Category: Speeches

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons appointments were cancelled by Maximus Health and Human Services Ltd in each local authority area in each month of that organisation’s contract with his Department.

    Priti Patel

    Work capability assessments are delivered by Centre for Health Disability Assessments (CHDA is a MAXIMUS company).

    Nationally, in the quarter from January 2016 to March 2016, the number of completed assessments was 417,143 and the number of cancellations was 10,143.

    Information is not available by local authority area.

  • 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 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the under-occupancy penalty on families with severely disabled children.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The rules allow severely disabled children who are normally expected to share a bedroom with another child to have a bedroom of their own.

    This easement applies when a severely disabled child is in receipt of the middle or higher rate care component of Disability Living Allowance and their disabilities would mean that they would disturb the sleep of the other child; or there is a potential threat of violence. This easement applies across both the private and social rented sectors.

    Discretionary Housing Payments are available for those who do not satisfy these conditions.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the level of structural funding that the EU Commission will allocate to Cornwall in the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework.

    James Wharton

    The post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework has not been proposed.

  • Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to create a new legal status of guardian of the property and affairs of a missing person by 1 December 2016.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    We will bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much is paid to GP practices for (1) advising a person to have a flu jab, and (2) giving a person the flu jab.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Under the General Medical Services contract, general practitioners (GPs) are paid £9.80 for each dose of influenza vaccination that they administer to patients who are eligible for the vaccination. GPs are not paid for advising patients to have the influenza vaccination.

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the welfare budget was spent on the state pension in 2014-15.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Total State Pension expenditure in 2014/15 was £86,516m.

    Detailed information on benefit expenditure is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

    “

  • Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that weekday services to the NHS are not compromised as a result of a seven day service.

    Ben Gummer

    It is for local providers and commissioners to develop plans for delivering more seven day services in hospitals, whilst maintaining standards of care on weekdays. The Care Quality Commission will continue to monitor, inspect and regulate hospitals to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety on all seven days of the week.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will update his Department’s travel advice guidance on the safety of women travellers to (a) Germany and (b) Austria to take account of recent events in those countries.

    Mr David Lidington

    The FCO’s travel advice is kept under constant review, and is based on objective assessments of the risk to British nationals.

    Our current advice for Germany can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/germany

    Our current advice for Austria can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/austria

    While we condemn the criminal behaviour seen in Cologne and on a smaller scale in Hamburg, Salzburg and elsewhere on New Year’s Eve, we do not assess that this is now the standard of behaviour to expect at all public gatherings in Germany or Austria. In addition, the authorities are taking action to ensure that such attacks are not repeated.

    We advise all travellers and British nationals resident in Germany and Austria to monitor our travel advice regularly.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax disputes with large businesses HM Revenue and Customs is engaged in; and what the value is of the tax that is being contested in those disputes.

    Mr David Gauke

    Until 31 March 2014, HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Large Business Service dealt with the tax affairs of around 800 of the largest businesses in the UK. From 1 April 2014, HMRC’s new Large Business directorate deals with the tax affairs of around 2,000 large businesses.

    At 31 December 2015, HMRC had enquiries open with 1,117 of the large businesses dealt with by the Large Business Directorate, covering 3,981 risks with £20.3 billion tax under consideration.

    At 31 December 2015, HMRC had enquiries open with 567 of the largest 800 businesses covering 2,826 risks with £16.8 billion tax under consideration.

    Tax under consideration is not actual tax either owed or unpaid. Rather, it is a tool which HMRC uses to guide its enquiries to focus on the most significant risks that exist at any particular time. The total is just a snapshot of work in progress and will naturally fluctuate as risks are addressed and new ones taken up.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many consultants’ contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.

    Nick Gibb

    This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.