Tag: 2015

  • Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were in receipt of the carer addition element of pension credit in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested, to answer the three questions above, is shown in the table below for February 2015, which is the latest data available.

    Pension Credit Claimants with a Carer’s additional amount, by age and gender for Great Britain, Scotland, Glasgow City Local Authority and Glasgow East constituency – February 2015

    All Persons

    Age of claimant

    Great Britain

    Scotland

    Glasgow City LA

    Glasgow East Constituency

    Total all Ages

    209,740

    22,340

    3,490

    750

    60

    61

    10

    62

    3,340

    360

    70

    10

    63

    7,510

    730

    140

    30

    64

    8,310

    900

    150

    40

    65

    8,120

    850

    130

    30

    66

    8,610

    920

    160

    40

    67

    9,090

    970

    170

    40

    Male

    Age of claimant

    Great Britain

    Scotland

    Glasgow City LA

    Glasgow East Constituency

    Total all Ages

    132,540

    13,330

    1,970

    400

    60

    61

    62

    2,010

    190

    40

    63

    4,750

    430

    70

    10

    64

    5,430

    540

    80

    20

    65

    4,870

    490

    70

    10

    66

    5,170

    520

    80

    20

    67

    5,460

    540

    90

    20

    Female

    Age of claimant

    Great Britain

    Scotland

    Glasgow City LA

    Glasgow East Constituency

    Total all Ages

    77,200

    9,000

    1,520

    350

    60

    61

    62

    1,330

    170

    30

    10

    63

    2,760

    290

    60

    20

    64

    2,880

    360

    70

    20

    65

    3,260

    360

    60

    20

    66

    3,440

    400

    70

    20

    67

    3,630

    420

    80

    20

    Source: DWP, 100% data.

    Notes:
    1. "-" denotes nil or negligible; Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
    2. STATE PENSION AGE: The age at which men and women reach State Pension age is gradually increasing. Under current legislation, State Pension age for women will equalise with State Pension age for men at 65 in 2018. Both men’s and women’s State Pension age will increase from 65 to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. The Pensions Bill 2013-14 contains provision for a State Pension age of 67 to be reached by 2028. For more information see:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207966/espa.pdf.
    3. Parliamentary Constituency of claimant (Westminster) these constituencies are used for the Westminster parliament

    4. Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
    http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to vote in the affirmative at the 7 December plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly on (1) Resolution L13 Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations, and (2) Resolution L.37 Humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    At the UN First Committee in November, the UK voted against the Resolutions “L13 Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations” and “L37 Humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons”. As the text of the resolutions has not changed between the First Committee and the General Assembly plenary, we do not anticipate changing our vote.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13325, how many bursaries his Department offered people to become mathematics teachers in the further education sector in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15; and how many such bursaries he estimates his Department will offer in 2015-16.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) began offering bursaries to graduates to train to teach maths in the academic year 2013/14. 61 and 136 people took up such bursaries in 2013/14 and 2014/15, respectively. It is estimated that 167 maths bursaries will be taken up in 2015/16.

    The maths enhancement is a joint BIS/Department for Education supported programme and commenced in the academic year 2013/14. During 2013/14 and 2014/15 over 2,450 existing further education teachers participated in the maths programmes. During 2015/16 we are continuing to support access to a pipeline programme to enhance the maths skills of existing teachers. This is being delivered by the Education and Training Foundation. We have not made an estimate of the number of programmes that will be taken up in 2015/16.

    Emerging findings from the evaluation of the further education (FE) workforce programmes have shown a positive impact on the confidence and effectiveness of FE teachers delivering maths either as a core subject or in vocational context. The evidential basis for intervention in maths teaching was based on the clear need to raise the Maths attainment rates of students in further education; and improve the quality of Maths teaching as identified by Ofsted inspection reports.

  • Lord Rowlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Rowlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rowlands on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees how many apprentices are employed in the House of Lords.

    Lord Laming

    The House of Lords Administration does not currently employ any apprentices. The Administration supports training related to employees’ work in the House of Lords, and has a graduate trainee post in the Parliamentary Archives.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Carol Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to improve the availability of off-patent drugs for novel uses through non-legislative measures.

    George Freeman

    Clinicians can already prescribe off-patent drugs off-label on clinical grounds if they judge this is the right thing to do to meet the individual clinical needs of their patients.

    The Government is keen to accelerate the adoption of innovative medicines and increase the innovative use of existing medicines where the evidence reports clinical benefits and cost effectiveness to patients. To that end, we are seeking a number of initiatives to provide innovation but whilst supporting the aims of the Private Member’s Bill on this subject, we do not believe the proposed mechanism is either practicable and desirable.

    We are working with NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the General Medical Council and the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency to ensure that there is better information available to support clinicians who wish to prescribe off-patent drugs for off-label indications, and to ensure that new evidence is picked up more quickly and reliably and translated into clinical practice and can be fed through into licensing applications.

    A huge amount of work is also going on in the Accelerated Access Review which will support the “pull” of innovation through to clinical practice.

    As part of the debate on the Access to Medical Treatments Bill, we are working with officials in the Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and the Health and Social Care Information Centre to see how the power in the Bill, if it were to pass, could address the lack of provision of information on new uses for existing medicines via the power to create a database of innovations in order to support evidence-based prescribing.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effect to date and (b) potential future effect on the UK skills base of the outsourcing of UK manufacturing and energy supply chain contracts to other EU member states.

    Anna Soubry

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 December 2015 to Question UIN 18533.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are consulting (1) Barnardos, (2) Save the Children, (3) Oxfam, (4) Citizens UK, (5) the Trussell Trust, (6) Magic Breakfast, (7) FareShare, (8) FoodCycle, (9) Baby Basics, (10) The Children’s Society, and (11) any other organisations, about food and fuel poverty and the relationship between benefit sanctions and food and fuel poverty; and if not, why not.

    Lord Freud

    The Department for Work and Pensions constantly engages with a wide range of stakeholders, interested parties and other organisations across a wide range of issues that affect those receiving benefits.

    The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger, and the Church report ‘Time to rethink benefit sanctions’, amongst others, all recognise that the reasons that people use food banks are complex and overlapping. There is no robust evidence that links sanctions and food bank use.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the status of the City of London as a world financial centre is explicitly protected during the renegotiations on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Mr David Gauke

    As part of the European reform agenda the Government is negotiating ensure competitiveness is embedded in the DNA of the EU, so that the UK financial sector can continue to thrive as the global centre of European finance. The Government is also negotiating to ensure that the UK remains able to effectively safeguard the stability and integrity of the UK’s financial system. This means ensuring that UK regulators have responsibility for financial stability and supervision in the UK.

    The City of London does not, however, get special treatment in the Government’s reform agenda. A special protection for the UK financial sector would not be in the interests of the single market in financial services, from which the UK benefits. Instead, we are demanding that the single market works in the interest of all 28 Member States.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the allegations by Abu Anan that Israeli forces fired tear gas into or directly outside a Palestinian house resulting in the death of a baby through gas inhalation.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While our officials in Tel Aviv have not raised this specific case with the Israeli authorities, we remain extremely concerned by the violence that we have seen across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr. Ellwood), said in his press statement of 13 October, “We are also concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents”.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of changes in revenue from the Horserace Betting Levy arising from the activities of remote betting operators based offshore.

    Tracey Crouch

    The levy rate is set annually and is paid by bookmakers based in Great Britain, it does not currently apply to betting operators based offshore. The Government remains committed to replacing the current levy system to create a level playing field for British based and offshore gambling operators.