Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help reduce economic loses caused by rogue builders operating in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The domestic repair, maintenance, and improvement (RMI) sector is a vital part of the construction industry. It is one where genuine concern exists about consumer protection. The Government is committed to ensuring that we have a high-quality and professional construction industry and works with the industry and Local Authority trading standards, to improve standards of competence, consumer protection and redress, and to act against rogue builders.
The Department consulted last year on proposals to make alternative dispute resolution mandatory in the home improvements sector as part of a broader attempt to strengthen consumer rights in problematic sectors. We are now working with the Ministry of Justice to help inform and support their policy development on the use of mediation as an integrated part of the justice system.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Law Commission report entitled Employment Law Hearing Structures: Report, published April 2020, what progress he has made on extending the time limit for all employment tribunal claims to six months.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to keep of Employment Tribunal time limits under review.
Any decision to extend Employment Tribunal time limits will need to take account of the effect on the wider justice system, as well as the effect on Acas, who are responsible for conducting early conciliation.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June to Question 186376 on Government Departments: Apprentices, if he will provide a breakdown by Department of the percentage change in digital, data and technology apprenticeships between October 2021 and December 2022.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) apprenticeships are a way to gain industry standard qualifications whilst working full time in a salaried DDaT role in the Civil Service. During their programme, apprentices receive training from an apprenticeship provider in their chosen field, and apply their emerging knowledge and skills to their full time role as a DDaT professional.
The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) is working with departments and commercial teams to address barriers to fully utilising the apprentice levy, including through increasing apprentice provider choice.
We have also grown our early talent offers. CDDO is now in the process of building a cross-government digital apprenticeship programme ‘Tech Track’ which aims to upskill existing Civil Servants into the DDaT profession through apprenticeships, targeting 350-500 roles in its first year from Q1 2024.
Apprentice numbers regularly fluctuate year to year as apprentices begin and finish their courses at different stages throughout the year. External factors play a significant role in decisions to invest in apprenticeships. These include the impact of Covid-19 on recruitment and operation of apprenticeships, and proposed reductions to overall Civil Service headcount, prompting departments to prioritise fully developed staff. Changes to the recruitment of apprentices will not be reflected in the number of apprentices in departments until the following year.
Data provided by the Civil Service Apprenticeship Unit (CSAU) shows that, between September 2021 and December 2022, the number of apprentices fluctuated as per the below table:
Department | On programme Apprentices September 2021 | On programme Apprentices December 2022 | Percentage Change |
Ministry of Justice | 2 | 22 | 1000% |
Ministry of Defence | 39 | 116 | 197% |
Department for International Trade | 1 | 2 | 100% |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 7 | 12 | 71% |
Department for Education | 20 | 23 | 15% |
United Kingdom Statistics Authority | 9 | 10 | 11% |
Attorney General's Departments | 1 | 1 | 0% |
Department for Work and Pensions | 169 | 163 | -4% |
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office | 15 | 12 | -20% |
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (and former partners) | 70 | 53 | -24% |
National Crime Agency | 4 | 3 | -25% |
Cabinet Office | 35 | 23 | -34% |
Competition and Markets Authority | 2 | 1 | -50% |
Department For Digital Culture Media And Sport | 4 | 2 | -50% |
HM Revenue and Customs | 248 | 117 | -52% |
Home Office | 89 | 41 | -54% |
Department for Transport | 53 | 22 | -58% |
Department of Health and Social Care | 34 | 13 | -62% |
Charity Commission | 3 | - |
|
Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities | - | 1 |
|
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 21 November 2022 to Question HL3309 on Prisons: Rehabilitation, whether HM Prison and Probation Service has introduced additional measures to build relationships between prison officers and prisoners with protected characteristics in prisons equipped with PAVA incapacitant spray.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We are determined to stamp out discrimination wherever it is found and HMPPS has committed to changing its culture for the better and relationships between staff and prisoners. Our approach includes refreshing our mental health support and education services, reviewing the impact of incidents where force is used, developing a nationwide mentoring programme, and creating targeted recruitment campaigns to ensure our staff fully reflect the communities they serve. Prisons have responsibility to analyse information on who PAVA is used on, and the staff who use it, with appropriate actions taken to challenge disproportionality identified in relation to any of the protected characteristics.
We will continue working closely with third sector partners, trade unions and our staff networks, who represent colleagues with protected characteristics, to continue building relationships between staff and people in prison.
Asked by: Lord Sahota (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to promote free movement for lawyers between England and Wales and India, including steps (1) to make visas easier to obtain, and (2) to streamline processes relating to qualifications.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The ongoing UK-India trade negotiations present an opportunity to facilitate legal services trade which is a key professional and business services sector contributing to over £34bn to the UK economy in 2022.
Whilst I am unable to disclose details of live negotiations, as part of extensive stakeholder engagement we know that UK businesses struggle with barriers to services trade, including legal services. Stakeholder input helped to inform our negotiation objectives, which can be found on gov.uk.
Outside negotiations, the UK Ministry of Justice is closely engaged with Indian counterparts on shared interests, including India's new legal services regulations, through existing fora.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) impact of the prison officer retirement age on safety in prisons and (b) merits of aligning the retirement age of prison officers with police officers.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We highly value our hardworking prison officers and take very seriously the safety of all staff working within prisons, whatever their age. The Ministry continues to review and roll out new safety equipment and provide new skills to prison officers to deal with challenging situations and reduce the risk of assault.
The pension age in all public sector pension schemes is set under legislation by HM Treasury and the merits of any review in pension age would be for them to consider. I am committed to listening to and working with officers, staff and trade unions on a range of issues.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting the proposals of the Senior President of Tribunals to have employment cases heard by a single judge by default.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Senior President of Tribunals has published a consultation seeking views on proposals for the composition of panels in the Employment Tribunals. This will help inform his decisions on the future arrangements for panel composition in the Employment Tribunals, when he becomes responsible for them when the provisions of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 are brought into effect. This will bring the arrangements for Employment Tribunals into line with those that apply to the tribunals in the Unified Tribunal Structure.
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics on the diversity of the judiciary. The most recent statistics, published in July 2022, can be found at the following link and includes comprehensive data on the age, ethnicity, gender of judges and non-legal members of tribunals.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2022-statistics
The Ministry of Justice, as a member of the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), works closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Legal Services Board and the legal professions to take actions to increase judicial diversity.
The Ministry of Justice keeps the operation and performance of the Employment Tribunals under regular review. We are working closely with the Department for Business and Trade on measures to increase capacity, reduce demand and improve the efficiency of the employment dispute system.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of the diversity of panel members who hear Employment Tribunal cases.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Senior President of Tribunals has published a consultation seeking views on proposals for the composition of panels in the Employment Tribunals. This will help inform his decisions on the future arrangements for panel composition in the Employment Tribunals, when he becomes responsible for them when the provisions of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 are brought into effect. This will bring the arrangements for Employment Tribunals into line with those that apply to the tribunals in the Unified Tribunal Structure.
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics on the diversity of the judiciary. The most recent statistics, published in July 2022, can be found at the following link and includes comprehensive data on the age, ethnicity, gender of judges and non-legal members of tribunals.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2022-statistics
The Ministry of Justice, as a member of the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), works closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Legal Services Board and the legal professions to take actions to increase judicial diversity.
The Ministry of Justice keeps the operation and performance of the Employment Tribunals under regular review. We are working closely with the Department for Business and Trade on measures to increase capacity, reduce demand and improve the efficiency of the employment dispute system.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to review the operation of employment tribunals.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Senior President of Tribunals has published a consultation seeking views on proposals for the composition of panels in the Employment Tribunals. This will help inform his decisions on the future arrangements for panel composition in the Employment Tribunals, when he becomes responsible for them when the provisions of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 are brought into effect. This will bring the arrangements for Employment Tribunals into line with those that apply to the tribunals in the Unified Tribunal Structure.
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics on the diversity of the judiciary. The most recent statistics, published in July 2022, can be found at the following link and includes comprehensive data on the age, ethnicity, gender of judges and non-legal members of tribunals.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2022-statistics
The Ministry of Justice, as a member of the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), works closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Legal Services Board and the legal professions to take actions to increase judicial diversity.
The Ministry of Justice keeps the operation and performance of the Employment Tribunals under regular review. We are working closely with the Department for Business and Trade on measures to increase capacity, reduce demand and improve the efficiency of the employment dispute system.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to help prevent racial discrimination in prisons in England.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Our response to the HMI Prisons thematic on the experiences of adult black staff and black prisoners recently set out our ambition to take a zero-tolerance approach to racism and discrimination. This is a long-term commitment to change the culture of HMPPS for the better, with a plan focussed on actions and underpinned by clear accountability.
Our approach includes short, medium, and long-term actions to ensure there is equal opportunity and equal outcomes for all staff and people in custody. This will include reviewing the impact of use of force, developing a nationwide reverse mentoring programme, creating more targeted recruitment campaigns and continuing to work closely with third sector partners, trade unions and our staff networks, such as RISE, which focuses on black and other underrepresented staffing groups.
Routinely, prisons are responsible for identifying and tackling disproportionality locally. This is done via diversity and inclusion forums where racial issues are raised, discussed, and solutions actioned. In addition, the HMPPS Tackling Unacceptable Behaviour Unit (TUBU) began work in August 2020 in order to change workplace behaviours (focussing on staff on staff behaviour) for the better, by providing additional support to managers investigating concerns and ensuring that investigations are carried out fairly and consistently and any unacceptable behaviour is challenged and dealt with appropriately.