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  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the gender pay gap for women over 40.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government is committed to full gender equality in the workplace. We will be introducing gender pay gap reporting for companies with at least 250 employees and will provide £500,000 in support to help business calculate, understand and address their gender pay gaps. The Government expects employers to start publishing the required information from April 2017.

    The Government’s ambition is to unlock the skills, talents and experience of older workers. Working with business, International Women’s Day 2016 saw the Women’s Business Council launching a toolkit to encourage older women to enter and stay on in the workplace. The Women’s Business Council has established a working group on older women workers to address how business can offer practical support to older workers.

    This builds on action the Government has already taken to ensure an effective framework to help women return to and progress in work. These measures include introducing shared parental leave, extending the right to request flexible working to all employees and increasing support for childcare costs.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of his Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Within the Department for Work and Pensions – 112 (51%) of Senior Civil Servants and 627 (68%) of core policy civil servants are based in London. 84,761 staff were in post within the department on 29 February 2016.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s legal costs were in the Supreme Court cases UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has incurred approximately £52,299 to date on legal costs in the joined cases of MA, A & Rutherford v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at the Supreme Court (UKSC 2014/0129, UKSC 2014/0139, UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025). Due to the way in which the cases are billed, it is not possible to provide a separate figure for UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025.

    It should be noted that this figure includes VAT where this is payable (e.g. on Counsel’s fees) and disbursements but does not include costs attributable to the time spent by Government advisory lawyers, as time spent by such advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases.

    It should also be noted that this figure does not include all of Counsel’s fees incurred in relation to proceedings during February and March which have not yet been billed.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what feedback his Department has received on its trial of work coaches in foodbanks.

    Priti Patel

    Early feedback suggests that this has resulted in strong working relationships between Jobcentre Plus and local partners.

    It has shown that it can have a positive impact in supporting people who have a range of complex needs to access in work and out of work support.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will amend the terms of reference for the independent review of the state pension age to exclude the existing timetable up to 2028 from the scope of the review.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has no plans to make changes for those reaching State Pension age before 2028.

    The State Pension age review will be forward looking and focussed on the longer term. It will not cover the existing State Pension age timetable up to April 2028 which is already legislated for.

  • Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people found to be committing benefit fraud and not prosecuted in court in each of the last two years (a) have repaid monies due in full, (b) are actively making repayments, (c) are in arrears with their repayments and (d) have since been prosecuted for breaching their agreement to pay.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Information in the form requested for questions a, b and c is not readily available and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

    In answer to question d, the Department does not hold this information.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the maximum period is for which a back payment can be made on universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    The maximum period by which a claim can be backdated is one calendar month from the date of claim. Backdating is only possible in exceptional circumstances.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the situation of children living in Eritrea, and of the effects of the Danish report on asylum determination, published in 2014, which has been criticised for failing to reflect the balance of views expressed by the UN.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government wants to see better conditions for children in Eritrea. Some of the issues of concern are: a lack of education; limited access to health services; and the prospect of extended National Service. Each of these can act as a driver for migration, pushing minors to undertake dangerous journeys to Europe. Though the Government of Eritrea has made some progress, including improving health services and increasing the net national enrolment in education, more needs to be done. Through the Department for International Development, the UK is supporting UN Children’s Emergency Fund programs that help improve the lives of children in Eritrea.

    The Home Office’s Country Information and Guidance on handling Eritrean asylum and human rights claims is based on an objective assessment of the situation in Eritrea. It uses evidence from a range of sources, including the Danish Immigration Service’s fact finding report of December 2014. The Home Office carefully considered the criticisms of the Danish report when preparing the guidance, as well as other published material. Each asylum case is carefully considered on its individual merits.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case of Asia Bibi, currently sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office remains concerned about the case of Ms Bibi and continues to follow her appeal process closely. The Supreme Court suspended the death sentence to allow for appeal in July 2015, but she does not yet have a hearing date.

    The Government regularly makes known to the Pakistani government at a senior level our concerns about the misuse of blasphemy laws against both Muslims and religious minorities in Pakistan. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), personally raised the abuse of these laws with the Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK in October 2015. Both the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), have made clear to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif our concerns about the blasphemy laws.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals who previously claimed a motability allowance under the Disability Living Allowance have (1) lost that allowance after being reassessed for Personal Independence Payments, and (2) kept that allowance after being reassessed for Personal Independence Payments.

    Baroness Altmann

    There is not a motability allowance in Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The information requested is, therefore, not available.

    Both DLA and PIP have a mobility component which can be paid at one of two rates and access to the Motability Scheme is through receipt of the higher rate mobility component of DLA or the enhanced rate mobility component of PIP.

    The latest available data on PIP claims in payment, registrations, clearances and awards for both new claims and reassessed claims (for those previously in receipt of DLA) are published on Gov.UK. In particular, breakdowns of reassessed claims in payment by type and rate of awards can be found using the Stat Xplore tool on Gov.UK