The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average reduction in benefits was for claimants subject to the under-occupancy penalty in each of the last three financial years.
Justin Tomlinson
The average weekly reduction for claimants subject to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy for each of the last three financial years was as follows:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.
Justin Tomlinson
No Civil Servants in the Department for Work and Pensions are paid through limited companies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of the (a) seven waiting days at the beginning of a universal credit claim and (b) six week period a claimant must wait before receiving their initial payment.
Damian Hinds
Many claimants come to Universal Credit with final earnings to support them until their first payment, and they often find work quickly.
The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure is a fundamental part of the design; it mirrors the world of work, where 75% of people are paid monthly.
As with other working age benefits, Universal Credit is not designed to provide cover for brief spells of unemployment or sickness, and seven waiting days are served in Universal Credit as they are in Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.
We have a number of safeguards in place to help claimants’ transition to Universal Credit, including Advances and Budgeting Support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Attorney General, how many complaints to the Crown Prosecution Service were upheld at formal Stage 1 in each of the last three years.
Robert Buckland
The following table shows the number of complaints upheld at Stage 1 in the past three years:
|
Year |
Stage 1 Complaints -Upheld |
|
2013/14 |
150 |
|
2014/15 |
206 |
|
2015/16 |
206 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions the Government has had with the devolved administrations on increasing social mobility since May 2015.
Nick Boles
The Government is committed to increasing social mobility throughout the UK. We hold regular discussions with the devolved administrations on a wide variety of topics many of which affect social mobility.
It should also be noted however, that many key levers for improving social mobility such as apprenticeships, traineeships and higher education have some degree of devolution across the UK and so policy decisions on these issues should be referred to the relevant devolved administration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 21 December 2015 (HL4603 and HL4606), whether they plan to investigate the activities of the group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in providing the secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Smoking and Health and the use of public grants for lobbying activities in the light of the fact that the Department of Health has received 90 items of correspondence from the APPG originating from a postal or email address belonging to ASH in the last five years.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The conditions applicable to grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) are set out in the grant award letters. The Department has made clear that none of this funding is to be used for lobbying purposes.
The Section 64 grant must be spent in delivering the the agreed project outputs set out in the grant award letter and it does not fund secretariat support for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health.
ASH’s compliance with the conditions of the grant is assessed at the grant monitoring meetings held between the Deputy Director of tobacco control and representatives from ASH as well as in the final full year grant monitoring and governance reports.
The Department is required to retain information relating to Section 64 grants for six years. The full amount of the grant was spent for each year that a grant was provided to ASH in the past six years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.
Andrea Leadsom
The Department of Energy and Climate Change is aligned with the Civil Service Health & Well-being Strategy which was agreed by the Civil Service People Board.
This focuses on three priority areas:
Mental Health
Musculoskeletal Health
Healthy Lifestyle
In DECC this means we ensure visible senior leadership of the well-being agenda, we encourage all managers to undertake mental health awareness training increasing manager capability through Civil Service Learning training.
We have been adopting the Public Health England ‘Workplace Well-being Charter’ and promoting ‘Time to Change’. The Department offers support to staff including ‘Employee Assistance’. The Department is also running wellbeing events and initiatives over the coming year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31709, how many incidents of face-down restraints there have been in mental health services in (a) January and (b) February 2016.
Alistair Burt
No information is currently available regarding the number of incidents of face down restraint for the months requested. The first publication by the Health and Social Care Information Centre of January 2016 information is due during April 2016. Data will only be published when the Health and Social Care Information Centre is confident that the dataset is accurate and complete.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the rate of uptake by the NHS of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent clostridium difficile.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced guidance on faecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. NICE has recommended that the procedure is safe and effective for use in the National Health Service, but no assessment of its cost effectiveness has been made by NICE.
Data on the uptake of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile by the NHS is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, following the review of homelessness legislation undertaken by the charity Crisis entitled The homelessness legislation: An independent review of the legal duties owed to homeless people, published on 25 April 2016, whether he plans to undertake a review of such legislation.
Mr Marcus Jones
I welcome the recent report from the Crisis Expert Panel into the legal duties owed to homeless people. It provides a valuable insight into how aspects of the current legislation in England can learn from the model adopted in Wales.
We are considering all options, including legislation, and will continue to talk to local authorities, homelessness organisations and other government departments.