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  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to assist people with restricted visibility pursuing careers and training opportunities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The government has a wide variety of measures to help visually impaired and other disabled people prepare for, enter and remain in employment. These include:

    • Work Choice and Specialist Employability Support (SES), which help to prepare participants for work and move them into employment;

    • New Enterprise Allowance (NEA), which offers support to unemployed people who wish to start their own businesses. Disabled jobseekers who are accepted onto the NEA scheme may also be entitled to receive an Access to Work grant; and,

    • Access to Work, which provides practical and financial support with the additional costs faced by individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job, including some costs associated with new employment opportunities and supported internships. Access to Work has recently set up a specialist team visual impairment to further improve the service offered to the visually impaired people, who comprise the second largest group of Access to Work users.
  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the gross working premium of insurers which was required to fund the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Justin Tomlinson

    In 2014/15 the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) levy was charged at £32m which represented 2.2% of employers’ liability gross written premium (EL GWP). The actual cost of the DMPS in 2014/15 was £24.2m, and the additional £7.8m collected has been carried forward into 2015/16.

    On 12 January 2016 the Department announced that it anticipated the gross cost of the DMPS in 2015/16 to be £31m. This represents 2% of EL GWP. However, the amount actually levied on the insurance industry for 2015/16, taking into account the £7.8m carried forward, is £23.2m, which represents 1.5% of EL GWP.

    Note: The proportions quoted above use the most recently available EL GWP data in any one year. Due to the time taken to collect and verify this data, the EL GWP figure used to calculate the proportion the levy represents will be two years old. For example, for the 2014/15 levy the EL GWP data is from 2012.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will take into account the effect on blind and partially sighted people when deciding whether to change eligibility for recipients of the personal independence payment daily living component who qualify because of their use of aids and appliances.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP are currently running a consultation to seek views on how support can best be provided to help meet the costs of disability faced by people who are currently awarded points due to aids and appliances. The Department is keen to hear views from all interested parties, including blind and partially-sighted people and their representative organisations.

    No decision has been made as to whether any change should be made to the current system and the government does not have any preference between the 5 options presented in the consultation. However, in reaching any decision the Department will consider the effects on people with disabilities, including those who are blind or partially-sighted.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson’s disease have had at least one repeat assessment, by year of initial assessment, since the introduction of employment and support allowance in 2008.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many completed repeat assessments there have been of people with Parkinson’s disease by year of repeat assessment, since the introduction of employment and support allowance in 2008.

    Priti Patel

    The information available is shown in the table below. Repeat assessments are conducted to ensure that individuals receive the right level of support.

    Calendar years:

    Cystic Fibrosis

    Spinal Muscular Atrophy

    Parkinson’s Disease

    Multiple Sclerosis

    Other Rheumatoid Arthritis

    Oct-08 to Dec-08

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    Jan-09 to Dec-09

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    Jan-10 to Dec-10

    –

    –

    100

    700

    600

    Jan-11 to Dec-11

    100

    100

    300

    1,500

    1,500

    Jan-12 to Dec-12

    200

    100

    500

    2,900

    2,500

    Jan-13 to Dec-13

    100

    100

    400

    2,400

    2,500

    Jan-14 to Dec-14

    100

    –

    300

    1,900

    2,100

    Jan-15 to June-15

    –

    –

    –

    300

    300

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with motor neurone disease who have been awarded the daily living component of personal independence payment scored all of their points due to aid and appliances

    Justin Tomlinson

    For Motor Neurone Disease, the number of individuals awarded the Daily Living component of PIP who scored all of their points due to aids and appliances is 50.

    This data relates to the period April 2013 to 30th September 2015, and includes Normal Rules awards only.

    DWP are currently running a consultation to seek views on how support can best be provided to help meet the costs of disability which are faced by people who are currently awarded points due to aids and appliances. The department is keen to hear views from all interested parties, especially disabled people and disability organisations.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of workless 18 to 21-year olds who will be enrolled on universal credit in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not available. The number of people on benefits is driven by a range of factors, and because of this the programme measures progress by the successful achievement of its delivery plan rather than numbers of claimants.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with (a) cystic fibrosis, (b) rheumatoid arthritis, (c) motor neurone disease, (d) multiple sclerosis and (e) Parkinson’s disease have had at least one repeat work capability assessment by year of initial assessment since the introduction of employment support allowance in 2008.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why none of the Yazidi women who have escaped following enslavement by ISIS have been given refuge in the UK.

    Lord Bates

    We recognise the plight faced by vulnerable women and girls in the region, and particularly Yazidi women who have escaped following enslavement by ISIS. That is why we have funded the establishment of three community centres in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq which provide them with psychosocial and legal support, and the provision of two UN technical experts who will continue to improve the coordination of the humanitarian response to gender based violence in Iraq. Through the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, we are also providing life-saving maternal and child health-care, child protection services, and specialised support for escapees of Daesh terror.

    We plan to continue to resettle Iraqi refugees currently in Syria under the Gateway programme and will consider any Yazidi cases that are referred by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as part of that caseload. We are also prioritising the most vulnerable refugees through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement, under which UNHCR is mandated to identify and refer cases for potential resettlement using its established vulnerability criteria, which include women and girls at risk.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why no safe haven has been established for Yazidis and Assyrian Christians, Mandaeans, and Shabaks; when they last raised the failure to make such provision with their international partners; and what assistance they have given to those minorities to better provide for their self-defence.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government agrees that there is an urgent need to protect civilians in Syria and Iraq. However, for safe zones to be effective they must be truly safe. That would require an international mandate and a significant commitment of boots on the ground. Turkey has promoted the idea of safe havens along the border in northern Syria. However, all such previous proposals have foundered on the question of who will provide the defensive air cover, given the presence of a very sophisticated Syrian air defence system, and now the presence of Russian air-to-air offensive capability in the area. The priority remains an end to the violence and full, unhindered access for humanitarian agencies, so civilians can escape the fighting and aid can get through to save lives in the worst affected areas. Britain continues to lead the way in helping those suffering from the humanitarian crisis. The best way of safeguarding minority rights in the region is by defeating Daesh and establishing peace and stability in the region. The UK has been at the forefront of these efforts. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), set out the Government’s comprehensive strategy for dealing with Daesh and the conflict in Syria in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 November 2015.