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  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value is of outstanding child maintenance arrears owed in respect of cases using the 2012 statutory maintenance scheme where the arrears were (a) accrued under the 2012 scheme and (b) transferred from the 1993 and 2003 statutory schemes.

    Priti Patel

    a) As at August 2015, outstanding maintenance arrears stood at £35.1 million. More details can be found on page 6 of the Child Maintenance Service 2012 Scheme experimental statistics which can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme-aug-2013-to-aug-2015-experimental.

    b) Information on the amount of arrears in respect of the 1993 and 2003 Schemes transitioned from the 1993 and 2003 systems to the 2012 system will be published in the 1993 / 2003 Client Fund Accounts due for release shortly after the accounts have been audited by the National Audit Office.

    Previous publications can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-maintenance-client-funds-accounts

    “

  • Alison Thewliss – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the application allocation of winter fuel payments criteria to ensure that all eligible people living in buildings with a high number of occupants in separate homes receive such payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    There are already procedures in place to try and ensure that the correct amount of Winter Fuel Payment is paid in this situation, using data that is available to the Department, to minimise the need for individual notifications of circumstances. The Department seeks to act quickly to resolve any errors that are brought to its attention.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State for Work and Pensions of 23 November 2015, Official Report, column 467HL, what the evidential basis is for her statement that most of the women affected by state pension equalisation have accepted this.

    Justin Tomlinson

    My noble friend, the Minister for Pensions, engages regularly with older workers, employers and other stakeholders. The Minister for Pensions was summarising from her frequent discussions with these groups.

    All women affected by faster equalisation will reach State Pension age after the introduction of the new State Pension. Around 650,000 women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years will receive an average of £8 per week (in 2014/15 earnings terms) more due to the new State Pension valuation of their National Insurance record.

    Equalisation of the State Pension age was necessary under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities in welfare provision.

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether, where there is a Direct Pay arrangement for child maintenance between parents but the liabilities required by the Child Maintenance Service have not been fully paid, that Service seeks to collect unpaid amounts retrospectively.

    Priti Patel

    The Child Maintenance Service has a wide range of effective powers to facilitate the collection of child maintenance.

    Where a direct pay arrangement is in place between parents and the Child Maintenance Service is informed and satisfied that payments have been missed, action will be taken to collect these amounts retrospectively at the request of the receiving parent.

  • Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many people of each gender have worked in the Government Equalities Office in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

    Edward Timpson

    The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many people of each gender have worked as special advisers in the Government Equalities Office in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

    Edward Timpson

    The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many people of each gender work in the Government Equalities Office.

    Caroline Dinenage

    There are currently 35 female and 20 male members of staff in the Government Equalities Office.

  • Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many people of each gender work as special advisers in the Government Equalities Office.

    Caroline Dinenage

    There are currently two special advisers, one male and one female, who work for the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, whose responsibilities include women’s and equalities issues.

  • Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many (a) men and (b) women have been promoted within the Government Equalities Office in each year since 2010.

    Edward Timpson

    The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the decision was taken to transfer Newcastle Central Station to Virgin East Coast rather than to Network Rail.

    Claire Perry

    The East Coast Franchise Agreement provided for the potential transfer of Newcastle Station to Network Rail. The decision to continue with the existing management arrangements of the stations was taken in late August 2015 following a period of negotiation between Virgin Trains East Coast and Network Rail.

    The Department concluded that the best value to the public purse and passengers was to continue with the existing arrangements already in place at Newcastle rather than transfer the station.