Became Member: 18th November 2022
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to require the indication of country of origin for ceramic products; and for connected purposes.
Nuclear Submarine Recycling (Reporting) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Luke Pollard (LAB)
Trade Union (Access to Workplaces) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Faisal Rashid (Lab)
Toilets (Provision and Accessibility) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Paula Sherriff (Lab)
Child Cruelty (Sentences) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Tom Tugendhat (Con)
Armed Forces Covenant (Duty of Public Authorities) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Gavin Robinson (DUP)
Crime (Impact Statements) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Melanie Onn (Lab)
Local Health Scrutiny Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Gareth Snell (LAB)
Representation of the People (Young People's Enfranchisement) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Peter Kyle (Lab)
Online Forums Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Lucy Powell (LAB)
National Living Wage (Extension to Young People) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Holly Lynch (Lab)
Social Media Service Providers (Civil Liability and Oversight) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Lord Mann (None)
Access to Banking Services Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Ben Lake (PC)
School Holidays (Meals and Activities) 2017-19
Sponsor - Lord Field of Birkenhead (XB)
Channel 4 (Relocation) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Jack Brereton (Con)
Children of Armed Services Personnel (Schools Admission) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Con)
Workers' Rights (Maintenance of EU Standards) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Melanie Onn (Lab)
As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). UKSV acts as the service provider for NSV across His Majesty’s Government (HMG). NSV remains a separate and distinct process to recruitment and onboarding processes and provides an additional personnel assurance within both public and private sector for roles and projects that require access to the sensitive assets and Protectively Marked Materials (PMM).
The government does not comment on the workings of the NSV process at the strategic or tactical level for security reasons and thereby details of numbers awaiting NSV cannot be shared. However the following information may be useful.
The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is not a level of NSV, nor conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); it is a separate pre-employment check conducted locally by recruiting departments. As this is a localised departmental element, no central record of data for BPSS is held within HMG at this time.
Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:
Accreditation Checks (AC), a level of NSV, primarily used by the aviation industry, are being completed in five days or less.
The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.
The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.
The requirements for security cleared roles across HMG vary and are set by individual department and partner agencies dependent on duties and level of access to Protectively Marked Materials (PMM). It is, therefore, not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to specific roles. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.
As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). UKSV acts as the service provider for NSV across His Majesty’s Government (HMG). NSV remains a separate and distinct process to recruitment and onboarding processes and provides an additional personnel assurance within both public and private sector for roles and projects that require access to the sensitive assets and Protectively Marked Materials (PMM).
The government does not comment on the workings of the NSV process at the strategic or tactical level for security reasons and thereby details of numbers awaiting NSV cannot be shared. However the following information may be useful.
The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is not a level of NSV, nor conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); it is a separate pre-employment check conducted locally by recruiting departments. As this is a localised departmental element, no central record of data for BPSS is held within HMG at this time.
Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:
Accreditation Checks (AC), a level of NSV, primarily used by the aviation industry, are being completed in five days or less.
The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.
The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.
The requirements for security cleared roles across HMG vary and are set by individual department and partner agencies dependent on duties and level of access to Protectively Marked Materials (PMM). It is, therefore, not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to specific roles. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.
As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). UKSV acts as the service provider for NSV across His Majesty’s Government (HMG). NSV remains a separate and distinct process to recruitment and onboarding processes and provides an additional personnel assurance within both public and private sector for roles and projects that require access to the sensitive assets and Protectively Marked Materials (PMM).
The government does not comment on the workings of the NSV process at the strategic or tactical level for security reasons and thereby details of numbers awaiting NSV cannot be shared. However the following information may be useful.
The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is not a level of NSV, nor conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); it is a separate pre-employment check conducted locally by recruiting departments. As this is a localised departmental element, no central record of data for BPSS is held within HMG at this time.
Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:
Accreditation Checks (AC), a level of NSV, primarily used by the aviation industry, are being completed in five days or less.
The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.
The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.
The requirements for security cleared roles across HMG vary and are set by individual department and partner agencies dependent on duties and level of access to Protectively Marked Materials (PMM). It is, therefore, not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to specific roles. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.
The Government is pleased the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act received Royal Assent on 24th May 2023. The Act requires secondary legislation which is subject to the affirmative process. Those regulations will be laid in due course.
The Climate Change Act 2008 established the framework for strengthening the UK’s preparedness for climate change. The Act requires that the government publish a Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) every five years, which identifies the specific risks facing the UK from climate change. The most recent CCRA was published in January 2022.
The CCRA is followed by the publication of a National Adaptation Programme, which sets out the government’s response to the risks identified by the CCRA. The third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) was published in July 2023, and addresses all 61 risks and opportunities identified in the third CCRA. NAP3 includes dedicated responses to risks to domestic agricultural productivity and UK food availability, safety, and quality from climate change overseas.
The UK Food Security Report is a triannual statistical report required under the Agriculture Act 2020. The first report was published in 2021 and the next report, due in 2024, will continue to improve our understanding of climate risks to UK food security.
Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, agricultural prices, labour and manufacturing costs, Sterling exchange rates and agricultural productivity. As such, we do not have an assessment of the direct or indirect impacts of climate change on food prices.
As of 31 July 2023 the number of permanent digital, data and technology staff in Defra was 940, and the number of contingent workers was 201. This is the number of staff in our Digital, Data and Technology Services Directorate only, there will be some additional staff working on digital, data and technology activity elsewhere across the rest of Defra group. Our HR systems do not currently allow us to identify staff in this category.
Defra continually keeps its resourcing under review. For digital, data and technology (DDaT) roles, there are particular challenges when it comes to recruiting and retaining civil servant staff – as acknowledged by the recent National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports into Defra’s technology, and by the Central Digital and Data Office’s own analysis and roadmap for DDaT in Government more generally. Defra therefore uses a blended model of civil servants, contingent labour and suppliers to deliver DDaT work, and has the resourcing needed to deliver the work required. As market conditions change, Defra regularly reviews the most efficient and effective blend of resourcing to deliver its work.
The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
Defra Group is developing a digital transformation strategy which will express our collective ambition to provide joined-up digital services for citizens and businesses and to deliver environmental outcomes in a more efficient and effective way, through harnessing opportunities presented by digital data and technology.
Areas of focus for our citizen and business facing services include:
Reducing the number of paper forms people are required to complete.
Making our services joined-up, consistent, user-friendly and accessible.
Reducing manual processing to provide faster outcomes.
As part of the strategy, we will explore our common types of services i.e. licences and grants, to identify opportunities to improve and consolidate our service and technology estate.
We are aware of the concerns on variable weather conditions. The full impact will become more apparent as the harvest progresses – results will vary by region, area, crop, soil type, and fertiliser applications amongst other factors. The reality of the UK climate means that fluctuations in yield are expected and managed year on year by farmers.
We are keeping the situation under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), which was set up by Defra and the Devolved Administrations to monitor the UK market situation across all key agricultural commodities. We also continue to regularly engage with industry to supplement our analysis with real-time intelligence.
43 HR caseworkers are employed in Defence Business Services, who advise on HR processes including claims received for sexual harassment cases.
The information requested by the noble Lady can be found on the attached excel spreadsheet.
The information requested by the noble Lady can be found on the attached excel spreadsheet.
This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Once Ministry of Defence officials have finalised collation of the necessary information, I will write to the noble Lady and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.