Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of domestic abuse within (a) gay and (b) lesbian couple relationships in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 28 November is attached.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many employees in his Department work on matters related to covid-19.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
There are 27 full time employees in one business unit currently working on the Government’s response to the Covid-19 Inquiry. There are no other business units in the Cabinet Office that are dedicated to COVID-19. Roles are not recorded at an individual level.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the civil service headcount for their Department was on (a) 15 November 2022 and (b) 1 February 2020.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
In October 2022 (latest workforce figures) the number of staff employed in my Department was 9464. In February 2020 the number of staff employed in my Department was 7960.
Most of the increase here (84%) is the result of the transfer of staff and functions into the Cabinet Office from other Government Departments under machinery of government changes.
As part of this Government’s commitment to transparency, my Department publishes workforce statistics each month. Information about staffing levels since June 2016 are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/payroll-costs-and-non-consolidated-pay-data
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the compliance rates of trade union facility time data reporting in terms of the (a) projected and (b) actual number of returns in 2019-20.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is committed to ensuring that facility time usage within the public sector remains accountable and represents value for money to the taxpayer.
With the exception of the education sector, compliance rates for all other sectors, using the Government’s reporting portal, for the 2020/21 reporting year exceeded 60% of expected returns. This was an overall improvement compared to the 2019/20 reporting year where both education and the NHS sectors were below a 60% compliance rate.
The Government is taking action this year to ensure that overall compliance rates continue to rise. Greater transparency will enhance accountability over the spending of taxpayers’ money and practices within the public sector.
The full sector breakdown for the compliance rates over the last two years is below:
Sector | Compliance | |
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
Civil Service | 100% | 100% |
Education | 18% | 18% |
Local Authority | 69% | 64% |
NHS | 46% | 66% |
Police | 69% | 77% |
Network Rail is not currently in scope for the relevant facility time reporting regulations; we are open to representations on this matter.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of (a) the cost of facility time and (b) the number of trade union officials who used facility time at Network Rail in 2020-21.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is committed to ensuring that facility time usage within the public sector remains accountable and represents value for money to the taxpayer.
With the exception of the education sector, compliance rates for all other sectors, using the Government’s reporting portal, for the 2020/21 reporting year exceeded 60% of expected returns. This was an overall improvement compared to the 2019/20 reporting year where both education and the NHS sectors were below a 60% compliance rate.
The Government is taking action this year to ensure that overall compliance rates continue to rise. Greater transparency will enhance accountability over the spending of taxpayers’ money and practices within the public sector.
The full sector breakdown for the compliance rates over the last two years is below:
Sector | Compliance | |
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
Civil Service | 100% | 100% |
Education | 18% | 18% |
Local Authority | 69% | 64% |
NHS | 46% | 66% |
Police | 69% | 77% |
Network Rail is not currently in scope for the relevant facility time reporting regulations; we are open to representations on this matter.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the compliance rates of trade union facility time data reporting in terms of the (a) projected and (b) actual number of returns in 2020-21.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is committed to ensuring that facility time usage within the public sector remains accountable and represents value for money to the taxpayer.
With the exception of the education sector, compliance rates for all other sectors, using the Government’s reporting portal, for the 2020/21 reporting year exceeded 60% of expected returns. This was an overall improvement compared to the 2019/20 reporting year where both education and the NHS sectors were below a 60% compliance rate.
The Government is taking action this year to ensure that overall compliance rates continue to rise. Greater transparency will enhance accountability over the spending of taxpayers’ money and practices within the public sector.
The full sector breakdown for the compliance rates over the last two years is below:
Sector | Compliance | |
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
Civil Service | 100% | 100% |
Education | 18% | 18% |
Local Authority | 69% | 64% |
NHS | 46% | 66% |
Police | 69% | 77% |
Network Rail is not currently in scope for the relevant facility time reporting regulations; we are open to representations on this matter.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for his departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
Cabinet Office records losses and special payments in line with managing public money and are included in the department’s losses & special payments register. The total number and amounts are summarised in the Cabinet Office’s Annual Accounts.
All losses and special payments for the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 valued at under £300,000 are set out in the attached document.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Throughout the pandemic, all Civil Service employers have followed government guidance in setting out their internal COVID-19 related policies. This includes complying with the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance which sets out the key actions organisations should take to protect employees and customers in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in workplaces, along with carrying out health and safety risk assessments that include the ongoing risk from COVID-19.
On 21 February 2022, the Government published their COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19. This document sets out how and when the remaining restrictions will be lifted in England. Government guidance was subsequently amended, including the Working Safely guidance.
The Government’s Working Safely guidance continues to require organisations to carry out a risk assessment which includes the risk from COVID-19. It also sets out additional actions organisations can take to protect employees and customers in the workplace, such as ensuring adequate ventilation, frequent cleaning, asking people to wash their hands frequently and asking people with COVID-19 to stay away. The guidance advises that people continue to wear face coverings in crowded and enclosed settings where they come into contact with people they do not normally meet, when rates of transmission are high. Civil Service employers will continue to follow this guidance and align their policies accordingly.