Tag: Cabinet Office

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 11 February 2023.

More women will be helped back into the workplace following the launch of a Government-backed training programme.

• Women facing work barriers due to caring to be helped back to careers
• Minister for Women and Equalities invests in pilot to get returners into STEM
• 43% of STEM vacancies are hard to fill; women make up 29.4% of the STEM workforce; 75,000 STEM returners want to get back to work

Today on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science the Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch, has launched a new initiative to help people back into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) based careers.

The scheme – backed by £150,000 of Government funding – will be run by Women Returners and STEM Returners and will target those who have taken lengthy career breaks to care for others, giving them the skills they need to succeed in the workplace.

Minister for Women and Equalities, and Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch MP, said:

“I learned how to code at the age of seven and trained as an engineer, so I know the importance of science to our economy.

“In the last decade we have seen more girls studying STEM subjects at school and university, but we know that too many women later drop out of those careers because they need to care for children or elderly relatives.

“We are investing in returners so we can plug the STEM gap, increase workplace equality, and boost our economy. That’s good business sense.”

Between 2009 and 2020 there was an almost 30% increase in girls starting STEM A-levels in England, and between 2011 and 2020, the number of women accepted to full-time STEM undergraduate courses increased by 50.1% in the UK. But in 2020 women only made up 29.4% of the STEM workforce in the UK.

According to the UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2013, 43% of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) vacancies are hard to fill. But there were approximately 75,000 people who were economically inactive due to caring responsibilities, had not worked for at least 12 months, had a STEM occupation immediately before their career break, and would like to return to work in the future. The majority of these potential returners are women.

Minister for Women, Maria Caulfield MP, said:

“STEM jobs make up a large proportion of our economy, but there is a shortage in STEM employees and 75,000 STEM returners who want to get back to work. We know there are women across the country who have left their jobs to care for elderly relatives or children, and want to return to work.

“This pilot will help organisations to recruit those who are too often overlooked because of a gap on their CV.”

Women Returners, experts in return to work consulting, coaching and networking, will support parents and carers back into the workplace through personalised employability support, sector-specific refresh training, and work opportunities.

The STEM ReCharge pilot will provide support and training to technology and engineering returners in the Midlands and the North of England. It will also provide support and training for STEM employers on supportive returner hiring and inclusive recruitment practices.

Julianne Miles, CEO of Women Returners, said:

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Government Equality Hub and STEM Returners to launch the innovative STEM ReCharge programme in the Midlands and the North of England. There is a pressing need in these regions to provide this job-readiness support tailored to parents and carers returning to STEM, together with training for STEM employers to create more supported routes back to work for career returners. We’re confident that this comprehensive programme of support will help to accelerate the removal of the career break penalty in the UK.”

Natalie Desty, Director of STEM Returners, said:

“We are delighted to be supporting the Government Equality Hub in increasing the opportunity for Returners in STEM and lowering the barriers they face when they try to resume their careers. This programme will allow us to continue our mission to help create a diverse, inclusive and equitable STEM sector. We are especially delighted to be collaborating on this project with Women Returners, as working together we can achieve more.”

The Government has already funded 25 returner programmes across the private and public sectors. This includes providing a £1.5 million grant fund to support projects in the private sector, as well as targeting key professions in the public sector, such as social workers and health professionals. Guidance for employers on how to support returners, and a toolkit for those on their return to work journey, is also available via the GOV.UK website.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 8 February 2023.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 7 February 2023.

The Government is stepping up its use of data with a new dashboard showing information about the veteran community.

• Dashboard launched to bring together veterans’ data from different public bodies for the first time.
• Data will be regularly updated, allowing individuals and organisations to monitor progress.
• It comes as the ONS releases more data on the veteran population in England and Wales.

The Government is stepping up its use of data with a new dashboard showing information about the veteran community.

The Veterans Data Dashboard from the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, allows the public to scroll through data in areas such as population, housing, mental health and employment.

The dashboard will provide a snapshot to the public, veterans and service providers so they can learn about the community, as well as the different services offered by the government to support veterans.

It comes as the Office for National Statistics released new data from the 2021 Census on the veteran population. The data covers areas such as age, health, gender and ethnic and religious breakdown.

Minister of Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said:

In order to step up services for veterans and standardise support across the country, we need a better picture of the community we’re serving.

So it’s a key part of our job at the Office for Veterans’ Affairs to improve the data we have on the veteran community and today shows that we’re making good strides forward.

Data and evidence is at the heart of our veterans policy and I encourage everyone to check out the new dashboard.

The dashboard will be updated regularly as new data emerges and marks another step forward for the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.

Alongside the release of the dashboard, the Office for National Statistics have released further findings and analysis from the 2021 Census. For the first time, the demographic characteristics of our veteran population, including age, gender, nationality and reported health, are revealed.

The data shows that of the total (just over 1.85 million) UK armed forces veteran population in England and Wales, 13.6% were women and 86.4% were men. It also provides insights into the reported health of veterans, with veterans reporting their overall health similarly to the general population, when adjusted for age and gender.

The ONS is working to further analyse the Census 2021 data set, which for the first time included a question on if the respondent was a veteran.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 2 February 2023.

Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer and DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles visited Hull 4 Heroes today to meet charity staff and volunteers supporting veterans

Charity supports veterans across the City of Hull, North Riding and North Lincolnshire

A charity born out of inspiration from a veterans project on DIY SOS has been praised for helping ex-service personnel in north-east England.

Today, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer and DIY SOS Presenter Nick Knowles visited Hull 4 Heroes.

The charity, which has previously benefited from funding via the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, was founded in 2016 and provides crucial support services to veterans in Hull, North Riding and North Lincolnshire. Services provided by the charity include employment support, training, woodwork, cookery and mental health.

On the visit Mr Mercer met with veterans to learn more about how the charity helps people in the area, including through making large and small scale renovations to existing properties which veterans live in.

The Minister was given a tour of the warehouse facilities the charity runs, which stores personal possessions of ex-service personnel while they are moving or finding a new house. The charity also provided a Virtual Reality tour of their flagship project – a brand new housing development called the Veterans Village.

The Veterans Village will see the construction of a housing and rehabilitation site for veterans as they transition into civilian life. The 22 acre site will contain a residential area, training and support facility and a visitor centre.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said:

It was a pleasure to visit the Hull 4 Heroes team with Nick Knowles today to learn more about the work they are doing to help ensure our veterans enjoy a smooth and successful transition to civilian life.

The valuable skills they are teaching offer a stable platform for those looking to get back into work, enabling employers across the UK to fully appreciate just how valuable our veterans can be.

Hull 4 Heroes was founded by Paul Matson, a veteran himself, who built a successful business following a difficult period after leaving the armed forces. His charity was created on the back of getting involved with the show DIY SOS Big Build on a veterans project in Manchester, called Veterans Street. As a consequence of seeing the success of this project, he decided to establish his own veterans support hub in Hull with the help of other members of the local armed forces community.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs recently announced Op Fortitude, a single referral scheme for homeless veterans to access supported housing and wrap-around specialist care. Along with more than £8.5 million in funding for charity support services in veterans housing units, the scheme will ensure veterans homelessness is ended in 2023.

Following the success of a temporary pathway set up for the Christmas period last year, the referral scheme is being designed, taking forward lessons learned, and will launch in Spring this year.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 2 February 2023.

Leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, including the emergency services, have met today to continue to strengthen the UK’s resilience.

• First UK Resilience Forum since publication of government’s strategy on resilience
• Leaders from National Police Chiefs Council and National Fire Chiefs Council, as well as leaders in energy, transport and business, at the meeting

Leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, including the emergency services, have met today to continue to strengthen the UK’s resilience; scanning future threats and discussing the work underway as part of the government’s new Resilience Framework.

Chaired for the first time by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Lead Minister for Resilience, the Rt Hon. Oliver Dowden MP, it is the first meeting of the UK Resilience Forum since the publication of the government’s new strategy on resilience which officially makes resilience a national endeavour.

Speaking at the meeting, the Minister said:

I am delighted to Chair today’s Resilience Forum, bringing together leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, including our dedicated emergency services, to strengthen our national resilience; scanning future threats and discussing the important work that’s already underway as part of our ambitious Resilience Framework.

Attendees included the Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, Civil Contingencies lead at the National Police Chiefs Council, leaders across  the energy, transport, water and telecom sectors, and representatives from business and the voluntary and community sector.

The Forum highlighted the importance of taking a ‘whole of society’ approach to resilience as outlined in the Framework – empowering individuals, businesses and other organisations to play their part in building resilience across the UK. They also welcomed the work underway to achieve the commitments set out in the Framework which include:

• Delivering a new UK Resilience Academy, making world class professional training available to all that need it
• Appointing a new Head of Resilience, to guide best practice and encourage adherence to standards; making the government more transparent and accountable
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities in the UK government for each National Security Risk Assessment risk, to drive activity across the risk lifecycle
• Significantly strengthening Local Resilience Forums in England
• Developing a Measure for Social Vulnerability as an indicator of socio-economic resilience and how risks impact across communities and vulnerable groups

Civil Contingencies lead from the National Police Chiefs Council, Assistant Chief Constable, Owen Weatherill, said:

We support the government’s ambition to build greater resilience through a national approach, and we recognise the benefits of having resilient communities able to support themselves as much as possible during a crisis – this enables emergency services to focus their response on the most vulnerable people in society.

Policing has a key role to play in resilience planning, both at local and national level and we will work closely with Resilience Forums to ensure the new Framework is successful and helps those most in need.

CEO of the National Emergencies Trust, Mhairi Sharp, said:

The UK Resilience Forum is bringing together the public, private and third sectors to compare perspectives and shape plans in the round to strengthen the UK’s resilience. For the National Emergencies Trust it’s a valuable opportunity to share lived experience and learnings from UK emergency survivors.

Executive Director at the Environment Agency, Caroline Douglass, commented:

I’m pleased to represent the Environment Agency at the UK Resilience Framework – it is vital we work alongside partners to strengthen our resilience to risks, including extreme weather caused by a changing climate. With at least one in six people in England at risk from flooding from rivers and the sea, it’s crucial that we create climate-resilient communities.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 1 February 2023.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 30 January 2023.

Data analytics experts Quantexa have been awarded a new contract to help the government recover fraud against the public purse.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), which was set up last year to help public bodies tackle fraud against the public purse, will work with Quantexa to use new data and cutting edge technology, including Artificial Intelligence, to find and prevent more fraud across the public sector. Quantexa’s technology is capable of processing billions of data points at high speed to identify suspicious activity.

The £4 million contract is part of a wider investment across government to take the fight to those committing fraud against the taxpayer – rooting out fraud and using modern tools and techniques to stop it before it happens.

Cabinet Office Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe said:

Fraud against the public purse is unacceptable and we’re stepping up the fight against those who wish to profit off the backs of taxpayers.

Through the use of cutting edge technology, the Public Sector Fraud Authority will use data and AI to help us in the fight against  fraudsters.

The Cabinet Office previously worked with Quantexa to reveal instances of potential fraud within the government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme. This involved analysing an initial set of 250 networks of people, organisations, and places during which more than 100 million data items were processed.

PSFA CEO Mark Cheeseman said:

We know that fraudsters are a capable and committed adversary and the way they commit fraud is diverse and evolving. .

As criminals develop more sophisticated tools, we too must innovate and modernise our approach to prevent fraud.

By bringing together expertise and tools from the public sector and private sector we  will raise our ambition and challenge ourselves to increase our impact on this often unseen and underestimated crime.

The PSFA was backed by £25 million of funding. It will be the centre of the government’s Counter Fraud Function and It has been tasked with modernising the government’s counter fraud response, working with departments and public bodies to improve their fraud defences and using leading practice and modern techniques to protect taxpayer money.

It has set a first-year target of £180 million of recognised fraud benefits, which it is on course to hit.

The Government Counter Fraud Function brings together the c.13,000 people who work in departments and public bodies to fight fraud. This includes those working to understand and mitigate fraud risk within their organisations and those who work in the public sector to fight economic crime.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 16 January 2023.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 16 January 2023.

• New toolkit to help frontline public sector staff identify and signpost support for economic abuse victims
• Victims can have benefits controlled or be forced by their abuser to accrue debt to government
• Around 16% of adults are estimated to have experienced economic abuse

Frontline government staff are to be trained to identify signs of economic abuse,  so they can support vulnerable people and prevent them accumulating debt, the Cabinet Office has announced today.

Economic abuse, which domestic violence charity Refuge estimates 16% of adults in the UK have experienced, is when an individual’s ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources are taken away by someone else in a coercive or controlling way.

The Economic Abuse Toolkit is made up of clear guidance which can be used by frontline staff, across departments including HMRC and DWP, to help them identify and support vulnerable individuals who are suffering from economic abuse.

This includes advice on spotting the signs and creating an appropriate environment for victims to disclose their experiences.

Staff will be trained on how to handle any declarations sensitively and then ensure victims get access to support, helping to ensure vulnerable people don’t accumulate debt to the government.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin said:

Economic abuse is an abhorrent crime and we are determined to use all levers of government to stamp it out.

It is a problem that is often hard to spot and this new toolkit will give staff on the front line the tools to help identify and protect vulnerable people.

Through helping people access the support they need, this toolkit will help us tackle this crime and get victims out of abusive relationships and into safe spaces.

In a public sector setting, forms of economic abuse can include:

• Abusers preventing victims claiming support which they are entitled to in order to make them financially dependent
• Victims being unable to communicate their financial position and therefore not being able to access government support
• Victims being unable to claim for support due to the abuser putting everything in their own name
• Abusers putting bills to government in the victim’s name and then refusing to pay
• Abusers gaining access to financial information regarding the victim without adequate consent

Specialist charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), which was one of the organisations which contributed to the Toolkit, registered an 85% increase in traffic to their website during the pandemic.

SEA research also found seven in ten front-line professionals reported the number of victims of economic abuse coming to their organisation for help had increased since the start of the pandemic. By the end of the first lockdown, SEA found one in five women were planning to seek help around welfare benefits which could put more vulnerable people at risk.

Tackling domestic abuse is a government priority and improving the response to economic abuse is integral to this. For the first time in history, economic abuse is now recognised in law as part of the statutory definition of domestic abuse included in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. This is in recognition of the devastating impact it can have on victims’ lives.

Minister for Safeguarding, Sarah Dines said:

Domestic abuse can come in many forms, and economic abuse is a particularly insidious one, with significant and complex impacts on victims.

Following the passage of the Domestic Abuse Act and the publication of our Domestic Abuse Plan, I am committed to building on this momentum to improve the response to economic abuse. The public sector and its frontline services have a key role to play in this.

Plans are underway for departments to integrate the guidance into their training for frontline workers, but it’s hoped the Toolkit will be utilised by other parts of the public sector including local councils.

Money Advice Plus CEO Karen Perrier said:

Victim-survivors often find themselves with multiple debts from multiple sources. Given this drastic picture, it is vital that both public and private sectors provide informed support to victim-survivors so they can move forward with economic safety and stability.

The development of the Economic Abuse Toolkit will enable government staff to support victim-survivors with greater confidence and Money Advice Plus was happy to bring their expertise to its development.

The Toolkit was created by the Fairness Group, a collaboration led by the Cabinet Office’s Government Debt Management Function which brings together central and local government, debt advice sector and the debt collection industry.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 12 January 2023.