The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of those who have not (i) attended a work capability assessment or (ii) reported to a jobcentre when requested have been exempt from benefit sanctions because of extenuating circumstances in each month in 2015-16.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 28770, on social security benefits: mental health, who has commissioned the evidence review of supported housing; who will be conducting that review; when that review will be concluded; and whether that review will be made public.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) jointly with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) commissioned an evidence review on the shape, scale and cost of the supported housing sector. The review is being conducted by Ipsos-MORI in partnership with Imogen Blood and Associates and the Housing and Support Partnership. The review report will be published this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2016 to Question 26467, what his policy is on the process by which local authorities should calculate the maximum local housing allowance for properties in their area.
Justin Tomlinson
Local Housing Allowance rates for each Broad Rental Market Area are calculated by the Rent Officer Services for England, Scotland and Wales.
Rent Officers collect evidence of achieved rents in each area and use this to calculate the 30th percentile from a ‘list of rents’ for each property size.
This is then used for setting the rates annually in accordance with current Government policy for uprating Local Housing Allowance.
From April 2016, Local Housing Allowance rates will be frozen for 4 years. This means that rates will either remain at the April 2015 level or be set at the 30th percentile from the ‘list of rents’, whichever is the lower.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of personal independence payment claimants have received an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment to date.
Justin Tomlinson
Information on whether claimants of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment have received an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment is not centrally recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of disability living allowance claimants have received an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment to date.
Justin Tomlinson
Information on whether claimants of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment have received an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment is not centrally recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of a drone collision with an emergency helicopter attending a scene in a built-up area.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department for Transport is currently working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to develop consistent, EU-wide safety rules for drones.
The Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and operators), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date and mitigations effective.
This collaboration is also considering the need for other potential drone policies, such as geo-fencing. There are a number of drone models already sold in the UK with types of this technology installed and we are assessing the potential for solutions that could restrict drone operations around sensitive locations and key infrastructure.
The Government has undertaken analysis of the use of drones for criminal purposes, including the potential use of drones for terrorist purposes, and the impacts of their negligent use near sensitive locations, such as airports. This work is kept under review and is being used to inform research and testing to improve mitigation techniques and strategies.
Education of drone users is vital. The DfT is working with the CAA on raising awareness of responsible drone use. This includes the CAA’s ‘Drone Code’ safety awareness campaign and the issuing of safety leaflets at the point of sale.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 29041, and with reference to his Department’s press release of 18 August 2015 entitled Earnings outstrip rail fare increases for first time in a decade, in what circumstances the conditions of his Department’s licence with ATOC permit information on the rail industry’s central revenue and ticketing database to be released.
Claire Perry
The Department holds information on ticket sales through the revenue settlement service for UK passenger rail ticket sales (the LENNON database), which is provided by train operating companies to support the Department in managing the rail franchise programme. Under the conditions of the agreement to use the LENNON database from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), the Department does not have permission to publish such information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he intends to answer the letter dated 20 January 2016 from the Right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr D. Zdravkovic.
Mr Robert Goodwill
My Rt. Hon Friend wrote to the Rt. Hon Member on 3 February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on infrastructure projects currently in receipt of TEN-T funding of the UK leaving the EU.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government supports the TEN-T programme and its successor (from 2014) the Connecting Europe facility (CEF), as a means of providing funding for transport infrastructure projects on the TEN-T network.
It is unclear what would happen with funding to EU programmes, particularly if the UK were to leave the EU in the middle of the EU budget cycle (2014-2020).
At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to update the Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) Regulations 2014, so as to reduce the amount of a drug that can be detected in blood for the purposes of the definition of that offence.
Andrew Jones
The Department is evaluating the new specified limits drug driving offence and a final report from the researcher is due at the end of 2016. The Department will consider its findings and assess whether there is any requirement to change the legislation, but currently there are no plans to amend the regulations. Thanks to the tougher law, police are catching and convicting more drug drivers.