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Tag: 2016

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35165, on Personal Independence Payments, what steps his Department is taking better to understand why sufficient documentary evidence is not being sought during the assessment and mandatory reconsideration stages.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The 75% can be broken down as follows:

    Cogent oral evidence – 66%

    Cogent documentary evidence supplied at the appeal – 9%

    These figures are from internal DWP systems, where only one of possible multiple reasons can be recorded, and are derived from unpublished information and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard.

    The Department encourages claimants to provide as much relevant evidence as necessary to support their claim. The “How your disability affects you” form and accompanying guidance sets out the range of information that can help the Department reach a decision. The guidance for Health Professionals also sets out sources of further evidence which could help inform their advice to the Department.

    At the Mandatory Reconsideration stage, again claimants are encouraged to provide any further evidence about their disability. Following the first independent review of Personal Independence by Paul Gray, the Department is reviewing all communications (including those used by Assessment Providers) it has with claimants throughout the claim, assessment and reconsideration process to ensure that claimants clearly understand the importance of providing sufficient evidence to support their claim and application.

    Further, once a claimant has submitted their claim, the Department has created a new Standard Work Instructions (SWI) for its decision making staff to gain further evidence, where appropriate. For Mandatory Reconsideration, the SWI puts a process in place to establish what the areas for dispute are, consider any gaps in the evidence, ensure any expected further medical evidence is received and referring that to the Assessment Provider. “

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many independent child trafficking advocates will be needed to fulfil the requirements under section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    As the Minister for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime set out on 28 June::

    https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-06-28/debates/16062854000001/IndependentAdvocatesForTraffickedChildren

    The Government is committed to commencing section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act and developing the accompanying secondary legislation and statutory guidance. As part of the commencement process, we will work with interested parties, including Non-Governmental Organisations to determine the scale of the service.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on reforming pesticide regulations from a precautionary principle to a risk-based principle.

    George Eustice

    As part of the preparation for EU exit, the Government is considering future arrangements for pesticide regulation. The Government remains of the view that decisions on the use of pesticides should be based on a careful scientific assessment of the risks, with the aim of achieving a high level of protection for people and the environment. An evidence-based approach to assessing risk is entirely consistent with the precautionary principle.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent on treatment for drug and alcohol addiction in (a) each year since 2010 and (b) each month of 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 January 2016 to Question 21900.

    It is not possible to provide a breakdown of monthly spend on treatment for drug and alcohol addiction due to disproportionate cost.

    “

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people are employed in maintained nurseries in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The following table provides the full-time equivalent and head count number of workforce staff in service in local authority maintained nursery schools in Burnley parliamentary constituency, Lancashire local authority, North West region and England, November 2014. The figures are from the school workforce census and are the latest available.

    Burnley

    Lancashire

    North West

    England

    Total regular FTE workforce[1]

    67

    233

    774

    6,142

    Total regular head count workforce1

    82

    295

    992

    8,327

    [1] Excludes occasional teachers and third party support staff.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the remit is of the NATO operation in the Aegean Sea relating to the refugee crisis.

    Mr David Lidington

    I refer the Hon. Member to answers the Secretary of State for Defence, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr Fallon), gave to the House on 7 March (Official Record, Cols 23-37). The purpose of this NATO operation is to provide monitoring, surveillance, and reconnaissance (MSR) of the Aegean migration routes to better enable Turkish and Greek coastguards and Frontex (the EU’s border management agency) to intercept the migrant boats and disrupt the business model of illegal migration. It is worth noting that the formal mandate of NATO’s activity is neither interdiction nor search and rescue, but if UK vessels encounter migrants in distress at sea, they will be rescued in accordance with international obligations and arrangements made for them to be returned to land.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contracts IBM currently holds with his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    My department has 4 contracts with IBM (UK) Ltd and details are contained in the table below

    Agency

    Purpose of contract

    DfTc

    Annual Software maintenance on IBM SPSS licensing for statistical analysis

    DVLA

    Q Radar Security Monitoring Tool

    DVLA

    IBM Software-Extended Support

    DVLA

    IBM Enterprise Licensing Agreement (ELA)
  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish all of the responses received by the review relating to secondary ticketing required by section 94 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government plans to publish responses to the Call for Evidence in due course.

  • Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-07-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the level of recruitment forecast in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, what assessment they have made of the Armed Forces’ ability to undertake the range of tasks they face.

    Earl Howe

    The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (SDSR 2015) ensured that investment in capability – including personnel – remained in balance with financial requirements, with a focus on matching capability to policy throughout the Review. To fully deliver future Defence commitments, the SDSR also set out plans for investment in an additional uplift of 400 personnel for the Royal Navy and 300 for the Royal Air Force. This will ensure that the Armed Forces continue to have the capabilities and skills needed to meet global obligations.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the implications for Spain’s capacity to affect commercial activity of the three mile limit of Gibraltar’s territorial waters; and if he will make a statement.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    Her Majesty’s Government will continue to challenge and protest aganist all incursions in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, including any attempt by Spanish authorities to assert jurisdiction. We would respond robustly to any attempts by Spain to prevent commercial firms or private individuals from using Gibraltar port facilities.