Tag: Alison Thewliss

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to discourage pregnant mothers from consuming alcohol during pregnancy.

Nicola Blackwood

We want women to make decisions about their health based on the best possible information.

The new United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines provide clear advice for women across the UK that for those who are pregnant, or could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all. This is to keep any risk to the baby to a minimum.

Public Health England is working with relevant professional organisations in England to help midwives and health visitors educate and inform women about avoiding alcohol while pregnant.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-10-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with which organisations and on which dates his Department has discussed plans to protect survivors of rape and sexual abuse whose third child was born as a result of rape and would wish to claim tax credits in the last year.

Damian Hinds

The government is aware that the exceptions to the policy to limit the child element in Universal Credit and the individual element in Child Tax Credit to a maximum of two children are sensitive. We contacted a number of organisations in August 2015 and met with several of those organisations in early 2016 to discuss the exceptions. Officials have also discussed this issue between government departments and at wider DWP and HMRC stakeholder meetings.

The government launched a consultation on 21 October 2016 to seek evidence and invite views from stakeholders to inform the design of the exceptions and their implementation. All Ministers with an interest are consulted as part of the clearance process for any Government consultation. The consultation document is published online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/universal-credit-and-child-tax-credit-exceptions-to-the-2-child-limit

The consultation closes on 27 November 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that universal credit claimants are not sanctioned in the period between accepting an offer of employment and starting employment.

Priti Patel

Universal Credit claimants, who are expected to look for work, must take all reasonable action they can to become employed. Any requirements placed on the claimant will be based on a discussion with their work coach, taking into account the individual’s circumstances, including any offer of employment they may have received.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to exempt supported accommodation from plans to cap social rents at local housing allowance rates.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood on 3 February 2016 to Question UIN 24910

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department sets targets related to the closing of benefit claims of people referred to the work programme.

Priti Patel

There are no targets set for providers in relation to the closing of benefit claims, though for a job to be eligible for outcome payments, providers must support people into enough work to take them off out-of-work benefits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claims for asylum from people from Yemen were refused in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

James Brokenshire

There were 9 and 50 grants of asylum or an alternative form of protection, at initial decision, to Yemeni nationals in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

There were 34 and 43 refusals of asylum or an alternative form of protection, at initial decision, to Yemeni nationals in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

The Home Office publishes figures on asylum initial decisions by nationality in the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics, October to December 2015, is available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to allow EU citizens resident in the UK to be able to continue to live in the UK.

James Brokenshire

As the Prime Minister has said, there will be no immediate changes in the circumstances of European nationals currently residing in the UK.

Under current arrangements EU nationals do not need to apply for a residence card or a permanent residence card in order to establish their free movement rights and responsibilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the service standard is for cases handled by the Complex Casework Directorate.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Complex Casework Directorate has a published service standard for in country Administrative Reviews. The target is to decide 95% of all applications within 28 days.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to (a) reprint and (b) revise the Start4Life leaflets covering breastfeeding, bottle feeding and early child nutrition.

Nicola Blackwood

Public Health England will continue to reprint Start4Life leaflets on breastfeeding (in a simpler format) and bottle feeding, and will be revising the early child nutrition leaflet to incorporate new guidance from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, when available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2015-11-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the abolition of Value Added Tax on sanitary products.

Mr David Gauke

Following the recent Parliamentary debate on this issue, I have written to the European Commission and other Member States setting out the Government’s view that Member States should have full discretion over what rate of VAT they can apply to sanitary products, and that this should be considered in the context of the Commission’s ambition to produce an Action Plan on VAT initiatives in 2016.