The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-01-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 January (HL4964) on police facial recognition technology, whether the outcome of their review of that report will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny.
Lord Bates
Copies of the Custody Image Review will be provided to The Science and Technology Committee and made available in the Libraries of both Houses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many arrears-only Child Support Agency cases repayments are currently being made towards the arrears.
Priti Patel
In the quarter to December 2015, 48,000 arrears only Child Support Agency cases made a payment towards their arrears.
For further information see table 21(page 54) in the Quarterly Summary Statistics at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics–2
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will break down the £22 million spent by his Department on recruiting presenting officers to support his Department in personal independent payment and employment and support allowance tribunals.
Justin Tomlinson
The vast majority of the £22m, which will be spent over three years, will be used for Presenting Officer salary costs, with a small proportion for Learning and Development, communications and start up project costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the seriousness of stalking (a) through social media and (b) otherwise.
Karen Bradley
Stalking is a deeply disturbing crime which can leave its victims living in fear for years. That is why we introduced new legislation in 2012 which made stalking an offence in its own right.
To mark National Stalking Awareness Week, we are using Twitter to raise awareness of the increases in prosecutions and convictions for these crimes to help improve victim confidence in the criminal justice system.
The Government has committed £80 million to support victims of violence against women and girls, including, stalking, between 2016 and 2020. This includes funding for the National Stalking Helpline run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. Additionally, we have consulted on the introduction of a new civil Stalking Protection Order to tackle perpetrators at an early stage to help prevent victims becoming targets of a prolonged campaign of abuse. Our response to this consultation will be published in due course. Through the Police Innovation Fund, we are supporting the police to identify ways to manage the significant volume of online material in abuse, harassment and stalking cases, so that evidence can be collected more easily and a strong case built to bring a prosecution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29747, what prompted the email exchange between the relevant expert panel member and Professor Grifo.
Jane Ellison
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that wider disclosure of the content of the personal email exchange between Professor Grifo and a member of the expert panel convened by the Authority would not breach patient confidentiality. The HFEA has previously advised that the relevant expert panel member contacted Professor Grifo in a personal capacity following the third Scientific Review of the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease in 2014.
The HFEA has also advised that the information in question was provided in confidence to the expert panel convened by the Authority. Members of the HFEA Executive who provided administrative support to the work of the panel have seen this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-07-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will continue to lead on consumer affairs; and if so, which minister has responsibility for that area.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will continue to lead on consumer affairs. Margot James MP is the Minister for Small Business, Consumers, and Corporate Responsibility.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what standard of medical expertise is expected of personal independence payment assessors; and what (a) experience and (b) training is required to understand the symptoms of medical conditions.
Penny Mordaunt
All Health Professionals (HPs) undertaking assessments on behalf of DWP must be registered practitioners who have also met requirements around training, experience and competence. Approval to work as an HP must be conferred by the DWP Chief Medical Adviser on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
For the delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments, they must be an occupational therapist, level 1 nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor. They must also be fully registered and have at least two years’ post full-registration experience. In addition to their profession, the Department recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals also have sufficient experience, skills and training to carry out their duties and PIP providers are required to ensure that the HPs carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments.
This means that all HPs receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions affect an individual’s ability to perform day-to-day activities. Prior to carrying out an assessment the HP routinely refreshes their knowledge of any condition with which they are not fully familiar.
Claimants who consider the result of an assessment to be an inaccurate representation of their condition can ask for a “mandatory reconsideration”, in writing or by telephone, giving their reasons. They may include further information to support their case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) National Savings and Investments, (b) the Government Internal Audit Agency, (c) the UK Debt Management Office, (d) the Office for Budget Responsibility, (e) the Crown Estate, (f) the FCA, (g) the National Infrastructure Commission, (h) the Payment Systems Regulator, (i) the Royal Mint, (j) UK Financial Investments Ltd and (k) HM Revenue and Customs; how many of those employees earn more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those organisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Harriett Baldwin
The information requested is not held centrally. Details on staffing costs are available in the Annual Report and Accounts for the organisations referred to in the question.
Across Government the government communications profession saved £330 million for taxpayers last year compared to 2009 to 2010 – by making its campaigns more cost effective.
This means that this government reduced communications spending by a total of £1 billion during the last Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 27 January (HL5017) concerning equality and parity of esteem, whether terrorists and members of the security forces who reside outside Northern Ireland do not have parity of esteem with those who reside there.
Lord Dunlop
The Government is committed to affording due respect and parity of esteem to all the people in Northern Ireland as underpinned by the 1998 Belfast Agreement and in accordance with the obligations on the Government to promote equality and prevent discrimination across the United Kingdom.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with cancer have been placed in the work-related activity group in (a) each of the last five years and (b) total since the introduction of employment and support allowance.
Priti Patel
The specific information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The information we do have for Employment and Support Allowance claimants by medical condition, including Neoplasms and phase of claim, is published and available at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
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