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  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what regulations apply to the size and colours of printed information on benefits published by his Department to ensure access to that information for people with visual impairments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department has the following documented standards for printed information:
    • Minimum type size of 10pt FS Me or 12pt Arial, based on recommended best practice from RNIB

    • The majority of publications are printed in black and white.

    • Where colour is used, we apply international standards for suitable contrast between text and background.

    • The Department provides staff guidance explaining how to commission large print, Braille or audio versions of publications in response to individual requests.

    • Publications can also be made available in electronic formats suitable for most computers equipped with screen reader software; or as Portable Document Format (PDF) files which have been optimised for the free-of-charge Adobe Reader built-in ‘Read out loud’ function.

  • Joanna Cherry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Joanna Cherry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joanna Cherry on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on single tier pensions on people contracted out of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Contracting out of additional State Pension for Defined Benefit schemes will end on the introduction of the new State Pension from 6 April 2016. The impact on individuals is set out in the Updated impact of the single-tier pension reforms (July 2014) and can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332996/single-tier-pension-impact-assessment-update-july-2014.pdf

    “

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to disability benefits on spending by the NHS.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance are universal benefits that help with the extra costs arising from a long-term health condition or disability. Spending on these benefits increased by over £2 billion over the course of the last parliament and we expect to be spending over £21 billion this year. We would expect individuals to be accessing the relevant support services, regardless of benefit receipt and do not expect the reforms to disability benefits to impact health services. We have also set up the Work and Health Joint Unit with the Department of Health to improve health and employment outcomes for claimants.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to secure continued funding for the Short Breaks pathfinder initiative.

    Edward Timpson

    The Short Breaks pathfinder initiative was part of Aiming High for Disabled Children and ran in 21 local authorities from 2008. Since the pathfinder initiative, funding has been provided to support short breaks provision in all English local authorities. For example, between 2011-12 and 2014-15, short breaks were supported by £800m in the Early Intervention Grant. In 2011-12, and again in 2012-13, local authorities benefitted from an additional £40m per annum of capital funding for short break services.

    Since 2011, local authorities have also been under a duty to provide a range of short breaks services and to publish a local Short Breaks Duty Statement showing what services are available; how they are responding to the needs of local parent carers; and how short breaks can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria. Local authorities are responsible for funding this short breaks provision.

    This year, the Department for Education has awarded £250,555 to the Short Breaks Partnership (a consortium made up of Contact a Family, the Council for Disabled Children, Action for Children and KIDS) to provide information and advice to those involved in designing, commissioning, providing and taking up short breaks for disabled children.

  • Drew Hendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Drew Hendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of benefit sanctions on mental health.

    Priti Patel

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 November 2015 to Questions 901923, 901929 and 901937.

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to provide support to people diagnosed with cancer in the work-related activity group of employment and support allowance who will be affected by the proposed reductions in benefits for people in that group.

    Priti Patel

    No current claimants, including those diagnosed with cancer, will be affected by the change to the work-related activity component and we have already committed to providing up £100m in new, practical support for claimants with limited capability for work to help them move closer to the labour market and, when they are ready, into work.

  • Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of changes to the work allowance in universal credit announced in the Summer Budget 2015 on incentives to work.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit will have a powerful positive effect on labour market participation. We expect 300,000 more people to be in work as a result of the introduction of Universal Credit, and around 75% of the households that gain under Universal Credit are in the bottom 40% of the income distribution.

  • Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people affected by the under-occupancy penalty in the Bristol City Council area.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The available information on the number of people affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy in the Bristol City Council area is published and can be found at:

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

    “

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many civil servants in his Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to his Department.

    Alun Cairns

    The Wales Office does not record how many of its staff are members of trades unions. No civil servant working at the Wales Office currently claims facility time.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the cost of line speed upgrade on the railway line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail and the relevant train operators terminated a line speed improvement assessment in 2014. Detailed work had identified an estimated cost of up to £12.45m to clear structures for higher speed. With these costs the scheme was poor value, having a benefit cost ratio of less than 1.0. No assessment has been made since then.