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Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations her Department has received from businesses on the inclusion of design technology within the EBacc qualification.

Nick Gibb

The consultation on implementing the EBacc closed on 29 January. We have received responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including businesses. The Government response, including a list of responding organisations, will be published in due course.

01/01/2023
Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 21 July 2015 to Question 7583 and 9 September 2014 to Question 207819, how many (a) military, (b) civilian and (c) liaison personnel are now stationed at each of those sites in Saudi Arabia; how many of each of those personnel are in locations where Saudi Arabia plans and executes military operations in Yemen; and how many (i) military, (ii) civilian and (iii) liaison personnel are in the command and control centre for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.

Penny Mordaunt

Further to my answer of 21 July 2015 the UK currently has:

11 personnel providing mentoring and advice to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, as part of the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

19 military and 37 civilian personnel working on the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project to acquire and support, modern communications capabilities for the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

72 military and 42 civilian personnel working on the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Projects, supporting the United Kingdom’s commitment to the defence of Saudi Arabia through the supply of modern military aircraft, naval vessels, weapons and associated support services to the Saudi Armed Forces.

We have a small number of liaison personnel who work at the Saudi MOD and Operational Centres to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control. There are no other UK military or civilian personnel working at these headquarters.

British personnel in Saudi Arabia are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process

01/01/2023
Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Official Report, column 426, on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, what UK-supplied defence equipment has been used in Yemen; what arms export licences were issued for that equipment; and whether any arms export licences for that equipment have now been revoked.

Michael Fallon

The Royal Saudi Air Force are flying British-built aircraft in Yemen, and have been provided with precision-guided Paveway weapons. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are fully compliant with the UK’s export licences criteria.

No export licences for Saudi Arabia have been revoked in the last year. We continue to keep all arms sales under close review.

01/01/2023
Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential of the arts to contribute to mental well-being for people with mental illness; and what programmes his Department has in place to help deliver that contribution.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Research commissioned by DCMS has found positive associations between participation in arts and health, including mental health. The research can be found here: (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416279/A_review_of_the_Social_Impacts_of_Culture_and_Sport.pdf

Arts Council England funds a number of organisations on behalf of the Government that support people with mental health issues.

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01/01/2023
Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people learn to swim.

David Evennett

Swimming is an important life skill and one which we are keen is available to as many people as possible. This is why the Government’s new sport and physical activity strategy ‘’Sporting Future: a New Strategy for an Active Nation’, (www.gov.uk/government/publications/sporting-future-a-new-strategy-for-an-active-nation) includes a commitment to ensure that every child leaves primary school able to swim.

Swimming is part of the national curriculum and Government are committed to ensuring that all children are able to meet the minimum standard of capability and confidence in swimming. Sport England is developing a number of pilot projects which aim to encourage adults to take up swimming. It is also investing £20 million between 2013-17 in the Amateur Swimming Association and in other projects, such as the innovative ‘This Girl Can Swim’, to get more people right across the country swimming. In addition, it has invested over £330 million to create modern, safe and attractive swimming pool facilities in England.

01/01/2023

Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The average days’ sickness absence per full time equivalent employed by DCMS during the last financial year was 2.0 days.

The Civil Service takes a holistic approach to managing sick absence and improving wellbeing and we have focussed on specific actions to reduce the incidence of mental disorders, including stress related absence. This includes

early referral to occupational health experts, particularly for mental health, stress or musculoskeletal conditions,
early referral to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) for CBT based counselling support for mental health issues,
workplace adjustments that help to prevent conditions from developing or worsening, whilst reducing the barriers to work for those affected by mental or physical impairments,
extensive training for managers and employees including on disability and mental health awareness, well-being, resilience and stress.

Financial Year	Number of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress	Proportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress	Proportion of total sick such sick leave was in the department
Apr 14 – Mar 15	1	0.2%	0.5%
Apr 13 – Mar 14	2	0.5%	0.9%
Apr 12 – Mar 13	3	0.8%	1.2%
Apr 11 – Mar 12	5	1.1%	2.1%
Apr 10 – Mar 11	6	1.4%	2.5%

Background

We have reported on the average sickness absence in the annual report (link) and do not specifically report on sickness absence due to stress.

The DCMS sick absence data is low in comparison with the Civil Service average of 7.4 Average Working Days Lost. We do not have any evidence to know why this is. HR continues to remind all staff and managers of the importance of accurate and prompt recording on the HR system.

Financial Year	Number of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress	Proportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress	Department FTE	Total sickness in department	Percentage of staff who took Stress Related Absence against total staff who recorded a sick absence
Apr 14 – Mar 15	1	0.2%	461	203	0.5%
Apr 13 – Mar 14	2	0.5%	381	234	0.9%
Apr 12 – Mar 13	3	0.8%	376	259	1.2%
Apr 11 – Mar 12	5	1.1%	457	243	2.1%
Apr 10 – Mar 11	6	1.4%	443	242	2.5%

¹Department FTE from DCMS Annual Report & Accounts 2010-11 and 2014-15

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01/01/2023

Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Brandon Lewis

These statistics relate to absences recorded as “Mental Disorders” under the World Health Organisation categories of absence, which includes non-stress related absences such as depression. The figures therefore should not be read as being fully related to stress caused absence and it should also be noted that non-work related stress absences would also be recorded here.

Sickness absence due to mental health absences, in the Department were as follows:

Year	Number of Officials Absent due to ‘Mental Disorders’ (Headcount)	Proportion of Total Officials (Headcount)	Absences due to ‘Mental Disorders’ as a Proportion of Total Working Days Lost
2011	109	4.0%	18.3%
2012	92	4.2%	25.0%
2013	104	5.2%	24.3%
2014	98	4.8%	20.1%
2015	113	5.3%	32.8%

Back in the Summer of 2014 DCLG paid for two staff to become mental health first aid Instructors so that a programme of mental health first aid could be rolled out across the Department. 32 staff have since become mental health ambassadors. The increase in the level of absences due to mental disorders in 2015 is likely to reflect more honest and open reporting of absence by staff following the work done by our Mental Health First Aiders to reduce the stigma that is sometimes felt by sufferers of poor mental health.

For the 12 month period ending December 2015, the Department’s overall absence rate was 6.5 average working days lost per member of staff. This is lower than the Civil Service average of 7.4 days, the public services average of 8.4 days and private sector services average of 8.2 days (figures from the October 2015 CIPD annual absence management survey).

01/01/2023

Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make available to the Northern Ireland Executive funds received from the Government’s application to the EU Solidarity Fund to help flood affected areas.

James Wharton

The Government submitted an initial UK application to the EU Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February and we continue to refine our cost estimations.

At the date the application was made, the Government had not been approached on this matter by the Northern Ireland Executive.

01/01/2023
Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities are required to consider environmental factors when awarding contracts.

Mr Marcus Jones

The over-riding procurement policy requirement is that all public procurement must be based on value for money, defined as the best mix of quality and effectiveness for the least outlay over the period of use of the goods or services bought. This includes taking environmental issues into consideration.

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires all public authorities, to have regard to economic, social and environmental well-being in connection with public services contracts; and for connected purposes. In addition under the Duty of Best Value, local authorities should consider overall value, including environmental value when reviewing service provision.

01/01/2023
Mary Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Robinson on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help people with disabilities with the cost of housing in the private rented sector.

Justin Tomlinson

There are a number of ways the Department helps people with disabilities who are entitled to Housing Benefit and are renting in the private sector.

The enhanced package of Discretionary Housing Payments funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable LAs to protect vulnerable claimants and support households affected by the Housing Benefit reforms.

In addition to this, single disabled people under 35 years of age who are in receipt of the severe disability premium are exempt from the shared accommodation rate under the Local Housing Allowance scheme.

Disabled people with overnight care needs may be eligible for an additional bedroom for a non-resident carer under the size criteria rules.

01/01/2023