Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices on passengers in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are now in a period where the independent passenger bodies (Transport Focus and London TravelWatch) are engaging with train operators on the basis of the consultation responses they have received and the criteria they have set out. We expect train operators to work collaboratively with the passenger bodies in the coming weeks, to listen to the concerns raised and to refine their proposals accordingly.
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators were required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. All operators prepared Equality Impact Assessments and published these on their websites.
Together with the industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station should be unstaffed as a result of industry changes. We expect train operators, including Southeastern who manage several stations in the Bexleyheath and Crayford area, to ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking with train operating companies to ensure that planned ticket office closures do not disproportionally affect (a) disabled and (b) elderly passengers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, train operators were required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers including those who are disabled, vulnerable or have protected characteristics; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. When consulting, operators should have also clearly considered other equality-related needs.
Following the end of the consultation period the independent passenger bodies (Transport Focus and London TravelWatch) are engaging with train operators on the basis of the consultation responses they have received and the criteria they have set out. We expect train operators to work collaboratively with passenger bodies in the coming weeks, to listen to concerns raised, such as the impacts on vulnerable people, and to refine their proposals accordingly.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure that vulnerable people are not put at risk in stations without ticket offices.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators were required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. All operators prepared Equality Impact Assessments and published these on their websites.
Following the end of the consultation period the independent passenger bodies (Transport Focus and London TravelWatch) are engaging with train operators on the basis of the consultation responses they have received and the criteria they have set out. We expect train operators to work collaboratively with passenger bodies in the coming weeks, to listen to concerns raised, such as the impacts on vulnerable people, and to refine their proposals accordingly.
As the industry takes forward vital reforms, safety and accessibility remain a top priority for all. The British Transport Police continue to support the rail network to ensure the safety and security of both passengers and rail staff.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ticket office closures on wheelchair users.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators were required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. All operators prepared Equality Impact Assessments and published these on their websites.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. The consultation period has now closed, and we now expect train operators to work collaboratively with the passenger bodies in the coming weeks, to listen to the concerns raised and to refine their proposals accordingly.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not have a London Weighting Allowance. DWP has four pay zones and correspondence pay scales: National, Inner London, Outer London and Special Location Pay Zones.
DWP has a hybrid working policy where employees are required to spend a minimum of 40% of their time in the office over a four-week period. In DWP, contractual home working is allowed only as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 for a disabled colleague or following a successful application under the Flexible Working Regulations.
Flexible working is also a fundamental element of the Civil Service employment offer which is consistent with other sectors. Flexible working arrangements enable departments to make efficient use of resources, and the offer also ensures the Civil Service can attract and retain a diversity of talent.
For employees who are either contractual homeworkers or hybrid workers, their pay is determined by either their designated office or their contracted office, respectively. Contractual homeworkers still have a designated office for pay purposes. Hybrid workers are still contractually based in an office. They will receive pay according to where their particular office falls in the above zones.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an equalities impact assessment of (a) the length of placements and (b) the timing of funding payments for the Turing Scheme.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Secretary of State for Education carried out an Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) into the Turing Scheme during the design stage of policy development as a way of facilitating and evidencing compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty contained in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. This requires public authorities to have due regard to several equality considerations when exercising their functions.
Under the Turing Scheme, eligible organisations in each education sector have flexibility to design projects in line with their needs and those of their students, including setting the duration of mobilities within a broad window above 4 weeks to 12 months in higher education (HE), 2 weeks to 12 months in further education, and 3 days to 6 months in schools. The department reduced the minimum duration of HE placements to 4 weeks, which is half the shortest duration previously permitted under the Erasmus+ Programme. This is intended to widen access to international opportunities to people from disadvantaged backgrounds for whom the duration of an international placements may represent a potential barrier to participation.
The Turing Scheme is creating more opportunities than ever before for students across the UK who were previously unlikely to take up international exchanges. Of the more than 40,000 pupils, learners and students who will have the opportunity to do study and work placements across the globe this year, nearly two thirds of these opportunities will be for participants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Turing Scheme is a demand led, competitive programme with an annual application cycle. Successful applicant institutions are notified of their funding allocation before the start of the academic year and before the funding period for international placements commences. Once the grant agreement is in place, it is the responsibility of grant recipients to make timely requests for payments, so that they can disburse funding to their participants at the point of need.
The department will continue to work closely with the scheme’s delivery partner to collect and act on feedback from participating organisations and sector stakeholders, including on the payment mechanism and timing.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the joint report by the Centre for Progressive Policy, Pregnant Then Screwed and Women in Data Leave in the lurch: Paternity leave, gender equality and the UK economy, published on 15 June, what plans they have to adopt the recommendation contained in that report to increase statutory paid leave entitlement for fathers.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recently announced changes to make Paternity Leave easier for fathers and partners to take. These changes will provide more choice and flexibility over when the leave can be taken, including allowing it to be split into two separate blocks of one week over a 52-week period.
The standard rate of Statutory Paternity Pay is reviewed annually. From April 2023, it increased by September's Consumer Price Index figure of 10.1 per cent to £172.48.
There are no further changes currently planned for Paternity Leave and Pay.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2023 to Question HL7520 on Cyprus: Politics and Government, whether he has had discussions with the leaders of communities in Cyprus on establishing a sustainable, bi-zonal and bi-communal federal political settlement in the period since the recent elections in Greece and Turkey.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government remains committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a Cyprus Settlement within the UN parameters based on the model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality. We engage with all parties on this. I [Minister Docherty] discussed Settlement with President Christodoulides, Foreign Minister (FM) Kombos and Turkish Cypriot leader Tatar on 10 May. The Foreign Secretary also met FM Kombos on 16 June and discussed Settlement with him. The UK Government believes that, with flexibility, sufficient common ground to start formal negotiations can potentially be found. In the meantime, the UK continues to support confidence-building initiatives to build links between the communities to prepare for any future Settlement.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Government's publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Cabinet Office’s Equality Hub sponsors the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
At the EHRC, between 20-25 people are spending part of their time considering how AI affects their area of focus. Excluding staffing costs, in the 2022-23, EHRC direct expenditure related to AI work was approximately £160k.
AI is a priority for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is included in their strategic plan 2022 – 2025. The Commission is receiving a flat-cash settlement for 2023-2024, which, along with the wider public sector, means they will need to prioritise and will have limited flexibility within the year to increase resources available for work on AI.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department made an equality impact assessment before (a) determining the period of time that applications would be open and (b) deciding when to publish the deadline for making applications on the GOV.UK portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department conducted a Public Sector Equality Duty assessment before the scheme launched, and this document is regularly updated. Officials also conducted an assessment for the length of the scheme, concluding that 3 months would provide suitable time for eligible households to apply, whilst lowering the risk of overpayments because of individuals moving during the scheme. The 31st May deadline was communicated by the Department in the 27th February press notice and to key stakeholder groups who represented eligible applicants, and was added to the GOV.UK portal in May for further clarity.