Tag: Frank Field

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are being cared for primarily by their grandparents.

Edward Timpson

The Department does not collect information on the number of grandparents who provide care to their grandchildren.

The Department collects and publishes information about looked-after children who are placed in foster care with a relative or friend. At 31 March 2015, 7910 looked-after children were cared for in these arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claimants in work reported income rises of (a) more than £2,500, (b) more than £2,500 but less than £5,000 and (c) more than £5,000 in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

Damian Hinds

As announced in the combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review, the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within the year before their tax credit award is adjusted (the income rise disregard), will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500. This makes the tax credit system fairer so claimants on similar incomes will receive similar awards. Currently two families on precisely the same earnings at the end of the year can receive significantly different awards.

A tax credit award will only be adjusted in response to a claimant earning more money. Next year there are expected to be 800,000 claimants whose income will increase by more than £2500 and who as a result will see an adjustment in their tax credit payment. None will be cash losers because their income will have increased.

The change returns the disregard back to the level it was between 2003 and 2006 – something the tax credit system is now operationally better able to cope with now that it has more up to date information on people’s earnings through Real Time Information. HMRC are also making it easier to report changes quickly online, so that people will less often receive overpayments. Claimants can contact HMRC if they are suffering financial hardship and are having difficulty paying back an overpayment.

The change will bring forward some of the benefits of Universal Credit so that the tax credit award reflects a claimant’s recent earnings and the system responds more quickly to changes in earnings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on children whose refugee shelters in Calais are due to be demolished by the French government.

James Brokenshire

The UK is working closely with the French Government on all aspects of the migrant situation in Calais; however the management of the migrant camps in France is the responsibility of the French Government. They have recently increased capacity in heated container accommodation for vulnerable groups in the Calais camp, where women, children and the sick and injured are given priority.

Both the UK and France are clear that the right course of action is to move migrants away from Calais and for genuine refugees to be offered protection within the French asylum system. That is why as part of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK has provided £3.6million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help provide support and facilities for migrants at centres elsewhere in France.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the maximum period is for which a back payment can be made on universal credit.

Priti Patel

The maximum period by which a claim can be backdated is one calendar month from the date of claim. Backdating is only possible in exceptional circumstances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of new universal credit claims were processed within one month in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

Priti Patel

The information you have requested is currently not available.

Additional breakdowns will be included in future Universal Credit official statistics as quality assurance of data from the Universal Credit systems progresses during 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many harassment warnings each police force in England issued in the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

Karen Bradley

The information requested is not collected centrally. The issuance of Harassment Warning Notices, also known as Police Information Notices (PINs), is an operational matter for Chief Constables. Responsibility for the publication of information relating to PINs rests with Chief Constables.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people working for his Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) pays over and above the New National Living Wage across all of our business areas (£7.20 per hour).

In 2015 the Secretary of State for Defence agreed that London-based staff should be paid the London Living Wage rate (£9.40 per hour). This is in line with the rate defined by the Living Wage Foundation. This rate includes basic pay and any applicable allowances. It is regularly reviewed and where an individual’s rate falls under this they are paid specific enhancements.

The MOD has not formally signed up to the National Living Wage rate as defined by the Living Wage Foundation (£8.25 per hour). The table below details those directly employed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and its agencies who are paid less than this rate.

National Living Wage
MOD (outside London)	1,017
Defence Equipment & Support (outside London)	93
Defence Science & Technology Laboratory	107
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office	55
Defence Electronics and Components Agency	0

Contracted workers’ rates of pay, where paid by their parent company or recruitment agency, are not visible to the MOD.

The MOD does not employ individuals on zero-hours contracts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people above pensionable age and living in general needs accommodation who will be deemed to be under-occupying their home and will have their housing benefit reduced in accordance with their household size as opposed to their property size as a result of the cap on housing benefit for social housing tenants to the Local Housing Allowance Rate; and what the average loss incurred by this group of people will be.

Caroline Nokes

This measure will be introduced in April 2018, where new tenancies have been taken out or existing tenancies renewed from 1 April 2016 (or 1 April 2017 for supported housing). Full impact and equality impact assessments will be undertaken in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what changes are being made to funding streams in her Department’s budget to help assist refugees close to or in their countries of origin.

Rory Stewart

The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to assist refugees close to their countries of origin. The UK has increased its response to the Syria crisis to £2.3 billion and our support is reaching hundreds of thousands of people in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The UK is pioneering a new model of support to refugees through international Compacts with refugee-hosting countries to provide long-term education and employment opportunities to refugees, while supporting the economic development of the host nation. Refugee-hosting compacts have been agreed so far with Jordan, Lebanon and Ethiopia.

As part of our new approach we have contributed £80m to the World Bank MENA Concessional Finance Facility to support refugees in Jordan and Lebanon and have pledged £30m to the new Education Cannot Wait fund to support education in crises, including refugees.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many existing tax credit claimants have been in continuous receipt of tax credits for (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four years or more.

Damian Hinds

This information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.