Tag: Debbie Abrahams

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what projection his Department has made of the annual spend on the contracted-out element of back to work support for the forthcoming Work and Health Programme; and how that spend compares with the annual spend on the current Work Programme and Work Choice.

Priti Patel

We are currently working on the design of the new Work and Health programme and we will publish the design and funding in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 28404, on Independent Living Fund, if he will publish (a) the timescale and (b) the terms of reference of the research which the Government plans to conduct.

Justin Tomlinson

We have completed the planning for researching the impact of the ILF’s closure; we will publish the findings when the research is complete.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of disabled people living in social housing who will be affected by the cap to local housing allowance.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not available. As such it is not possible to accurately estimate the number of disabled people living in social housing that will be affected by this policy in 2018.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many stroke survivors are in receipt of social care funded by their local authority.

Alistair Burt

Information collected as part of the Short and Long Term (SALT) data return indicates that in 76 out of 152 local authorities in England 10,545 people who have a reported health condition of stroke received support from their local authority in 2014/15. However, recovering from having a stroke might not be the reason people are receiving this support from their local authority as they might have other conditions as well. The reason for the partial data return is that this is a voluntary data collection by local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on its employment of disabled people.

Justin Tomlinson

I have not had any meetings with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to discuss its employment of disabled people.

The Office for Disability Issues has frequent communication with the EHRC who are observers at the bi-annual Fulfilling Potential Forum that I chair which is attended by a range of disability-related stakeholders. Officials from the Office for Disability Issues are also in regular contact with the EHRC in relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, attending quarterly Treaty Monitoring review meetings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimates his Department has made of potential cost of proposed transitional measures to address the effects on women born in the 1950s following state pension equalisation.

Caroline Nokes

Transitional arrangements are already in place. At the time of the Pensions Act 2011 the Government introduced a concession worth £1.1 billion to limit the impact of the rising State Pension age on those most affected. The concession capped the maximum delay that anyone would face in claiming their State Pension to 18 months rather than two years, relative to the previous timetable. The Government has no plans to introduce further transitional arrangements.

The following link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-foi-releases-for-march-2016 provides:

• information on the transitional arrangements considered during the passage of the Pensions Act 2011 (see table A); and
• illustrative costings for hypothetical policies including the three requested by the previous Minister for Pensions (see tables B to D).

These options are not under policy consideration.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress the Government has made on developing proposals for reform of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Dominic Raab

This Government will fully consult on our proposals, this session, before introducing legislation for a British Bill of Rights. Further details will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the (a) Competition Commission and (b) Office of Fair Trading spent on assessing mergers in the NHS in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Jo Swinson

The Competition Commission’s (CC’s) inquiry into the proposed merger between Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital Foundation Trust, which was concluded in 2013/14, was the Commission’s only assessment of an NHS Foundation Trust merger. The cost of this inquiry was £710,000, which includes the cost of the staff on the inquiry amounting to £639,000 and direct costs of £71,000 (including survey costs).

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) did not collect specific information on the resources used in considering mergers involving NHS Foundation Trusts. However, the average approximate cost involved in scrutiny of a merger by the OFT was £20,000; in total, the OFT considered four mergers involving NHS Foundation Trusts in 2012-13 and 2013-14, of which only one was referred for further scrutiny by the CC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to promote access to justice.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Government’s overall reform programme to promote access to justice aims to deliver a simpler justice system that is more accessible to the public; limit the scope for inappropriate litigation and the involvement of lawyers in issues which do not need legal input; and support people in resolving their disputes through simpler, more informal remedies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are concerned about the incidents that have taken place in recent weeks on both sides of the Line of Control and the International Border in Kashmir. We hope that both sides can take steps to reduce tensions.