Every department across government has a responsibility for equalities. Under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), all public authorities, including government departments, are required by law to ensure that they have due regard to certain equality considerations when carrying out their functions. The government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June, to ensure value for money for taxpayers.<\/p>
The Minister for the Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course. As at the end of February 2024 there were 156 people working in the department\u2019s Human Resources and Transformation Directorate. The PSED team is not part of the department\u2019s Human Resources and Transformation Directorate.<\/p>
The \u2018general duty\u2019 of the PSED is in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and requires public authorities in England, Scotland and Wales to give due regard to certain equality considerations when carrying out their functions.The department's PSED team sits within the department's central Strategy Group and ensures that the department is compliant with Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. The PSED team is resourced by 0.8 FTE. In addition, the department, through the PSED team, has a model of maintaining dispersed capacity across the department to comply with its duties.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Damian Hinds"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-03-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-03-19T16:51:08.93Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-03-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Department for Education: Staff"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people work in her Department's (a) Human Resources and Transformation Directorate and (b) Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) team; and whether the PSED team is part of the Human Resources and Transformation Directorate.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4679", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Neil O'Brien"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harborough"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Neil O'Brien"} ], "uin" : "18601"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693454", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693454/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), now part of Jisc, collects and publishes data on student qualifications across all UK higher education providers, including data on degree classifications. Counts of first degree qualifications by class of degree for academic years 2006/07 to 2021/22 are published in Chart 9 of HESA\u2019s Student Data, which is available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/chart-9<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p> The data includes students studying for first degree qualifications and excludes students who qualified with an unclassified first degree (mainly including degrees that do not have a classification, such as Medicine).<\/p> <\/p> Counts for academic years 1994/95 to 2005/06 can be found in HESA\u2019s publication archive, and can be accessed for the relevant years via the links below:<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3985", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Halfon"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harlow"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Robert Halfon"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-03-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-03-11T14:40:09.123Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-03-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Degrees"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of degrees were awarded at first class in each year since 1994.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4679", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Neil O'Brien"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harborough"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Neil O'Brien"}
], "uin" : "16870"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693455", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693455/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The department produces two average point score measures at GCSE, Average Attainment 8 and Average Ebacc APS. Average Attainment 8 was first introduced to all schools in the 2015/16 academic year, and Average Ebacc APS was first introduced in the 2017/18 academic year. More information can be found in the Secondary accountability measures guide here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-8-school-performance-measure<\/a>. The data can be found at the following links:<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Figures are based on pupils at the end of key stage 4 who attended state-funded schools in England.<\/p> <\/p> The A level average point score (APS) for each local authority in England, including number of students and average grade from 2014/15 to 2022/23, are available from the links below.<\/p> <\/p> Prior to that, APS data for local authorities covered all level 3 qualifications (A levels, but also other level 3 academic and vocational qualifications) where links are provided for the 2009/10 to 2013/14 academic years.<\/p> <\/p> All figures are based on students at the end of 16-18 study who attended state-funded schools and colleges in England.<\/p> <\/p> Note that APS data for the 2015/16 to 2022/23 academic years for A levels is on a scale of 0-60, where a grade A* is given 60 points and a grade E is 10 points. APS data for the 2009/10 to 2014/15 academic years uses an older QCDA points scale where A level grades are on the scale 0-300, where a grade A* is 300 points and a grade E is 150 points. Vocational qualification grades are scaled 0-270.<\/p> <\/p> 2014/15 - 2022/23 data: A level APS per entry and grade:<\/strong><\/p> 2009/10 to 2013/14: Level 3 APS per entry:<\/strong><\/p> Every department across government has a responsibility for equalities. The Human Resources and Transformation Directorate is responsible for equalities in the Department for Education. The department also has a Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) team who can provide colleagues with advice on equalities-related issues. Under the PSED, all public authorities, including government departments, are required by law to ensure that they have due regard to certain equality considerations when carrying out their functions.<\/p> <\/p> The government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June, to ensure value for money for taxpayers. The Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Damian Hinds"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-03-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-03-13T11:36:32.603Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-03-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Department for Education: Equality"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which unit in her Department is responsible for equalities.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4679", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Neil O'Brien"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harborough"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Neil O'Brien"}
], "uin" : "17023"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693058", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693058/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Current school funding, for individual schools and at local authority level, cannot be directly compared to school funding in 2010 due to structural changes in the funding system. For local authorities, funding for schools was only identified separately from funding for high needs or early years in 2013, so comparisons cannot be made before that point. In 2018, the schools national funding formula (NFF) started to direct funding according to a consistent assessment of need, rather than historic local spending decisions. Funding changes since 2018 will therefore reflect this move to fairer funding.<\/p> Local authority level data on school funding, including average funding per pupil, is published annually as part of the announcement of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocations.<\/p> The block of funding in the DSG relating to primary and secondary mainstream schools (the 'schools block') was first introduced in 2013/14. DSG data between 2013/14 and 2017/18 provides the schools block per-pupil unit of funding for each local authority. This covers both primary and secondary schools together. The department does not hold separate data for primary and secondary pupils for this period and does not have comparable data for years prior to 2013/14.<\/p> The funding system changed again in 2018/19 when the NFF was introduced. With the introduction of the NFF, funding was provided by reference to primary and secondary schools separately.<\/p> The scope of the per pupil figures pre and post-2018 are not directly comparable. In particular, the central services provided by local authorities was split out from the schools block funding in 2018/19, and instead funded separately through the central school services block from that year onwards.<\/p> Links to the published DSG tables can be found here:<\/p>