Tag: Andrew Bridgen

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that providers of his Department’s services (a) better understand the demands of the local labour market and (b) reach out to employers to encourage them to consider disabled applicants.

Damian Hinds

The Department has teams of performance managers who work with providers to ensure they keep to their contracted obligations, which include an understanding of the demands of their local labour market and consideration of disabled applicants.

There are specific programmes which support disabled people with entering or retaining work, and through which providers can work with local employers. These include Work Programme, Work Choice, and Specialist Employability Support.

Additionally, Disability Confident was launched in July 2013. Disability Confident supports this Government’s commitment to halve the employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people by focusing on the role of employers, who have a crucial role to play in ensuring disabled people are recruited, retained and developed in their careers. When employers sign up as Disability Confident, they are asked to make specific meaningful offers of opportunities for disabled people such as jobs, apprenticeships, internships, and work experience opportunities. So far, over 1900 businesses have signed up to the new Disability Confident scheme, with this number growing daily.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken in response to the findings of the first set of operational data collected by NHS England on wheelchair services; and what steps he is taking to ensure that short-term wheelchair loans are available for people waiting for provision of NHS wheelchairs.

Alistair Burt

The national wheelchair services data collection was introduced by NHS England in July 2015 and requires clinical commissioning groups to submit quarterly data on their wheelchair services. Data has so far been published for quarter two and quarter three 2015/16. This is a new collection and therefore does not yet provide an opportunity to draw national or regional comparisons. The vast majority of short term wheelchair loans are provided through charities such as the Red Cross and not via the National Health Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many civil servants and diplomats form part of the UK Permanent Representation to the EU; how many such officials there were in each pay band in each of the last five years; and what the total staffing cost of UKREP was in 2015-16.

Mr David Lidington

UKRep includes staff from a number of different Government Departments. The number of staff employed by UKRep varies throughout the year, depending on changing requirements at the Representation. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently has 122 full time posts at UKRep, both UK based and Locally Engaged. Details of the current senior team at UKRep can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/uk-representation-to-the-eu/about/our-governance .

A breakdown of officials by pay band for the last five years could not be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost; however FCO’s annual report and accounts for each financial year, including an overview of salary costs, can be found on GOV.UK .

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people of each nationality are awaiting deportation.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office does not disclose country specific information regarding deportation of foreign national offenders in any public material, including Freedom of Information Requests, as its disclosure could prejudice relations between the UK and foreign governments. Parliamentary Questions are approached in the same way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total cost was of maintaining the UK Permanent Representation to the EU in each of the last five years.

Mr David Lidington

We cannot provide a figure for the total cost of maintaining the UK Permanent Representation to the EU (UKRep) in each of the last five years, except at disproportionate cost.

The budgets involved are aggregated in different ways, normally across HMG’s Brussels platform as a whole, which consists of UKRep, the British Embassy in Belgium, including UKTI and Consular operations, the UK Joint Delegation to NATO and Corporate Services Benelux.

Administrative resource spend, which includes, but is not limited to, Locally Engaged staff salaries, travel costs, telecoms, catering and entertainment and IT, is shared across the Brussels platform and difficult to disaggregate. Facilities management costs (eg security, reception, cleaning) are also shared across the Brussels platform and difficult to disaggregate. The rent spent on the offices which house UKRep and the British Embassy is aggregated. Salaries and allowances paid to UK-based staff working at UKRep are captured in further separate budgets, and would involve significant resource to disaggregate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will (a) commission research to estimate the number of people from other EU member states who receive (i) in-work and (ii) out of work benefits in the UK; and if he will publish that information before 23 June 2016.

Mr Shailesh Vara

There are no current plans to conduct the analyses listed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-06-13.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Electoral Commission’s staff handbook.

Mr Gary Streeter

A copy of the Electoral Commission’s code of conduct for staff has been placed in the House Library.

This document, which is available on the Commission’s intranet and circulated at regular intervals through internal bulletins to remind staff of its content, sets out clearly the conduct expected of staff in their capacity as a Commission employee, including that, “Throughout your employment/engagement … with the Commission you are required to conduct yourself so as not to raise any questions as to the political impartiality of the Commission”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will (a) commission research to estimate the number of people from other EU member states who receive housing benefit and (b) publish that information before 23 June 2016.

Mr Shailesh Vara

There are no current plans to conduct the analyses listed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-06-13.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has given to its staff on political impartiality.

Mr Gary Streeter

A copy of the Electoral Commission’s code of conduct for staff has been placed in the House Library.

This document, which is available on the Commission’s intranet and circulated at regular intervals through internal bulletins to remind staff of its content, sets out clearly the conduct expected of staff in their capacity as a Commission employee, including that, “Throughout your employment/engagement … with the Commission you are required to conduct yourself so as not to raise any questions as to the political impartiality of the Commission”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will (a) commission research to estimate the number of people from other EU member-states who receive universal credit and (b) publish that information before 23 June 2016.

Mr Shailesh Vara

There are no current plans to conduct the analyses listed.