Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2024 to Question 7568 on Civil Service: Productivity, what metrics his Department uses to assess productivity in the (a) Civil Service and (b) wider public sector.

Over the coming months the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury will continue to work with departments to improve productivity and efficiency both in the public sector and in the Civil Service. More detail on this work will be provided at the next multi-year Spending Review, due to conclude in Spring 2025. The Government is also developing a strategic plan for a more efficient and effective civil service, including bold options to improve skills, harness digital technology and drive better outcomes for public services. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes quarterly and annual estimates for public service productivity. To further improve this world leading measure the ONS is undertaking a review of public service productivity, partnering with government departments, academics and expert users to help develop and improve methodology and data sources.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to prepare the BBC for its charter review.

The next Charter Review has to ensure the BBC doesn’t just survive but thrives for decades to come.My Department is in the early stages of preparation for the upcoming Charter Review, which we expect to launch in 2025. My Department is already in discussions with the BBC about Charter Review.

What information her Department holds on the number and proportion of buses operating in London that were made in the UK.

The Department does not hold information on the number or proportion of buses operating in London that were made in the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting protected food status to traditional pie and mash.

Defra officials have already discussed the application process for Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status with a representative of the producers. They are clear that an application for TSG status requires agreement on the recipe that producers would need to follow to use the name in future. They also understand that all those wishing to use the name would need periodic verification of their practices. Once a formal application is submitted a full assessment of the case can be made.

Whether she has made an recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the plug-in grant for vans.

The plug-in van grant has been in place since 2012 to help reduce up-front purchase costs, supporting almost 90,000 zero emission vans and heavy goods vehicles across the UK. Plug-in vehicle grants will continue for vans, trucks, motorcycles, taxis and wheelchair accessible vehicles until at least the end of the current financial year.

What steps he is taking to (a) monitor and (b) increase productivity in the civil service.

This Government is committed to improving the productivity of the public sector to deliver high quality public services, achieve value for money and support economic growth. The Government will develop a strategic plan for a more efficient and effective civil service, including bold options to improve skills, harness digital technology and drive better outcomes for public services.

How many police officers have left each police force since 4 July 2024.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of police officers who leave the service in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on an annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.The latest information covers the period to 31 March 2024. Data from 4 July 2024 are not held centrally. The ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ that accompanies the main statistical release contains information on the number of police officers that left the police service, in each financial year, from the year ending March 2007 to March 2024, is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/669a917cce1fd0da7b59294f/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-240724.odsData for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 is due for publication in Summer 2025.

What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on its purchase of new zero-emission buses from non-UK manufacturers.

None. This is a devolved matter and, as such, a decision for the Scottish Government.I have recently met UK bus manufacturers to understand how the UK Government can support the transport sector.

If she will publish advice for local transport authorities on best practice for on-street charging.

To support best practice in local charging infrastructure strategy and delivery, including on-street, the Government has funded local authority electric vehicle (EV) officers and a dedicated EV infrastructure training course. These officers receive expert advice and guidance through a central support body and can access extensive information via a regularly updated online EV knowledge repository. The Government will continue to publish further guidance for local authorities on EV charging as required.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions his has had with Openreach on plans for full-fibre broadband rollout (a) nationally and (b) in Essex; and whether there has been any change in the speed of the rollout plans since 4 July 2024.

OpenReach has announced commercial plans to deliver full-fibre broadband to 25 million premises in the UK by 2026 and 30 million by 2030.As part of Project Gigabit, Building Digital UK has signed a framework agreement with Openreach, with a value of up to £800 million, to provide around 312,000 hard-to-reach premises with access to gigabit-capable broadband.Essex has been included within a call-off under this framework, which we plan to award in the coming months with delivery to commence in late-2025. According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 82% of premises in Essex have access to gigabit-capable connection, including 64% with full-fibre.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Essex and Suffolk Water on levels of investment in local water infrastructure.

Since taking office, the Secretary of State and I have met with representatives from all water and wastewater companies. Officials also regularly meet with water companies to discuss localised and regional issues. On 11 July, Ofwat proposed allowing a spending package of £88bn by water companies between 2025 - 2030. This investment will deliver upgrades across England and Wales to improve local water infrastructure including: 1500 wastewater treatment works, improvements of thousands of storm overflows and investment in improving bathing waters. For PR24, Essex and Suffolk Water are proposing to invest £1.5 billion in total in the region, notably £386 million on new water supplies and £17.5 million on leakage. This is the largest investment programme in the last 30 years, working to increase resilience and secure water supply for the future, reducing the impact on the environment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 July 2024 to Question 1812 on Pay: Young People, if she will make these calculations.

I refer the Rt Hon. member to the publicly-available data sources listed in response to his previous question, from which further calculations can be made. The statistics requested can be calculated for a typical worker on the minimum wage using the following data sources: average hours from ONS dataset HOUR01; inflation from ONS CPI series D7BT; historic Income Tax liabilities from HMRC, “Income Tax Personal Allowances and Reliefs”; historic National Insurance liabilities from HMRC, “Main Features of National Insurance Contributions”. Links can be found on the GOV.UK Website here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/actualweeklyhoursworkedseasonallyadjustedhour01sa https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/d7bt/mm23 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-income-tax/income-tax-rates-and-allowances-current-and-past https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-features-of-national-insurance-contributions