The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency who have submitted a claim for personal independence payment have been waiting more than (a) six months and (b) three months for a medical assessment.
Mike Penning
The information you have requested is not currently available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many serious case reviews have been (a) commissioned and (b) published since June 2010.
Mr Edward Timpson
302 serious case reviews (SCRs) have been commissioned by local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) and notified to the Department for Education since June 2010. 114 have been published.
|
Serious case reviews commissioned |
Serious case reviews published[1] |
|
|
10 June 2010 to 31 March 2011 |
52 |
0 |
|
1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 |
55 |
12 |
|
1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 |
81 |
31 |
|
1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 |
114 |
71 |
|
Total |
302 |
114 |
136 SCRs are currently in progress. 30 SCRs have been notified as not for publication due to compelling reasons related to the welfare of the children directly related to these cases.
22 SCRs have been completed and have not yet been published due to outstanding police investigations, criminal proceedings and welfare issues.
We have set up a national panel of independent experts who will advise and challenge LSCBs on any case where an LSCB has concerns about the publication of an SCR report and/or intends not to publish an SCR report.
[1] Overview reports only. These figures do not include executive summaries published during this period.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2014-06-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding of the Financial Ombudsman Service came directly from the levy on the Office of Fair Trading licences on consumer credit firms in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013; how this funding will be levied in future; and if he will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an independent, non-Governmental body and questions about its funding are a matter for the FOS or, as the case may be, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who approve the FOS budget and fee rules. This question has been passed on to the FOS, and the FOS will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the estimated cost of the direct damage caused by recent flooding in Somerset meets the eligibility criteria for the European Union Solidarity Fund; and what discussions his Department has had with EU officials on an application to that fund.
Dan Rogerson
EU Solidarity Fund money is available to all Member States suffering from large-scale natural disasters, but is subject to a number of eligibility requirements, including on the level of direct damages. Comparing the damage today to the 2007 floods, and following contact with the Commission, the Government’s assessment was that we had not met these conditions. The Regulation governing the EUSF sets the deadline for applications as ten weeks after the first damage caused by the disaster.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason Sri Lanka has not been included as a priority country for the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Foreign Secretary’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) is global in reach. It aims to address impunity for crimes of conflict related sexual violence wherever these occur. We remain concerned at reports of a culture of impunity for rape and sexual violence and a lack of support for victims in Sri Lanka, as well as reports of the use of sexual violence as a means of torture in custody. We have engaged significantly with Sri Lanka on this issue. When the Foreign Secretary visited Sri Lanka in November 2013 to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), he hosted an event to highlight concerns about allegations of sexual violence in Sri Lanka during and after the conflict, and urged Sri Lanka to sign up to the UN Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. The UK is also supporting projects to ensure a zero tolerance approach to rape and sexual violence in Sri Lanka. Our presence at CHOGM also ensured that the final communiqué at the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Colombo in November 2013 contained the first ever commitment by member states to take action to prevent and respond to sexual violence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) men and (b) women were serving custodial sentences for non-payment of (i) a television licence, (ii) vehicle excise duty and (iii) council tax on 1 March 2014.
Jeremy Wright
The offences of using a TV receiver without a valid licence and of failure to hold a valid vehicle excise duty licence (tax disc) are not punishable by imprisonment, so offenders cannot be sentenced to custody for these offences. Failing to pay council tax is not a criminal offence. Accordingly, there were no men or women serving custodial sentences on 1 March 2014 for non-payment of a TV licence, vehicle excise duty or council tax.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department took to ensure that TPContact was prepared for the required increase in capacity at its facilities worldwide to deal with the summer rush of visa applications.
James Brokenshire
Any failure against the contractual critical service levels may result in
deductions against their submitted invoices. In the event of continuous and
unacceptable failures the Department has the ability to terminate the contract.
The performance of Teleperformance as with all of our contracts is subject to
close Home Office scrutiny. The governance processes include regular meetings
at all levels, from local operational teams up to senior official levels, to
allow in-depth reviews of performance against the service standards set out in
the contract, and to provide an escalation route to resolve any issues that may
arise. We also expect suppliers to provide continuous improvement in delivery
of customer services over the course of the contract, which is also monitored
through these processes.
The Department withheld payment of the contractual transitional payment until
transition was complete in each country where Teleperformance operates. This
has now been has now been approved for payment in countries where visa
application centres (VACs) are operational but withheld in locations still to
be transitioned. Ongoing contractual payments will be subject to the service
credit process outlined above.
The data required to judge performance against contractual service standards is
not yet available. We are not aware of any withdrawn applications linked to
delays in processing at the identified visa application centres since they took
over this service. The Home Office is currently collating data on complaints
for the period since Teleperformance commenced operations and it is not
available for publication.
UK Visas & Immigration has worked closely with Teleperformance from the point
at which contracts were awarded to prepare for live operations, including the
summer peak. Annual and monthly application volumes and forecast figures for
2014 were provided to Teleperformance as part of the tender process and local
discussions have taken place to determine the number of appointment slots
available. Opening hours have been extended and appointment availability has
been increased in a number of locations to prepare for the summer period. Where
VACs are open every day, the availability of appointment slots is continually
monitored, with further measures being taken if appointments are consistently
fully booked.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Ministerial Statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 56-8WS, on Atos, how much Atos has paid to his Department in order to exit its contract early; and whether he plans for the new contract provide for payments calculated on the number of assessments completed.
Mike Penning
The terms of the financial settlement are confidential between the parties.
The Department is currently developing the financial model for the new contract and no decisions have been reached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made in developing local support services for Universal Credit claimants; and if he will make a statement.
Esther McVey
The Local Support Services update and trialling plan was published in December 2013 and set out how DWP and local authorities will work together to test different arrangements for partnership working, financial management, the effective delivery of front line services and other specific aspects of the Local Support Services Framework.
The closing date for bids from DWP/LA partnerships, to undertake robust trialling, was Friday 13th June. Trials will start in Autumn and run for 12 months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Alan Whitehead on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what consultation he plans on regulations relating to houses in multiple occupation as part of the forthcoming consultation on regulations relating to minimum standards of energy efficiency for the private rented sector.
Gregory Barker
The Department intends to publically consult on the regulations relating to Minimum Standards of Energy Efficiency in the Private Rental Sector (secondary regulations for section 43 of the Energy Act 2011) before summer 2014. How the regulations may apply to houses in multiple occupation is expected to form part of this consultation.