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  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many tenants in Scotland arranged mutually exchanges to elsewhere in the UK through Home Swap Direct in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

    David Mundell

    Details of the number of moves that have taken place under the HomeSwap Direct Scheme from Scotland to elsewhere in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years are not held centrally. This information is more likely to be held by social housing providers.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households have been subject to the benefit cap in (a) each parliamentary constituency and (b) each local authority area in Scotland.

    Esther McVey

    Information on the number of households subject to the benefit cap in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland have not yet been published as Official Statistics. We intend to include this information as part of an upcoming release in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Information on the number of households subject to the benefit cap in each local authority in Scotland has been published and is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-march-2014

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review his Department’s policy on issuing travel warrants to rural residents for (a) fortnightly signing-on and (b) other interviews and advisory meetings to take account of the need for such residents to travel further than average to jobcentres.

    Esther McVey

    Jobcentre Plus has flexibility to meet the particular needs of claimants living in rural areas.

    For example postal signing can be offered and claimants attending interviews on days outside their normal day of attendance can have their travelling expenses reimbursed.

    Work Coaches are also able to use the Flexible Support Fund and issue Travel Discount Cards to help claimants with travel expenses.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households subject to the benefits cap in (a) each parliamentary constituency and (b) each local authority area in Scotland have received transitional support via discretionary housing payment to date.

    Esther McVey

    The information requested is not available.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target waiting time is for work capability assessment for both (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit reassessment; and what proportion of such assessments have been carried out within the target timescale in the last four quarters for which figures are available.

    Mike Penning

    We are working closely with our supplier to deliver the best possible service for claimants, driving up performance and quality to help reduce waiting times and process claims as quickly as possible. We are continuing to monitor and robustly manage this contract.

    We do not have a target timescale for waiting time for an Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the target time is for dealing with passport applications.

    James Brokenshire

    Expected service standards for passport applications are given at
    www.gov.uk.

    Information in respect of the Member’s constituency is not available and the
    cost of collating it would be disproportionate.

    The table below shows the proportions of UK passport applications in each of
    the last 12 months which have been processed within the published service
    standards.

    2013

    % straightforward applications processed within the published timescales

    % non-straightforward applications processed within the published timescales

    June

    100%

    97.8%

    July

    100%

    96.9%

    August

    100%

    96.4%

    September

    100%

    96.0%

    October

    100%

    95.9%

    November

    99.99%

    96.5%

    December

    99.99%

    96.3%

    2014

    January

    99.99%

    96.8%

    February

    99.98%

    98.1%

    March

    99.95%

    96.8%

    April

    98.59%

    99.6%

    May

    92.26%

    93.9%

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for passports have been made by residents in Kilmarnock and Loudoun in each of the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    Expected service standards for passport applications are given at
    www.gov.uk.

    Information in respect of the Member’s constituency is not available and the
    cost of collating it would be disproportionate.

    The table below shows the proportions of UK passport applications in each of
    the last 12 months which have been processed within the published service
    standards.

    2013

    % straightforward applications processed within the published timescales

    % non-straightforward applications processed within the published timescales

    June

    100%

    97.8%

    July

    100%

    96.9%

    August

    100%

    96.4%

    September

    100%

    96.0%

    October

    100%

    95.9%

    November

    99.99%

    96.5%

    December

    99.99%

    96.3%

    2014

    January

    99.99%

    96.8%

    February

    99.98%

    98.1%

    March

    99.95%

    96.8%

    April

    98.59%

    99.6%

    May

    92.26%

    93.9%

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of passport applications have been dealt with within the target timescale in each of the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    Expected service standards for passport applications are given at
    www.gov.uk.

    Information in respect of the Member’s constituency is not available and the
    cost of collating it would be disproportionate.

    The table below shows the proportions of UK passport applications in each of
    the last 12 months which have been processed within the published service
    standards.

    2013

    % straightforward applications processed within the published timescales

    % non-straightforward applications processed within the published timescales

    June

    100%

    97.8%

    July

    100%

    96.9%

    August

    100%

    96.4%

    September

    100%

    96.0%

    October

    100%

    95.9%

    November

    99.99%

    96.5%

    December

    99.99%

    96.3%

    2014

    January

    99.99%

    96.8%

    February

    99.98%

    98.1%

    March

    99.95%

    96.8%

    April

    98.59%

    99.6%

    May

    92.26%

    93.9%

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will list the energy companies which have agreed to (a) introduce arrangements before the end of 2014 to limit bad bills to businesses to one year where the supplier is at fault and (b) end automatic roll-overs for new customers.

    Michael Fallon

    British Gas, Edf Energy, E.ON, First Utility, Good Energy, Opus Energy, RWE nPower, Scottish Power and SSE publically announced that they plan to limit back bills where the company is at fault to one year by the end of 2013, or as soon as practically possible in 2014.

    British Gas, Edf Energy, E,ON, First Utility, RWE nPower, Scottish Power and SSE announced their intention to end the use of automatic rollover contracts for new customers before the end of 2014.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he has received on allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by the Moroccan Security Forces.

    Hugh Robertson

    We are aware of the allegations against the Moroccan Security Forces, particularly when policing demonstrations. We regularly emphasise to Morocco the importance of respect for human rights in Western Sahara, including when policing demonstrations. I raised this during my visit to Rabat in March this year.