Tag: Emily Thornberry

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent in total on the Help to Work scheme to date; and what estimate he has made of the cumulative total cost of Help to Work over the duration of the current contracts.

Priti Patel

The Help to Work scheme contains a number of initiatives and programmes, delivered through Jobcentre Plus and Contracted Employment Provision.

It is not possible to identify the costs of Help to Work activities separately from the total expenditure in Jobcentre Plus.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed reduction in the maximum length of time for which housing benefit is payable for tenants travelling overseas on claimants required by their employers to work overseas for extended periods; and what exemptions he plans to put in place to protect claimants in such circumstances.

Justin Tomlinson

We are aligning treatment of temporary absences from Great Britain in housing benefit with the current treatment in Universal Credit.

We plan to make a number of easements for people in work, including for members of the armed forces, mariners and continental shelf workers.

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 people, excluding people participating in the Work Programme, who were claiming employment and support allowance and were previously in receipt of incapacity benefit, ended their claim for employment and support allowance after moving into work during the most recent period for which figures are available.

Priti Patel

Detailed information on the reason for leaving Employment and Support Allowance is not 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 many and what proportion of patients referred to the Fit for Work service since its launch have since returned to work.

Justin Tomlinson

An evaluation strategy is in place for Fit for Work. As part of this, a formal process evaluation is being undertaken. The formal evaluation will include feedback from employee users of the service, GPs and employers. Return to work will also be covered. Monthly performance group meetings take place between the Department and the providers in both England/Wales and Scotland together with weekly meetings to discuss management information and performance issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which areas the digital service for universal credit is (a) in operation and (b) expected to be in operation by April 2016.

Priti Patel

The digital service is currently in operation in areas of Sutton, Croydon and London Bridge. Between January and April 2016 Hounslow, Musselburgh, Purley, Thornton Heath and Great Yarmouth will begin delivering the full Universal Credit service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nations have Maritime Patrol Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth; how many Maritime Patrol Aircraft are based at RAF Lossiemouth; and which nations have had Maritime Patrol Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth at any point in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Penny Mordaunt

There are no Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) permanently based at RAF Lossiemouth. However, following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review the Government announced that the United Kingdom would purchase a fleet of nine Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft which will be based at RAF Lossiemouth.

Over the course of 2015 MPA from the United States, Canada, France and Germany were temporarily deployed to RAF Lossiemouth. We do not discuss the detail of such maritime operations as this would, or would likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24141, how many (a) unauthorised entries to military bases and (b) thefts or losses of classified material took place in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011, (iv) 2012 and (v) 2013.

Mark Lancaster

The number of security incidents recorded within the Ministry of Defence in each of the years in question is set out in the table below.

Year	Unauthorised entries to Military Bases	Thefts or losses of classified material
2009	8	327
2010	13	384
2011	21	365
2012	12	327
2013	13	379

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24277, how many Sea King (a) Mk3, (b) Mk3a, (c) Mk4 and (d) Mk5 aircraft are planned to be taken out of service in 2016; and what plans the Government has to replace those assets.

Mr Philip Dunne

A total of 32 Sea King aircraft are planned to be taken out of service during 2016:

10 Mk3

2 Mk3a

9 Mk4

11 Mk5

The Search and Rescue role provided by these Sea King helicopters is to be delivered by contractor-provided services. Other roles delivered by these aircraft will transition to the Merlin fleet operated by the Royal Navy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian personnel were deployed in each operational theatre overseas in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Penny Mordaunt

In the last 12 months (13 February 2015 to 12 February 2016), 71 UK civil servants have deployed on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to provide direct support to military operations. A breakdown of locations is provided below.

Country	Number of UK civil servants deployed on behalf of the MOD
Afghanistan	42
Sierra Leone	1
United Arab Emirates	14
Bahrain	2
Qatar	8
Italy	2
United States of America	2

Since June 2015, an average of 88 UK contractors has been deployed on military operations by the MOD at any one time. A total 12-month figure could not be provided as details of changes to individual post-holders are not held centrally, and information is not held for the period before June 2015.

Country	Average number of UK civilian contractors deployed by the MOD
Afghanistan	36
Gulf	44
Iraq	6
Nigeria	2

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.47 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015, Cm 9161, which of the two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will be adapted to support amphibious capability.

Mr Philip Dunne

The two new Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers, currently under construction in Rosyth have a planned service life of 50 years each. They will be capable of a spectrum of roles including battlefield helicopter support to littoral operations. The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 made provision to enhance this capability in the QEC aircraft carriers.