The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what progress has been made on implementation of the Smith Commission recommendations.
Mr Alistair Carmichael
We promised draft clauses on new powers for the Scottish Parliament and we published that legislation ahead of the Burns’ Night deadline.
The main UK parties have all committed to bring forward a Bill in the next Parliament. Scotland will get more powers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding has been provided to the (a) Pension Advisory Service and (b) Citizens Advice Bureaux for providing the Pension Wise service since the introduction of that service was announced.
Andrea Leadsom
All guidance specialists working for Pension Wise will receive high quality and rigorous training, whether they are delivering guidance face to face or over the phone. They will be required to pass a certificated test to demonstrate they have the necessary technical knowledge and guidance skills to deliver the guidance. The training programme is designed in accordance with FCA standards, and will be accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute, a well-respected professional standards body in the financial services industry.
HM Treasury’s delivery partners, TPAS and Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Northern Ireland are currently recruiting guidance specialists. Recruitment strategies and the setting of pay scales is the responsibility of individual delivery partners.
At Budget 2014, the Chancellor allocated a development fund of up to £20m to establish the initial guidance service. Spending on advertising will be published as part of the government’s Transparency Agenda. Initial funding to The Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Citizen Advice organisations will be included in the HM Treasury Accounts to be published in July.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to encourage the English Premier League to increase its investment in grassroots football in line with the increase in revenue arising from the recent sale of broadcast rights.
Mrs Helen Grant
I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much he estimates that NDA Properties Limited will receive in income from its holdings in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.
Matthew Hancock
NDA Properties estimates that the income from its holdings will be £7.6m in 2014-15 and £8.2m in 2015-16.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Howell on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost was to the NHS of paying doctors who had been excluded from practice on full pay in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Dr Daniel Poulter
This information is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average number of days taken by coroners to release the body of a homicide victim back to the family for burial in each year since 2010.
Simon Hughes
Information on the average number of days taken by coroners to release the body of a homicide victim is not held centrally. This information could only be obtained by inspection of individual case files at each coroner’s office before collating the information, and this could only be done at disproportionate cost.
In July 2013 we implemented reforms in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 together with new coroner regulations and rules aimed at improving standards and achieving greater consistency in coroner services. Regulation 20 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 requires a coroner to release the body for burial or cremation as soon as is reasonably practicable. Where this cannot be done within 28 days, the coroner must notify the next of kin or personal representative of the reason for the delay.
In February 2014 we also published the statutory “Guide to Coroner Services” which explains the standards of service that can be expected during a coroner’s investigation and what action can be taken if these are not met.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what increase there has been in the mitigation and compensation budget of High Speed 2 as a result of the greater impact of AP3 construction works on Camden residents and businesses in (a) intensity, (b) length of construction period and (c) need for temporary rehousing and secondary glazing.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The cost of mitigating the construction works impacts arising from changes to the hybrid Bill scheme for Euston introduced by AP3 and the budget for any additional statutory and discretionary compensation costs will be accommodated within the existing overall budget for Phase One of HS2.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to tackle homophobic bullying in universities.
Joseph Johnson
Homophobia has no place on a university campus, nor anywhere else. This is a serious matter where a zero tolerance approach is required. Universities are already tackling the issue through a range of initiatives, including working with expert organisations such as Stonewall.
Universities have duties through the Equality Act 2010 and in particular the Public Sector Equality Duty applies to publicly funded universities and requires them to have “due regard” to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation of students on the grounds of sexual orientation. Institutions themselves are responsible for making sure that their policies and practice meet their legal duties.
However, more can be done. The Department is working with Universities UK, the body that represents universities, which has established a task force to explore what more can be done by universities to address harassment. The task force, which will involve the Department along with students and relevant sector bodies, will look at harassment in all its forms whether related to gender, religion and belief, sexual orientation or disability. Although it is for the task force to decide what the outcomes will be it is likely that the focus will be on practical actions to support universities to combat these issues and to safeguard students.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake and publish an impact assessment in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK for the Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.
Damian Hinds
The Summer Budget offered a new deal for working people. It means Britain moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society.
A new National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, initially set at £7.20 per hour from April 2016, will directly benefit 2.7 million low wage workers, and up to 6 million could see a pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution. The new National Living Wage will boost pay for those currently earning the National Minimum Wage by £4,800 a year by 2020 when the National Living Wage is expected to rise to over £9 per hour.
To help working families keep more of what they earn, the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 and £11,200 in 2017-18. The government has committed to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 which will mean that a typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax cut by £1,205 a year compared to 2010.
The government set out its assessment of the impacts of the Summer Budget policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July 2015. Taken together, the introduction of the National Living Wage, increases in the personal allowance and welfare changes mean that 8 out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the Summer Budget.
In response to a request from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, the government has chosen to produce and release an impact assessment on the tax credit changes to the Committee. The impact assessment shows that 60% of the tax credit savings come from the half of tax credit claimants with the highest income.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what statistics his Department holds on the number of sick notes provided by jobseeker’s allowance or employment and support allowance claimants which have been lost by Jobcentre Plus.
Priti Patel
The Department does not collect statistics on the number of fit notes reported as lost.
Claimants post their fit note into the Department or if it is urgent can hand it in at their local Jobcentre where staff are trained to update computer systems and arrange for benefit payments to be made if one is due.