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Tag: 2014

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of each type of benefit were sanctioned and for what period by Warrington Jobcentre in each year since 2010.

    Esther McVey

    The information requested on the duration of benefit sanctions is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    The available information on the number of individuals with an adverse benefit sanction is shown in the table below.

    Number of individuals with an adverse benefit sanction in Warrington Jobcentre Plus office: 2010 – 2013

    Year

    Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

    Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

    2010

    1,121

    146

    2011

    912

    45

    2012

    1,436

    36

    2013

    1,488

    55

    Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database.

    Notes:

    1. Statistical disclosure control has been applied to protect against the identification of individual claimants.

    2. Figures for Income Support Lone Parents are not available by Jobcentre Plus office.

    3. The number of benefit sanctions applied is the number of sanction or disallowance referrals where the decision was found against the claimant.

    4. Data refers to January to December in each year shown.

    5. New regulations introduced a new revised sanctions regime for JSA and ESA claimants from 22nd October and 3rd December 2012 respectively.

    6. This data is published at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

    “

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on the Jobcentre estate in 2012-13.

    Mike Penning

    It is not possible to provide a figure specifically for the delivery of Jobcentre business, as other parts of the Department, such as staff from the Corporate Centre, the Pensions Service and Child Maintenance Divisions are co-located in Jobcentre sites, and each business unit pays for their space proportionate to their occupancy.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Susan Elan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make representations to RBS and all its subsidiaries on making their services available at post offices.

    Jenny Willott

    Since September 2011, the customers of RBS, Ulster Bank, and NatWest have been able to withdraw cash free of charge at all post office branches across the UK. With around 11,700 branches – more branches than all the high street banks and building societies combined – the Post Office is the largest retail network in the UK. It is also the only retail network that meets the Government’s strict access criteria that see, for example, 99% of the national population live within three miles of an outlet. With 95% of all UK debit card holders able to access cash at Post Office counters, the Post Office is in many communities the only source of free to access cash.

    The Post Office is also a major provider of personal financial services. In partnership with its banking partner, the Post Office provides a wide range of financial services including mortgages, credit cards, and savings products. The Post Office is currently trialling its own current account products.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged (a) 25 years and over and (b) 16 to 24 years old have been unemployed for more than a year in Brigg and Goole constituency since 2008.

    Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had regarding the compatibility of Brunei’s human rights policies with the human rights values of the Commonwealth Charter, and with whom.

    Baroness Warsi

    We, along with the EU and other members of the international community, regularly discuss human rights with the Bruneian authorities. During Brunei’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 2 May, we called on Brunei to lift its state of emergency, to establish a national human rights institution and to ensure that the implementation of their new sharia criminal code was in line with international human rights standards. This includes the Commonwealth Charter which commits members to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I discussed this with His Majesty The Sultan, and other government figures during a visit to Brunei in April. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for East Devon also raised our concerns with Brunei’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pehin Kunis on 12 June. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara), raised this with the Bruneian Attorney General at the Commonwealth Law Ministers meeting on 6 May. The Secretary of State for Health, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), discussed this with his opposite number at a Commonwealth Health Ministers’ meeting on 18 May 2014.

  • Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment HM Revenue and Customs has made of the economic viability of its Customs House landholding adjacent to Dover Priory railway station.

    Mr David Gauke

    HMRC has made no assessment of the economic viability of the Priory Court Dover landholding adjacent to Dover Priory railway station.

  • Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with universities, and what research they have conducted, in relation to the impact that changes to the A/S level examinations will have on the assessment the university sector will be able to make of candidates for undergraduate entry.

    Lord Nash

    We have discussed the changes to the AS qualification with UCAS and other higher education organisations, including the A level Content Advisory Board (ALCAB), the Russell Group and Universities UK. It is, of course, for individual universities to determine their own admission arrangements. AS grades only form one part of a range of information available to universities about prospective applicants. They also look at prior attainment at key stage 4, teachers’ assessments and personal statements.

    In May 2013 the Department for Education published research which considered how GCSE results compared to AS Level results at estimating the probability of a student attaining at least a 2:1 at university. The research[1] found that using GCSE results are a better predictor of university outcomes than AS results. Our plans to restore rigour to GCSEs will ensure they are an even more useful source of information for university admissions.

    [1]Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-comparison-of-gcse-results-and-as-level-results-as-a-predictor-of-getting-a-21-or-above-at-university

    “

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

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the Youth Justice Board’s budget has been spent on research in each year since 2010.

    Jeremy Wright

    The statutory functions of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) include that of identifying and promoting good practice to prevent and reduce youth crime. In undertaking this function, the YJB works closely with local services, research bodies and academic institutions.

    The table below shows the YJB’s central expenditure on research for each full financial year since 2009/10 alongside the proportion of that expenditure against the YJB’s overall expenditure for the year:

    No new central research was commissioned in 2012/13 to enable the completion and publication of ongoing research projects. Figures relating to YJB’s research programme expenditure for 2013/14 will be published in the YJB’s Annual Report and Accounts due for publication in July. This and previous reports can be found at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/yjb.

    “

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent progress has been made in establishing the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland.

    Baroness Randerson

    We strongly support the discussions currently under way between the Northern Ireland parties and the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland on securing the full operation of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland. Early resolution of this issue is essential to avoid gaps emerging in law enforcement in Northern Ireland in areas where there is serious public concern, such as drug enforcement, human trafficking and other forms of serious criminality.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce statutory time limits on claims for personal independence payments.

    Mike Penning

    In line with other benefits, there are no statutory time limits on processing times to claims for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and we have no plans to change that position.

    We are taking the necessary action to improve the processing times, including working with the providers.