Tag: Cathy Jamieson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 7 May 2014, Official Report, column 228W, on social security benefits: disability, if he will take steps to reduce the national average waiting times for work capability assessments for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit reassessment.

Mike Penning

We are working closely with our supplier to deliver the best possible service for claimants, driving up performance and quality to help reduce waiting times and process claims as quickly as possible. We are continuing to monitor and robustly manage this contract.

We do not have a target timescale for waiting time for an Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the stability of the shadow banking sector.

Andrea Leadsom

When appropriately conducted, shadow banking can benefit the economy by increasing the availability of credit to a range of individuals or firms, and provide a valuable alternative to bank funding. It provides credit and liquidity to the real economy and can improve efficiency and drive innovation in the financial system through firms developing expert knowledge in a particular area.

However, the Government is aware of the risks shadow banking activities pose to financial stability when things go wrong. The crisis showed that some shadow banking entities created pro-cyclical build-ups of leverage, did not fully transfer credit risk, were susceptible to rapid sell-offs, and were very complex. It also became clear that the shadow banking sector had very complex interconnections with the traditional banking system.

Recognising the need to improve the transparency and supervision of the shadow banking sector, the Government has taken steps to improve the way shadow banking entities are regulated.

Domestically, the Government has created new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. In September last year, the Committee agreed as one of its medium term priorities the identification and management of potential systemic risks from shadow banking.

At the international level, the Government is actively supporting the effective regulation of the sector in EU policymaking, and the UK is instrumental in shaping the global regulatory response at the Financial Stability Board.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many tenants from elsewhere in the UK have taken advantage of Home Swap Direct to arrange exchanges to Scotland in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Kris Hopkins

Details of the number of moves that have taken placeunder the HomeSwap Direct Scheme from elsewhere in the United Kingdom to Scotland in each of the last three years are not held centrally.

HomeSwap Direct increases opportunities for social tenants who wish to find a new home by allowing tenants looking for a swap to see details of every possible property nationwide, no matter which mutual exchange website their landlord has chosen to subscribe to. The scheme has operated very successfully since its launch in October 2011 with tenants carrying out over 18 million searches of the property data held on HomeSwap Direct.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 625W, on coinage, whether he has fixed the dates for the public consultation on the impact of the introduction of a new one pound coin.

Nicky Morgan

The Budget announced that the existing £1 coin will be replaced with a more modern and secure design. After thirty years in circulation, the current coin has become vulnerable to counterfeiting.

There will be a public consultation this summer that will focus on how to manage impacts on industry and other affected parties. The government remains committed to this timetable, and to working with industry to minimise costs and disruption.

The precise dates of the consultation period will be published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many requests for discharge were made by soldiers aged (a) 19 and (b) 20 years who had served at least three years in the regular Army in the last five years; and what the outcome was of each such request.

Anna Soubry

Soldiers must normally serve a minimum of three years before they can voluntarily discharge with a year’s notice. Consequently, the number of applications from 19 year-olds is lower than from those aged 20 years of age. "Requests for discharge" has been interpreted as Voluntary Outflow Applications which are recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration system.

The number of applications for voluntary discharge made by trained Regular Soldiers aged 19 and 20 between 1 March 2009 and 1 March 2014 are shown in the following table

Age on Application	No of Applications
19	50
20	330
Total	380

Source: Defence Statistics (Army)

These figures include some personnel who applied for voluntary release, but who were subsequently discharged for other reasons. The actual numbers discharged between 1 March 2009 and 31 March 2014, and the reasons for the discharge are shown below:

Age on Application

19 20

Voluntary Outflow 20 240

Administrative discharge 10 30

Medical/Other – 10

Total 30 270

Source: Defence Statistics (Army). Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

These figures exclude requests for medical, administrative and disciplinary discharges. Some applications may have been withdrawn at a later date and that some individual soldiers may have applied for voluntary discharge more than once.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of the published acceptable limits for formaldehyde in the air within a domestic dwelling.

Dan Rogerson

Defra is not responsible for air quality policy within domestic buildings and so has made no such assessment.