The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which EU Commissioners he has met with since taking office; and when and where such meetings took place.
Mr Robin Walker
The Prime Minister has been clear we will not give a running commentary on Brexit negotiations. We will ensure that we engage closely with all relevant interlocutors.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2015 to Question 5604, when he expects to provide a full response to the Law Commission’s report on a statutory definition of plying for hire for the taxi and private hire industry.
Andrew Jones
In its comprehensive review of taxi and private hire legislation, the Law Commission considered creating a statutory definition of plying for hire. However, after careful consideration the Law Commission recommended an alternative approach that would make it unlawful for anyone other than a local taxi driver to accept a hiring ‘there and then’.
The Government is currently considering all the recommendations in the Law Commission’s report. The Government will formally respond to the Law Commission and announce its intentions once this scrutiny is completed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on police workloads of planned reductions in local authority funding on (a) emergency planning, (b) vulnerability strategies, (c) youth offending services, (d) anti-social behaviour strategies and (e) community safety strategies.
Karen Bradley
Funding for local authorities in England is a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government. Funding for local authorities in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.
It is for local authorities to decide how they spend their budgets on these and other issues. Many local authorities already understand the value of working closely with Police and Crime Commissioners and are best placed to make the right decisions for their communities locally.
PCCs have a duty under the provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act to work with local authorities in their respective police force areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees who were dismissed from employment by his Department or its executive agencies since 2010 were on long-term sickness absence at the time of their dismissal; and how many such employees had been diagnosed with a condition considered (a) incurable, and (b) terminal.
Justin Tomlinson
DWP has succeeded in reducing sickness absence from an annual average of 8.4 days per employee in December 2010 to 6.2 days per employee currently.
DWP’s Attendance Management policy is supportive of our people and we are committed to helping them maintain good health. We will support employees during periods of sickness absence as long as there is a realistic prospect they will return to work. However, where this is not the case, we need to take prompt action to manage the situation.
The following table provides a summary of number of employees dismissed while on long-term sickness absence.
|
Year |
Headcount at end of year |
Dismissals on Long Term Sick |
|
2010 |
112,135 |
450 |
|
2011 |
101,331 |
439 |
|
2012 |
106,487 |
333 |
|
2013 |
99,343 |
423 |
|
2014 |
90,388 |
453 |
|
2015 |
84,429 |
421 |
|
|
|
|
DWP does not record whether an employee’s condition is diagnosed as incurable or terminal, so cannot provide this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times (a) knife, (b) shiv, (c) shank, (d) chib and (e) another slang word for a blade were recorded on the Incident Report System in HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Andrew Selous
The information requested, in respect of each of these four questions, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the maximum period is for which a back payment can be made on universal credit.
Priti Patel
The maximum period by which a claim can be backdated is one calendar month from the date of claim. Backdating is only possible in exceptional circumstances.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many employees of (1) NHS England, and (2) Arden GEM Commissioning Support Unit, were seconded to the Special Projects Team in (a) 2014, and (b) 2015, and how many are currently seconded from each.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Special Projects Team (SPT) is a service hosted by Arden and GEM Commissioning Support Unit (CSU). In 2014 and 2015 the team had two full-time employees, one employed by NHS England, and then seconded to the CSU to work directly on SPT issues, and one person employed by the CSU (through the NHS Business Services Authority) working directly on SPT matters. This position continues at present.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s Written Statement of 21 April 2016, HCWS687, on refugees and resettlement, what (a) additional steps she has taken and (b) further steps she plans to take to implement and streamline the Dublin III Regulation process and to quickly identify children who qualify for family reunion across Europe.
James Brokenshire
We continue to work with a number of EU Member States and the European Asylum Sup-port Office (EASO) to ensure Dublin works effectively. We are in ongoing discussions with France, Italy and Greece, as well as the UNHCR, to ensure that we continue to have the right processes in place and the resources to make them work effectively.
We have recently deployed two UK experts to the Greek Dublin Unit. We are currently providing bilateral support to the Italian Dublin Unit through a long term secondment. We are also due to deploy an additional UK expert to the Italian Dublin Unit shortly.
Our work with France including the permanent official contact group and a recently sec-onded senior UK official to the French Dublin Unit to assist with the identification and transfer of cases has shown results of our collaborative efforts.
The Home Office has a unit processing Dublin III asylum transfer requests from and to the United Kingdom. This unit comprises 78.34 full time equivalent managers, caseworkers and support staff. Staffing levels will remain in line with anticipated volumes.
As announced on 4 May we are now looking to transfer children who were already present in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal came into force on 20 March, where it is in their best interests. It is important that we ensure we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in UK, as well ensuring we have the right support for those who may be brought to the UK from Europe. We are working with the relevant Member States, the UNHCR and other Non-Governmental Organisations and local authorities to establish the best way to implement the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 for the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-07-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assurance her Department plans to give EU nationals living in the UK and working in the voluntary sector on their right to remain in the UK after the EU referendum.
James Brokenshire
The Government has been clear that there will be no immediate changes in the circumstances of European nationals and their family members entering or currently residing in the UK.
The Government wants to be able to guarantee the legal status of EU nationals who are living in the UK, and we are confident that we will be able to do this. But we must also win the same rights for British nationals living in European countries, and it will be an early negotiating objective for the Government to achieve those things together.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the recommendations in the fourth report of the House of Lords Committee on the Constitution Session 2016-17, HL44.
Mr Robin Walker
The Secretary of State welcomes the report HL44 by the Constitution Committee, issued on 12 September, and will respond in due course in the usual way.