Written questions by Anderson.

What steps he is taking to increase the availability of jobs for newly qualified nurses in Nottinghamshire.

Decisions about the employment of newly qualified nurses in Nottinghamshire is a matter for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) follows the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles guiding fair and open appointments based on merit. We aspire to reflect the population we serve but there are no specific diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) targets for recruitment. As a Disability Confident Level 3 Leader the FCDO implements the Disability Confident Scheme across our recruitment campaigns meaning candidates in the scheme are guaranteed an interview if they meet the minimum criteria for the role. DEI in the Civil Service is an important lever to support the delivery of the Government's Plan for Change and wider Civil Service reform.

Communities and Local Government, how many disabled people have been allocated council housing in Nottinghamshire since 27 March 2024.

The Department does not currently hold figures on allocated council housing since 27 March 2024. However, the Department has begun collecting data for the 2024/25 financial year as part of our Social Housing Lettings in England statistical series and will publish the 2024/25 report in this series in November 2025 on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to prioritise disabled people on waiting lists for social housing.

Local authorities are responsible for designing and managing their own housing allocations policies to meet local need but have to do so within the legislative framework set by government. As part of this, they are required to ensure they give ‘reasonable preference’ (priority) to people for medical or welfare reasons, which includes a physical or learning disability. Allocations guidance also encourages local authorities to give additional preference to people who need to move urgently because of a sudden disability. Social housing allocations guidance can be found on gov.uk here.

What diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment.

All recruitment at the Department for Transport (DfT) is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. As such there are no diversity, equality and inclusion targets for recruitment in the Department.

What diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment.

I refer the Hon Member to my response to his previous PQ 40631.

Whether she plans to use Eastwood Hall Hotel to accommodate irregular migrants.

As a matter of longstanding policy, the Home Office does not comment publicly on sites which may or may not be utilised to accommodate asylum seekers.However, if a hotel has been identified for use as contingency accommodation, Home Office officials will write to the local authority Chief Executive and the constituency MP to inform them of any such plans.It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our plans to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

Defra complies with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles by ensuring that appointments to the Civil Service are made on the basis of merit following a fair and open competition. There are four strategic Defra group equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) objectives for 2024-26. One of these objectives is to attract, empower and retain diverse talent. Defra does not have set targets for EDI in relation to recruitment. Defra seeks to draw on talent across all protected characteristics as well as geographical, social and career backgrounds, providing opportunities to build a workforce which is reflective of the communities we serve.

What steps her Department is taking to support severely disabled people who cannot work.

The social security system will always be there for those who can’t work. As part of making changes to the payment rates in Universal Credit, we will ensure that those with the most severe, lifelong conditions who will never be able to work have their incomes protected. For those who are affected by the new PIP eligibility changes, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

Innovation and Technology, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not currently have DEI recruitment targets.

What diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment.

The Attorney General’s Office does not have a set target for diversity, equality and inclusion (EDI) for staff recruitment or representation. The AGO welcomes applications from those of all backgrounds.

What diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

The Department does not have any diversity, equality, or inclusion targets for recruitment. The Department does, however, aim to ensure that its staff are drawn from all walks of life and are representative of the public it serves.

What steps he is taking to ensure the provision of healthcare jobs for British born medical graduates.

The Government is committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our National Health Service.Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual NHS employers. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.Internationally educated staff remain an important part of the workforce, and our Code of Practice for International Recruitment ensures stringent ethical standards when recruiting health and social care staff from overseas.

What diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

The Cabinet Office has not set diversity, equality and inclusion targets for staff recruitment, but the Civil Service is committed to representing the diversity of the UK population.

What steps he is taking to ensure that only registered nurses are able to use the title of nurse.

The Government recognises that the protection in law of certain professional titles is important for public safety. Protecting a title provides assurance to the public that the person using that title is competent and safe to practise.Although ‘registered nurse’ is a protected title, ‘nurse’ is currently not a protected title. The Government is aware of the concerns which this generates, along with the complications associated with protecting the nurse title, given that it is used in multiple professions, for example registered nurses, dental nurses, school nurses, and veterinary nurses.The Government will continue to work with the professional regulators, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council, as it considers its priorities for professional regulation, and will set out its position shortly.

Innovation and Technology, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year.

The total for procured translation services for DSIT Commercial last year was £97848.94.

What diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment.

The Department for Work and Pensions does not have specific targets for diversity, equality and inclusion in recruitment. Instead, the department looks to establish methods of recruitment that give all applicants a fair opportunity to succeed, based on merit. The department looks to build an organisation that is representative of the community that it serves that also fulfils all principles set by the Civil Service Commission. The exception to this is a DWP ambition to fill 5% of AO/EO vacancies through Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) Life Chance Employment Schemes. This ambition of 5% is held across the whole Civil Service, in a scheme led by Cabinet Office, but is not a fixed target that must be met.

What plans she has for future eligibility criteria for the Motability Scheme.

The Motability Scheme operates throughout the UK and is open to recipients of enhanced mobility Personal Independence Payment, higher rate mobility Disability Living Allowance, War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement and Armed Forces Independence Payment (including equivalent Scottish benefits).We recently announced plans to make changes to eligibility for the Daily Living component of PIP.In our Green Paper: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working we also set out our intention to carry out a longer-term review of the whole PIP assessment, working closely with stakeholders and those with lived experience.Motability’s latest annual report shows that there are approximately 815,000 individuals participating in the Scheme.

How many claimants are registered under the Motability Scheme.

The Motability Scheme operates throughout the UK and is open to recipients of enhanced mobility Personal Independence Payment, higher rate mobility Disability Living Allowance, War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement and Armed Forces Independence Payment (including equivalent Scottish benefits).We recently announced plans to make changes to eligibility for the Daily Living component of PIP.In our Green Paper: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working we also set out our intention to carry out a longer-term review of the whole PIP assessment, working closely with stakeholders and those with lived experience.Motability’s latest annual report shows that there are approximately 815,000 individuals participating in the Scheme.

What diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment.

In 2018, the Home Office agreed a series of targets for the representatives of its workforce, which it intended to achieve by 2024. More information on these targets can be found here: Home Office workforce diversity statistics: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK