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Tag: 2015

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he had with his Indian counterpart during his recent visit on the death of Sikh people at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 1984.

    Mr David Cameron

    The events between 5-7 June 1984 at the Golden Temple in Amritsar led to a tragic loss of life, and I understand the pain that they still cause to Sikh communities around the world, including in the UK.

    During the visit of Prime Minister Modi we discussed a wide range of issues and in those conversations he emphasised his commitment to upholding the Gandhian traditions of diversity and religious tolerance. In his Wembley address, he underlined the important role that Indians of all faiths are playing in India’s economic and social development.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what transitional arrangements are being made for local authority employees who administer housing benefit when responsibility for that benefit moves to universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    Any transitional arrangements are the responsibility of the Local Authority, but we will work with them to manage the impact of these changes in a way which minimises the need for any redundancies. Where this does not prove possible, after the exercise of all reasonable efforts to redeploy people, the Department has given Local Authorities a commitment that we will meet their costs of any residual redundancies.

  • Rupa Huq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rupa Huq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial and advisory assistance his Department offers to businesses to encourage them to employ, train and support people with physical and learning disabilities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government’s award-winning Disability Confident campaign continues to work with employers to raise awareness of the business benefits of employing disabled people. It offers information and guidance to support employers in becoming more confident when attracting, recruiting and retaining disabled people and signposts further resources.

    We also deliver a number of programmes and initiatives that have successfully supported disabled people to find employment and which can also engage with and encourage employers, such as Access to Work (ATW), which provides a grant for support that is over and above the kinds of reasonable adjustment that employers have a duty to provide and Specialist Employability Support (SES).

    The Hidden Impairment National Group (HING) has made its Hidden Impairment Toolkit publically available to employers, providers, support organisations and other government departments. This Toolkit helps employers to support and employ individuals with Hidden Impairments such as learning disabilities, autism, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

  • 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, how many investigations the National Crime Agency has launched into money laundering offences in each of the last three years; and how many of those investigations resulted (a) from a referral from the Financial Conduct Authority and (b) in a prosecution.

    Mike Penning

    The National Crime Agency (NCA) became operational on 7th October 2013. Since that date the NCA has launched over 80 investigations where money laundering has been identified as a threat. In addition, in some investigations money laundering may not be identified at the outset but instead becomes a focus later on in the course of the investigation.

    Between 7th October 2013 – 31st March 2015, NCA activity has led to 156 prosecutions for money laundering offences.

    The NCA receives its intelligence from multiple sources, including partner agencies, but does not routinely provide detailed information on its sources in order to protect its operations.

  • 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, whether he plans that referral to welfare to work schemes will be voluntary for people with disabilities after the end of the current contracts for the Work Programme and Work Choice.

    Priti Patel

    Increasing disability employment is a key part of the Government’s aim to achieve full employment. That is why this Government is committed to halving the disability employment gap by creating the opportunity for a million more disabled people to work.

    The Spending Review announced that a new ‘Work and Health Programme’ will replace Work Choice and the Work Programme when current contracts end, restructuring our current provision to providing the best possible support for claimants with disabilities or health conditions as well as those who are long term unemployed. The Department will work with stakeholders on the design, including the structure and how people will be referred to the programme.

    The Government will publish a White Paper next year that will set out reforms to improve support for people with health conditions and disabilities and further reduce the disability employment gap.

  • Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch 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, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the planned move to a numeric GCSE grading system in England on the comparability and portability of GCSE results in Northern Ireland.

    Nick Gibb

    It is a matter for the regulator Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation, to set grade standards. Ofqual ran a consultation and carried out impact assessments on a move to a numeric GCSE grading system in England.

    I have asked Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what organisations her Department is working with to deliver humanitarian aid in Nepal.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID is working with a range of partners to deliver humanitarian aid in Nepal. These include: a set of Prequalified NGO partners working with local partners that helped facilitate a rapid response in the aftermath of Earthquake; International Organizations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); and the multilateral system which includes the United Nations.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of the streams of data collected by his Department are (a) used by the Department, (b) read by how many people and (c) unused or unread.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I have interpreted the question to be asking for the number of datasets compiled by the department. This information is not currently available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-11-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 9 November (HL3457), what specific steps they are taking to help Syrian refugees in the Jungle” camp at Calais who wish to claim asylum in the UK.”

    Lord Bates

    Migrants in Calais in need of protection, including Syrians, should claim asylum in France. Other than in very limited circumstances under the Dublin Regulation, where a migrant who has lodged an asylum application in another Member State has close family ties to the UK, the UK has no responsibility to help refugees who are in other EU Member States to come here to claim asylum. Consequently, there is no provision in the Immigration Rules for them to do so. However, Border Force officers and representatives from the French Government carry out regular joint communications visits to the camps, informing all nationalities of migrants of their options to seek support, including claiming asylum, in France.

    The UK Government is spending £1.1 billion in and around Syria on humanitarian aid, caring for refugees and helping the Governments of Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey to cope with the huge numbers of refugees they have received. After the United States, Britain is the biggest donor country in the region. The Government has also expanded the Syrian Resettlement Scheme. This scheme is helping the most vulnerable people in the region by offering them protection in the UK. The Government intends to resettle 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament.