The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claimants lost their entitlement as a result of action taken by Concentrix in the last financial year.
Mr David Gauke
5,244 tax credit claims were amended as a result of checks undertaken by Concentrix during 2014-15. This includes both partial and full loss of entitlement cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of existing legislation for tackling incidents of cyber bullying and harassment.
Mike Penning
As part of the arrangements for the collection of police recorded crime data the Home Office has introduced an ‘online flag’ allowing police forces to record online instances of crimes such as stalking and harassment. These data are still being developed but will be published once the data are considered to be of sufficient quality. In October 2015, the Office for National Statistics introduced new fraud and cyber questions to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. These new questions mean that we will be able to identify those crimes that had an online component and hence be able to provide estimates of cyber crime. This data will be published in due course.
Legislation is in place to deal with internet trolls, cyber-stalking and harassment, and perpetrators of grossly offensive, obscene or menacing behaviour. Through the Criminal Justice Act 2015, we improved two communications offences which can be used to prosecute misuse of social media: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, giving the police longer to investigate either offence, and increasing the maximum penalty for the former to two years imprisonment.
Engagement with the industry is essential, and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities, parenting groups, and government departments (Home Office, Department for Culture, Media & Sport, and Department for Education), to work in partnership to help to keep children and young people safe online. As part of this work, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, recently led a working group to develop good practice guidance for providers of social media and interactive services. Its purpose is to encourage businesses to think about “safety by design” to help make their platforms safer for children and young people under 18. This guidance was published in December 2015. A wide range of partners contributed to this project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to require GP surgeries to provide his Department with details of all the Med 3 fit notes they issue in respect of people receiving disability benefits.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department will receive anonymised and aggregated GP practice level statistics on Med 3 forms or ‘fit notes’.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590, whether his Department has received a request from the Kurdistan Regional Government for replacement ammunition rounds for British-gifted heavy machine guns; and if he will make a statement.
Penny Mordaunt
The Kurdish Regional Government has made a number of recent requests to Her Majesty’s Government for further assistance, including for ammunition. These requests are currently under consideration and as set out in my Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590. Should a decision be taken that we can provide further assistance, this would be notified to Parliament in the normal way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2016 to Question 25741, what criteria the Government plans to use to allocate the funds secured from the European Social Fund for the period 2014-2020.
Anna Soubry
EU regulations require the United Kingdom to spend at least 45.9 per cent of its national allocation for structural funds for the period 2014-2020 on the European Social Fund (ESF). The United Kingdom’s Partnership Agreement with the European Commission, which can be found on GOV.UK at ‘European Structural and Investment Funds: UK Partnership Agreement’, sets out how the requirement was met.
Within England, notional allocations for the European Regional Development Fund and ESF were made on the basis of Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas. The total allocations to each LEP area for the 2014-2020 period can be found on the GOV.UK website at ‘EU Structural Funds: UK allocations 2014 to 2020’. Each LEP area was asked how much it wanted to devote to the ESF, drawing on guidance issued by Government to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements at national level. The guidance can also be found on the GOV.UK website. Iinformation on the Strategies for 2014-2020 prepared by each LEP area can be found on the website ‘The Network of LEPs-LEP Network’, searching by European funding. These set out how much each proposed should be spent on ESF in their area.
Management of EU structural funds is devolved. The Devolved Administrations decide the criteria for allocation of ESF within their remits, taking account of the need to meet EU regulatory requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the specification for the Work and Health Programme to provide specialist support for long-term unemployed and claimants with health conditions and disabilities will require (a) autism and (b) other conditions of claimants to be recorded by both providers and Jobcentre Plus; and what discussions he has had about which conditions will be recorded.
Priti Patel
Development of the Work and Health Programme design is well underway, including engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. The Department has commenced the commercial process for the programme by releasing the Prior Information Notice for potential providers on 28 April.
Decisions on what the information reporting requirements will be for people with a disability or health condition are yet to be made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.
Guto Bebb
The Wales Office spent £56,561 on non-payroll staff in 2015-16.
In 2015-16, the Department used non-payroll (agency) staff to cover for staff on maternity leave and for vacant posts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure assessment centres for work capability assessment and personal independence payment consultations are fully accessible to people using different kinds of mobility assistance devices.
Penny Mordaunt
All assessment centres meet accessibility standards under the Equality Act 2010.
Before attending an assessment, claimants are given the opportunity to alert the assessment provider to any additional requirements they may have and the providers will endeavour to meet any such reasonable requests.
If a claimant is unable to travel to, or access an assessment centre as a result of their health condition or impairment, a home visit may be offered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Attorney General, how many complaints to the Crown Prosecution Service proceeded to formal Stage 2 during each of the last three years.
Robert Buckland
The following table shows the number of complaints escalated to Stage 2 in the past three years:
|
Year |
Stage 2 Complaints |
|
2013/14 |
245 |
|
2014/15 |
264 |
|
2015/16 |
254 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, why HM Courts and Tribunals Service officials based in Lancashire were not informed that courts in that county were to be considered for closure before the consultation on the proposal for a single local justice area for Lancashire.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The consultation on the merger of the Local Justice Areas in Lancashire was launched on behalf of the Cumbria and Lancashire Judicial Business Group. This consultation closed on the 10 July 2015 and is separate to the consultation on the court and tribunal estate which I announced on 16 July 2015.