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Tag: 2016

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that Work Programme providers are alert to the mental health needs of clients.

    Priti Patel

    Work Programme providers have the freedom to deliver tailored support appropriate to the individual needs of all participants. This includes participants with health conditions for whom many providers employ advisers with the relevant skills and knowledge to provide specialist support or otherwise engage specialist sub-contractors.

    The Department operates a robust performance management and checking regime to ensure all providers deliver the standards and performance we expect.

    To the end of December 2015, around 17,000 participants who were claiming Employment and Support Allowance at the time of referral and have declared a mental or behavioural disorder as their primary health condition have been supported into sustained employment through the Work Programme

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20367, how the figure of approximately two million adults who have adopted safer online behaviours that will better protect them was reached; and how such behaviours were measured.

    Karen Bradley

    Cyber Streetwise is a cross Government campaign, developed by private and public stakeholder partners and coordinated by the Home Office. It is designed to measurably make the UK a safer place to interact and do business online by increasing individual and SME adoption of safe online behaviours.

    Government experts estimate that a significant proportion of cyber security issues would be avoided by safer online behaviours. Cyber Streetwise supports this by increasing digital confidence by informing people about the key things that keep them safer online. It does this by:

    • Delivering actionable and positive solution focussed advice on how to be secure

    • Creating arresting communications that highlight the consequences and cut through low interest

    • Reminding and reinforcing individuals and SMEs of the core protective behaviours at the point of risk/incidence

    The impact of Cyber Streetwise on behaviours is evaluated via regular quantitative tracking research. Since its launch in January 2014, it is estimated that 2 million adults have adopted safer online behaviours that will better protect them.

    This is estimated using data from the National Cyber Security Tracker. This is a regular non-random online panel survey of 2000 people, designed to measure the adoption (claimed behaviour) of safer cyber security behaviours amongst SMEs and the public.

  • 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, if he will take steps to improve public and professional awareness and understanding of surrogacy.

    Jane Ellison

    Surrogacy is a complex issue, the legislation about which has not been significantly addressed by respective administrations since the Surrogacy Arrangements Act was introduced in 1985. The Government recognises the arguments for the need for a review, and we have therefore asked the Law Commission, as part of the consultation on its 13th work programme this summer, to consider including a project on surrogacy.

    The Department has not issued guidance about surrogacy to professional groups or the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). The Government recognises surrogacy as an important option for some people wishing to start a family and is currently considering how best to clarify the current legal arrangements for intended parents, surrogates and their families. The CAFCASS campaign to increase awareness of Parental Orders is ongoing and targeted at health workers, local authority registration staff and surrogacy agencies. It will be evaluated in full upon completion in autumn 2016; in-campaign monitoring indicates its messaging is reaching the target audience.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the policy of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and of the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) on the circumstances in which Driver-Only Operation can safely be implemented; and whether they have had discussions with RSSB and ORR on that issue.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Trains where the driver has responsibility for all aspects of operation, including the doors (known in the industry as ‘Driver Only Operation’) have been in service in Great Britain for over 30 years.

    The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), in its role as the independent railway safety regulator, has scrutinised this approach and is satisfied that, with suitable equipment, proper procedures and competent staff in place, it is a safe method of working.

    A number of projects have been published by RSSB on various aspects of Driver Only Operation on passenger trains. Its research has concluded that, when properly managed, there are no increased risks from dispatching a train without a guard being present.

    Department for Transport officials regularly meet with ORR and RSSB representatives to discuss a variety of railway safety issues including Driver Only Operation.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he plans to take to strengthen the protection of personal claimant data stored online.

    Caroline Nokes

    The Department adopts best practice to protect the data it stores as advised by other agencies and Government and industry standards; and in doing so uses a range of technologies that detect and prevent data breaches. The use of these technologies is based on a risk focused approach to security and is a continuing process.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to conduct a revaluation of council tax bands in 2016.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    There are no plans to carry out a revaluation of council tax bands in 2016.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific goals they wish to achieve from the Syria Donors Conference taking place in London in February.

    Baroness Verma

    The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis.

    Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. The outcomes of the conference are reflected in the Co-hosts’ statement available on the Conference website.

  • Caroline Flint – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Flint – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between his Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP does not hold the information to answer ‘what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time.’

    However, the figures below are published monthly and quarterly on Gov.UK and confirm DWP’s commitment to paying invoices within 30 days (contractual) and 5 days. We cannot disaggregate the invoices into SMEs and other private companies.

    2015-16 (Financial Year)

    Percentage of invoices paid within 5 days

    Percentage of invoices paid within 30 days

    Quarter 1

    97.3%

    99.8%

    Quarter 2

    95.5%

    99.7%

    Quarter 3

    97.5%

    99.8%

    At December 2015, 2534 (9.3%) of the Department’s suppliers were SMEs.

    At December 2015, SMEs accounted for 2.5% of the Department’s direct commercial spend. However, there is a substantially greater proportion of commercial spend with SMEs via prime contractors. The Department relies upon Cabinet Office survey information in order to estimate the combined total spend with SMEs. The most recent combined total estimate we have (2014/15), is 16.2% of the total or some £483 million.

  • 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 what advice they have received about the benefits of agroforestry in other European countries for soil conservation, biodiversity, productivity and the reduction of flooding.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Evidence and advice on agro-forestry is summarised in the Land Use Policy Group commissioned study “The Role of Agroecology in Sustainable Intensification (2015)” which reviewed the evidence on productivity, soils, biodiversity, etc. from other European countries (notably France and Germany) and North America.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for testing of emissions data by the Vehicle Certification Agency of Mitsubishi Motors having falsified fuel economy data; what information his Department holds on the number of vehicles affected by their falsification in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government takes very seriously any misrepresentation of fuel consumption data to consumers. The Vehicle Certification Agency publishes data on new and used passenger cars and vans and is liaising urgently with Mitsubishi Motors to ensure that information provided in the UK is accurate.

    VCA has not issued approvals for any of the vehicles reported to be affected in the Japanese market. However the Department for Transport will continue to monitor for updates concerning whether other models are affected.