Category: Speeches

  • Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Community Support Fund for former Remploy employees was only accessible through a third party and what estimate he has made of how many eligible former Remploy employees did not make a claim because they were unable to do so themselves.

    Mike Penning

    The Community Support Fund (CSF) was co-produced with disabled people and ex -Remploy employees to determine exactly what type of support or project they wanted to take part in. A key driver for the CSF was to ensure ex -employees could keep in touch with former work colleagues; to help negate feelings of isolation. This social activity can only be achieved by offering opportunities for ex-employees to take part in group activities.

    Access to CSF was provided through Disabled People’s User Led and Voluntary Sector Organisations who have the necessary skills to support these projects, providing vital peer support, personalised local services and actively working to increase participation in local community activities.

    The Community Support Fund (CSF) projects have provided opportunities for 1136 disabled ex-employees and 827 people have taken part in CSF activities at March 2014.

    We are unable to provide an estimate of how many eligible former Remploy employees did not make a claim for CSF funding because they were unable to do so themselves.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to assist homeowners facing problems paying their mortgages and to provide practical advice and support.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders reported 28,900 repossessions in 2013, down from 33,900 in 2012 and the lowest level since 2007. It has revised down its forecasts for 2014 to 28,000. The Government is not complacent, but believes this fall in repossessions is a consequence of improved arrears management by lenders and action the Coalition Government has taken to tackle the deficit and keep interest rates down.

    Homeowners struggling with mortgage payments should take action as soon as possible by discussing their situation with their lender or contacting money advice experts such as Citizens Advice, Shelter, StepChange or National Debtline for free and independent advice on taking control of their finances.

    Government support is available in the form of Support for Mortgage Interest, paid as part of DWP benefits to help eligible out-of-work households meet their monthly mortgage interest payments. The Budget in March this year extended the enhancements to the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme (a shortened 13 week waiting period and an increased capital limit of £200,000), until 31 March 2016.

    Within England the Government continues to ensure the provision of free on-the-day legal advice (the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme) to assist households at possession hearings. We are providing £470 million of funding in the current Spending Review period to prevent and tackle homelessness and repossessions.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many refuges are not classed as supported exempt accommodation for the purposes of housing benefit.

    Steve Webb

    The information requested is not available. Designation as supported exempt accomodation is relevant only to claims by individuals for Housing Benefit and is not intrinsic to the definition or purpose of a refuge or other supported housing.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions were performed beyond the 24 week limit where feticide was declined in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on whether feticide was declined is not collected on the abortion notification form HSA4.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office has already undertaken a review of its check-off union
    subscription provision.

  • David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on funding available for victims’ services of devolution to police and crime commissioners.

    Damian Green

    From 1 October 2014 the majority of support services for victims of crime will be commissioned at the local level by democratically elected and publicly accountable Police and Crime Commissioners and this Government is making more money than ever before available to ensure that victims receive the vital support they require.

    PCC’s with their knowledge of local victims’ needs are uniquely placed to ensure that available funding is targeted where most required to help victims of crime to both cope with and, where possible, recover from the impacts of crime.

    PCCs are also ideally placed to co-commission with other local commissioners such as Health or Local Authorities, thereby reducing duplication and achieving better value for money.

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-03-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals who came to the United Kingdom as unaccompanied children between 2005 and 2010 (1) eventually settled in the United Kingdom, (2) left voluntarily, and (3) were removed.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) granted indefinite leave to remain between 1st October 2006 and 31st December 2010 is 661.

    Numbers of voluntary removals of UASC by year from 1st October 2006 to 31st December 2010:

    Year of application

    2006

    2007

    2008

    2009

    2010

    Total

    Total

    7

    28

    23

    14

    14

    86

    Numbers of enforced removals of UASC by year from 1st October 2006 to 31st December 2010:

    Year of application

    2006

    2007

    2008

    2009

    2010

    Total

    Total

    9

    29

    28

    21

    9

    96

    Please note:
    • ‘Unaccompanied children’ have been interpreted as unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) in answering this question.
    • All figures quoted above are management information which has been subject to internal quality checks.
    • Data on UASC was not formally recorded on the Home Office’s Case Information Database until 1st Oct 2006.
    • The above data does not necessarily relate to individuals who arrived in the UK in the period specified. The action referred to in the response may relate to a person who arrived in the UK in a previous year.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how he plans to mark the 70th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s arrival in Hungary; what recent discussions he has had with the government of (a) Sweden and (b) Hungary on this anniversary; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK continues to play a leading international role in Holocaust education, remembrance and research. This includes recalling and paying tribute to the bravery, and often sacrifices, of individuals such as Raoul Wallenberg – which includes a monument of him outside our Embassy in Budapest. There are no current plans to mark the anniversary of his arrival in Budapest, nor have there been specific discussions with the Swedish or Hungarian governments on the anniversary. However, we remain committed including in our role as current chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, to working with the Hungarian government to help them strengthen international co-operation to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten. Hungary is currently observing a Holocaust Memorial Year, concluding a programme of remembrance which began in 2012 with a commemoration of Raoul Wallenberg.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Department of Energy and Climate Change to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

    Baroness Verma

    The departmental management board review the Department’s expenditure forecasts against Parliamentary control totals. No cost over-runs have been forecast in the last 12 months.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 637W, on sixth form education: student numbers, how the approximate total net cost of unfilled student places in school sixth forms, academy sixth forms and 16 to 19 free schools was calculated.

    Matthew Hancock

    The net cost of unfilled places referred to in my previous answer was based on the funding per student for each individual institution and the number of students recruited in that institution above or below the allocated number as appropriate. This figure was then adjusted to take into the account the sixth form element of funds recovered by the Education Funding Agency from those academies which are funded on the basis of estimated pupil numbers but which educated fewer pupils than had been provided for in those estimates.