach is considered in the round, rather than on a crisis-by-crisis basis.
UKVI is working closely with the FCDO in supporting family members of British nationals evacuated from Gaza who require a visa, signposting the necessary steps and expediting appointments at the Visa Application Centre.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's policy is on the applicability of the minimum income of £38,700 for family visas for people (a) with and (b) already applying for such a visa from Spring 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government will set out any transitional provisions associated with the increase in the minimum income requirement in due course. Any applications already submitted will be considered in line with the existing policy.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's policy is on the applicability of the £38,700 skilled worker earnings threshold for people who are (a) in possession of and (b) already applying for a UK visa from Spring 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government will set out transitional arrangements, in due course, for people issued Skilled Worker visas before the salary changes announced on 4 December 2023 come into force.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, for what reason he did not jointly sign the letter from the First Minister of Wales on the release of location data for Category C and D disused coal tips, dated 7 November 2023.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
As coal tips are a devolved matter and out of respect for the devolution agreement, I felt that the letter would be best coming from the First Minister.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of probation officers have been in post for over (a) two and (b) five years in each region.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including number of staff in post by length of service and grade. The latest publication covers data for up to the period 30 September 2023.
Table 1: Band 4 Probation Officers in post by region and length of service1, as at 30 September 2023 (Full-time equivalent)
| Completed years of service | Percentage of total | |||
Region | 2+ years | 5+ years | Total | 2+ years | 5+ years |
Approved Premises – Midlands | 3 | 3 | 3 | 100% | 100% |
Approved Premises - North East | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 100% |
Approved Premises - North West | 4 | 4 | 4 | 100% | 100% |
Approved Premises - South East and Eastern | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 100% |
Approved Premises - South West & Central | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 100% |
East Midlands Probation Service | 283 | 218 | 323 | 88% | 67% |
East of England Probation Service | 417 | 260 | 441 | 95% | 59% |
Greater Manchester Probation Service | 234 | 181 | 280 | 84% | 65% |
Kent, Surrey and Sussex Probation Service | 244 | 163 | 265 | 92% | 62% |
London Probation Service | 513 | 320 | 562 | 91% | 57% |
North East Probation Service | 288 | 184 | 314 | 92% | 59% |
North West Probation Service | 399 | 333 | 451 | 89% | 74% |
South Central Probation Service | 225 | 143 | 248 | 91% | 58% |
South West Probation Service | 337 | 228 | 348 | 97% | 66% |
Wales Probation Service | 343 | 268 | 376 | 91% | 71% |
West Midlands Probation Service | 480 | 343 | 507 | 95% | 68% |
Yorkshire & the Humber Probation Service | 484 | 329 | 525 | 92% | 63% |
Probation Officers not in Probation Service | 24 | 20 | 24 | 98% | 81% |
Total | 4,281 | 3,000 | 4,675 | 92% | 64% |
1: The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.
Note:
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2023 to Question 340 on Probation Service: Staff, how many and what proportion of probation officers have workloads that are above 100% on the Workload Management Tool in each region.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Probation Service currently uses the Workload Measurement Tool (WMT) as an indicator and as one of several sources of information to support management of workloads. There are, however, significant limitations with using the WMT to monitor workload due to its daily fluctuation, capacity for human error and the challenges in accounting for periods of leave and case support. The WMT is therefore only one element of probation capacity and should be considered alongside the situational context and other reporting routes.
This table shows by region the proportion of POs who are over 100% (as of the 22 November 2023) on the WMT. To note, the WMT is not considered a reliable estimate of total staff.
Region | Total Probation Officers | Number of Probation Officers over 100% |
National | 3,338 | 2,591 |
East Midlands | 217 | 165 |
East of England | 279 | 236 |
Greater Manchester | 211 | 180 |
Kent Surrey Sussex | 176 | 133 |
London | 454 | 375 |
North East Region | 223 | 163 |
North West Region | 335 | 253 |
South Central | 176 | 141 |
South West | 234 | 192 |
Wales | 272 | 177 |
West Midlands Region | 367 | 267 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 394 | 309 |
Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service and we have injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year to deliver more robust supervision, recruit thousands more staff and reduce caseloads to keep the public safer. The Probation Service is in its second year of a multi-year pay deal for its staff. Salary values of all pay bands will increase each year, targeted at key operational grades to improve a challenging recruitment and retention position. Positively, the Probation Service leaving rate was 9.9% in the 12 months to 30 September 2023, a decrease from the previous 12 months.
The Probation Service saw an increase of 2,170 FTE or 11.8% (Probation Service grades) since September 2022. There has been an increase across all Probation Service grades such Senior Probation Officer (13.0%), Probation Officers (6.9%), Other Band 4-6 (16.0%) and in particular Other Bands 1 to 3 staff saw an increase of 1,260 FTE staff (26.4%), following centrally run recruitment for key grades supporting frontline staff. We have accelerated recruitment of trainee Probation Officers (PQiPs) to increase staffing levels, particularly in Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) with the most significant staffing challenges.There were 2,185 staff, equivalent to 2,164 FTE, as at 30 September 2023 undertaking the PQiP training, which we anticipate will start to directly impact on the reduction of caseloads as they qualify.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2023 to Question 339 on Probation Service, what the staffing underspend was in the Probation Service in each of the last 24 months.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In the period between November 2021 and October 2023, the total monthly expenditure for Probation Service staffing has increased from £60.3m to £72.4m. The increase in expenditure reflects the continued investment in staffing during the past 24 months and impact of the multiyear pay deal. In July 2023, expenditure exceeded budget due to the cost-of-living payment.
The table below sets out the financial variances for staff related costs in the Probation Service between November 2021 and October 2023.
Month | Budget (£m) | Actual Expenditure (£m) | Variance (£m) |
Nov-21 | 62.3 | 60.3 | 2.0 |
Dec-21 | 62.3 | 61.3 | 0.9 |
Jan-22 | 63.6 | 59.4 | 4.2 |
Feb-22 | 63.6 | 58.4 | 5.2 |
Mar-22 | 63.1 | 72.9 | -9.7 |
Apr-22 | 63.5 | 64.0 | -0.5 |
May-22 | 63.5 | 64.1 | -0.6 |
Jun-22 | 63.5 | 65.0 | -1.5 |
Jul-22 | 64.4 | 66.8 | -2.4 |
Aug-22 | 66.3 | 64.2 | 2.0 |
Sep-22 | 66.5 | 61.3 | 5.2 |
Oct-22 | 71.2 | 60.3 | 10.9 |
Nov-22 | 71.2 | 68.6 | 2.6 |
Dec-22 | 71.2 | 67.8 | 3.4 |
Jan-23 | 71.3 | 69.0 | 2.4 |
Feb-23 | 71.0 | 67.0 | 4.0 |
Mar-23 | 71.0 | 71.4 | -0.4 |
Apr-23 | 71.7 | 73.1 | -1.5 |
May-23 | 71.7 | 70.3 | 1.3 |
Jun-23 | 71.7 | 70.7 | 1.0 |
Jul-23 | 69.1 | 105.0 | -35.9 |
Aug-23 | 71.1 | 71.8 | -0.8 |
Sep-23 | 71.1 | 71.8 | -0.7 |
Oct-23 | 74.8 | 72.4 | 2.4 |
Total | 1,630.7 | 1,637.2 | -6.6 |
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of probation officers who left service in the past year had been in post for less than (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven and (h) eight years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including number of leavers by length of service and grade. The latest publication covers data for up to the period 30 September 2023. Data for the number and proportion of Probation Officers who left the department in the 12 months to 30 September 2023, by length of service, can be seen in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Probation Officer leavers by length of service, for those who left the department in the 12 months to 30 September 2023 (headcount)
| Completed years of service and percentage of total | ||||||||
| Less than 1 year | Less than 2 years | Less than 3 years | Less than 4 years | Less than 5 years | Less than 6 years | Less than 7 years | Less than 8 years | Total |
Headcount | 3 | 15 | 69 | 103 | 147 | 167 | 182 | 188 | 372 |
Percentage of total | 1% | 4% | 19% | 28% | 40% | 45% | 49% | 51% | 100% |
Notes:
1. Length of service in HMPPS is calculated from the most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.
2. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However, the database itself is dynamic and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data is unlikely to be precisely accurate.
3. The length of service bands have been grouped so that the data presented is cumulative in nature (so those with less than 1 year of service will be counted in all columns).
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps Cabinet members appointed on 13 November 2023 have taken as part of the interests declaration and management process as of 21 November 2023.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Ministerial Code makes clear that Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise. It is the personal responsibility of each Minister to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of a conflict, taking account of advice received from their Permanent Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ interests.
As set out in Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code, there is an established regime in place for the declaration and management of private interests held by ministers. Cabinet members appointed on 13 November 2023 are following this standard process. On appointment to each new office, ministers must provide their Permanent Secretary and Independent Adviser with a full list of interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. This includes interests of the minister’s spouse or partner and close family which might be thought to give rise to a conflict.
The Independent Adviser publishes a list of relevant interests. Work is underway on the next List which will include all ministers appointed week commencing 13 November.