The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what timetable his Department has set for drawing up contracts for new welfare to work schemes; and if he will make a statement.
Priti Patel
Now that the 2015 Spending Review is finalised, we are working on our Commercial Strategy for the welfare to work contracts.
All procurement opportunities will be advertised in the normal manner via Contracts Finder.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on people who receive disability benefits being able to volunteer without it affecting their entitlement to those benefits.
Justin Tomlinson
Claimants of Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment are free to do paid or unpaid work or volunteering without losing entitlement to their benefit, so long as they continue to meet the entitlement conditions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department is monitoring the implementation of the family test across Government.
Mr Oliver Letwin
The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014, through the publication of guidance for officials – which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf. Consideration of the Family Test takes place as part of the usual policy making process within departments.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government implements the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Mr David Lidington
The UK was the first country to produce a National Action Plan (NAP) in September 2013 for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights. It was launched jointly by the the Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Busines, Innovation and Skills and was developed through consultations with business and civil society organisations. Implementation has been coordinated through a cross-Whitehall Steering Group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to page eight of the Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan, published on 17 November 2015, what the further financial support of around £500 million from the Government will consist of and for what purposes it can be used.
Mr Ben Wallace
The financial support of around £500m consists of:
– £160m in Additional Security Funding;
– £25m to tackle Continuing Paramilitary Activity;
– £3m to establish and fund a Monitoring and Implementation body; and
– £60m for Shared Future measures.
Additionally, welfare deductions stopped when the Assembly passed a consent motion for UK legislation to implement reforms. The UK Government will refund the deduction due for the remainder of the year, which is estimated to be around £40m.
The Executive is also to develop effective Spend to Save proposals. The Treasury will work with them to finalise proposals, help fund them (up to £125m), and let the Executive keep half the savings that can be verified by the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR). The parties project that this will generate significant savings in the next five years, taking the total package over £500m.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to follow the example of the government of Belgium which has passed a law to arrest all suspected extremists who have returned to Belgium from Syria or Iraq.
Lord Bates
The UK has a wide range of disruptive tools and offences under which a suspected terrorist or violent extremist can be arrested and prosecuted. Earlier this year, we legislated, through the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and the Serious Crime Act 2015, to strengthen further our capabilities to deal with the threat from foreign fighters and British-born jihadis who seek to harm the UK, including where they have undertaken prohibited activities abroad.We keep our counter-terrorism powers under constant review.
All decisions relating to the arrest, charge and prosecution of terrorism suspects are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of additional regulation of the sale of fireworks.
Anna Soubry
Restrictions on the sale of fireworks already exist under the Fireworks Regulations 2004 and the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015. The majority of people have a sensible and responsible attitude to fireworks and, on balance, I do not believe that further restrictions on their sale would be necessary or proportionate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when legislative provision will be made for the (a) establishment of the role of metro mayor for the West Midlands Combined Authority, (b) cancellation of the Police and Crime Commissioner election in the West Midlands and (c) establishment of the West Midlands Combined Authority.
James Wharton
As stated in the devolution deal agreement which my rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 17 November 2015, we intend the first election for a West Midlands metro mayor to be held in May 2017, subject to the passage of the necessary legislation through Parliament.
As that agreement also explains, there will be local consideration of the appropriate relationship between the functions of a mayor and the police and crime commissioner role; at this stage there has been no decision to transfer police and crime commissioner functions to an elected Mayor for the West Midlands and there are no plans to cancel the 2016 police and crime commissioner election in the West Midlands.
As to the establishment of the West Midlands Combined Authority, we are currently considering the governance review and scheme for a combined authority which the West Midlands councils published in October 2015, before undertaking any statutory consultation on establishing that Authority, as required by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of how effectively pupil premium funding is used by schools to support disadvantaged highly-able pupils.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The department recently published ‘Supporting the Attainment of Disadvantaged Pupils: Articulating Success and Good Practice’[1]. This is independent research on the effective use of the pupil premium, carried out by National Foundation for Educational Research.
On the basis of this report, the department published ‘Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils: briefing for school leaders’[2], which reinforces the importance of supporting more able disadvantaged pupils to meet their potential.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations against Rohingya people in Burma.
Mr Hugo Swire
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 November 2015 (PQ14884), which can be located at: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/.