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 Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 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.
Mr David Lidington
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 434W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what targets her Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.
Mr Alan Duncan
DFID has aligned with the Civil Service-wide diversity targets for levels of representation in the Senior Civil Service (SCS). These targets are:
· 39% of the SCS to be women – DFID has achieved this target as 39% of our SCS are women.
· 34% of top management posts (Director and above) to be held by women DFID has exceeded this target as 42% of such posts are held by women.
· 5% of the Senior Civil Service to be minority ethnic staff – DFID has exceeded this target as 7% of our SCS are minority ethnic.
· 5% of the Senior Civil Service to be disabled people – DFID has exceeded this target as 6% of our SCS identify as having a disability.
In addition to this DFID has made a commitment to improve staff engagement survey scores for people with disabilities as this is recognised as an issue across government. DFID has improved the overall staff engagement survey score for staff with disabilities from 65% in November 2012 to 71% in November 2013.
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 proportion of those (a) starting and (b) completing an apprenticeship in England since May 2010 were (i) female, (ii) registered disabled and (iii) from an ethnic minority background.
Matthew Hancock
Information on apprenticeship starts and achievements by gender, ethnicity and learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LLDD) is published by academic year in supplementary tables to a Statistical First Release (SFR).
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships–2
“
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 dismissed following 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, 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 Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 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.
Hugh Robertson
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 433W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what consideration her Department gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.
Mr Alan Duncan
DFID considers a number of factors including relevant diversity clauses when considering contracts and grants.
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.