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  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25276, on unmanned air vehicles: safety, when he expects his Department to complete the detailed analysis of risks posed by drones.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The outcome of this risk assessment will be used to inform further research into and development of appropriate risk mitigation measures.

    As stated in my previous answer this work is ongoing and is kept under constant review.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the alternative Colne Valley tunnelling scheme for High Speed 2 as proposed by Hillingdon Council; and if he will meet the hon. Member for Richmond Park, the Leader of Hillingdon Council and the hon. Member for Uxbridge and Ruislip Northwood and Pinner to discuss that alternative.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The alternative Colne Valley tunnelling scheme, as proposed by the London Borough of Hillingdon (LBH), has been assessed and evidence was presented to the House of Commons HS2 Phase One Bill Select Committee. The Select Committee highlighted a number of concerns with the tunnel scheme in their statement on the 15th July 2015 which concluded that ‘our overall view is that a convincing case for a tunnel instead of the viaduct has not been made.’ Importantly, the Select Committee noted that the evidence was that a tunnel would not eliminate the impact of construction works in Hillingdon and surrounding areas.

    However, HS2 Ltd is currently undertaking a study with LBH to identify how the HS2 construction impacts in Hillingdon can be further reduced. The results from this study are due to be reported in May 2016.

    In the meantime, the Secretary of State is happy to meet the hon. Member for Richmond Park, the hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, and the Leader of Hillingdon Council.

  • 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 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment support allowance claimants in (a) Scotland (b) Glasgow and (c) Glasgow Central constituency stopped claiming that allowance after participation in the Work Programme.

    Priti Patel

    The available information on the number of people who have completed the Work Programme is published and can be found at:

    http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/WorkProg/tabtool.html

    The information requested for those who stopped claiming Employment and Support Allowance after participation in the Work Programme is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    “

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 29818, what assessment he has made of the effect of a four-year freeze in local housing allowance (LHA) rates on people that rely on LHA if the cost of renting in the private rented sector continues to rise; and whether the four-year freeze will disproportionally affect those living in houses with more than four bedrooms.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available. However there will be Targeted Affordability Funding available to support areas where higher rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation.

  • 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 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on European Social Fund allocations for the Work programme.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • 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 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Wythenshawe and Sale East constituency who are existing universal credit claimants and who are in work will have their universal credit decreased as a result of changes to the work allowance taking effect in April 2016.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not available because individual claimants’ circumstances can change as they move in and out of work or their earnings change. We have contacted all claimants who are in work and reporting earnings to make them aware of this change, which will affect a subset of that population.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many disabled people have found employment in the (a) private, (b) public and (c) charity sector in each of the last three years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent representations he has received on the effectiveness of the Pension Service helpline.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We have a number of pension service telephony lines including the Pension Tracing Service; International Pension Claims/Changes; International Pension Enquiries; State Pension Claims; and State Pension changes. We conduct an annual DWP Customer Satisfaction Survey which ensures that we are delivering against our customer charter.

    All our Pension Service telephony services are subject to continuous improvement to improve our service delivery.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of prospective claimants to complete the online application form for universal credit; and if he will estimate the number of eligible claimants who have failed to claim due to the complexity of that application form.

    Priti Patel

    The Universal Credit online application form is designed around user needs and over 90% of claims to Universal Credit have been made online. People without digital skills will be offered support to make and manage their Universal Credit (UC) claim online, and to acquire and to improve their digital skills. A telephone helpline is also available for claimants who cannot use the online service.

    We have no evidence of any eligible claimants who have failed to claim due to the complexity of the Universal Credit application form.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 28404, on Independent Living Fund, if he will publish (a) the timescale and (b) the terms of reference of the research which the Government plans to conduct.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We have completed the planning for researching the impact of the ILF’s closure; we will publish the findings when the research is complete.