Tag: Alison McGovern

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of Feed in Tariff component of the Levy Control Framework cost is accounted for by the cost of ongoing support for the installations made before 2012.

Andrea Leadsom

The cost to consumers of the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) in 2014/15 will be around £850m (in 11/12 prices). Our central estimate of the cost to consumers of FITs in 2020/21 is £1600m (11/12 prices) in the ‘do nothing’ option of the consultation impact assessment. The FITs levelisation fund in 2011/12, indicating total annual spend on the scheme at that point, was £151m (also in 11/12 prices). Therefore installations accredited in 2011/12 or before are forecast to make up approximately 18% of current spend on the scheme and 10% of the FITs LCF estimates in 2020/21.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing net metering; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

We have not made a specific assessment of the impact which introducing net metering could have on the UK energy system. However, we are currently consulting on the future of the feed-in tariff and will consider all stakeholder views, including any representations on net metering, as part of the government response. The consultation closes on 23rd October 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress the Government is making on meeting the UK’s international obligations to refugees fleeing Syria.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syrian crisis. To date, we have committed over £1.1 billion. This makes us the second largest bilateral after the US and means we have done more than any other European country.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people receiving jobseeker’s allowance who have accessed Universal Jobmatch.

Esther McVey

Universal Jobmatch does not differentiate between the different types of user who access the service. Universal Jobmatch is open to all, whether they are in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance or not. There are currently 8.6 million registered users. In order to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance, claimants must (amongst other things) be available for and actively seeking work. Universal Jobmatch is a key source of jobs, so for the vast majority of claimants, using the service will be a key part of actively seeking work and also allows Jobcentre Plus Staff to assist claimants when looking for work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken from an application for reconsideration of an employment and support allowance decision to a decision being made on that case was in each month since October 2013.

Mr Mark Harper

The latest information available is provided in Table 2.1 in the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mandatory-reconsiderations-of-dwp-benefit-decisions-data-to-october-2014

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many zero-hours contracts were advertised on Universal Jobmatch in each of the last 12 months.

Esther McVey

Information published by the Office for National Statistics suggests zero-hours contracts make up a small part of the overall labour market, accounting for about 2-4% of all people in work.

There are a broad range of vacancies available on Universal Jobmatch, offering various types of contracts to jobseekers. Universal Jobmatch (UJ) was designed to be a self-service job posting and matching service. Before employers can access the service and start advertising job vacancies they are required to subscribe to specific Terms and Conditions. The Terms and Conditions state, that job postings must provide a full, clear and accurate job description of an actual (genuine) job or work opportunity. Further, there is also the requirement that all job postings comply to employment related legislation such as Working Time Legislation and National Minimum Wage.

When a job is being advertised on behalf of another employer (e.g. recruitment agency or job board) a contract should be in place with the end employer. The onus is upon the employer / agency to conform to the Terms and Conditions. DWP and the UJ Service Provider work collaboratively and proactively to ensure system compliance and where an employer is identified as breaching Terms and Conditions, appropriate action is taken. If the employer continues to breach Terms and Conditions, the circumstances will be investigated and access to UJ may be withdrawn.

Jobseekers claiming Jobseekers Allowance are not required to apply for zero-hours contract vacancies, they will not be sanctioned as a result of not applying. UC claimants who refuse to accept a zero hours contract job offer, without good reason, can be subject to a sanction. However a UC claimant will not be sanctioned for refusing to take a zero hours contract with an exclusivity clause.

UC automatically adjusts benefit payments depending on the number of hours a person works – whatever the type of contract. Where Universal Credit claimants refuse to apply for a role, including a Zero Hours Contract role when mandated to do so or refuse to accept a job offer, they can be sanctioned. People on UC will not be required to sign up to zero hours contracts which require exclusivity, so they will always have the opportunity to gain more hours elsewhere.

Universal Credit (UC) will substantially improve incentives to work, allowing people to keep more of the money they earn before it has any impact on the amount of UC they receive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Access to Work programme has spent on British Sign Language interpreters to date.

Mr Mark Harper

Since 1^st April 2007 and up to 30^th September 2014, the Access to Work programme has spent £150m on British Sign Language interpreters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of former jobseeker’s allowance claimants moving into work from the Work Programme in Merseyside, Halton, Cumbria and Lancashire contract area started work on a zero-hours contract in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey

Information published by the Office for National Statistics suggests zero-hours contracts make up a small part of the overall labour market, accounting for about 2-4% of all people in work.

Jobseekers claiming Jobseekers Allowance are not required to apply for zero-hours contract vacancies, they will not be sanctioned as a result of not applying. UC claimants who refuse to accept a zero hours contract job offer, without good reason, can be subject to a sanction as UC automatically adjusts benefit payments depending on the number of hours a person works – whatever the type of contract. However a UC claimant will not be sanctioned for refusing to take a zero hours contract with an exclusivity clause. UC is about enabling people to make a smooth transition back into work and off benefits.

Work Programme providers are not required to submit job start information until they claim a job outcome; only then are they requested to input a job start date which helps secure the validity of the job outcome payment. The type of employment is not a condition for a job outcome payment, although they must be working enough hours to leave benefit and therefore trigger the job outcome payment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-02-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what effect he expects the judgement in Edenred (UK Group) v HM Treasury & Ors to have on the timescale for roll-out for the tax free childcare scheme contract.

Priti Patel

Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) will provide support to hard-working families for childcare costs. The introduction of TFC will give almost two million families the opportunity to receive up to £2,000 per annum of support per child, via a new simple online system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many people have applied for the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund in each year since its establishment; and what estimate she has made of the total grants from that date to May 2015.

Jo Swinson

The number of people who have made applications to the Access to Elected Office fund by year is in the table.

Financial Year	Number of applicants
2012/13	27
2013/14	34
2014/15 (to date)	34

The total value of Grants awarded to date (from July 2012 to January 2015) is £399,061, and applications totalling £92,442 are currently pending. Total grant expenditure will depend on the final number of successful applications between now and the end of March 2015, after which date the fund will cease to take applications.