Tag: Sharon Hodgson

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the ethnic breakdown of workers earning between the National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage.

Jenny Willott

The Government supports a living wage and encourages businesses to pay it when it is affordable and not at the expense of jobs. However, decisions on what wages to set, above the national minimum wage, are for employers and workers.

The Government has not estimated the breakdown of workers earning between the National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage by ethnicity.

The Government’s main policy lever in addressing low pay is the National Minimum Wage (NMW). Using the Labour Force Survey, in 2013, 8.3% of the ‘ethnic minority’ group (see footnote) were in jobs that paid at or below the NMW while overall 7.8% of the jobs in the economy paid at or below the NMW. This is as set out in the Low Pay Commission’s 2014 Report, Figure 2.6.

We are absolutely clear that anyone from whatever background who is entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it. HMRC investigates every complaint made through the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Since 1 October 2013, employers who fail to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will be publicly named and shamed under revamped criteria announced in August 2013 to make it easier to clamp down on rogue businesses. This is on top of financial penalties which employers already face if they fail to pay NMW.

Footnote:

The definition of ‘ethnic-minority’ group is as defined in the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Also please note that the LFS overstates the number of Minimum Wage jobs and workers when compared to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) dataset.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, 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.

Brandon Lewis

This Government procures on the basis of value for money. Departments and the Crown Commercial Service will ensure that social, economic and sustainability issues are considered in procurement projects and that specifications, terms and conditions and evaluation criteria are developed to ensure that the relevant issues are addressed as appropriate for the subject matter of the requirements.

As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement of 6 September 2013, Official Report, Column 33WS, on the Government response to the public sector equality duty review, there is clear evidence of equality and diversity policies going too far in the other direction, by imposing unreasonable and expensive burdens on organisations bidding for public sector contracts. The Government has committed to reducing procurement gold-plating by the public sector.

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 Health, 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.

Dr Daniel Poulter

Detailed information which specifically identifies dismissals following formal disciplinary proceedings is not held for this full period. The Department publishes workforce information on the .GOV website, which includes figures for staff that have left the Department.

From 1 April 2013 changes have been made to how leaving reasons are recorded on the internal Human Resources System. For the financial year 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 14% of staff who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings were white British and for a further 14% ethnic origin is not recorded on the internal HR system as declaration of ethnicity is voluntary for staff.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, 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.

Simon Hughes

The Ministry of Justice is committed to promoting equality and diversity in its procurements. Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 outlines the Public Sector Equality Duty. The following three duties which form the basis of Departments’ policy and to which due regard must be given during the procurement process:

1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act;

2. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

3. Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

The level of due regard given to the three duties will vary depending on their relevance to each individual procurement. There will be greater significance for example where the procurement involves direct contact with the public or employees of the Department or where services are to be carried out in the Department’s premises.

Where a need to consider equality has been identified at the beginning of a procurement process, consideration to this is given at every stage of the process as detailed below:

· Planning and preparation includes the consideration of whether the duties are relevant to the procurement.

· The Pre-Qualification stage of the tender process contains mandatory fields including questions to make sure that the bid is in line with legislation. Suppliers that do not pass these questions are not progressed onto the next stage.

· The Request for Information and Request for Quotation contain questions in line with legislation. These question are proportionate so as not to disadvantage smaller suppliers.

· The evaluation of tenders can include equality criteria if it formed part of the specification. However, if included, the criteria are given proportionate consideration to the bid as a whole.

· Contract award where the specification set out equality criteria can be used to determine the most economically advantageous tender

· Ongoing consideration is given to the equality duties in every review meeting for those relevant contracts.

In addition to these processes implemented during the procurement process, the Department reports annually its obligations to the Cabinet Office. All procurement staff within the Department are required to undertake mandatory Equality and Diversity Training which makes sure that the duty can be considered and applied correctly.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the ethnic breakdown of workers on zero hour contracts.

Mr Nick Hurd

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, 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.

Brandon Lewis

It is not possible to provide definitive or meaningful percentages, as (a) not all staff declare their ethnicity, (b) due to the manner in which white ethnicity data is self-reported by staff , and (c) the sample sizes are so small as to be statistically misleading when comparing years.

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 Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many births, broken down by the week of pregnancy in which the birth occurred, there were in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr Nick Hurd

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, 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.

Simon Hughes

Staff within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ HQ), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and Legal Aid Agency (LAA) can, but are not compelled to, declare their ethnicity. Consequently, definitive figures for the proportion of white British staff who have been dismissed or subject to formal disciplinary proceedings over the last five financial years cannot be provided.

The MoJ Diversity report for 2012/2013 provides an overview of information on staff grievances, investigations, conduct and discipline. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279638/moj-diversity-data-report-2012-13.pdf

This information has not been collated or published in respect of earlier financial years.

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