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  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people did not have a National Insurance number on 31 March 2015.

    Priti Patel

    Information is not available on how many people did not have a National Insurance Number (NINo) on 31 March 2015 because not everyone needs, or is entitled to a NINo.

    The majority of UK Nationals are allocated a NINo by HMRC when they approach age 16.

    DWP is responsible for allocating NINos to adults, which mainly affects adults entering the UK from abroad. A NINo is only allocated when an individual requires one for employment purposes, where the individual has a legal right to work in the UK, or if there is entitlement to a Social Security Benefit/ Tax Credit or in order to be awarded a Student Loan.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of housing benefit claims in respect of which a request for backdating was approved resulted in the payment of arrears for a period of (a) less than one month, (b) one month only, (b) between one and three months and (d) between three and six months in the most recent period for which figures are avilable.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Information on the number of Housing Benefit claims that were backdated is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will exempt adults with disabilities whose partner is unable to share the same bedroom due to that disability from the under-occupancy penalty.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Courts recently accepted that disability in itself does not mean that couples are unable to share a bedroom and administering an exemption would be extremely challenging.

    Instead, to help people with difficult situations, the Government has provided additional Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) funding. Since the introduction of this policy DHP funding has been as follows:

    • £180 million was provided in 2013/14
    • £165million was provided in 2014/15 and £125 million in 2015/16.
    • We have already announced a further £800 million in DHP funding for the next 5 years.
  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 18835, what alternative options will be available to single people claiming housing benefit who are under the age of 35 and are not able to afford a social tenancy from April 2018.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Discretionary Housing Payments will be available to help single people under 35 (claiming either housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit) if they need help transitioning to shared accommodation rate in April 2018.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the amount his Department will save as a result of limiting the backdating of housing benefit to a maximum of one month in each of the next four years; and how that estimate was calculated.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Although information is collected that would enable an estimate to be calculated, the variables in question have not be quality assured to sufficient standards to provide a response. To do so would result in disproportionate costs.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy for people with support dogs of their rights physically to access businesses and services.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This government is working to ensure that employers and businesses realise the value of disabled people as employees and as customers.

    Under the Equality Act 2010 businesses that do not normally allow dogs to access to their premises must make reasonable adjustments to allow access for disabled people with assistance dogs. However, it is in the best interests of business to maximise access for all disabled people, including those supported by assistance dogs, to harness a share of the £212 billion spending power of disabled households.

  • Angela Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Crawley on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many welfare claimants were sanctioned between 21 and 27 December 2015; and how many such claimants were single parents.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not yet available.

    The Department publishes Official Statistics on Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), (including JSA Lone Parents) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) sanction decisions and these statistics are published via the following link:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

    The latest set of Official Statistics was released on 11 November 2015 and covers all decisions made to 30 June 2015.

    Guidance on how to extract the information required from Stat-Xplore can be found at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

    The latest set of Official Statistics on Income Support Lone Parent sanctions was released on 11 November 2015 and covers all decisions made to 30 June 2015. A summary of this data can be found here

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/income-support-lone-parent-regime-figures-on-sanctions-and-work-focused-interviews–2

    “

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether training is given to work capability assessors in the symptoms and effects of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

    Priti Patel

    All healthcare professionals receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions affect their ability to perform day-to-day activities. Prior to carrying-out an assessment they routinely refresh their knowledge of any condition with which they are not fully familiar.

  • Dr Eilidh Whiteford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Dr Eilidh Whiteford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Eilidh Whiteford on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive is taking to ensure there is timely reduction in the backlog of safety-critical maintenance in the offshore oil and gas industry.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The responsibility for any backlog in safety-critical maintenance in the offshore oil and gas industry lies with the operators of the offshore installations. The Health and Safety Executive is in dialogue with OGUK, the principal industry representative body, regarding how best industry can track, report and improve upon its performance in this area.

    The Health and Safety Executive has a programme of inspections of offshore installations. Examination of the standards of maintenance is a key part of the inspection programme and inspectors are empowered to require improvements where standards fall below legal requirements.

  • Adam Holloway – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Adam Holloway – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Holloway on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential effect on congestion at the Dartford Tunnel of increasing the number of Channel Tunnel freight trains that off-load north of the River Thames.

    Claire Perry

    The Department is not planning to make such an assessment. Channel Tunnel rail freight trains with loads for destinations beyond London would be expected to continue on the rail network rather than off-loading in the London area.