The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the Fourth Report from the Work and Pensions Committee, on Support for housing costs in the reformed welfare system, Session 2013-14, HC 720, published on 2 April 2014.
Justin Tomlinson
I refer my Hon Member to the answer I gave on 15 October 2015 to Question UIN 11314.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to assist members of the armed forces who are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the future; and what assessment they have made of whether those individuals should receive financial support at least equivalent to that of civilians diagnosed with the disease.
Earl Howe
In the UK it is the National Health Service (NHS) that is responsible for the provision of healthcare to veterans including those diagnosed with mesothelioma. Veterans in England, Scotland and Wales are entitled to receive priority access to NHS secondary healthcare for conditions suspected to be due to their service in the UK Armed Forces, subject to the clinical needs of all patients.
Veterans are able to access support from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) through Veterans UK, part of MOD’s Defence Business Services, which provides a package of welfare support for veterans through a free helpline, website and national Veterans Welfare Service. Veterans UK also administer compensation payments for ill health or injury suffered while serving in the Armed Forces through the War Pensions Scheme (WPS) and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
The Department commissioned advice from the Independent Medical Expert Group to look at mesothelioma and the awards paid through the WPS. Following this, officials have considered what options there might be to offer any flexibility for those who will claim in the future under the WPS. This is a complex matter which has required detailed consideration and involved close consultation with our colleagues across Whitehall.
The Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (Mark Lancaster) announced during the Adjournment Debate, in the House of Commons on mesothelioma compensation on 19 November 2015 (Official Report, columns 929-936) that he intends to make an announcement regarding the matter of lump sum payments as soon as possible. We will update ex-Service organisations at the forthcoming Central Advisory Committee on Compensation in December.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell-Savours on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 October (HL2728), whether they will set out the broad circumstances in which a housing association or Community Land Trust could exercise discretion in deciding whether to sell a property to a tenant.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Government is currently engaging with the National Housing Federation and the housing association sector on implementing the Right to Buy Agreement. Further details will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the average proportion of spending on DfID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements was on salaries for UK staff and advocacy work in the UK, broken down by the charities receiving that funding.
Baroness Verma
DFID does not hold details of the average proportion of spending through the Programme Partnership Arrangements (PPAs) on salaries for UK staff.
PPAs are not used for any campaigning or advocacy efforts in the UK.
The PPAs are strategic level arrangements with Civil Society Organisations based around mutually agreed outcomes. Organisations have individual performance frameworks against which they formally report against on an annual basis. Funding is flexible and not tied to specific interventions or initiatives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the influx of refugees and migrants into the Western Balkans on the security situation in that region, and what discussions they have had with (1) NATO, and (2) the EU, about that issue.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government makes ongoing assessments of the impact of refugees and migrants on the security situation in the Western Balkans. There have been limited discussions in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on migration as the issue is largely a national and EU competence. NATO can address some of the causes of migration by helping to improve the security and resilience of countries in the region through its partnership frameworks and Defence Capacity Building activity. We have been in regular contact with the EU on addressing all aspects of the crisis. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Teresa May), participated in an EU Conference with Western Balkans and other countries in Luxembourg on 8 October, which agreed a comprehensive package of measures for dealing with the challenges of migration through the Eastern Mediterranean route. We consider it important that the actions agreed at this Conference, and other actions agreed between the EU and the Western Balkans – notably the 17-point Plan of 25 October – are implemented as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish guidance for higher education institutions on how Student Opportunity Fund monies are allocated.
Joseph Johnson
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is responsible for decisions on how the student opportunity fund is allocated to higher education institutions, and for publishing associated guidance.
The Government issues a grant letter to HEFCE outlining Government’s priorities for expenditure through the teaching grant, including on widening access. This will take account of the announcements made in the Spending Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last reviewed the security situation in Tunisia in respect of Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We keep the security situation in Tunisia under constant review, and have been working closely with the Tunisian authorities to improve their capacity to deter and respond to the threats they face.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the effect on the income of an existing tax credit claimant in (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20 of proposed changes to tax credits, assuming they are migrated to universal credit at the start of 2018.
Priti Patel
At the summer budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the Government’s commitment to move the UK from a high tax, high welfare, low wage society to a lower tax, lower welfare, higher wage society. This remains the case, and Universal Credit (UC) is delivering this.
UC is a fundamentally different benefit to the legacy benefit system and provides people with support into, and to progress in work.
Therefore there is no meaningful way of comparing an unreformed Tax Credit system with Universal Credit. The Government has committed to transitional arrangements as we reform the benefits and Tax Credit system. Those transferred by DWP from tax credits to UC will receive Transitional Protection. In addition, estimates of entitlements under UC of the sort requested will vary depending on assumptions on the level of earnings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 29 October (HL2815) concerning Severn Crossings tolls, why the cost of collecting tolls is not made available by the concessionaire, and whether they will now require them to make that information available.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
There is no contractual requirement for the Severn Crossings concessionaire to provide this cost. The Government has no plans to require that information to be made available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons statistics on National Lottery good causes expenditure has not been updated on the gov.uk website since December 2014; and when he plans to publish those updated statistics.
Tracey Crouch
We have encountered significant technical difficulties in updating the National Lottery Grants Database which have proved much more complex to resolve than anticipated. The delay in updating is very unfortunate however we have been working hard to resolve the issue and expect an update to be accessible in the New Year. Meanwhile, information about grants can be found on the websites of many distributors.