The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Prime Minister, if he will refer the matter of the release of correspondence between the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Education on preventing extremism to the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests.
Mr David Cameron
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Barnsley East on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 338W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what systems his Department has in place to monitor the implementation of the Government’s commitment to give due consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when making new policy and legislation; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Timpson
The Department for Education co-ordinates the UK’s submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), on behalf of other Government Departments and the devolved administrations, for the Committee’s five-year review of implementation of the UNCRC in the UK. This report will be submitted shortly and will include examples of action taken to ensure that new policies and legislation which impact on children are compliant with the UNCRC.
The Department has undertaken child’s rights impact assessments for the key policy and legislative changes in recent years, notably in respect of the Education Act 2011 and the Children and Families Act 2014. We also ensure that children’s rights issues are considered as part of the Home Affairs Committee clearance process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morrow on 2014-06-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated current backlog of persons waiting to be assessed by Atos Healthcare for (1) Employment Support Allowance, and (2) Disability Living Allowance, broken down by region of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales; what action they are taking to address the backlog; and on what evidence they base their attribution of the delays to failings within Atos.
Lord Freud
The table below shows outstanding Employment and Support Allowance new claims, existing Employment and Support Allowance recipients awaiting a review and Incapacity Benefit claimants awaiting reassessment, at the end of April 2014 for England, Scotland and Wales. The figures exclude cases referred to Atos Healthcare where the claimant has yet to return their ESA50 questionnaire.
|
Region |
ESA New claims awaiting a Work Capability Assessment |
Existing ESA recipients awaiting a review Work Capability Assessment |
Incapacity Benefit recipients awaiting reassessment |
|
England |
333,000* |
201,000* |
74,000* |
|
Scotland |
34,000* |
13,000* |
2,000* |
|
Wales |
28,000* |
20,000* |
7,000* |
* Note: figures are based on operational management information received from Atos Healthcare and are rounded to the nearest thousand.
The total Disability Living Allowance claimants’ awaiting an assessment at the end of April 2014 nationally was 800. Figures are based on operational management information received from Atos Healthcare and are rounded to the nearest hundred.This information is not routinely collated to regional area.
The Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland has a separate contract with Atos Healthcare for the delivery of assessments in Northern Ireland. Therefore, questions relating to waiting times in Northern Ireland should be addressed to the Minister for Social Development in Northern Ireland.
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.
Identification by the Department of a reduction in Atos Healthcare’s quality led to decisive action in the form of a retraining and re-accreditation exercise and an overhaul of audit arrangements when we instructed Atos Healthcare to introduce an improvement plan in July 2013. The quality of reports provided by Atos Healthcare has improved significantly but the Department continues to monitor quality closely.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by her Department were in each financial year since 2009-10.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
Because of the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010, my Department does not hold details for the periods prior to 2010; attempting to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost. The contracts awarded by my Department since April 2010 are as follows:
|
Name of Contract |
Award Date |
Estimated Total Value |
|
Finance Platform – System Support Agreement |
1 April 2013 |
£18k |
|
Finance Platform – Managed Service |
2 July 2013 |
£6k |
|
Preventative Maintenance for Hillsborough Castle |
4 September 2013 |
£9.5k |
|
Hillsborough Castle Gardening |
1 December 2013 |
£50k |
|
Name of Contract |
Award Date |
Estimated Annual Value |
|
File and Document Storage |
January 2013 |
£40k |
The majority of contracts used by my Department are awarded by the Department of Finance and Personnel Central Procurement Directorate or the Central Government Procurement Service. These are generally awarded for a range of Northern Ireland Civil Service or Whitehall Departments which enable NIO to draw services from them.
Should you wish to establish details of these contracts you should contact these organisations directly at the following addresses:
DFP Central Procurement Directorate – www.dfpni.gov.uk/cpd
Central Government Procurement Service – www.civilservice.gov.uk/networks/gps
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-06-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in South Sudan to prevent famine, to prevent the spread of cholera, and to promote humanitarian access.
Baroness Northover
The UK is a leading donor to the humanitarian response in South Sudan. We have announced £82.5 million for support inside the country, and £12.5 million for support to refugees. Improved access is critical to the effectiveness of the humanitarian response. At the Oslo Humanitarian Conference on 20 May, the DFID Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State called on all parties to facilitate safe and speedy access. The FCO Minister for Africa also raised this with senior Ministers when he visited Juba in April. UK officials raise our concerns regularly with the parties in Juba and Addis Ababa.
The UK is actively supporting work to help tackle the food security crisis and cholera. We are providing £16 million of funding to the World Food Programme (WFP) to help provide food aid or cash for around 160,000 people, and £8.3 million to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to help provide livelihoods support for 40,000 households. To help counter the growing cholera epidemic our support through the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF – £4 million) will include funding for the UNICEF cholera response and for critical Water, Sanitation and Hygiene supplies. We are also funding two technical experts in the World Health Organisation (WHO) who are currently supporting the cholera response.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion and number of jobs currently advertised through Jobcentre Plus are on zero-hour contracts.
Esther McVey
We do not advertise in jobcentres, all vacancies are now advertised on Universal Jobmatch. JSA claimants are not required to apply for zero-hour contract jobs and are not penalised if they leave such a job
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2014-06-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities received additional Discretionary Housing Payment funding from the extra £20 million announced in October 2013; and how much was made available in each case.
Lord Freud
The information that has been requested was published on 24 March 2014 on GOV.UK and can be accessed through the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/295291/s3-2014.pdf
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the findings of his Department’s root and branch review of the environmental information required from businesses; and when he plans to publish plans for implementing changes to those requirements.
Dan Rogerson
Initial findings of Defra’s root and branch review of the environmental information required from businesses were published on the Smarter Guidance and Data website last November. Findings for marine and carbon information obligations followed in February. These findings can be found at guidanceanddata.defra.gov.uk. I have placed copies in the library of the House.
An implementation plan outlining reform measures for environmental information required from businesses is due to be published on 9 April. This implementation plan will be available on www.gov.uk. Remaining measures featuring farming-related information obligations are due to be published in June.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many company formations were recorded in (a) Gillingham and Rainham, (b) Medway and (c) Kent in the last year.
Michael Fallon
The number of company formations in (a) Gillingham and Rainham, (b) Medway and (b) Kent in the financial year 2013/14 were as follows.
|
Region |
Number of Company Formations |
|
Gillingham and Rainham |
616 |
|
Medway |
3,966 |
|
Kent |
15,583 |
These figures, which include all corporate bodies for the financial year, including limited liability companies, should be considered as approximations as the data is derived from postcode areas that can cross regional boundaries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the government of Spain on the proposed twinning of the town of Algerciras in Spain with Rio Grande in Argentina.
Mr William Hague
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made representations to Spain about the proposed twinning of Algeciras in Spain, and Rio Grande in Argentina. Any twinning arrangement between Algeciras and Rio Grande is a matter for the local authorities of those cities.