The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the business case for the universal credit programme.
Esther McVey
In line with standard practice, as the Universal Credit Business Case includes details of a sensitive nature the Department will not be putting the Business Case into the public domain.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from the production, transport and disposal or recycling of paper bags.
Dan Rogerson
The calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from paper bags is available in the 2011 research report Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags, which was commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency. This forms part of the evidence base for the Impact Assessment that will be available in due course. I have placed a copy of the report in the library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 176W, on work capability assessment, if he will make it his policy to set a target timescale for employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment work capability assessments in order to monitor and reduce the waiting times for those assessments.
Mike Penning
We are committed to completing Work Capability Assessments as quickly as possible so that eligible claimants receive the appropriate rate of benefit.
However it is important to get assessments right rather than setting an artificial timescale for completion. We are working with the existing supplier to improve processing times and reduce waiting times. In addition, we are seeking a replacement supplier to undertake Work Capability Assessments.
In the meantime we continue to rigorously monitor and manage the existing contract to ensure that both quality and performance are maintained as part of our drive to improve the quality of decision making and process claims more quickly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to work with other EU member states to reduce the number of deaths of immigrants illegally coming to the EU via the sea.
James Brokenshire
The Government continues to have regular discussions with our EU partners in
order to ensure that all Member States operate effective asylum and border
management systems, including through cooperation with countries of origin and
transit beyond the EU. This includes the UK’s participation in the EU’s Task
Force Mediterranean, established following the Lampedusa tragedy last year to
develop actions to prevent further deaths at sea.
The Task Force involves Member States, the European Commission, the European
External Action Service (EEAS) and key EU agencies (including Frontex, the
European Asylum Support Office and Europol). It has developed a series of
coherent actions, including cooperation with third countries and combating the
organised criminals who facilitate many of these dangerous sea crossings.
The Government strongly supports the Task Force proposal to develop information
campaigns in countries of origin and transit as part of wider prevention
efforts, and has shared our experience in this area with EU partners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the Library and publish the tender and bid for the Child Maintenance Options contract.
Steve Webb
Contract documents for the Child Maintenance Options Contract are published on the Contracts Finder website. These documents include the Contract itself, the requirements issued to bidders, and the successful bidder’s response. Contracts Finder is a publicly accessible website where contract documents are published in order to meet government transparency commitments. The specific link to this Contract is: https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en¬iceid=1072427&fs=true
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with which non-governmental organisations and agencies her Department is working to help residents in the desert region of Thar in Sindh Province, Pakistan.
Justine Greening
The UK Government provides funding to the World Food Programme and UNICEF who are responding to the situation in Thar.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department has provided to companies facing bankruptcy in each of the last three years.
Jenny Willott
The Department has a suite of business support packages available to companies whether or not they are facing an insolvency event.
In exceptional circumstances the Department can work with companies in difficulty to help find solutions to their needs. Any such support is commercially sensitive and is normally a matter between the Department and the company.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made by the cross-government working group on remotely piloted aircraft systems.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Cross Government Working Group has been discussing its draft Terms of Reference (extract copied below) and its membership. The focus of its work so far has been to gather information from the relevant departments to identify areas of common interest requiring collaboration.
RPAS Cross Government Working Group Vision and Activities
Vision : To provide a consistent government message on RPAS issues.
Objectives:
Approach
Issues to Address
Engagement
Understand the potential benefits of RPAS to Government.
Inform and be informed by active industry associations e.g.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment HM Revenue and Customs has made of changes in the extent of (a) fuel smuggling and (b) other organised revenue avoidance schemes in Northern Ireland in the last three years.
Nicky Morgan
Estimates of the non UK duty paid market for petrol and diesel fuels in Northern Ireland are published in ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2012-13′. The non UK duty paid estimate covers both the illicit market and cross border shopping. These estimates cannot be disaggregated into its component parts or by the type of illicit activity e.g. through smuggling or other fraud.
The excise duty losses due to the non-UK duty paid diesel market for 2010-11 were £110m and for 2011-12 were £120m. The excise duty losses due to the petrol non-UK duty paid market for 2010-11 were £30m and for 2011-12 were £30m. Figures for 2012-13 will be published in the autumn.
The information on other organised revenue avoidance schemes in Northern Ireland is not available. The figures cannot be disaggregated by country. UK figures are available from “Measuring Tax Gaps 2012-13”.
The methodologies for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Methodological Annex for Measuring Tax Gaps 2013′.
Both documents can be accessed via the following page on the HMRC website:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps.htm
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what costs his Department has incurred in the development, promotion, monitoring and evaluation of the Sorting Out Separation web app to date; and what budget his Department assigned for the future promotion, updating, monitoring and redesign of that web app.
Steve Webb
The costs of the Sorting out Separation web app are £417.5k to date. This includes initial build, maintenance and development, hosting and promotion. It also includes the costs of the development of the diagnosis tool and the videos hosted on Sorting out Separation.
The Department is in the process of considering the future direction of the Sorting out Separation web app and will shortly be taking steps to improve the profile of the app through search engine optimisation.