Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost to the public purse has been of equality, diversity or inclusion themed lanyards for House of Commons staff in each of the last three financial years for which information is available; and for what (a) themes and (b) types of lanyard that cost was incurred.
Answered by Charles Walker
In 2021–2022 there was no spend on lanyards.
In 2022–2023, in support of LGBT+ people in Parliament, the House Administration approved a request from ParliOut to spend £380 for 500 rainbow lanyards. ParliOut is the workplace equality network (WEN) for LGBT+ people in Parliament.
In 2023–2024, in support of LGBT+ people in Parliament, the Administration approved expenditure from ParliOut of £1,639 on 1,500 rainbow/progressive flag lanyards. In support of disabled people in Parliament, the Administration approved expenditure from ParliAble of £475 on purple lanyards bearing the ParliAble logo. ParliAble is the workplace equality network for disabled people in Parliament.
As the networks are bicameral, their expenditure is split 70% by the House of Commons and 30% by the House of Lords.
The lanyards are not solely for House of Commons staff. They are worn by any interested passholders, including Members of both Houses and their staff, staff of both Houses, contractors, etc.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Sports England on the British Ju Jitsu Association's (a) equality, (b) inclusion and (c) diversity policies.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Following the outcome of a review of its recognised NGB status last summer, the British Ju Jitsu Association Governing Body (BJJAGB) submitted evidence to Sport England relating to its compliance with the Home Country Sports Council's recognition criteria.
It is now for the Home Country Sports Council Boards to decide on the recognition of the organisation. This information will be communicated in the near future.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the compatibility of the (a) Government’s policy on charging VAT on audiobooks and (b) provisions of the Equality Act 2010 on people (i) with dyslexia, (ii) with sight loss or impairment and (iii) who are unable to hold books.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting those with disabilities who may struggle to access physical books and therefore rely more heavily on audiobooks. In line with its statutory obligations under the Equality Act, the Government carefully considers the impact of VAT policy on those with disabilities
However, there is never any guarantee that any VAT cut is passed onto consumers. It is therefore not clear that cutting the VAT on audiobooks would benefit consumers, including those with disabilities.
The government does not currently have any plans to change the VAT treatment of audiobooks.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the reasons for which some disabled children cannot (a) eat and (b) access free school meals; and whether she plans to make reasonable adjustments to free school meals to help disabled children to access them.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
All schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people, and they must make reasonable adjustments to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage. This means that a school cannot treat a pupil unfairly as a consequence of their disability.
As it relates to school food, the duty to make reasonable adjustments requires schools to tailor their provision to ensure that it is accessible to disabled pupils. Furthermore, this duty is anticipatory, and so schools need to actively consider whether any reasonable adjustments are needed in order to avoid any disadvantage that may otherwise occur.
The department has updated its existing guidance on free school meals to clarify schools’ duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children, and to support productive conversations between schools and parents about suitable food provision. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65fdad5965ca2f00117da947/Free_school_meals.pdf.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what information his Department holds on the (a) gender, (b) disability status, (c) sexual orientation, (d) marital status and (e) ethnicity of public appointments that it has made in each of the last five years.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
My Department collects diversity information in line with its equality duties and the requirements of the Governance Code on Public Appointments for all public appointments set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council.
Information collected on appointments and reappointments is published annually by the Cabinet Office in the Public Appointments Data Report and can be found on GOV.UK. The Commissioner for Public Appointments also includes data in his annual report which is published at:
https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/publications/annual-reports/
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, how many people are employed by NHS England in roles relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity as of 26 March 2024.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are 51 staff with equality, diversity, or inclusion in their job title at NHS England, as of 26 February 2024. This covers a wide range of roles both supporting NHS England as an employer, and facing the wider National Health Service system, with some of these roles also covering other areas of NHS policy. NHS England has reduced the number of roles focused on equality, diversity and inclusion as part of its merger with NHS Digital and Health Education England. The roles that remain are essential to helping the NHS meet its legal duties in the Equality Act 2010 and the principles that guide the NHS Constitution. This includes overseeing statutory programmes that are focused on tackling discrimination by some staff which includes disabled staff, as well as roles dealing with the sexual safety of staff and patients in the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to respond to the findings of the Inclusion at Work Panel report, published by the Cabinet Office, especially as it relates to diversity and inclusion interventions in Government departments.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Following the publication of this report on 20th March, the Civil Service will consider the recommendations as part of our strategic focus as outlined in the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, Civil Service People Plan and commitments to Government Reform.
The Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, published in February 2022, places a focus on being data-driven, evidence-led and delivery focussed emphasising the need to take an evaluative approach.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent research reported by The Times which suggests that unconscious bias training is not effective.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This research is a welcome addition to the canon of research on the efficacy of diversity and inclusion (D&I) training.
We removed central unconscious bias training following the 2020 Behavioural Insight Team report which concluded that unconscious bias training was ineffective. This is supported by the recent report on the Inclusion at Work Panel’s recommendations for improving D&I practice in the workplace (published 20 March 2024). We are currently considering these recommendations, including the recommendation to develop a digital tool kit to assess the rigour, efficacy and value for money of a range of D&I practices, including training interventions.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Royal Air Force has spent on diversity and inclusion personnel since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Air Force has spent £3,072,249.93 on salaries for people employed in dedicated Diversity and Inclusion roles from 2019 to 2023.
The Royal Air Force has a number of individuals whose roles encompass Diversity and Inclusion. However, all Regular RAF personnel are first and foremost aviators and are paid as such. There are a small number of Civil Servants and Full Time Reserve Service personnel within the team who applied specifically for D&I roles. In February 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence ordered a root and branch review of ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity policies in Defence which is ongoing.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Royal Navy has spent on diversity and inclusion personnel since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy has spent £2,445,980.00 on salaries for people employed in dedicated Diversity and Inclusion policy roles from 2019 to 2023.
The Royal Navy has a number of individuals whose roles encompass Diversity and Inclusion. Service Personnel rotate through postings which can include Diversity and Inclusion roles. Their work is supported by a small number of Civil Servants. Each of these individuals are paid commensurate to their rank and training. In February 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence ordered a root and branch review of ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity policies in Defence which is ongoing.