Tag: Emily Thornberry

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many social housing providers in the four pathfinder areas for universal credit have applied for trusted partner status to allow for direct payment of the housing costs element in certain circumstances.

Justin Tomlinson

The first phase of the ‘Trusted Partner’ pilot started on Monday 28^th September with 6 landlords all of whom are located within the Pathfinder areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to increase the number of qualified staff working on early education settings.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The extended free childcare entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year-olds will provide eligible parents with 30 hours of free childcare per week. The government provides guidance in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, which sets out the ratios within which providers must operate. We expect providers to recruit accordingly, and that the market will respond to demand in local areas. The childcare market has proven that it is adaptable as demonstrated by the increase of 230,000 places since 2009. The timetable for implementation of the extended entitlement ensures that the market has time to expand.

The quality of provision is central to ensuring benefits to children, and the main driver of quality in a setting is its workforce. The qualification levels of the childcare workforce has risen over recent years and we want the sector to continue to attract highly qualified staff with a strong aptitude for working with young children to deliver good quality childcare.

We are taking steps to improve the process for those training to become Early Years Educators and Early Years Teachers. In 2016, the government will review progression routes within the sector to determine what more can be done to enable good quality staff to maximise their potential and forge a successful career within early years. This will build on existing investments in staff training and development that have brought high performing schools and private, voluntary and independent providers together to share good practice and improve transition into school for young children.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release, Prison building revolution announced by Chancellor and Justice Secretary, published on 9 November 2015, which prisons the Government plans to sell to property developers; and what estimate he has made of the value of land on each of those sites.

Andrew Selous

On 9 November the Chancellor and Secretary of State announced their intention to build a prison estate which allows prisoners to be rehabilitated, thereby enabling them to turn away from a life of crime. This will involve building nine new prisons and closing old and inefficient prisons which do not support the aims of a redesigned estate. No decisions have yet been made on where new prisons will be built.

We are currently considering which of our old and inefficient prisons will close. We will engage with stakeholders during the process of sale including valuation experts and potential developers in order to maximise the value achieved.

Any relocation of prisoners will be done with careful planning. Where staff are affected they will be managed through the process of change using processes deployed during previous closures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of (a) referrals to the Work Programme since 2011 and (b) current participants in the Work Programme had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral.

Priti Patel

The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many working households in receipt of (a) working tax credit and (b) universal credit have marginal deduction rates of (i) less than 70, (ii) between 70 and 80, (iii) between 80 and 90 and (iv) more than 90 per cent on earned income above the level of the applicable disregard.

Priti Patel

In 2010 we estimated that in the existing system half a million people had marginal deduction rates of 80% or above. See page 55 of Universal Credit: Welfare that Works report, below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48897/universal-credit-full-document.pdf

Further information is not available as we have not updated these estimates.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of vacancies in each region and nation of the UK which were advertised on Universal Jobmatch were advertised as paying the National Minimum Wage in the most recent month for which figures are available.

Priti Patel

As part of the terms and conditions which employers must agree to in order to be able to post their vacancies on Universal Jobsmatch, it states that employers must ‘provide a rate of pay equal to, or more than the National Minimum Wage, unless a lawful exemption applies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Oral Contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions of 7 December 2015, Official Report, column 693, (a) which food banks he visited and (b) on which dates those visits took place in the last 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department does not hold the information requested. Ministers have conducted visits to food banks in various capacities, including in their roles as Members of Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the effect of capping housing benefit for social tenant at the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate on the incomes of the tenants affected.

Justin Tomlinson

Capping high social sector rents at the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate does not come into effect until April 2018 and then only where a new tenancy is taken out or a tenancy is renewed after April 2016 and the resulting social rent charged exceeds the appropriate Local Housing Allowance rate for the size of household in the area at that time.

Because a range of factors will influence where and when a cap is applied, including behavioural responses from both claimants and landlords, it is not possible to assess the potential effect of the policy on the incomes of the tenants affected.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of housing benefit claims in respect of which a request for backdating was approved resulted in the payment of arrears for a period of (a) less than one month, (b) one month only, (b) between one and three months and (d) between three and six months in the most recent period for which figures are avilable.

Justin Tomlinson

Information on the number of Housing Benefit claims that were backdated is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on the Mandatory Work Activity scheme in each of the last four years.

Priti Patel

The Department’s expenditure in respect of Mandatory Work Activity in each of the last four financial years is as follows:

2011-12 £9.2m

2012-13 £13.7m

2013-14 £15.0m

2014-15 £12.8m