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  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions between 1 June 2013 and 31 May 2014 Plaistow Jobcentre paid from the Flexible Support Fund for a jobseeker’s two month Zone 1-4 Transport for London Travelcard.

    Priti Patel

    The information is not collated centrally as to specific purchases on Flexible Support Fund and would require detailed analysis of transaction reports within London and Greater London. To provide this information could only be done so at disproportionate cost.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to establish whether more senior staff were involved in fraudulent misuse of the Flexible Support Fund since the dismissal of two staff from Plaistow Jobcentre in May 2014.

    Priti Patel

    Allegations of misuse of the Flexible Support Fund at Plaistow Jobcentre during 2013 and 2014 were investigated fully by the Department’s investigators. Investigators also undertook further work, completed in July 2014, which examined whether there was any evidence of wider misuse of the Flexible Support Fund at this office or other offices in the immediate area. Disciplinary action was taken in all cases where evidence of the misuse of the Flexible Support Fund was proven; there was no evidence of misuse by senior officers.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Trussell Trust on the placement of Jobcentre Plus advisers in foodbanks.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches already undertake outreach work every day in local communities. Work Coaches recently began offering back-to-back support in the Lalley Centre in Manchester. Early feedback has been positive. We will reflect on this, and consider if there is potential for expansion

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the welfare budget was spent on jobseeker’s allowance claimants in 2014-15.

    Priti Patel

    Total Jobseeker’s Allowance expenditure in 2014/15 was £3,065m.

    Detailed information on benefit expenditure is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what estimate she has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from her Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Information in the form requested is not held centrally and could be estimated only at disproportionate cost.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the likely causes of changes in the size of the UK Ship Register since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A decline in UK shipping interests, including in the size of the UK Ship Register, was one of the reasons government launched the Maritime Growth Study in 2014. The evidence into the Study included an assessment from the independent UK Ship Register Advisory Panel, which was commissioned by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) to review the current performance of the UK Ship Register and consider the conditions which would enable the Register to become more internationally competitive. The Panel’s report includes their views on the reasons for the decline in the Register and was published on 16 July 2015.

    The wider Study, published on 7 September 2015, considered the increasing international competition faced by the UK maritime sector as a whole, but contains a number of proposals specific to the UK Ship Register.

    The Government will respond formally to the Maritime Growth Study by the end of 2015, but is taking immediate action in response to some recommendations. This includes the establishment of a Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth and taking steps to support the improved operation of the MCA such as appointing a commercial director to lead the UK Ship Register separately from the Agency’s regulatory functions and a business case exploring the costs and benefits of options for more significant reform of the MCA.

  • Graham Stringer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Graham Stringer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stringer on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date he plans to implement the EU Cross Border Enforcement Directive.

    Andrew Jones

    The UK is required to transpose the EU Directive 2015/413 on the Cross Border Exchange of Information on Road Safety Related Traffic Offences by 6 May 2017. Work is currently underway to implement the relevant legal changes by this date. Explanatory notes will accompany the secondary legislation implementing the data sharing requirements and these will be made public when the legislation is tabled.

  • Graham Stringer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Graham Stringer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stringer on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to issue guidance on the implementation of the EU Cross Border Enforcement Directive.

    Andrew Jones

    The UK is required to transpose the EU Directive 2015/413 on the Cross Border Exchange of Information on Road Safety Related Traffic Offences by 6 May 2017. Work is currently underway to implement the relevant legal changes by this date. Explanatory notes will accompany the secondary legislation implementing the data sharing requirements and these will be made public when the legislation is tabled.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that drivers on public transport are trained to assist disabled passengers.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport (DfT) has work closely with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee to commission work to evaluate the existing Disabled Awareness Training and to produce some guidelines in best practice.

    Since September 2008 all professional bus and coach drivers have been required to hold a Certificate of Professional Competence as a requirement of the EU Directive 2003/59. Disability Awareness Training is currently available to all drivers as part of the periodic Certificate of Professional Competence training syllabus. The bus industry has reported that virtually all drivers have now undertaken Disability Awareness Training and DfT will continue to work with the industry to encourage the further uptake of disability awareness training by bus and coach drivers.

    The standards that taxi and PHV drivers have to meet is a matter for individual local licensing authorities. DfT Best Practice Guidance for taxi and PHV licensing says that licensing authorities should consider requiring or encouraging their drivers to undertake disability awareness training. According to DfT’s 2015 taxi and PHV statistical survey, 104 licensing authorities in England and Wales require taxi drivers to undergo disability awareness training.

    In the rail industry awareness training is mandatory for all customer facing staff and managers.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of cascading Class 319 rolling stock to Southern’s Coastway Stopping services once the full fleet of Class 700 trains are in operation on the Thameslink routes.

    Claire Perry

    The Government remains determined to provide better, more comfortable journeys for passengers. However, it is for the relevant train operator to determine the type and quantity of rolling stock that is deployed on a particular route. When cascaded stock is available, it is for the operator to decide whether to bid for them.