The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Sheridan on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support will be available for deaf people whose support was reduced as a result of the 30 hour rule in the access to work grant.
Mike Penning
Customers can request a full review of their Access to work claim at any time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Peter Bottomley on 2014-03-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the Office of National Statistics (ONS) can best estimate the number and trends of the stock in the leasehold domestic premises in (a) Worthing West constituency, (b) Worthing borough, (c) Arun district, (d) West Sussex county, (e) South East England region, (f) England and (g) England and Wales; what data collection the ONS makes on housing tenure types; and if he will make a statement.
Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on the likely date for parliamentary elections in Egypt.
Mr William Hague
I met Egyptian Foreign Minister Fahmy during his visit to the UK on 14 May and discussed a range of issues, including the timing of parliamentary elections. We believe the best way for the Egyptians to achieve goals of the 25 January revolution of 2011 is through free and fair elections and an inclusive political process in which all groups can participate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr George Galloway on 2014-03-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of workers made unemployed, or displaced, as a result of immigration from countries outside the EU in the last year.
James Brokenshire
The Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to "research
the labour market, social and public service impacts of non-EEA migration; and
to advise on the use of such evidence in cost-benefit analyses of migration
policy decisions". The MAC’s report published in 2012 called ‘Analysis of the
Impact of Migration’
(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/25723
5/analysis-of-the-impacts.pdf), suggested that "between 1995 and 2010 an
additional 100 non-EU migrants were associated with a reduction in employment
of 23 native workers".
Recently, the Government published a report on the ‘Impacts of migration on UK
native employment: An analytical review of the evidence’
(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/28708
6/occ109.pdf). This report is a comprehensive review of the evidence around
the displacement effect of migrants on UK native employment and builds on the
MAC 2012 report.
In addition, a report on the ‘Employment and Occupational skill levels among UK
and foreign nationals’
(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/28250
3/occ108.pdf) finds that over most of the last decade, employment levels in the
UK rose faster among foreign nationals than among UK nationals. However, this
pattern has reversed, and over the last year around 90 per cent of employment
growth was accounted for by UK nationals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the prospects of achieving a UN Security Council resolution referring Syria to the International Criminal Court.
Mr William Hague
On 22 May Russia and China vetoed a resolution that would have referred the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, despite it having overwhelming international support, including from 13 members of the UN Security Council, 65 co-sponsors, over 100 Non-governmental organisations from across the world and the Syrian National Coalition.
Nonetheless, we need to ensure that those responsible for atrocities in Syria are held to account. Russia and China cannot indefinitely shield those responsible for horrific crimes. The UK is funding efforts to document war crimes and crimes against humanity, and we are pressing for an expansion of EU sanctions to cover those responsible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2014-03-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many primary school places have been created as a result of the Priority School Building Programme since its introduction.
Lord Nash
261 schools were successful in their application to the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) and initial work has started with over 230 of these schools. Construction work has started at 24 schools and the first primary school is due to open in May 2014.
The PSBP is aimed at addressing the condition needs of those schools most in need of urgent repair; it is not a programme aimed at increasing school capacity. However, where a school is seeking to expand and this is supported by pupil planning statistics, we are increasing the capacity of the schools.
The PSBP will create approximately 9,300 new primary school places through the expansion of these schools beyond the existing capacity stated in their application forms.
This number is subject to change. As part of the feasibility study undertaken for each school, we work with the school, local authority and other stakeholders to review pupil planning statistics for the area and confirm that the size of the school being rebuilt or refurbished is sustainable and also meets any demand for pupil places where possible.
We are on track to complete all PSPB schools by the end of 2017. This is two years earlier than was planned when the programme was announced.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thérèse Coffey on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the performance of Public Health England in reducing inequalities of health outcomes by making improvements in (a) housing conditions and (b) employment capability.
Jane Ellison
Housing and work are two areas that influence health outcomes. In his strategic review of health inequalities, Professor Sir Michael Marmot reminded us all of the link between people’s health and “the conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age”.
Public Health England (PHE) has a key role in highlighting the health impact of these issues on health outcomes and health inequalities. It is undertaking a range of work on housing, homelessness and health issues to support and inform national and local stakeholders, including its National Conversation on Health Inequalities, which will help focus future work in this area.
PHE also launched the Healthy People, Healthy Places programme in November 2013 – helping to improve the nation’s health through better planning and design to reduce the impact of a poor physical and natural environment is a PHE priority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what scrutiny the Major Projects Authority has given to the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme.
Mr Francis Maude
The Major Projects Authority (MPA) has been applying MPA assurance processes to the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) including a Project Assessment Review and Gateway Reviews. Further information on the ESMCP Programme is available at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-emergency-services-mobile-communications-programme
Delivery Confidence Assessment ratings are supplied according to the MPA’s Transparency Policy which is on the Cabinet Office website. The policy allows for non-disclosure of information which should properly remain confidential, for example where it is market sensitive or necessary to safeguard national security.
This will be in line with the principles of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/major-projects-transparency-policy-and-exemptions-guidance
The DCA for ESMCP was not revealed in MPA’s first annual report last year in line with the above policy. The next annual report of the MPA is due to be published in May.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve respite care provisions in Pendle constituency.
Norman Lamb
We have provided £400 million to the National Health Service over four years from 2011 for carers to have breaks from their caring responsibilities.
In the 2013 Spending Review, we announced the £3.8 billion Better Care Fund, which includes £130 millionfunding for carers’ breaks for 2015-16.
In 2015-16, East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group will receive £8.1 million from the Better Care Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides on how much funding from the Local Government Finance Settlement local authorities should allocate to virtual headteachers.
Brandon Lewis
Both Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates, the two local authority funding streams directly included within the Local Government Finance Settlement, are unringfenced, therefore, authorities can use them to fund any service, provided they meet their statutory duties. It is up to authorities to decide how to set their budgets, taking into account local priorities.