Tag: 2016

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department routinely collects on the nationality, gender and pass rate of applicants for the Life in the UK and Knowledge of Language test; and if she will make it her Department’s policy to publish data providing a breakdown of such data by nationality, gender and pass rate.

    James Brokenshire

    Pass rates for the Life in the UK Test are already published quarterly under transparency arrangements. The most recent are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-and-permanent-migration-data-february-2016

    As part of the registration process each applicant’s nationality is recorded. Information is not recorded with regard to gender. There are no plans to include a breakdown by nationality or gender in future publications.

    Pass rates for language tests are held in individual approved supplier systems and are not currently published. There are no plans to publish this data.

  • 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, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the campaign by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service to raise awareness of the importance of parental orders for new parents and surrogates.

    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 Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish the evaluation of the moving on period for those granted refugee status, announced during the passage of the Immigration Act 2016.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We are working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that new recognised refugees apply promptly for any welfare benefit for which they may be eligible and receive the first payment of any benefit for which they qualify before their Home Office support ends.

    We plan to publish our evaluation of this work later this year and will bring forward a change to the current 28-day move-on period if the evaluation shows that to be necessary.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are paid as personal independence payment assessors in Scotland.

    Penny Mordaunt

    378 people were working as Personal Independence Payment Health Assessors in Scotland (6 October 2016).

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answers of 6 May 2014 to Question 197359, 12 September 2014 to Questions 205613 and 218085, and pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2015 to Question 16851, (a) under what circumstances HM Revenue and Customs identify non-compliance with minimum wage enforcement without (i) recovering arrears in unpaid wages from workers and (ii) issuing penalties to employers, (b) what mechanisms are in place to ensure that an employer for whom non-compliance has been identified has paid back minimum wage arrears without the need for a penalty to be issued or fine to be imposed, (c) how much money in unpaid wages was identified following HM Revenue and Customs investigations in each year since 2009-10 and (d) how many employers agreed to pay all arrears following a finding on non-compliance before a penalty was issued in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the confidential Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review all complaints that are referred to them. Non-compliant employers are issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NOU) detailing the arrears they owe workers and the penalty due. The employer will pay the arrears directly to the worker and the penalty to the Government. HMRC takes steps to ensure that workers receive the arrears to which they are entitled; I refer the honourable member to the answer provided at UIN 211605 on the action taken by HMRC where arrears are identified. A penalty will be issued on the NOU except in exceptional circumstances. To encourage voluntary compliance, where an employer has identified non-compliance outside of an HMRC investigation and notified of their intention to self-correct and pay arrears, for example through HMRC’s NMW Campaign in the hair and beauty sector, HMRC will not impose a penalty. For information on arrears identified, I refer the honourable member back to the answer provided at UIN 16851.

  • 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 to increase the take-up of personal budgets and direct payments, in particular for educational provision, in line with section 49 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014, and Chapter 9 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2015.

    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 Department provides support to local areas in a range of ways, such as voluntary and community sector experts and a team of specialist SEND Advisers.

    Local authorities must include information about Personal Budgets in their Local Offers, including information on how to request one. Parents and young people have the right to request a Personal Budget for elements of an Educational Health and Care (EHC) plan; local authorities are under a duty to prepare a budget when requested. Our termly surveys collect responses on the number of EHC plans which carry a Personal Budget.

    Since April 2013, the Government has provided nearly £1.5 million in funding to a number of projects with voluntary sector organisations to develop materials to support local areas to introduce Personal Budgets. We regularly promote these projects in our communications to families and to organisations in the sector. For example, KIDS produced guidance in 2015, through the Making it Personal 2 project. The Department is currently funding KIDS to build on this project, to develop further guidance and training resources, including some specifically aimed at young people with SEND, in a range of accessible formats. The SEND Gateway, which is run by the National Association for Special Educational Needs, also offers practical resources on Personal Budgets to assist both users and professionals.

    Through our regional support networks, we have funded a number of workshops aimed at local authorities, parents and others about Personal Budgets and we will continue to offer support for of this kind.

    Following publication of the Children and Families Act 2014, the Government set out the statutory duties to which local authorities and those working with children and young people must adhere, in the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 years[1]. The Code of Practice includes clear information on the processes of EHC plan assessment and production. The Department’s team of specialist SEND Advisers are working with local areas to improve the quality of EHC plans, and are currently leading workshops on this across England.

    The SEND Code of Practice includes clear requirements that all local authorities must meet when developing, publishing and reviewing their Local Offer. All local areas have Local Offers in place, but we recognise that the quality varies. This is another area we are monitoring through our termly surveys, our voluntary and community sector experts and specialist SEND Advisers. We have provided regular advice to local areas about how to improve the quality of Local Offers. We are confident that local authorities are working with their partner bodies and with families and young people to continue to improve their Local Offers to ensure they respond to local needs.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

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  • 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, if he will carry out an impact assessment of the effect that the replacement of disability living allowance by personal independence payment has had on the mobility of disabled people.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department published an impact assessment about the reform of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and the introduction of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) under the Welfare Reform Act 2012 in May 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-living-allowance-reform-personal-independence-payment-impact-assessment.

    A further assessment on estimates of projected DLA and PIP caseloads was published in December 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timetable-for-introducing-personal-independence-payment-and-estimates-of-projected-caseloads-policy-briefing-note

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  • 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 assessment they have made of any studies that have been conducted in the UK about integrating the cultivation of trees, crops and livestock on the same agricultural area, and of the conclusions of those studies.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Natural England commissioned a report from the Organic Research Centre and Abacus Organics considering the potential for agro-forestry options in the Countryside Stewardship scheme. The Land Use Policy Group commissioned an independent review of the evidence on agro-ecology including a consideration of agro-forestry, which was published in June 2015.

    The Government has not yet made an assessment of these studies but officials will be exploring the evidence base for agro-forestry and how this measure might operate in practice within the Rural Development Programme.

  • 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, which Departments provide how much funding to the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles is funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

    The total amount of funding for 2016/17 is £0.4m from DfT and £6.3m from BIS. This includes admin and programme spend.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was to decide applications for the change of conditions of leave granted on the basis of family or private life during the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    The average time taken between January 2015 and December 2015 to consider whether an application meets the requirements to change a condition code is 83 calendar days.

    January 2015 – December 2015 was taken as the 12 month time frame to fall in line with data that is published.