Tag: Andrew Stephenson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that people eligible to join the Class 3A voluntary contribution scheme are made aware of it.

Justin Tomlinson

1. A nationwide communications campaign, called ‘State Pension top up’, has been in place since 2014 to raise awareness of the Class 3A voluntary contribution scheme both before and after its launch on 12 October 2015. This campaign has included the creation of dedicated webpages on GOV.UK, including a calculator tool which has been used over 82,000 times since scheme launch. Printed and digital leaflets have been produced alongside advertising both online, and through national and regional press.

For over a year prior to launch, individuals were able to register by phone or email for scheme updates.

The scheme has also achieved widespread coverage, particularly around its launch, in the national and specialist press read by the scheme’s target audience. DWP has worked directly with financial advisory bodies and key pensions industry experts to raise awareness of the scheme.

DWP officials have attended conferences around the country with IFAs to explain the scheme and Ministers have written articles and conducted interviews on national, regional and international broadcast channels.

As of 8 November 2015, the scheme had attracted 3460 applications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of computer literacy among prison staff.

Andrew Selous

All staff who are required to use computers as part of their day-to-day duties will receive formal training in the use of specific software or programmes during induction into their role, or as part of continuous professional development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase opportunities for prisoners to acquire skills that could lead to earned release.

Andrew Selous

The Secretary of State for Justice last September asked Dame Sally Coates to chair a review of the quality of education in prisons. It is examining how we can better equip prisoners with the skills to find employment on release and will report in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on late-stage Lyme disease treatment in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison

As services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally information on the costs associated with laboratory testing and treatment of late stage Lyme disease is not collected centrally. Nor is information collected centrally on the average time to diagnose cases of Lyme disease.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing a clinical guideline on Lyme disease and reports progress on its website. NICE recently consulted on a draft scope for the guideline, and expects to publish final guidance in July 2018.

Public Health England and NHS Choices publish information on their websites to raise awareness of Lyme disease and encourage timely medical consultation because early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is the best way of limiting complications from infection. Given the need to maintain public awareness these or similar mechanisms are expected to continue beyond 2018. Increased awareness is likely to encourage early consultation but no information on the time taken to seek medical advice is available.

There are no plans to set targets for diagnosis and treatment as most cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed empirically by general practitioners using their clinical judgement rather than relying on a laboratory test, thus treatment can start immediately. Diagnosis of patients with late or complicated Lyme disease can be difficult and the National Health Service will continue to provide care taking account of the existing evidence base.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on making refuges a statutory-funded service; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

Domestic Abuse is a devastating crime and we are determined to ensure that everyone receives the support they need when they need it. This Government recognises the important role played by refuges in keeping victims of domestic abuse safe and we have made a clear commitment to secure a future for refuges.

Many refuges already receive public funding via housing benefit, local authorities and health services. In the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy published on 8 March, we set out our ambition to improve services for women suffering from domestic abuse, committing to a new Statement of Expectations to set out for the first time what we expect from local areas. To support this, we are launching a new two year fund for refuges and other forms of accommodation based support and to help local areas take the steps they need to meet the expectations set out in the Statement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people eligible for the Class 3A Voluntary National Insurance Contribution Scheme that have signed up to that scheme.

Justin Tomlinson

We do not hold application data for the State Pension top up (Class 3A) at a regional or constituency level. To obtain this would incur a disproportionate cost. Across the UK we have received 3193 applications for State Pension top up (Class 3A) in the scheme’s first 3 weeks.

Up to c. 12m individuals are eligible for the scheme depending upon personal circumstances. In the first 3 weeks of operation there were 3193 applications for State Pension top up (Class 3A).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government’s publication, Call to End Violence against Women and Girls’ Action Plan 2014, published in March 2014, what progress has been made on putting in place a new code of practice to ensure that safe addresses of victims of domestic and sexual abuse are protected; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence remain key priorities for the Government. We will continue to improve the protection for victims and to bring offenders to justice.

The Home Office has been working with a number of relevant Government Departments to assess what processes and guidance are currently used to protect the addresses and personal information of vulnerable persons and victims of crime. We are now developing a voluntary code of practice to address the identified gaps.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many homes she estimates will benefit from Flood Re in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Pendle.

Rory Stewart

Flood Re is on target to start operating on 4 April. The Scheme will help owners of property at high risk of flooding by ensuring that, for the first time, they can access affordable flood insurance regardless of where they live.

We expect Flood Re to cover up to 350,000 properties across the country and insurers are free to decide which properties to pass to Flood Re. The number of properties passed to Flood Re in particular areas will become evident once the scheme is in operation. There is no limit to the number of properties that can be ceded to Flood Re.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-04-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of trends in the level of wage growth and inflation.

Damian Hinds

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in the three months to January, Real Average Weekly Earnings grew 2 percent compared to a year earlier.

Wage growth has outstripped inflation for 16 consecutive months. And the OBR forecast wages to grow faster than inflation in each of the next five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with other Commonwealth countries on sharing trade negotiating capabilities and resources.

Alok Sharma

We have been consulting, and will continue to consult, a broad range of stakeholders, including governments and businesses, on the implications of the referendum result for trade. We have been encouraged by the interest coming from a range of non-EU countries, including some of our closest allies. Across government, we are preparing options for our future trade policy for the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) to consider. We are also rapidly building civil service capacity and capability on trade.