The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will estimate the forecast level of creditor claims related to insolvency litigation in each of the next five financial years.
Andrew Selous
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether participation in the randomised control trial his Department is conducting on in-work progression is mandatory for claimants; and what consequences there will be for claimants who do not wish to take part in that trial.
Priti Patel
Universal Credit claimants who meet the eligibility criteria will be required to participate in the trial. However, we are careful to protect people who are vulnerable. Claimants who are unable to work or earn more due to caring or because of health conditions or disabilities will not be required to participate, and there are a number of further exclusion criteria which generally reflect those applied to out of work UC claimants.
Every claimant participating in the trial will have a tailored Claimant Commitment which is a joint agreement between the work coach and the claimant which sets out clearly what reasonable activity they have agreed to do in order to improve their earnings. Trial participants who fail to engage in the process, or who fail to take the reasonable actions mutually agreed in their claimant commitment without good reason may have their Universal Credit payments reduced under a sanction.
Claimants will be given the opportunity to explain why they have not complied with a requirement. An independent decision maker will consider if a sanction is appropriate and if the claimant had good reason for not complying, taking into account the claimant’s representations. Where a claimant is sanctioned there are clear safeguards in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance appeals his Department conceded prior to their being heard at first-tier tribunals in the last 12 months.
Justin Tomlinson
The requested information in relation to Personal Independence Payment could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
For ESA the figures for the latest 12 months available are as follows:
|
Month |
Total |
|
April 2015 |
260 |
|
May |
190 |
|
June |
240 |
|
July |
360 |
|
August |
230 |
|
September |
230 |
|
October |
240 |
|
November |
280 |
|
December |
250 |
|
January 2016 |
250 |
|
February |
210 |
|
March |
270 |
|
Total |
3010 |
These figures represent the number of appeals revised and lapsed before the appeal is heard. A decision will be revised at this stage of the decision making process mainly because of new information provided by the claimant in his grounds of appeal.
– Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten.
– This is unpublished data and, as such, it does not meet the quality standard required for official statistics publication. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.
– Data taken from the Decision Making and Case Recording system
– Figures are for GB only
– Figures are correct as at 7 June 2016
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the savings to the Exchequer resulting from the future transfer of responsibility for funding television licences for people over 75 from his Department to the BBC for (a) Glasgow South West constituency, (b) Glasgow City Council and (c) Scotland.
Richard Harrington
The summer budget 2015 announced a number of fundamental changes relating to the BBC and free TV licences for those aged 75 and over. DWP will cease to fund free TV licences from 2019/20 and the BBC will absorb the cost of this and take responsibility for the policy which currently sits with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. It is estimated that the provision of free TV licences for 2016/17 will cost £629m and DWP will continue to make a transfer to the BBC during the phasing period, as set out in the table below.
|
2018/19 |
2019/20 |
2020/21 |
|
|
HMG transfer for free TV licences (£m) |
468 |
247 |
0 |
DWP resources currently assigned to the provision and collation of data relating to the free television licence scheme for people aged 75 and over is 12 staff days per annum. Any plans for the future role of employees and contractors will be determined following detailed discussions between my Department and the BBC nearer the time the BBC take full responsibility for funding and policy.
In 2014/15 the cost of providing free TV licences to those 75 and over in Scotland was £49m and it is estimated the cost for qualifying residents in Glasgow South West constituency and Glasgow City local authority area was £0.7m and £4m respectively.
The cost of the free TV licences to those aged 75 and over in Scotland for 2015/16 will be published on 21 September on the DWP website. Breakdowns by Local Authority and Parliamentary Constituency use that Scotland expenditure estimate and are therefore not currently available.
Savings to the Exchequer resulting from the future transfer of responsibility for funding television licences for people aged 75 or over were set out in the summer budget 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the matching requirement for the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme.
Jane Ellison
The Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill relaxes the eligibility criteria for the Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme. These changes will ensure that the Scheme operates effectively and flexibly for a greater number of charities and a greater number of donations.
The Government has no plans to extend the Gift Aid matching requirement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on income to insurance companies of the changes to personal injury law and procedure announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Dominic Raab
The Government received and analysed data from numerous sources when formulating the announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. We will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders including other Government Departments, solicitors and insurers in taking forward the new reform package. The Government will consult on the detail of these measures in due course. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Darling of Roulanish on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact of payment protection insurance payments made since 2010 on UK gross domestic product.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The most recent figures available from the FCA show that a total of £393.8m was paid in November 2015 to customers who complained about the way they were sold PPI. This takes the amount paid out since January 2011 to £22.2bn.
The most recent analysis of the impact on GDP is the Office for Budget Responsibility’s 2012 Economic and Fiscal Outlook report, which stated that its economic growth forecast of 0.8% over 2 years would be mainly due to the impact of PPI fee repayments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in her Department.
George Eustice
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, to PQ UIN 27946 on 29 March.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Government has conducted an (a) impact and (b) risk assessment of the potential effect of the investor protection clause of the (i) Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and (ii) EU Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement on the services and regulations devolved to the Scottish Government; and if he will place copies of any such assessment in the Library.
Anna Soubry
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills commissioned research into the costs and benefits for the UK of the inclusion of investment protection provisions in the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This was published on 22 November 2013 and copies placed in the House libraries.
The investment protection provisions in the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and any such provisions included in TTIP will not prevent Governments from regulating responsibly in the public interest, nor from delivering public services, including such services and regulations that are devolved to the Scottish Government. A claim can only be made under the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions where an investor believes it has suffered from discriminatory or unfair treatment. ISDS tribunals can typically only award compensation and cannot force governments to change laws or public service delivery models. The UK currently has over 90 investment protection agreements with other countries. There has been no successful action against the UK in respect of any of these agreements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings (1) the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and (2) other ministers, have had with (a) the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, (b) the Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, and (c) the Civil Nuclear Police Federation, to discuss the occupational retirement age for Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Energy has met with the Chair of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority (CNPA) and the Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) on two occasions since taking office where the pension age of officers was discussed. In October 2015 and March 2016.
The Minister of State has recently written to the Civil Nuclear Police Federation about meeting representatives of that organisation to discuss issues including the age at which CNC officers receive their pension.
Officials at the Department of Energy and Climate Change have worked closely with officials at the CNPA and CNC at all levels, up to and including the Chief Constable, on the issue of the pension age of CNC officers since May 2014. The Department has received frequent and substantial advice on all aspects of this issue. This includes, but is not limited to, the impact of fitness standards on CNC officers and how those standards affect deployability of officers, and the costs of administering a pension scheme with a lower effective pension age.
The Minister of State has received two letters from the Civil Nuclear Police Federation outlining their legal case for a lower pension age. Officials have met with the Civil Nuclear Police Federation to discuss the pension age of CNC officers on two occasions in 2015.