Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in her Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government has audited the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June.
On 14 May, the Minister without Portfolio made a written statement on the latest findings from the review. This can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-05-14/hcws464.
In response to these findings, the Cabinet Office is publishing the Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance. This includes an end to all external spending on EDI activity, unless cleared and authorised by Ministers.
Further guidance on diversity staff networks is being developed, and the department will seek to publish additional data on historic spending to assist transparency in this area.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what the total cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has audited the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June. On 14 May the Minister without Portfolio made a written statement [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-05-14/hcws464] on the latest findings from the review. In response to these findings, the Cabinet Office is publishing the Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance. This includes an end to all external spending on EDI activity, unless cleared and authorised by Ministers. Further guidance on diversity staff networks is being developed, and we will seek to publish additional data on historic spending to assist transparency in this area.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether officials in her Department have had discussions with NHS England on the potential merits of (a) renewing the national maternity safety ambition beyond 2025 and (b) extending that ambition to include reducing inequalities.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has regular and ongoing discussions with NHS England on how to improve maternity and neonatal outcomes for mothers and babies, as well as how to tackle disparities in access, experience, and outcomes, including and beyond 2025.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2024 to Question 15742 of 26 February, when he plans to place the information requested in the Library.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in her Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department proudly supports the Disability Confident Scheme, and has renewed its status as a Disability Confident employer. No single official works directly on the scheme, and in line with Civil Service guidance, we have moved away from standalone roles and teams to embed equality, diversity, and inclusion activities within existing human resource portfolios and roles. Activity to support the recruitment and retention of colleagues with a disability is undertaken across our recruitment, talent, and employee experience teams.
In the last calendar year, 11.3% of successful applicants applied under the Disability Confident Scheme. This is a slight increase from last year, at 10.9%. We additionally review our disability representation rates on a regular basis to monitor the impact of our recruitment practices and policy changes. We also have dedicated staff networks to support our disabled employees and celebrate achievements. Turnover of permanent employees who have declared they have a disability is currently approximately 6%, which is significantly lower than the average permanent staff turnover of colleagues who do not have a declared disability.
In 2023, we launched a new Workplace Adjustments policy, process, and passport. The new process is designed to ensure everyone in the Department can access the support they need as easily and quickly as possible via a person-centred approach that identifies and seeks to remove workplace barriers.
We also delivered several talent schemes that can assist in supporting the retention and development of disabled colleagues. This includes Beyond Boundaries, a 12-month programme for the Senior Executive Officer grade and below, to support candidates in reaching their full potential. As part of the programme, to support disability positive action, last year we ringfenced six job places out of 30, based on the proportionality of our disabled workforce, the People Survey, and recruitment data. We expect to take similar action this year.
In addition, the Future Leaders Scheme (FLS) is a 12-month accelerated development scheme for Grade 6 or 7 colleagues, who have the potential to progress to the Civil Service’s most senior and critical leadership roles. There is an option for those candidates who declare a disability or long-term health condition, or both, to enrol on the Disability Empowers Leadership Talent Association (DELTA) integrated scheme. In 2022, we had four candidates participate in DELTA out of the 21 successful FLS candidates, and two out of 26 in 2021, as per the data from the Cabinet Office. It should be noted that due to the sensitive nature of the programmes, not all participants are comfortable in being open about participation in DELTA, especially those with disabilities who have yet to disclose this to their colleagues or managers.
Finally, the Department’s mutual mentoring programme encourages underrepresented groups, including colleagues with disabilities, to mentor senior civil service colleagues to help increase the engagement and retention of underrepresented staff, and increase cultural intelligence in senior leaders.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's policy is on Ministerial clearance of contracts relating to external equality, diversity and inclusion providers.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.