Blog

  • Angela Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Angela Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the outcome of the recent Illegal Wildlife Trade conference and the resulting London Declaration; and what steps she plans to take to ensure that animal welfare is a key element of her Department’s response to that declaration.

    Norman Baker

    The Home Office recognises that the illegal wildlife trade is not only a serious threat to our environment, but is also a transnational criminal industry worth billions of pounds every year, and one which drives corruption and insecurity and undermines efforts to cut poverty and develop sustainable economic opportunities.

    I was therefore pleased that world leaders from over forty nations, including key states such as Botswana, Chad, China, Gabon, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Vietnam, alongside the United States and Russia, gathered in London on 13 February 2014 and made a political commitment to take actions to eradicate the demand for illegal wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks, and to reduce the incentive for communities in source countries to get involved in the trade by supporting the development of alternative, sustainable livelihoods. I co-chaired part of the proceedings to underline the Home Office’s commitment to this issue.

    The Home Office will continue to work with other departments to ensure that the Government delivers on the UK Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long the UK plans to host Syrian refugees who come as part of the resettlement deal; and whether such refugees will be issued with a visa for a specified time period.

    James Brokenshire

    The first beneficiaries of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR)
    scheme arrived in the UK on 25 March. This is the result of excellent
    co-operation with UNHCR, the International Organisation for Migration and local
    authority services, which has allowed us to identify vulnerable individuals in
    need of evacuation and ensure that the support they need is in place in the
    UK. These support packages are tailored on a case by case basis to ensure that
    specific requirements for those relocated under the scheme are met and include
    health, education and integration support.

    Those admitted under the VPR scheme will be granted five years’ Humanitarian
    Protection, with all the rights and benefits that go with that status. This
    includes access to public funds, access to the labour market and the
    possibility of family reunion. If the situation in Syria stabilises, they may
    choose to return home. However, at the end of the five years, if they have not
    been able to return to Syria, they may be eligible to apply for settlement in
    the UK.

  • Mr Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mr Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Gareth Thomas on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of disability living allowance claims took longer than 40 days to process in each of the last three years for which data is available.

    Mike Penning

    Please see the table below showing the percentage of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) new claims, for Normal Rules (NR), that took longer than 40 days to process. Claims not yet processed within 40 days, include cases where we are awaiting additional information from the claimant and/or medical evidence.

    2012/13

    Volume of Claims Cleared

    402,861

    Volume of claims cleared after 40 working days

    89,678

    % of DLA New Claims (NR)
    cleared after 40 working days

    22.3%

    Prior to 2012/13 the measure reported against was an Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT). This is the cumulative clearance days divided by the number of cleared events within the reporting period.

    Please see the table below for 2010/11 and 2011/12:

    2010/11

    2011/12

    Volume of Claims Cleared

    431,572

    412,556

    AACT (Level 37.7 days)

    30.3

    27.2

    Notes:

    The reported figure only relates to DLA (NR) new claims. NR claims are those where the claimant is not terminally ill and the normal rules of entitlement therefore apply.

    The figures above cover the period from 1st April to 31st March and shows the national position including working age and child claimants.

    The AACT level (37.7 days) shown in the above table is a measure based on a prior year’s performance.

    We have not provided data for 2013/14 due to not having a full financial year available at this time.

    Source:

    Source: Department for Work and Pensions – RDA 80123 report – DLA Management Information Statistics

  • 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 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was paid in jobseeker’s allowance to recipients in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in the last 12 months.

    Esther McVey

    The amount paid in Jobseeker’s Allowance in 2012/13 can be found in the table below.

    2012/13
    £m

    JSA

    Scotland

    478

    Kilmarnock & Loudoun

    12

    Source: DWP statistical data

    Note: Expenditure is shown for the last complete financial year. The benefit expenditure for Jobseeker’s Allowance can be found in the Parliamentary Constituency tables as per link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266825/pc-tables-201213.xls

    “

  • 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 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to assist deaf people in seeking employment.

    Mike Penning

    We do not target our employment support exclusively at individuals with particular impairments. Instead, through a range of programmes, we aim to identify and meet the needs of the individual, including the needs of deaf people.

    The Work Programme is the biggest single Welfare to Work programme, which provides personalised back-to-work support for unemployed people, including disabled people. For those that have more complex needs, we have a range of specialist disability employment programmes, including Access to Work, Work Choice and Residential Training Colleges, all of which support deaf people to take up and remain in employment. In particular, Access to Work can provide funding towards tailored support for deaf people such as specialist aids and equipment and British Sign Language Interpreters.

    Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers can provide support and advice for disabled people who need help finding and retaining employment.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people and what proportion of the working age population have been in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance for over (a) two and (b) five years in (i) Scotland and (ii) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

    Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent meetings he has had with representatives of the deaf community.

    Mike Penning

    I met representatives from the Deaf Community (Sir Malcolm Bruce MP, David Buxton British Deaf Association, Jim Edwards Signature and Susan Daniels National Deaf Children’s Society) on 23 October 2013. As part of the continuing commitment from that meeting to consider Government services for deaf people, officials have recently met and have remained in contact with representatives of the deaf community, including BDA and Action on Hearing Loss. Action on Hearing Loss is a member of the Disability Charities Consortium who I met on 26 February 2014.

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the maximum grants for funding support workers under the Access to Work scheme were determined.

    Mike Penning

    There is no maximum grant level set for the funding of support workers under the Access to Work programme. Our aim is to use the programme budget to assist the maximum possible number of disabled workers across all industry sectors.

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which organisations for deaf people his Department consulted before the Access to Work guidance on support workers was amended.

    Mike Penning

    There have been no recent amendments to Access to Work guidance on support workers.

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of work capability assessments appeals that were found in favour of the claimant heard by January 2014, were awarded zero points at the initial decision; and what proportion of such decisions were awarded to (a) the WRAG and (b) the Support Group.

    Mike Penning

    The information requested for all Work Capability Assessments is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.