Tag: 2016

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26069, whether trades unions which are not formally recognised by an employer will be entitled to request and receive the Chair’s Statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government remains committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear. Although it is not a legal requirement, the Government expects that many schemes will choose to publish their annual Chair’s Statement. In due course, the Government intends to make regulations requiring information about scheme costs and charges to be published.

    Trade unions that are recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members of the scheme are entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. Trade unions which do not meet these criteria are not entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. However, beneficiaries of pension schemes who are members of trade unions which are not recognised for collective bargaining purposes may still request the information and pass it on to their union or any other person.

    We intend to publish a summary of the evidence received on transaction costs in pension schemes when we announce our next steps, which will follow in due course.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether unemployed 18 to 21 year olds will be referred to specialist employment support providers under the Youth Obligation from 2017 if they are unemployed after one year of claiming benefits.

    Priti Patel

    We will be introducing the Youth Obligation for all 18-21 year olds who are claiming Universal Credit and are in the All Work Related Activity Conditionality Group from April 2017.

    They will receive intensive support from Day 1 of their claim. After 6 months, if they have not found employment, they will be expected to apply for an apprenticeship, a traineeship, gain work-based skills employers value, or go on a work placement to give them the skills they need to get on in work.

    The detailed policy design is still under development. We will make further announcements over the coming months as we develop the policy detail.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role her Department had in the selection of appointed local authority heads of social services departments from 1985 to 2015.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Secretary has not had any involvement in appointing local authority heads of social services departments.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with (a) Crohn’s disease and (b) ulcerative colitis have been treated with biological drugs in each of the last five years.

    George Freeman

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended four different biological drugs for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the collective term for Crohn’s disease and colitis, for use after the failure of conventional therapies or in patients for whom such therapies are not appropriate. The National Health Service is legally obliged to fund medicines and treatments recommended by NICE’s technology appraisals.

    Although information concerning the exact number of people with IBD who have been treated with biological drugs in each of the last five years is not available, and no specific assessment of access has been made, some data are collected as part of the IBD audit. The IBD audit programme is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership on behalf of NHS England and Wales (with additional funding from Healthcare Improvement Scotland), as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme, and carried out by the Royal College of Physicians.

    The biological therapies part of the IBD audit aims to assess nationally: the efficacy of biological therapies in the treatment of IBD; the safety of biological therapies in the treatment of IBD; and IBD patients’ views on their quality of life at defined intervals throughout their use of biological therapies. The latest round of audit findings, published in September 2015, showed treatment continued to be effective and that patients were receiving treatment with biological therapies at earlier stages of disease. More information can be found at the following link:

    www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/ibd-biological-therapy-audit

    “

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they propose to lay regulations concerning the right to security of tenure for victims of domestic violence under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, and whether they will first consult organisations working with victims of domestic violence.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    We have introduced fixed term tenancies for all new council tenancies to ensure we get the best use out of our social housing stock and focus this valuable resource on those who need it the most for as long as they need it. This is essential with 1.24 million households on council waiting lists. The changes will apply to new tenants, but will not apply to existing lifetime tenants who remain in their own home.

    We are preparing the regulations which will set out the circumstances in which local authorities may exercise discretion to offer tenants seeking transfer further lifetime tenancies in limited circumstances. These will include where tenants downsize into a smaller home, move for work or to escape harm, including domestic violence. We will ensure that relevant organisations including those working with victims of domestic abuse will be able to feed in their views into the draft regulations.

    We aim to lay the regulations in the Winter.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson’s disease have been transferred from long-term disability living allowance to personal independence payment in the last three years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As at February 2016 (the latest data available), I estimate there were about 4,600 working age people in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) whose main disabling condition is recorded as Parkinson’s disease on the DLA computer systems, and who will be invited to apply for Personal Independence Payment in the future, or may have been invited to claim within the past 6 months.

    As at July 2016, there were 1,300 claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) who have been reassessed in the last three years, having previously been in receipt of DLA, and whose main disabling condition is recorded as Parkinson’s disease or Parkinson’s syndrome on the PIP computer systems.

    The length of a PIP award is based on an individual’s circumstances. For some of the most severely disabled claimants, a review could be as long as ten years after the initial award, at which point only a light-touch review, rather than a face-to-face assessment, will be necessary.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total number is of national insurance numbers registered to EEA nationals and linked to (a) an active claim for benefits, (b) an active claim for tax credits and (c) active payments under PAYE; and how many in each such category are for EEA nationals who received national insurance numbers in the last four years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Department for Work and Pensions has published statistics on National Insurance number (NINo) allocations, including nationality at point of NINo registration, of those of working age who were in receipt of a Department for Work and Pensions administered benefits. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-insurance-number-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk

    HM Revenue and Customs are planning to publish further information early in 2016 once it has been properly collated.

    “

  • Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking in response to (1) the finding of the National Autistic Society publication School report 2015, in particular on parents’ and carers’ views of the new system for children and younger adults with special educational needs and disabilities introduced under the Children and Families Act 2014; and (2) the October 2015 Driver Youth Trust report Joining the Dots.

    Lord Nash

    The Department is monitoring the implementation of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms and securing a wide range of feedback. This feedback is collected through statutory data collection; regular surveys of local authorities, parents and carers; regular inputs for the Special Educational Consortium (which represents more than 30 organisations); and reports from contractors such as the Council for Disabled Children, which provides Independent Support services in all local authority areas, and Contact a Family, which runs a national helpline for parents of children with SEND. The reports from the National Autistic Society and the Driver YouthTrust have added to this picture.

    The Department has already demonstrated its willingness to listen and respond to questions of national policy and policy implementation. In 2015, the Department adjusted the time allowed for the process of transfer from a statement of SEN (or post-16 Learning Difficulty Assessment) to a new Education, Health and Care Plan.

    From May 2016, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) plan to begin an inspection of the effectiveness of local areas in fulfilling their new SEND duties. The SEND inspections will evaluate local areas’ effectiveness in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs or a disability. Inspections are expected to begin in May 2016 and all local areas will be inspected over a five year period. Feedback from these inspections will also add to the national level picture.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have had their Mobility Scheme vehicle taken away as a result of personal independence payment replacing disability living allowance.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department does not hold this information. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme, including collating its own management information and client statistics. Whilst the Department meets regularly with Motability to discuss scheme performance, questions relating to the details of the scheme’s operation should be directed to Motability itself.

    We recognise that the transition from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be challenging for individuals, which is why the Department worked closely with Motability as we developed our plans for the introduction of PIP. The Motability charity provides a one-off package of transitional support and advice to support customers who no longer meet the eligibility criteria for the Motability scheme. For most of these customers who entered into their first lease agreement with Motability before January 2013, Motability will provide transitional support of £2,000. This will enable many former Scheme customers to continue to meet their mobility needs by purchasing a used car.

    For customers who entered into their first lease agreement with the scheme after January 2013 and up to December 2013, Motability will supply transitional support of £1,000 to assist with mobility costs. Motability is also providing help with the cost of adaptations made to non-scheme vehicles and information on non-scheme motoring and insurance. The Scheme also offers customers an opportunity to purchase their vehicle after the end of the lease.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether planting more trees in England is one of their policies and what assessment they have made of whether planting more trees constitutes a public benefit.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government is committed to planting 11 million trees during this Parliament, primarily through the Rural Development Programme’s Countryside Stewardship scheme.

    In July 2012 the Independent Panel on Forestry reported to the Government that England’s woods and forests provide significant public benefits, including through improving water quality and biodiversity as well as access and recreation.

    The Government recognised these benefits in its Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement of January of 2013 which included the response to the Independent Panel Report.