The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many concluded applications for personal independence payment there have been to date, by parliamentary constituency.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby and the hon Member for Airdrie and Shotts, official report, 5 March, column 850W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients there are of disability living allowance, by parliamentary constituency.
Mike Penning
The information requested is already published and can be found at:
http://83.244.183.180/100pc/dla/ccparlc/ccsex/a_carate_r_ccparlc_c_ccsex_aug13.html
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications have been made for the personal independence payment to date, by parliamentary constituency.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby and the hon Member for Airdrie and Shotts, official report, 5 March, column 850W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times the date set for the implementation of the personal independence payment programme has changed since that policy was introduced.
Mike Penning
Personal Independence Payment was introduced, as planned, to a limited geographical area from 8 April 2013 for new claimants. As further planned, it was extended nationally from 10 June 2013 for new claimants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effect of using Wolverhampton as a redistribution centre for all mail relating to processing benefit claims, payments and appeals on (a) time taken to process and (b) the reliability of the claims process.
Mike Penning
DWP post opening arrangements are delivered as part of a contract for Office Services awarded to Cofely (formerly Balfour Beatty Workplace) which commenced on 1.3.07. The contract was let in line with EU procurement legislation and offers significant cost savings and efficiencies over the previous arrangements which were a mixture of third party contractors and in house teams.
In 2013 and in partnership with Cofely, DWP has introduced a new initiative to transform DWP’s mail services. The Mail Opening, Scanning and Indexing Project will provide a single strategic service for post opening and scanning across DWP allowing our front line staff to work more efficiently and effectively whilst drastically reducing our paper consumption, storage requirements and demonstrating the Departments commitment to the Government’s digital agenda.
As part of the overall efficiencies we have consolidated the number of MOUs from 29 sites operated by the Royal Mail Group to just 2 locations operated by Cofely, but underpinned by a new Royal Mail sorting office in Wolverhampton.
The consolidation to 2 MOUs is currently being transformed; the Department is working with all the Providers impacted in the supply chain to optimise quality, performance and service delivery
As with any new way of working, time is needed for processes and procedures to be bedded in and the Department continues to work closely with the supplier, regularly reviewing their performance. The Department is confident that this new way of handling inbound mail when coupled with the increase in scanning, will deliver efficiencies and a better service to our customers in the long term.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide a simple route for people to donate their universal benefits back to the state; and if he will make a statement.
Steve Webb
The majority of winter fuel payments are sent out automatically. However, people can simply return their winter fuel payment to the office that issues it. They can also write to the Department requesting not to receive a winter fuel payment for future years, either in advance of first getting a payment, or after they have received one or more payments.
Anyone aged 75 or over is entitled to a free TV Licence for their main address. The free licence is not issued automatically and needs to be applied for. Once issued, licences are renewed automatically every year unless the customer does not have a National Insurance Number in which case TV Licensing will contact them to confirm their circumstances have not changed each year. An over 75 licence can be cancelled at any time and a paid-for licence requested.
The concessionary travel benefit is optional. An eligible person can choose not to take up the entitlement. The National Travel Survey 2011 shows that in GB, 79 per cent of people eligible for an older persons’ bus pass held one.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) EIA and (b) non-EIA development recommendations HS2 Ltd has made for conditions to be imposed on planning permission to protect the High Speed 2 project.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Following the making of safeguarding directions for the London to West Midlands section of HS2 in July 2013 (updated October 2013) , the number of recommendations made by HS2 Ltd for conditions to be imposed on planning permission to protect the High Speed 2 project is as follows:
a) EIA recommendations – 0
b) Non-EIA recommendations – 7
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that the benefits of Crossrail are shared with passengers using London Victoria, London Bridge and London Blackfriars railway stations; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Hammond
Crossrail will transform rail transport in London, increasing rail capacityby 10%,reducing congestion and cutting journey times across the city. The Crossrail route will run over 100km from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through new tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. Crossrail will provide connections with more underground lines than any other service, which will enable more direct journeys and simpler interchanges.
Crossrail will decongest many London Underground lines, notably the Jubilee, Central, District and Circle lines, which many users of London Victoria, London Bridge and London Blackfriars stations use to connect with a range of destinations across London.
A new major rail interchange will be created at Farringdon connecting Crossrail and Thameslink services. This will benefit passengers using Thameslink services to London Bridge and London Blackfriars who will be able to interchange directly onto Crossrail services operating on a 24 train per hour basis from Farringdon connecting passengers directly to Canary Wharf in 9 minutes and Bond Street in 5 minutes. Passengers using London Victoria will have quick access to Crossrail services via the tube network at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Transport for London (TfL) about the use of other smart ticket systems in the TfL area; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Hammond
Department for Transport officials work regularly with Transport for London (TfL) both on the national strategy for smart and integrated ticketing and on implementation in and around London. Cooperation with TfL is integral to any smart ticketing system which includes the London area, in order to ensure full integration of systems and a positive passenger experience.
TfL will shortly have completed the delivery of the “ITSO on Prestige” project, specified and funded by the Department, which has equipped the capital with readers that can now accept the national open standard for transport ticketing (ITSO) as well as contactless bank cards. We have been working closely with them to make the most of this investment, including accepting Southern’s “The Key” card which was successfully launched at Victoria by my Noble Friend the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, last year. Southern is also working closely with us and TfL to roll out more products progressively as the capability becomes available.
TfL is also a key delivery partner for the South East Flexible Ticketing programme (SEFT) and has been a signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding and a member of the Programme Board since the beginning. Significant work continues to be undertaken with them in order to ensure that the SEFT scheme will interoperate properly with their existing infrastructure in the London area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with cities outside London on interoperability of smart tickets between rail and bus services; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Hammond
The Department for Transport is working closely with nine major cities and regions outside London to establish how plans to accelerate smart ticketing on bus and rail can be achieved. The initiative known as the ‘Smart Cities Partnership’ and funded by the Department brings together the authorities concerned, the operators and the policy makers to address some of the technical and commercial challenges.
This programme will pave the way for other cities and authorities with similar ambitions to have smart interoperable ticket offers to passengers. It will also build upon the South East Flexible Ticketing programme which the Department is leading on which will see rail stations suitably equipped for smart ticketing, and more flexible smart ticket products on offer which are better suited to meet modern working and leisure patterns.