Category: Speeches

Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what statutory provision exists to ensure that the claimant commitments of universal credit claimants with dependent children include adequate protections for the wellbeing of the children.

Priti Patel

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 and Universal Credit Regulations 2013 set out the types of requirements which may be imposed depending on the circumstances and characteristics of the claimant. Regulations also make clear the circumstances in which requirements should be limited or even lifted entirely for a temporary period. For example, Regulations 98 and 99, which provide provisions for suspension of requirements where children are in distress.

All claimant commitments are tailored to the individual and through a discussion between the Work Coach and the claimant, requirements are tailored for a broad range of circumstances – including for matters relating to the wellbeing of children. These reasonable requirements, including any limiting or lifting and the reasons, are recorded within the claimant commitment.

01/01/2023
Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the most recent assessment of progress in the roll-out of the universal credit programme by the Infrastructure and Project Authority is.

Matthew Hancock

The most recent assessment of Universal Credit was set out in the MPA Annual Report 2015, published in spring 2015. This is available at: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/major-projects-authority-annual-report-2015)

The 2016 Report will be published in due course.

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01/01/2023
Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Neighbourhood Development Orders have been approved by referendum in each year since and including 2012; where those referendums were held; and what development each referendum authorised.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Department does not undertake formal monitoring of Neighbourhood Development Orders, however we are aware of four Neighbourhood Development Orders that have passed referendum since 2012, including three Community Right to Build Orders. Details are set out in the attached table.

01/01/2023

Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

Joseph Johnson

The table below provides a breakdown of overtime paid and the number of claimants for each month in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) HQ, in the last 24 months from February 2014 to January 2016.

The relevant budget holder must give approval before overtime can be worked or overtime pay claimed. Overtime pay is non-pensionable and can only be paid to staff below the Senior Civil Service. Approximately 0.3% of the annual BIS paybill is paid in overtime.

Month	Overtime Payments – BIS HQ	Number of BIS HQ Staff Making Claims
February 2014	£55,032.15	98
March 2014	£73,754.92	102
April 2014	£61,699.33	97
May 2014	£38,664.16	75
June 2014	£64,135.44	91
July 2014	£79,053.18	106
August 2014	£45,977.38	75
September 2014	£38,306.55	69
October 2014	£33,276.09	85
November 2014	£44,786.28	68
December 2014	£47,025.85	80
January 2015	£45,380.49	64
February 2015	£58,541.14	95
March 2015	£68,139.08	99
April 2015	£52,546.46	98
May 2015	£34,257.16	69
June 2015	£44,667.14	87
July 2015	£55,187.86	81
August 2015	£47,242.28	71
September 2015	£27,737.41	61
October 2015	£44,006.48	72
November 2015	£52,376.22	74
December 2015	£48,453.85	71
January 2016	£52,221.58	69

01/01/2023

Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the mortality rate for people aged between 40 and 50 was in (a) England and Wales, (b) Newcastle, (c) Sheffield and (d) Newham in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson

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

01/01/2023
Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Hindhead on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will select members of the proposed Racing Authority, and what the selection criteria will be for the appointees.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Under the replacement for the current Horserace Betting Levy a racing authority will be responsible for making decisions on spend in line with the overall purposes of the scheme. This body will be referred to in legislation but it will not be a statutory body. It will be for the racing industry to determine its governance arrangements.

01/01/2023

Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff have been employed by NHS Protect in each of the last eight years; and how many such people were employed as investigators.

George Freeman

The information requested is in the following table:

Year	NHS Protect Budget (£ million)	NHS Protect staff	NHS Protect investigators
2008-09	13.379	218	83
2009-10	13.439	204	71
2010-11	12.121	217	68
2011-12	11.381	190	33
2012-13	11.381	173	32
2013-14	11.381	178	32
2014-15	11.154	186	34
2015-16	10.473	174	33

01/01/2023

Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the performance of Capita in delivering primary care support.

David Mowat

NHS England recognises that there have been transition issues following the transfer of primary care support services to Capita. NHS England is working together with Capita to resolve these issues.

NHS England has established a dedicated service management team, and regular monthly oversight and management processes to oversee Capita’s operational performance and the transformational changes to the service. These include monthly Board meetings, chaired by a National Director, to review and hold Capita to account for operational performance and their transformation plans.

NHS England’s scrutiny of Capita is underpinned by a number of robust contractual mechanisms designed to ensure that primary care support services are delivered in line with expectations. These include financial service credits where agreed performance targets across the service are not achieved. There are also mechanisms to monitor and ensure compliance with information governance requirements, a six-monthly user satisfaction survey, and an annual external audit of the services.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Prime Minister, whether any government Minister was present at her meeting with Rupert Murdoch held in September 2016.

Mrs Theresa May

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations, including with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives, are published on a quarterly basis and made available on the gov.uk website.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on developing a global strategy to tackle diabetes.

Jane Ellison

Departmental Ministers regularly discuss a range of issues, including diabetes, with their international counterparts. However, there have been no specific discussions on a Global Diabetes Strategy.

01/01/2023