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  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to health care professionals on applying the power in regulation 35 of the Employment Allowance Regulations 2008 to award employment and support allowance to claimants in the support group in exceptional circumstances.

    Priti Patel

    Healthcare professionals who carry out the Work Capability Assessment are trained in all aspects of their role including the application of Regulation 35. They are also issued with written guidance on all aspects of the Work Capability Assessment including the application of Regulation 35.

  • 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 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 8 March 2016 to Questions 30341 and 30342 and with reference to the Answers of 5 December 2013 to Question 179450 and 21 January 2014 to Question 182897, when his Department (a) decided to stop collecting the required information and (b) began to collect information in such a way that it can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

    For questions 179450 and 182897 volumes of prosecutions and number of errors identified were provided, however these were not all fraud cases, including cases where the error was not deliberate. This did not explicitly answer the enquiry, however was given to provide helpful context. It is not possible to separate cases into those which are a mistake and those where fraud has been accepted without individual case by case analysis.

    Again, we cannot directly answer 30341 and 30342 but have provided the below extra information to assist;

    2013-14

    2014-15

    2015-16

    Total Fraud Investigations (1)

    125,140

    116,480

    171,730

    of which total positive outcomes (2)

    20,800

    20,050

    24,600

    of which total fraud cases (3)

    15,350

    12,870

    13,600

    over which total prosecuted (4)

    11,390

    8,490

    7,150

    (1) Total cases investigated by Local Service or complex criminal Investigations.

    (2) Total cases where an error has been identified and corrected.

    (3) Prosecutions + admin Penalties + cautions: cases where fraud has been proven or accepted.

    (4) Cases accepted by CPS for prosecution.

    “

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have been awarded employment and support allowance (ESA) under regulation (a) 29 and (b) 35 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008; and how many such claimants were originally in the ESA support group.

    Priti Patel

    Information on the outcomes of initial Employment and Support Allowance claims awarded under regulation 35 of the ESA Regulations 2008 can be found in Table 5 of the published statistics:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-claims-made-to-jun-2015-and-appeals-to-dec-2015.

    The rest of the information requested 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 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32377, what proportion of local authorities will receive the Targeted Affordability Funding referred to; and whether Birmingham City Council qualifies as an area for such funding.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This information is not currently available.

    We are considering options as to how best to allocate the Targeted Affordability Funding, including the assessment of areas that will qualify.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for core regulatory activities within the Health and Safety Executive in the next three years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    HSE, like many other public bodies, will deliver further budgetary savings over the next three years. HSE has set out in its 2016/17 Business Plan its priorities and key deliverables up to April 2017, including its commitment to securing effective management and control of risk in GB workplaces. For the longer term it has a financial strategy to deliver the required savings whilst seeking to maintain current levels of its core regulatory activities and sustaining regulatory excellence.

  • 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 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the eligibility threshold for carer’s allowance to enable carers working 16 hours per week on the new National Living Wage to keep their entitlement to that allowance.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. It is not, and was never intended to be, a carer’s wage or a payment for the services of caring, nor is it intended to replace lost or forgone earnings in their entirety.

    The earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance is a net figure which is the figure left once income tax, National Insurance contributions and half of any contributions to an occupational or personal pension are deducted from earnings. There are also a number of other deductions which can be made that mean that people can earn significantly more than £110 per week and still be eligible for Carer’s Allowance.

    The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit is not linked to the number of hours worked. Instead, it is set at a level that aims to encourage those who give up full time work in order to undertake caring responsibilities to maintain a link with the labour market through part time work.

    Whilst the Government does not link the earnings limit to any other particular factor (including the National Living Wage), we do keep it under regular review and increase it when it is warranted and affordable, and this will continue to be our approach. Most recently in April 2015 the earnings limit was increased by 8% to £110, far outstripping the general increase in earnings.

    For those carers working around 16 hours a week on a low income and receiving Working Tax Credit, Carer’s Allowance is taken fully into account as income. That means that any loss in Carer’s Allowance is likely to be offset by an increase in Working Tax Credit, and this is one of the changes of circumstances that results in an immediate change to Tax Credits. Going forward the earnings taper in Universal Credit will help ensure that people are always better off in work.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will adopt recommendations 58 to 63 of the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry Report, Feeding Britain.

    Priti Patel

    As part of the ongoing development of the sanctions policy, we have already implemented many of the recommendations from the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry Report ‘Feeding Britain’ and Matthew Oakley’s independent review of sanctions, since they were published in 2014 and some are still being considered.

    Where we identify an issue, we act to put it right. As with all our policies, we keep the operation of the sanction system under constant review to ensure that it continues to function effectively and fairly.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support prisoners with mental health problems.

    Andrew Selous

    Providing appropriate treatment at the right time is vital to improve outcomes for people with mental health problems. All new prisoners accepted by a prison are assessed on reception by a health care professional on arrival at the prison. Where appropriate, prisoners may be referred to a range of individual or group mental health interventions. In the most serious cases, prisoners may be transferred to secure hospital on the recommendation of two psychiatrists

  • Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review access to compensation for victims of familial sexual abuse before 1979.

    Mike Penning

    The original Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme introduced in 1964 had a so called ‘same roof rule’ intended to prevent perpetrators benefiting from compensation paid to victims who lived with them. The rule was amended in 1979 to allow compensation for victims of incidents occurring after 1 October 1979 who no longer lived with their assailant. In line with usual practice, this rule change did not create retrospective entitlements. The Government has no plans to review the rule.

  • Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Docherty-Hughes on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the Government’s policy is on the UK remaining a party to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

    Dominic Raab

    The Charter is part of the EU Treaties and has the same status. It only applies when the UK is acting within the scope of EU law.