The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that asylum seekers receive the benefits to which they are entitled.
Esther McVey
Asylum seekers are normally excluded from claiming most benefits.
Those who cannot claim benefits receive support provided by Asylum Support, a part of the Home Office that deals with accommodating and supporting asylum seekers and their dependants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much time someone enrolled on the new enterprise allowance spends with a mentor.
Esther McVey
The pre-start-up mentoring phase on the New Enterprise Allowance usually lasts for 8 weeks, although this can be extended to 12 in exceptional circumstances.
Post-start up mentoring support is also available throughout the first six months of trading.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2014-06-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the expected increase in the fees and levies on regulated consumer credit firms that will go towards the funding of the Money Advice Service and Financial Ombudsman Service in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017 under the new Financial Conduct Authority regulated fees and levies regime.
Andrea Leadsom
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consumer credit regulatory regime is far better resourced and has wider objectives than the previous Office of Fair Trading (OFT) regime. The FCA is an independent, non-governmental body, and it is entirely funded by the fees it charges on the financial services industry. As a result, specific questions around fees are a matter for the FCA.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is funded by a combination of industry levy and case fees. The FOS is an independent, non-Governmental body and questions about its funding are a matter for the FOS or, as the case may be, the FCA (who approve the FOS budget and fee rules). The FOS budget is proposed by FOS annually and approved by the FCA.
The Money Advice Service’s (MAS) budget is proposed by MAS annually, based on demand for money and debt advice, and approved by the FCA. Consumer credit firms will pay the MAS levy once authorised by the FCA. The FCA has approved MAS’s 2014/15 budget, but MAS’s budget for future years has not yet been determined.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clement-Jones on 2014-04-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the number of job vacancies in the United Kingdom; and, of that figure, how many are (1) full-time, (2) part-time, and (3) zero-hours contracts, temporary or self-employed vacancies.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tessa Munt on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 132W, on radiotherapy, what reports he has received on the reasons NHS England has paid for Gamma Knife treatment at University College Hospital London (UCHL) for a patient with an acoustic neuroma referred to UCHL from Bournemouth and Poole Hospital.
Jane Ellison
For reasons of patient confidentiality, it is not possible to comment explicitly on either case referred to. However, any primary care trust authorisations made for the gamma knife prior to 1 April 2013 were honoured by NHS England and the invoice associated with the agreed work was paid. University College London Hospitals (UCLH) were required to forward any referrals made after 1 April 2013 to NHS England, along the prescribed pathway, in accordance with the contract between the two. No invoices for work carried out by Queen’s Square Radiotherapy Centre at its own risk on behalf of UCLH have been paid by NHS England for referrals after 1 April 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-04-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with the United States Special Envoy on North Korea, Ambassador Robert King, about ways to build international action to follow through the passage of United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution (A/HRC/25/L.17) on human rights violations in North Korea.
Baroness Warsi
The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva met with Ambassador King on 18 March to discuss the UN Human Rights Council Resolution and how it could be used to build international action to improve the human rights situation in North Korea. In the near future we hope to welcome him.
On 27 March, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), discussed the resolution with US Assistant Secretary Russel. We will continue to work with the US and others to ensure that there is accountability for the horrifying human rights violations documented in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications were made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority’s Hardship Fund in 2013-14; and what proportion of such applications were successful.
Damian Green
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority received ten applications under the hardship fund in 2013-14, of which four were successful.
People who did not meet the fund’s earnings criteria lodged the six remaining applications. The fund is there to support low-paid workers and four of these six people earned too much to be eligible, while the other two lost no income as a result of the injuries they sustained.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harries of Pentregarth on 2014-04-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on returning gay and lesbian asylum seekers to Uganda.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
All asylum and human rights claims are considered in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. We recognise that, in general, lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) persons may be at risk of persecution and warrant protection and that this may have increased following the signing of the Anti-Homosexual Act into law. However, each case needs to be considered on its individual facts.
Where we consider that an individual does not require protection, and the courts have not reached a different view, then we expect these individuals to leave the UK at the earliest opportunity. If individuals refuse to leave voluntarily, it may become necessary to enforce their removal. Returns are undertaken only when we conclude that it is safe to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payments applications made by people not suffering with a terminal illness were made in each of the three months to June 2014.
Mike Penning
The available data on the number of claims and decisions made up to 28 March 2014 has been published and is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/317425/pip-statistical-release-june-2014.pdf. Entitlement data to PIP up to 28 February 2014 are available using the Stat-Xplore tool: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk. Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
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These statistics and data will be updated in due course.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) EIA and (b) non-EIA development recommendations HS2 Ltd has made for conditions to be imposed on planning permission to protect the High Speed 2 project.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Following the making of safeguarding directions for the London to West Midlands section of HS2 in July 2013 (updated October 2013) , the number of recommendations made by HS2 Ltd for conditions to be imposed on planning permission to protect the High Speed 2 project is as follows:
a) EIA recommendations – 0
b) Non-EIA recommendations – 7