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  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding the Basic Law and democratic elections in Hong Kong.

    Baroness Warsi

    We maintain a good dialogue both with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Chinese authorities, with whom we discuss Hong Kong regularly at senior levels. We did so most recently during the UK-China Summit in June, when the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and Premier Li discussed prospects for universal suffrage in 2017, alongside a variety of other issues. During his visit to Beijing in May, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), met with Wang Guangya, Director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office to discuss the transition to universal suffrage, as well as Hong Kong’s continuing prosperity.

    The Six Monthly Reports to Parliament demonstrate our commitment to closely monitor Hong Kong’s development. The latest Six Monthly Report is due to be published in mid-July.

  • Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stone of Blackheath on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Conflict Pool in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.

    Baroness Northover

    The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.

    Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.

    Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.

    We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.

  • Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stone of Blackheath on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Arab Partnership Participation Fund in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.

    Baroness Northover

    The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.

    Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.

    Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.

    We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.

  • Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stone of Blackheath on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Arab Partnership Economic Facility in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.

    Baroness Northover

    The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.

    Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.

    Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.

    We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.

  • Stephen Lloyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Lloyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Lloyd on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Child Support Agency has in place to review decisions taken to temporarily suspend action to recover child maintenance arrears and to establish whether the circumstances which led to the temporary suspension of recovery action have changed.

    Steve Webb

    Child Support Agency cases with suspended debt will be investigated if the Agency is made aware of any changes of circumstance that would warrant the suspended debt being collected.

    Under the new Child Maintenance Service all cases will be subject to an annual review. If the paying parent is working, the case will be reassessed and, if appropriate, any suspended debt reinstated.

  • Stephen Lloyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Lloyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Lloyd on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many child support agency arrears cases are cases where there is no ongoing liability.

    Steve Webb

    At March 2014 there were 532,500 Child Support Agency cases which had arrears with no ongoing liability.

    Note: This includes cases administered on the 1993 and 2003 schemes only.

  • Stephen Lloyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Lloyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Lloyd on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average amount of child maintenance arrears is owed to parents with care.

    Steve Webb

    As at March 2014, the average amount of child maintenance arrears owed to parents with care is £2,1461.

    Notes

    1. Arrears amounts are calculated on cases with a positive outstanding arrears value, against the 1993 and 2003 statutory maintenance schemes only, including cases managed off system.

    The average amount of arrears owed to parents with care is calculated using the proportion of total arrears owed to parents with care and the proportion of cases where arrears are owed to parents with care, on the CSCS and CS2 computer systems only.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants have become ineligible for the benefit as a consequence of increased income since October 2013.

    Esther McVey

    The information requested is not currently available.

    The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013 which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

    “

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, columns 171W, on children: maintenance, on how many occasions where contingency measures had to be employed by the Department’s Child Maintenance Group (CMG) to support the work of the Child Maintenance Options Service it was the case that call demands exceeded forecasted volumes; how many CMG staff were deployed on each such occasion; and in which office or offices of the CMG these trained contingency staff were located.

    Steve Webb

    Child Maintenance Group (CMG) staff, based at Barnsley, were used on three, limited duration, occasions (November 2013, January 2014 and February 2014) when call demand exceeded forecasted volumes.

    The number of CMG staff engaged in this activity, at any one time, varied between 5 and 20 colleagues for periods ranging from minutes to hours. Most of this activity took place in the CMG Barnsley office. Although, there was a short period, before telephony lines could be transferred, when CMG staff travelled to the Child Maintenance Options office.

    CMG staff have been used as contingency only where demand is above the agreed contracted level. This planned approach ensures value for money as we are not paying for long term resource where the forecast shows a short term increase in demand.

  • Stephen Lloyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Lloyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Lloyd on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference the Answer of 27 June 2012, Official Report, column 296, on children: maintenance, what proportion of Child Support Agency arrears cases include arrears that have been suspended; and what steps have since been taken to establish the proportion of cases where arrears have been (a) temporarily and (b) permanently suspended.

    Steve Webb

    As of March 2014 approximately 48% of Child Support Agency cases with arrears contained an amount of suspended arrears.

    Analysis of a sample of the caseload at November 2013 identified that approximately 14% of suspended arrears on the CS2 computer system were permanently suspended, leaving 86% temporarily suspended.

    It is not possible to produce the proportion of cases temporarily or permanently suspended on the CSCS computer system because the information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics. We will consider whether it is feasible to produce the statistics requested within the disproportionate cost limit, and if so, will issue them in an official statistics release in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

    Notes:

    Management information on suspended debt is not available for off system cases, therefore the proportion of cases with arrears that contain suspended arrears has been calculated using CS2 and CSCS cases only.