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Tag: 2015

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate expertise in local housing market conditions among staff administering universal credit in jobcentres.

    Priti Patel

    The role of DWP is to administer the payment of Universal Credit (UC) and within that there is a Housing Cost element. The Local Authorities (LA) and Valuation Office keep their existing roles by providing valuation and housing advice. UC claims are assessed in UC service centres, not jobcentres.

    UC is being rolled out in a safe and controlled way to allow us to adapt and grow the capability we need over time. To support UC in assessment of the housing costs as part of delivering the live service, LA staff have been seconded on a short term basis to support improvements in housing cost knowledge for staff in UC Service centres.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have agreed to take refugees under the Syrian Refugee resettlement scheme.

    Richard Harrington

    Over 50 local authorities from across the UK have offered places to resettle refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme. It is at the discretion of local authorities to disclose whether or not they are involved with the VPR scheme.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of (a) referrals to the Work Programme since 2011 and (b) current participants in the Work Programme had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on the effect of the increase in the state pension age on women.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Ministers regularly discuss matters of policy that span their responsibilities.

    Reasonable mitigation for those worst affected by changes in State Pension age was introduced in 2011. A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.

    This Government is committed to better outcomes for pensioners. However, the several billions of pounds that it would cost to make further policy changes in this area, that prolong the gender inequality in State Pension provision, cannot be justified.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has discussed the planned move to a numeric grading system for GCSEs in England with her Northern Ireland counterpart.

    Nick Gibb

    The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with Northern Ireland’s Minister for Education to discuss the grading system for GCSEs in England. Her predecessor discussed reforms to GCSEs in England with John O’Dowd (Minister for Education, Northern Ireland) and Leighton Andrews (Minister for Education and Skills, Wales) in May 2013.

    Department for Education officials have regular meetings with officials from the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the regulators Ofqual and Qualifications Wales, to discuss the qualification reforms taking place in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid her Department is providing to Indonesia to assist with tackling forest fires.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is providing technical support through a number of channels. For example, the UK Climate Change Unit in Indonesia has funded the World Resource Institute’s Global Forest and Fire Watch which provides free real-time information on fire spots, linking these data to land licensing and land type. In addition, the UK’s Forest Land-Use and Governance (FLAG) programme in Indonesia is funding longer-term fire prevention work through civil society, private sector and government, focusing on transparency, accountability and spatial planning to resolve the land governance issues that lead to fires.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what alternative options his Department offers to personal independence payment (PIP) applicants unable to travel to PIP assessment centres.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Claimants attending an assessment by public or personal transport can claim back their travel costs. Where public transport is unavailable or the claimant is unable to use it, the claimant can contact their assessment provider to ask if taxi-fares would be payable for their journey.

    Alternatively, the option of a face-to-face consultation in the claimant’s home is available if the claimant indicates that they are unfit to travel to a consultation or where travel would require high levels of support.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2015-11-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their aim to halve the number of unemployed disabled people, whether they will conduct a review into the way the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment for enhanced rate mobility is working; and on what grounds they would consider changing the PIP assessment for enhanced rate mobility.

    Baroness Altmann

    The Government is committed to giving all disabled people the opportunity to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions. Work is an important part of this, which is why the Government has committed to halving the disability employment gap, requiring us to transform policy, practice and public attitudes.

    Enhanced rate mobility payments within Personal Independence Payment are intended for those who face the greatest barriers to their mobility. We believe that the assessment criteria, which was designed in close consultation with disabled people and disability groups, achieve this by targeting support to those who need it most.

    We currently have no plans to review how the PIP assessment for enhanced rate mobility is working.

    Access to Work (ATW) provides practical and financial support with the additional costs faced by individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. The type of support provided is tailored to an individual’s needs and can include travel to work, support workers and specialist aids and equipment.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of households with dependents under the age of 18 that will be affected by the draft Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    This information is not available.

    This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) 16 to 24 year old and (b) 25 to 30 year old homeless people have been temporarily housed in bed and breakfast accommodation by their local authority in each of the last five years.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The only age related information held for those in temporary accommodation is for households headed by 16 or 17 year olds. Figures for such households temporarily housed in bed and breakfast accommodation as at 31March for the last five years are as follows;

    2011- 160

    2012 – 150

    2013 – 100

    2014 – 60

    2015 – 50