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Tag: 2014

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to inform claimants about delays they may experience while plans to improve performance of personal independence payment take effect.

    Mike Penning

    The Department does not have a target for completion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims whilst processes are bedding in. Clearly, we want to minimise the length of time claimants have to wait for assessments but the key requirement is to produce high quality assessments, to enable DWP decision makers to make the right decisions about benefit entitlement.

    We are committed to driving up PIP performance and are in regular contact with our assessment providers to do this. We already monitor performance closely and liaise with assessment providers on a daily basis, supplemented by formal monthly performance review meetings. We will continue to work closely with assessment providers on an ongoing basis to monitor quality.

    Our original Departmental operational delivery plans assumed a larger volume of assessment provider referrals than we are currently receiving and we have retained this surplus capacity using it to consolidate learning or carry out other duties. This will be available for deployment as cases are returned to the Department for decision maker action. The Department has contingency plans in place to secure additional capacity from other areas of the Department should assessment provider volumes exceed plans.

    From 10 March we have included with the PIP2 ‘How your disability affects you’ questionnaire, issued to PIP claimants, communications explaining how long they might be expected to wait for a PIP assessment. This information is also available on Gov.uk.

  • Baroness Uddin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Uddin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that young people with autism are accurately assessed and supported into work; and whether they plan to ensure guaranteed access of such young people to trained careers and employment advisers.

    Lord Freud

    DWP is committed to supporting disabled people to find a suitable, sustainable job in their local area, and delivers support through its network of advisers, including Disability Employment Advisers. All advisers in Jobcentres receive training enabling them to support people with disabilities, including those with autism. They help people identify and overcome their personal barriers to work rather than assessing disabled people purely according to their health condition. We ensure that anyone with autism and/or other hidden impairments can access the services of the Disability Employment Adviser and will continue to do so.

    Those customers with autism spectrum conditions who require greater support have access to specialist services including specialist provision or the support of Work Psychologist services via the Disability Employment Adviser.

    As part of the “Think Autism” review DWP has been involved in a number of stakeholder consultation events at which people with autism and other interested stakeholders were given the opportunity to put forward their views and opinions on how DWP could improve its services for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions and associated Hidden Impairment Conditions.

    DWP is the Lead Department supporting the Disability Confident campaign. This is a positive action campaign launched by the Prime Minister to promote the skills, talents and abilities of disabled people, including those with autism, to the widest possible business community.

    Access to Work provides additional support for individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. It provides individuals and their employers with advice and support with extra costs which may arise because of an individual’s needs.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure that claimants of benefits who are subject to sanctions know that they may apply for hardship payments; and what is the median time between such applications being made and cash payments being received.

    Lord Freud

    Where a benefit doubt is identified and the case is being referred to a decision maker, claimants are given information (verbally and in writing) about the doubt in question, what happens next, what they can do if a sanction is applied and the availability of hardship provision. Once a decision is made and a sanction applied, a formal notification is issued to the claimant, which includes information about how to apply for hardship.

    The Department does not record information about the length of time it takes to make a Hardship payment following receipt of an application.

  • Baroness Golding – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Golding – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Golding on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their announcement on 11 June 2013 of plans to establish pilot schemes under section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 in Liverpool, Leeds and Kingston-upon-Thames, whether they have drawn any conclusions from those pilot schemes; if so, what are those conclusions; what plans they have for change on the basis of those conclusions; and when a formal announcement will be made.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice started piloting Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 in Leeds, Liverpool and Kingston-upon-Thames on 30 December, with the identification of suitable cases by the police for the measure.

    The first recorded pre-trial cross-examinations have started and will run until October 2014, followed by an evaluation period to assess the effectiveness and success of the pilot before decisions on how best to implement the measure more widely will be made.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what due diligence was undertaken by officials in his Department in relation to the reliability of the gentlemen’s agreement on the holding of Royal Mail shares by priority investors.

    Michael Fallon

    There was no agreement – gentleman’s or otherwise – on the holding of Royal Mail shares by priority investors.

  • John Stevenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Stevenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stevenson on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much compensation was paid by the Land Registry following fraudulent registrations in each year since 2005.

    Michael Fallon

    Indemnity figures are published in Land Registry’s annual report and accounts and the information for the years requested is collated below:

    Financial Year

    Indemnity paid due to fraud and forgery (£)*

    2005/06

    9,834,617.73

    2006/07

    2,123,496.34

    2007/08

    3,953,378.02

    2008/09

    5,074,113.43

    2009/10

    4,947,650.06

    2010/11

    7,367,416.18

    2011/12

    7,190,094.82

    2012/13

    5,101,916.00

    2013/14

    7,209,713.53

    *Substantive loss plus costs

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Shabana Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2014-04-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the £325,000 inheritance tax threshold to (a) £1 million and (b) £500,000 in each of the next five financial years.

    Mr David Gauke

    This Government has no current plans to increase the inheritance tax threshold.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) secularist and (b) humanist organisations since May 2010.

    Stephen Williams

    Ministers have regular meetings with a range of different partners and organisations. Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published on the Department’s website.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) aggravated assaults against members of the armed forces and (b) times members of the armed forces were discriminated against in bars, restaurants and hotels in each year since 2003.

    Anna Soubry

    This information is not held by the Department.

  • Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

    Gregory Barker

    The Table below details the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s consultancy expenditure in 2013-14:

    2013-14

    £k

    KPMG LLP

    2,340

    Lazard & Co Ltd

    1,940

    Deloitte LLP

    855

    Baringa Partners LLP

    238

    Mott Macdonald Group Ltd

    91

    Redpoint Energy Ltd

    91

    Poyry Management Consulting (UK) Ltd

    61

    Oxera Consulting Ltd

    60

    Cambridge Economic Policy Associates

    55

    E S P Consulting

    48