The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants died in service in each of the last six years.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33921, on Thameslink railway line: rolling stock, what measures have been put in place relating to evacuation safety risk; and whether his Department has received any other representations on safety relating to Class 700 trains.
Claire Perry
Comprehensive emergency plans are in place between Govia Thameslink Railway, the Thameslink train operator, and Network Rail to ensure the safe evacuation from the tunnelled section of the Thameslink core route between St Pancras International and Blackfriars stations, should an evacuation of a train be required. These plans have been prepared in consultation with the Office of Road and Rail, the rail safety regulator, and the emergency services. My department has not received any other safety representations relating to the operation of the new Class 700 trains.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Rural Payments Agency staff have been tasked with responding to telephone enquiries from farmers on the Basic Payments Scheme in each year since 2011-12.
George Eustice
All staff in the RPA contact centre deal with external calls covering every part of the agency’s business, including the Basic Payment Scheme introduced in 2015. The contact centre is made up of a core telephony team but additional operational resource is deployed on the telephone lines to meet demand during peak periods. The average number of people, shown in Full Time Equivalents, is given in the table below. Accurate figures before 2013 are not available.
|
Year |
FTE |
|
2013 |
64.8 |
|
2014 |
81.4 |
|
2015 |
131.1 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on the potential number of eligible claimants for the warm homes discount scheme that have been contacted by a third party using data shared with them as part of that scheme; how his Department monitors the use made of information given to such third parties; and how many complaints his Department has received on such contacts.
Jesse Norman
The Warm Home Discount scheme uses a secure data share between the Department for Work and Pensions and participating energy suppliers in order to deliver direct assistance with energy bills each winter to eligible households.
Suppliers already hold data on customers’ names and addresses – the only additional information they receive under the secure data share for the Warm Home Discount is which of their customers are eligible for the rebate. The Regulations under Section 142 of the Pensions Act 2008[1] only allow suppliers to use the information they obtain through the data share to provide energy bill rebates or defined relevant assistance such as energy efficiency advice and measures.
The regulations make it an offence to disclose the information without lawful authority. Any transfer and storage of personal data by the energy suppliers would also be subject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Energy suppliers are required (under contract) to demonstrate that they have secure measures in place for the handling, transferring and deletion of the personal data that has been supplied to them under the secure data share.
In addition, individuals are able to ‘opt out’ of the data share for the Warm Home Discount scheme, meaning that DWP would not share any state pension credit information on that individual with energy suppliers. For Scheme Year 6 (this year), six people have formally taken up this option.
There is a formal complaints procedure in place between BEIS, DWP and Serco, who manage the WHD contact centre. No complaints of this nature have been made under this complaints procedure against energy suppliers.
[1] The Disclosure of State Pension Credit Information (Warm Home Discount) Regulations 2011
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what processes are in place to ensure that people with mental health problems have applications for start-up loans considered fairly.
Anna Soubry
The Start-Up Loans programme provides loans and mentoring support to enable entrepreneurs aged 18 and over from all parts of society and based in the UK to start a business. So far, over 34,300 entrepreneurs have received support from the programme, which in turn has facilitated over £187 million worth of lending to date.
The programme operates through a network of Delivery Partners, who make individual lending decisions based on criteria set by the Start-Up Loans Company. Delivery Partners are required to adhere to Financial Conduct Authority Regulations on Treating Customers Fairly which include reference to the treatment of customers with mental health issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-02-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 27 January (HL5012), why that answer provided a reference to a Written Answer in the House of Commons given by the then Minister of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, on 20 November 2014 on a different subject to the question asked; and whether they will now state what is the annual cost of the in-work benefits for EU workers.
Lord Freud
I apologise to the noble Lord for the incorrect answer to HL5012 this was due to an administrative error. The correct answer was given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for Employment (Ms. Esther McVey) in the House of Commons on 20 November 2014 to Question number 211618 as below:
While the Government checks the immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud, traditionally that information has not been collected as part of the payment administrative systems.
However, the Government is looking at ways to reform the current administrative system under Universal Credit so that it will systematically record nationality and immigration status of migrants who make a claim.
The Government has made a radical series of changes over the last year to restrict the access by non-UK citizens from the European Economic Area to UK benefits and tax credits. This is in order to protect the UK’s benefit system and discourage people who have no established connection with the UK from moving here, unless they have a job or a genuine prospect of work, or have savings to support themselves until they do.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether repeated underspending year on year by the Scottish Government of monies passed to them for NHS services under the Barnett formula could be subject (1) to challenge under the Dispute Resolution procedure as set out in paragraphs 98–104 of the agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments on the Scottish fiscal framework or (2) a 2021 review as set out in paragraphs 111–113 of that agreement.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The mechanical application of the Barnett Formula ensures that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly receive a population share of changes in UK government funding on the services for which they have devolved responsibility. In accordance with the principles of devolution and the devolution Acts themselves, it is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding (from the block grant or taxes/borrowing) to public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and it is for the devolved legislatures to hold them to account. The Scottish Government’s new fiscal framework does not alter this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much subsidy was paid to the operators of the Northern rail franchise in each financial year between December 2004 and April 2016.
Andrew Jones
Subsidies paid from 2004 to 2008:
2004/05 – 81.0 million (part year – December 2004 to March 2005)
2005/06 – 278.2 million
2006/07 – 168.5 million
2007/08 – 119.3 million
Figures from 2008 onwards are published on the Office of Rail and Road’s (‘ORR’) website at: http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/95218cca-408d-4047-83ce-a542c53b59e6. 2015-16 financial information will be made available following publication of Audited Statutory Accounts.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the potential merits of exempting telematics car insurance policies from insurance premium tax.
Harriett Baldwin
HM Treasury receives representations on a wide variety of issues. We keep all taxes under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects Capita to respond to the right hon. Member for Delyn in relation to correspondence dated 1 February, 14 April and 10 June 2016 relating to Mrs M. of Flint.
Justin Tomlinson
The letters to which you refer were received by Capita but not processed in line with their standard procedures. Capita apologises for the delay and any inconvenience caused and are investigating why their procedures were not followed.
Capita sent their reply to the honourable Member on Friday, 17 June.