Tag: Frank Field

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a national deposit return scheme as part of the Government’s litter strategy.

Rory Stewart

As part of its Litter Strategy, published in 2014, the Scottish Government announced that it had commissioned a feasibility study and a call for evidence investigating the implementation of a deposit return system for single use drink containers in Scotland. This valuable work, published last year, highlighted significant uncertainties regarding the impacts and benefits that a deposit return system would have, notably regarding costs, environmental quality and littering, and existing waste collection systems. The Scottish Government is doing further work on the topic and we will consider any new evidence arising from this in the course of developing our own National Litter Strategy for England.

Defra analysed the costs and benefits of implementing a deposit return system for single use drink containers as part of the 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England, and to seek views in the 2012 consultation on higher packaging recycling targets. This work showed that introducing a deposit return system may increase recycling and reduce litter, but might impose additional costs on businesses, consumers and local authorities (which would lose revenue from recycling). However, we are lacking evidence to appropriately quantify these benefits and costs. The current approach has driven a significant increase in packaging waste recycling rates, from less than 47% in 2003 to nearly 65% in 2013.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36280, how many people are waiting for a rearranged work capability assessment having had their initial appointment cancelled.

Priti Patel

On 19 May 2016, there were a total of 28,420 people waiting to attend a rearranged work capability assessment having had their initial appointment cancelled of which 17,019 have a new appointment already allocated.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on supporting disabled people through (a) the work programme and (b) work choice in (i) each year since 2010 and (ii) total since the introduction of those schemes; and what the total cost of support over the lifetime of the two programmes is estimated to be.

Justin Tomlinson

The figures represent the annual expenditure on Work Choice provision from 2010-11 to 2015-16 and estimated spend from 2016/17 to the end of the programme, based on the existing contracts.

It should be noted that with effect from 2015/16, Work Choice provision also includes costs for the Remploy contract. It is not possible to provide information for the amount spent on supporting disabled people through the work programme as this cannot be separately identified.

2010-11 £32m

2011-12 £79m

2012-13 £83m

2013-14 £86m

2014-15 £88m

2015-16 £124m

Total to 2015/16: £492m.

The total over the life of the Work Choice programme is currently estimated to be £645m.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many people working for his Department 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.

David Mundell

The Scotland Office does not directly employ any staff. The Office is staffed by civil servants on assignment, loan and/or secondment basis predominantly from the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. No people working for the Scotland Office who are (a) directly employed in the civil service are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation, nor are on a zero hours contract.

No people working for the Scotland Office on an (b) agency basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation, nor are on a zero hours contract.

Information on workers on an (c) outsourced basis, paid less than the rate defined by the Living Wage Foundation and their contractual hours can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the medical exemption criteria of prescription charges for people with long-term health conditions.

David Mowat

We have no plans to change the list of medical conditions which provide for exemption from prescription charges. Extending this exemption would have significant cost implications at a time when the National Health Service is facing increased demand and is expected to deliver efficiency savings of £22 billion by 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average (a) duration and (b) cost to the caller of a telephone call to HM Revenue and Customs’ tax credit telephone lines was in the most recent 12 months for which data is available; and how much revenue was generated from these calls.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not track each customer journey end to end through the phone system, and cannot therefore provide the average duration time as requested.

HMRC does not hold information of the cost of a call to its lines. I would refer to my answer given on 13 July 2015 to UIN 5712.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to housing associations on the proportion of their new build properties that must be capable of adaptation.

Brandon Lewis

The Government does not issue specific guidance to housing associations on the proportion of their new build properties that must be capable of adaption.

Local authorities are best placed to understand the housing needs in their area. National policy sets out clearly the need for local authorities to plan for the housing needs of all members of the community.

On 1 October, new optional Building Regulations came into force to make new homes more adaptable to peoples changing needs over time. Housing associations could choose to implement this, or any other adaptable housing standard, when setting standards for the new homes they build.

Separately through the Care and Support Specialised Housing fund the Government is providing up to £315 million to build over 4,000 specialised homes for older and disabled people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre Plus offices have space in their building that is available for use by voluntary groups, social enterprises and mutuals to help equip claimants with the skills they need to use the internet.

Priti Patel

The Department for Work and Pensions occupies the majority of its estate under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME Contract. Under this PFI, the Department leases fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium. The Department pays an inclusive unitary price for the space occupied. The Department does not own any of the buildings that it occupies.

The Department constantly reviews its estate to ensure the effective use of space. Jobcentre Plus works closely with local partners and providers across our network and we have a wide range of stakeholders in our buildings including local authority colleagues, employers, service providers and voluntary organisations. We also work from a wide range of partners’ premises, for example community hubs, libraries as well as co-locating our services in local authority sites.

The Department has provided public internet access devices across our Jobcentre Plus offices, and deploys staff to support those claimants who may need assistance in building the skills they need to make claims on-line and with job search.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of homes in the social rented sector have been classified as overcrowded in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis

The Department publishes estimates of the numbers and proportions of homes in the social rented sector that have been classified as overcrowded. The proportion was estimated as 7.3% in 2010/11 and as 6.2% in 2013/14. These figures are from the English Housing Survey and are available at:

Annex Table 1.13 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/469214/2013-14_Section_1_Households_tables_and_figures_FINAL.xlsx

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many existing tax credit claimants had their payments stopped in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs do not hold the requested data.