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1657022

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	House of Commons Commission
answering dept id	18
answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
hansard heading	Legislation: Parliamentary Scrutiny
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission is considering new initiatives to increase public trust in the parliamentary legislative process.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196666
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2023 answer text <p>The legislative programme, and its content, is the responsibility of the Government. A number of teams across the House Service, primarily the Chamber and Participation team and the Communications team, collectively provide a range of opportunities for the public to learn about the parliamentary legislative process. This includes information on the law-making process as part of public engagement events (such as community outreach sessions, teacher training, school visits to the Education Centre and tours of the Palace of Westminster) and as part of the House’s communications activity (including regular updates on legislation and procedural explainers on social media channels).</p><p>The Commission has not recently discussed new initiatives to increase public trust in the parliamentary legislative process. However, the Administration Committee has recently finished an inquiry investigating how the House of Commons Administration communicates to the public. It will be reporting its findings to the Commission in the Autumn.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 28/09/2023 11:03:55 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657028

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps they are taking to reduce backlogs of Member correspondence in their office.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196672
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>The Department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from Members of Parliament, either directly or on behalf of their constituents. The Department runs tailored training sessions for Departmental colleagues specific to ministerial correspondence to improve the quality and timeliness of responses.</p><p>The deadlines set by government departments and agencies for responding to correspondence from Members of Parliament and Peers should not exceed 20 working days. The Department has set a more ambitious deadline of 18 days to ensure a customer-centred approach.</p><p>The table below provides the volumes of correspondence from Members of Parliament and Peers received between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2023.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Receipt Date</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Correspondence from MPs and Peers</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>On time 18 days</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>On time 20 days</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average time to reply</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/01/2023 – 30/06/2023</p></td><td><p>4,029</p></td><td><p>70.4%</p></td><td><p>72.3%</p></td><td><p>23 days</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The timeliness of Ministerial Correspondence is reviewed weekly by Ministers and the Permanent Secretary and continues to be a priority.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 196692 question first answered 26/09/2023 15:38:02 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657048

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data their Department holds on the average response time to enquiries by Members; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of that response time.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196692
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>The Department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from Members of Parliament, either directly or on behalf of their constituents. The Department runs tailored training sessions for Departmental colleagues specific to ministerial correspondence to improve the quality and timeliness of responses.</p><p>The deadlines set by government departments and agencies for responding to correspondence from Members of Parliament and Peers should not exceed 20 working days. The Department has set a more ambitious deadline of 18 days to ensure a customer-centred approach.</p><p>The table below provides the volumes of correspondence from Members of Parliament and Peers received between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2023.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Receipt Date</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Correspondence from MPs and Peers</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>On time 18 days</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>On time 20 days</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average time to reply</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/01/2023 – 30/06/2023</p></td><td><p>4,029</p></td><td><p>70.4%</p></td><td><p>72.3%</p></td><td><p>23 days</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The timeliness of Ministerial Correspondence is reviewed weekly by Ministers and the Permanent Secretary and continues to be a priority.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 196672 question first answered 26/09/2023 15:38:02 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657072

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Written Questions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps their Department is taking to improve response times to written parliamentary questions.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196716
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>The Department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from Members of Parliament, including written parliamentary questions (WPQs). The Department runs tailored training sessions for Departmental colleagues specific to WPQs to improve the quality and timeliness of responses.</p><p>All Departments also have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.</p><p>The below table provides the percentage of WPQs answered on time, and the average number of working days to respond, which were received from Members of the House of Commons and due for answer between 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Total WPQs answered</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>% WPQs answered on time</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average working days to respond</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1,576</p></td><td><p>86.3%</p></td><td><p>6.1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Footnotes:</p><ol><li>Data is based on the number of ‘Named Day’ and ‘Ordinary’ WPQs received and answered by the Department for Education between the 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023.</li><li>MPs may table questions specifying the date on which they should receive an answer (a ‘Named Day’ WPQ). MPs must give a minimum of two days notice. However, they may also pick a date further in the future. This can impact the average number of days to respond. ‘Named Day’ WPQs and ‘Ordinary ‘WPQs’ often have different response deadlines.</li><li>Recess periods can impact the due date for answering WPQs, this will also have an impact on the average number of working days to respond. During this period, the House rose for Easter recess, May Day recess, Coronation recess, Whitsun recess and the Summer recess.</li><li>The average length of time given to respond to WPQs covers both ‘Named Day’ and ‘Ordinary’ WPQs combined, including the working date the WPQs were received.</li></ol><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 196737 question first answered 26/09/2023 15:38:30 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657093

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Written Questions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data their Department holds on the average response time to written parliamentary questions in the last six months; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of that response time.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196737
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>The Department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from Members of Parliament, including written parliamentary questions (WPQs). The Department runs tailored training sessions for Departmental colleagues specific to WPQs to improve the quality and timeliness of responses.</p><p>All Departments also have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.</p><p>The below table provides the percentage of WPQs answered on time, and the average number of working days to respond, which were received from Members of the House of Commons and due for answer between 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Total WPQs answered</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>% WPQs answered on time</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average working days to respond</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1,576</p></td><td><p>86.3%</p></td><td><p>6.1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Footnotes:</p><ol><li>Data is based on the number of ‘Named Day’ and ‘Ordinary’ WPQs received and answered by the Department for Education between the 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023.</li><li>MPs may table questions specifying the date on which they should receive an answer (a ‘Named Day’ WPQ). MPs must give a minimum of two days notice. However, they may also pick a date further in the future. This can impact the average number of days to respond. ‘Named Day’ WPQs and ‘Ordinary ‘WPQs’ often have different response deadlines.</li><li>Recess periods can impact the due date for answering WPQs, this will also have an impact on the average number of working days to respond. During this period, the House rose for Easter recess, May Day recess, Coronation recess, Whitsun recess and the Summer recess.</li><li>The average length of time given to respond to WPQs covers both ‘Named Day’ and ‘Ordinary’ WPQs combined, including the working date the WPQs were received.</li></ol><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 196716 question first answered 26/09/2023 15:38:30 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657115

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Cybersecurity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) enhance cybersecurity and (b) protect personal data.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196759
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>Being cyber secure and protecting personal data underpins everything we do in the Department. In accordance with the Government Cyber Security Strategy, the Department is working to ensure that its critical functions will be significantly hardened to cyber attack by 2025, with all government organisations across the whole public sector being resilient to known vulnerabilities and attack methods no later than 2030.</p><p>The Department continues to focus on the development of secure services and the Department’s ability to detect and respond to cyber incidents, including within the supply chain. The Department’s cyber team continues to work closely with colleagues across government, including at the National Cyber Security Centre, to manage its cyber risk.</p><p>The Department is engaged with the newly launched GovAssure process, which will ensure that cyber security is delivered effectively and consistently across government.</p><p>The Department takes the protection of personal data very seriously. All personal data is handled in accordance with the Department's data protection policy, which ensures that the Department has put in place appropriate and effective measures to make sure it complies with data protection law. The Department’s staff have access to a number of policies, operational procedures and guidance to give them appropriate direction on the application of data protection legislation. The Department also implements appropriate technical and organisational measures in an effective manner to ensure compliance with data protection principles. This is done by applying adequate resources and controls to document UK General Data Protection Regulation compliance.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 26/09/2023 15:36:05 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657137

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps their Department is taking to improve the response time to FOI requests.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>Official National Statistics on Freedom of Information (FOI) performance for all central government departments and other monitored bodies can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics</a>.</p><p>The Department continually monitors and looks for ways to improve its FOI performance.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 196802 question first answered 26/09/2023 15:34:12 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657158

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education,what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the average time taken by her Department to respond to freedom of information requests in the 2022-23 financial year.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196802
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2023 answer text <p>Official National Statistics on Freedom of Information (FOI) performance for all central government departments and other monitored bodies can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics</a>.</p><p>The Department continually monitors and looks for ways to improve its FOI performance.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 196781 question first answered 26/09/2023 15:34:12 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657199

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Public Inquiries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time taken to respond to public inquiries by her Department was in each of the last five years; and whether she plans to introduce measures to improve response times.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196843
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2023 answer text <p>By the nature of their work, inquiries deal with complex and often cross-cutting issues. It is important that the Government properly considers its response to such issues and ensures cross Departmental alignment. The Department has not issued a response to any public inquiry that has concluded within the last five years.</p><p>Public inquiries are an important mechanism to allow the Government to learn lessons for the future. The Department takes recommendations from public inquiries seriously and recognises the importance of taking time to thoroughly consider its response.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 16/10/2023 15:38:39 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1657261

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Patients: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the NHS responds to concerns raised by staff about potential harm to patients (a) appropriately and (b) swiftly.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	196896
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2023 answer text <p>Last year, NHS England rolled out a strengthened Freedom to Speak Up policy, which covers the importance of listening to concerns and responding to concerns that are raised. All organisations providing services within the National Health Service are expected to adopt the updated national policy by 31 January 2024 at the latest. The National Guardian’s Office has also produced a training package aimed at all workers, including managers and senior leaders, which underlines the importance of responding to and acting on staff concerns.</p><p>There is also a network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, covering every trust, whose role includes ensuring the person who raises a concern is responded to and receives feedback on the actions taken.</p><p>Following the outcome of the trial of Lucy Letby, NHS England wrote to all NHS trusts to further emphasise the importance of NHS leaders listening to the concerns of patients, families and staff and following whistleblowing procedures.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 25/09/2023 14:03:11 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight