Tag: 2016

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support the parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities to enable them to find employment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Where parents of disabled children would like to go out to work, DWP wants to make it easier for them to do so. Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches provide personalised support, tailored to meet the needs and requirements of the claimant, helping them to find work that fits with their individual circumstances. Work Coaches will also endeavour to support the claimant to overcome barriers that might make finding a job more difficult and will work with the individual to identify the most appropriate help available.

    Under Universal Credit, extra financial support is available to parents for each dependent child who is disabled. Universal Credit also provides working parents with help with childcare costs. In April 2016, we extended this support to cover up to 85% of the eligible costs of childcare.

    Parents of disabled children also receive help with childcare through the free childcare entitlements. All three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare per week, and we are extending this free entitlement to 30 hours per week for working parents of three and four year olds. In addition, two year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare if they have a current statement of special educational need or an education, health and care plan, or receive Disability Living Allowance.

    The Department for Education is consulting on additional funding for children with special education needs and disabilities as part of its consultation on early years funding which closes on 22 September 2016.

    Working parents of disabled children will also benefit from extra support under Tax-Free Childcare which will be introduced from early 2017. This will provide Government support with childcare costs of up to £4,000 per year for a disabled child up to the age of 17.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency and (b) Cheshire West and Chester have had a tax credit claim stopped by Concentrix; and how many such claims were subsequently reinstated by HM Revenue and Customs.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold the data broken down specifically by constituency areas. HMRC is currently focused on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing regional analysis, which will be available in due course.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many businesses in (a) Warrington and (b) the North West were (i) investigated and (ii) prosecuted for failure to pay the national minimum wage in the last year for which figures are available.

    Nick Boles

    The Government does not record information on the number of National Minimum Wage investigations or prosecutions by region, local authority or parliamentary constituency.

    Employers may register trading addresses which differ from where they undertake business and can operate at multiple sites across the country. Therefore it is not always possible to identify a particular area where national minimum wage non-compliance has occurred.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the prevalence of hunger in Malawi.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID has a significant programme of ongoing support in health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation and economic development, particularly in rural areas and with the private sector, for growth, jobs, incomes and food insecurity. We support increasing access to justice for women and vulnerable groups, accountability and governance reforms.

    The UK was one of the first development partners to respond to Malawi’s international appeal for emergency aid in October 2015. The UK has now committed £14.5m through partners including the World Food Programme, UNICEF and an International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) consortium led by Save the Children. This support includes:

    • Food for over 800,000 people, including pre-positioning of food, nutrition supplies and livestock vaccines.
    • Cash transfers for up to 450,000 people who live near functioning markets but do not have the means to purchase food
    • Mass screening of up to 800,000 children to identify urgent nutritional support needs
    • Specialist supplies for up to 75,000 children and others suffering from acute malnutrition
    • Vital protection support to vulnerable people, including women and girls, in displacement and refugee camps
  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make assistance available to local authorities for the costs of disposing of abandoned boats, vessels and other sea-faring equipment.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Statutory Harbour Authorities (some of which are Local Authorities) have powers to deal with wrecks and unservicable and abandoned vessels within their harbour limits.

    These powers are available under sections 52, 56 and 57 of the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 (exercisable by the Harbour Master) and in section 252 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The powers allow the removal of wrecks and unserviceable and abandoned vessels and recovery of the cost of doing so from the owner or through disposal of the vessel.

    Where there is no statutory harbour authority or conservancy authority in place to use the powers in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, under s253 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 the General Lighthouse Authority may use the same powers set out in section 252 to deal with such vessels where, in the authority’s opinion the vessel is, or is likely to become, an obstruction or danger to navigation or to lifeboats engaged in lifeboat service.

    The receiver of wreck, who only deals with wrecked vessels and is a statutory appointment under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, has powers under section 243 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to dispose of unclaimed wrecks one year after they come into the receiver’s possession. The Act sets out the dissemination of the proceeds of sale after disposal expenses.

    Statutory Harbour Authorities operate on a commercial basis without ongoing support from Government and the General Lighthouse Authority are fully funded from a tax on shipping, receiving no money from the UK exchequer. There are no plans for any other funding to be made available.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has given to Southampton City Council on the level of funding that will be available for discretionary housing payment in future years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Local authorities, including Southampton City Council, were informed of their Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) funding allocation for this financial year on 4 February 2016.

    Southampton City Council have been allocated DHP funding of £624,817 for 2016/17, a 35% increase from their 2015/16 allocation and local authorities are able to top up Central Government funding by a maximum of two and a half times this figure using their own funds

    This package of Discretionary Housing Payment funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable Local Authorities to provide support to the most vulnerable claimants.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the budget is for food produced for her Department’s offices at Smith Square, London; and what proportion of food produced for her Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

    George Eustice

    Defra does not set a budget for food served in the canteen at its Smith Square offices (Nobel House). Catering services are provided by a private company under contract to Defra which leases facilities in Nobel House and provides food to staff without subsidy. Spending on food is determined by the contractor based on sales receipts from Defra staff.

    Defra has worked with its current supplier to align the existing contract with the requirements of the balanced scorecard.

    The amount of food sourced from British producers for Nobel House was 56% (Jan-Mar 2016). This figure includes non-indigenous products; including drinks such as tea and coffee. It marks, overall, an improvement of 4% over the previous quarter. Furthermore, all meat, milk and yoghurt served in Nobel House is produced in the UK.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil servants in her Department are paid through limited companies.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    DFID does not pay any civil servants through limited companies.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a list of all secondees to his Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what the role was of each of those secondees.

    Caroline Nokes

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to promote the welfare of members of the armed forces.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Armed Forces Covenant ensures that those who serve and have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly. In June 2013 the Chancellor announced that the financial commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant would be made permanent through a £10 million fund per annum in perpetuity from 2015-16.

    The Annual Report on the Armed Forces Covenant from December 2015 detailed a number of achievements of which this Government can be proud, including allocating £40 million for accommodation projects for veterans; the £200 million Forces Help to Buy Scheme; and a world class centre for excellence for the training and delivery of Defence Medical Services.

    In 2016 to date under the large grants scheme we have awarded a total of almost £7.5 million to 24 projects supporting community integration, criminal justice system initiatives and the co-ordination and delivery of support. Under the small grants scheme we have awarded a total of almost £2.4 million to 150 community integration projects. Depending on the quality of the bids, we hope to be able to announce the preferred bidder for the Veterans Gateway Service in November, as well as further tranches of Covenant Grant funding.

    In January 2016, the Department published the first ever Armed Forces Families Strategy, embracing seven key themes – partner employment, accommodation, children’s education and childcare, community support, specialist support, health and wellbeing, and transition. This is now routine business supporting our families.

    We have reviewed our casualty and compassionate processes, and this autumn we are introducing a new reserves welfare health-check. In the last year Defence has enabled payroll deductions for Service personnel to take advantage of the savings and cheap loan facilities from selected credit unions. This facility was extended to veterans in receipt of a pension in March 2016.