The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people died of congenital heart disease below the age of 40 years in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last 15 years.
Mr Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-26.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will conduct research into the use of data matching of local and national databases to better identify people who are entitled to register to vote but who are not registered.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that the Cabinet Office has previously conducted several pilots on this topic and the Commission has evaluated them. The full evaluation reports are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/electoral-registration-research
The Cabinet Office plans a further pilot for early 2015 and the Commission intends to evaluate this as well.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he held with the National Federation of SubPostmasters on the abolition of road tax discs.
Jo Swinson
The abolition of vehicle tax discs is a matter for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not held any discussions with the National Federation of SubPostmasters specifically on the subject of vehicle tax.
Ministers meet the National Federation of SubPostmasters regularly to discuss a range of issues relating to the Post Office network. The dates of these meetings are available on the gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether levels of poverty and deprivation in coastal towns are considered by his Department when making grants from the Coastal Communities Fund.
Brandon Lewis
Grant applicants submitting bids to the Coastal Communities Fund are expected to demonstrate the need for their project, which can include levels of poverty and deprivation in their area. This information is one of a range of factors that are taken into account in the assessment of grant applications. However, the Fund is not specifically targeted on deprived coastal towns. Its aim is to support jobs and growth in coastal communities across the United Kingdom where projects can best exploit local assets and opportunities to unlock their growth potential. In addition to demonstrating need, applications to the Fund must be clearly linked to an economic opportunity to create and safeguard jobs within the coastal community. Coastal flooding and erosion risk management and repair are also priorities for grant aid where proposed works support economic development.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-26.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, on what date the discussions between the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office on sanctions against electoral registration officers (EROs) who refuse to conduct door-to-door canvassing as per Standard Three began; when those discussions will conclude; whether the conclusions of those discussions will be made available to (a) hon. Members with EROs who failed Standard Three, (b) the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and (c) councillors within failed local authorities; and if he will place in the Library the conclusions of those discussions.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Commission informs me that it has reported on ERO performance against Standard 3 for each year since 2008.
To support EROs in preparing for and delivering the transition to individual electoral registration (IER) the Commission has developed a new performance standards framework, which it will use to monitor the performance of EROs against throughout the transition to individual electoral registration. The Commission will continue to carefully monitor and work closely with EROs and will consider a range of options to ensure EROs are carrying out their duties in full.
Discussions between the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office take place regularly on a range of subjects.
The Commission made clear in its June report that it would use its statutory powers to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State to require specific EROs to do door-to-door canvassing if this didn’t happen during the introduction of IER, which began on 10 June in England and Wales.
No specific date for conclusion has been set as it will depend on the circumstances in each area, but the Commission will continue to keep this under active review. Should the Commission make a recommendation for such a direction, it will write to the relevant honourable members and local council leaders. We will also write to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and ask for this correspondence to be placed in the House Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people out of work suffer from (a) mental health disorder and (b) depression; and what proportion of them have been treated with (i) anti depressants, (ii) talking therapies and (iii) mindfulness.
Mr Mark Harper
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on the proportion of people out of work with a mental health disorder or depression, nor the proportion treated with anti depressants, talking therapies and/or mindfulness.
However, 11% of out-of-work adults report having “Depression, bad nerves or anxiety” or “Mental illness, phobia, panics and other nervous disorders”. This is against a reported 3% of those in-work (Annual Population Survey, April 2013 – March 2014, GB residents aged 16+).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2014, Official Report, column 280W, on the work capability assessment, how many and what proportion of those who have undertaken a work capability test in each nation and region of the UK have been declared fit for work.
Mike Penning
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) initial claims and Incapacity Benefit (IB) reassessment claims, by outcomes of work capability assessments by regions in Great Britain are published. The numbers and the proportion of fit for work decisions can be found in table 1a and table 11 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/274091/esa_wca_140122.xls
Notes:
1. There is a reporting lag of approximately 8-months at the issuing date of this statistical output owing to the time needed to process data and time allowed to enable each cohort’s assessment phase to elapse.
2. Caseload figures rounded to nearest hundred. Totals may not sum due to the rounding method use. Proportions are rounded to the nearest whole number.
3. Figures include those cases where the functional assessment has not been completed.
Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-13.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, if he will list each local authority database used by electoral registration offices in the dry run for individual electoral registration (IER) for the 10 local authorities with the (a) best and (b) worst registration rates during the IER dry run.
Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that this information was provided to the Hon. Member in the answer to Question 191356.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 386W, on the Electoral Register, what is the (a) earliest and (b) latest age a person is allocated their National Insurance number; and what the earliest date is that an attainer can be registered to vote.
Greg Clark
National Insurance numbers are sent automatically when individuals reach the age of 15 years and 9 months. There is no upper age limit to apply for a National Insurance number.
The law provides that an attainer will be included on the register if they will reach the age of 18 before the end of a 12-month period starting from the next 1 December after the application is made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what his Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.
David Mundell
I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my Rt hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 26 March, Official Report, Column 300W.