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  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he had with foodbank providers on the planned introduction of Jobcentre staff in foodbanks.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Work Coaches undertake outreach work every day in local communities, and have recently been helping people with back-to-work support and advice in Manchester, where a food bank sits alongside other support services.

    The Department is in the early stages of testing the outreach activity, and will reflect on the findings.

    Where Jobcentre Plus is invited to work in partnership with a food bank provider, and where there is a local need, Jobcentre Plus District Managers will be able to apply the best practices identified.

  • 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 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is provided to universal credit claimants who do not have (a) online access or (b) the capability to apply online.

    Priti Patel

    For those Universal Credit claimants who do not have online access, computers and free Wi-Fi are available through DWP and their delivery partners. Where claimants have limited, or no, capability to apply on-line, ‘assisted digital’ support is available alongside telephone and face to face support.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will introduce legislative proposals to amend the provisions of the Pensions Act 2014 relating to the Pension Protection Fund capping to provide assistance to scheme members whose employers have entered into administration; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government is committed to the implementation of the Pension Protection Fund long service cap as described in the Pensions Act 2014.

    Before the primary legislation can be brought into force, a number of changes need to be made to secondary legislation, so that it will operate as expected in all cases. Therefore we cannot, at this time, commit to a particular implementation date.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 14 December 2015 with regard to Ms A Sharif.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the member of Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), replied on 24 January 2015.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 9 December 2015 with regard to Mr S Faulkner.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the member of Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), replied on 20 January 2015.

    .

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees who were dismissed from employment by his Department or its executive agencies since 2010 were on long-term sickness absence at the time of their dismissal; and how many such employees had been diagnosed with a condition considered (a) incurable, and (b) terminal.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP has succeeded in reducing sickness absence from an annual average of 8.4 days per employee in December 2010 to 6.2 days per employee currently.

    DWP’s Attendance Management policy is supportive of our people and we are committed to helping them maintain good health. We will support employees during periods of sickness absence as long as there is a realistic prospect they will return to work. However, where this is not the case, we need to take prompt action to manage the situation.

    The following table provides a summary of number of employees dismissed while on long-term sickness absence.

    Year

    Headcount at end of year

    Dismissals on Long Term Sick

    2010

    112,135

    450

    2011

    101,331

    439

    2012

    106,487

    333

    2013

    99,343

    423

    2014

    90,388

    453

    2015

    84,429

    421

    DWP does not record whether an employee’s condition is diagnosed as incurable or terminal, so cannot provide this information.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the five options set out in pages nine to 12 of his Department’s Consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of Personal Independence Payments, Cm 9171, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will lose entitlement to personal independence payment under each of the five options in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18 and (d) 2018-19; and what estimate he has made of how much his Department will not pay in benefit payments under each option in each such year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department is 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, especially disabled people and disability organisations.

    No decision has been made as to whether there should be any changes to the current system. If changes were to be made, the Department does not have any preference between the 5 options presented in the consultation and welcomes additional suggestions. Furthermore, these options are not mutually exclusive and could be combined, in whole or in part.

    If the Department were to decide to change the current system, in line with the Department’s obligations under the Equality Act 2010, a full Equality Analysis would be conducted and considered prior to a final decision being made.

  • 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 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a universal credit applicant who does not receive the housing part in their first payment due to lack of evidence provided in their application will receive a backdated payment upon receipt of the correct document.

    Priti Patel

    Once all the relevant information is received, a backdated payment of the housing element can be made.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the percentage change in high street footfall figures was in each UK region in the last two years for which figures are available.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold figures for UK footfall, however there are external sources that do collect these statistics.

    The British Retail Consortium/Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor publishes a monthly roundup of national changes in UK footfall.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Best in Class, published by the CBI in December 2015, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of Swedish four box grid approach to analysing the attractiveness of international markets.

    Anna Soubry

    In CBI’s Best in Class report, the reference to the Swedish four box grid approach was part of a wider recommendation on allocating overseas resources for business support.

    The UK Government recognises that it has a crucial role to play in supporting businesses that export and invest in international markets.

    The Government is committed to focusing UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) overseas resources for business support in those markets that can deliver greatest benefit for the UK. UKTI uses similar publicly-available market data to Sweden (including GDP growth, political risk and the ease of doing business) in its assessment of export markets, but importantly this is just one input into the opportunity-focused, five-year rolling business planning process being developed to guide resource decisions.