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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration his Department gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.

Elizabeth Truss

We take into account an organisation’s diversity policy and record where it is relevant to the subject matter of the contract or grant and is permissible by law. Where the organisation is listed as a Crown Strategic Supplier, we would also approach the relevant Crown Representative as part of the appraisal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capacity funding for universal infant free school meals has been (a) requested by and (b) disbursed to schools in (i) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (ii) the Sunderland local authority area and (iii) the North East region.

Mr David Laws

On 18 December 2013, the Government announced capital allocations for universal infant free school meals for the 2014-2015 financial year. This included allocations of (a) £562,850 to Sunderland City Council and (b) £6.1 million to all local authorities in the North East region. We do not allocate funding at a constituency level.

In addition, academies have received capital funding through the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund. This includes allocations of (a) £162,380 to academies within the Sunderland local authority area and (b) £311,608 to academies within the North East region. Across the country, £2.5 million has also been made available to multi-academy trusts.

Of the capital funding that has been allocated to Sunderland, the authority has confirmed to the Department that 75% or more has been disbursed to specific projects to support universal infant free school meals. We do not hold information on the precise amount disbursed, and nor do we hold this data at a regional level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (b) the Sunderland local authority area and (c) the North East region are receiving less overall funding in 2013-14 than they did in 2010-11.

Mr David Laws

Because of the significant changes in the school funding system between financial years 2010-11 and 2013-14, it is not possible to provide meaningfully-comparable data on funding to individual schools in the two years. In addition, the amount of funding a school receives will change from year to year depending on the number of pupils registered at the school as well as the schools funding formula determined by the local authority, the arrangements for which were reformed in 2013-14 to comprise 12 nationally-consistent factors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

Elizabeth Truss

Our data does not record nationality; data held records only ethnicity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of staff within his Office who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

Mr Nick Clegg

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what consideration his Office gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.

Mr Nick Clegg

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what targets the Cabinet Office has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

Mr Francis Maude

To win the global race we need the best civil servants regardless of their background so we must recruit, retain and promote on the basis of merit. We want to see more talented people, whatever their background, reach the very top roles.

There has been for many years a majority of women in the Civil Service but this was not reflected into the Senior Civil Service.

Although there has been a small increase in the proportion of women in the Senior Civil Service since 2010, and in the proportion of civil servants who declare that they are from an ethnic minority background, there is still much to do.

We know that for too long talent management in the Civil Service has been weak. That’s why I have commissioned research to examine the blockages preventing women from reaching the most senior levels of the Civil Service.

A plan to address these issues will be published this summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of staff within his Office who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

Mr Nick Clegg

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

Anna Soubry

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not have targets for increasing diversity.

In 2012 the MOD published its Strategic Equality Objectives in accordance with the statutory requirements flowing from the Equality Act 2010 to promote equality. These objectives, including the advancement of equality of opportunity, were endorsed by the Defence Board to reflect the fact that the duty to promote equality sits squarely at the top of the Department.

In September 2013, the Permanent Secretary and Chief of the Defence Staff announced the establishment of a Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme, with the aim of making a tangible and meaningful change in the MOD’s approach to diversity and diversity outcomes.

The primary aim of the programme is to make the workforce more representative of society at all levels, and metrics will be used to measure success.

The MOD publishes a biannual breakdown of diversity statistics which contains analysis of all diversity categories for both civilian and Service Personnel. The most recent report, published on 29 May 2014, can be found at the following address: http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/combined/diversity-dashboard

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

Anna Soubry

The information requested is shown in the tables below.

Proportion of Ministry of Defence Civil Servant disciplinary cases in which subject was White British

2009/10 84.7%
2010/11 83.7%
2011/12 82.3%
2012/13 76.8%
2013/14 78.1%

Proportion of Ministry of Defence Civil Servant conduct dismissal cases in which subject was White British.

2009/10 77.2%
2010/11 86.5%
2011/12 68.9%
2012/13 81.1%
2013/14 72.6%