Tag: Frank Field

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 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in England were diagnosed as anaemic or iron deficient in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison

There are no figures available centrally for how many children in England were diagnosed as anaemic or iron deficient in each of the last 10 years.

However, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) UK report has figures for the proportion of children in the United Kingdom with haemoglobin concentrations below a certain level that indicate anaemia, but are not necessarily diagnosed.

Lower limits for haemoglobin have been set by the World Health Organization and are endorsed by the Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition.

The figures below for the UK cover years 1, 2, 3 and 4 (combined) of the NDNS Rolling Programme (2008/09 to 2011/12).

The estimated proportion of children in the UK with a haemoglobin concentration below the lower limits was:

Age Group	% below the lower limits
1.5 to three years	12.9
four to ten years (boys)	3.1
11 to 18 years (boys)	1.8
four to ten years (girls)	5.7
11 to 18 years (girls)	7.4

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average duration is of an in-work tax credit claim containing an underlying entitlement to Working Tax Credit.

Damian Hinds

The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of disability living allowance applications for children diagnosed with ADHD have been rejected in each of the last five financial years.

Justin Tomlinson

The requested data is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-12-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the tax credit claims amended by Concentrix in 2014-15 resulted in a reduced tax credit award; and what the (a) smallest, (b) largest and (c) average value was of the reduction in such cases.

Mr David Gauke

5,244 tax credit claims that were investigated by Concentrix in 2014-15 resulted in the award being amended. Not all amendments changed the value of the award to the claimant. For example recording a change to the claimant’s income is an amendment to the award that does not always change the amount of the award.

There were 3,114 tax credit awards amended with a financial impact. The smallest amendment was £184, the largest amendment was £19,369 and the average reduction was £2,698.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the £290 million that the Prime Minister announced on 11 January 2016 to help new and expectant mothers combat poor mental health is additional funding, over and above existing budgets.

Alistair Burt

The £290 million investment in perinatal mental health services announced by the Prime Minister is funded from within the Department’ overall Spending Review Settlement.This builds on the initial investment announced at the Spring 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2016/17 to 2020/21 of £350 million.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what range of financial incentives will be offered to universal credit claimants under the in-work progression pilot.

Priti Patel

Financial incentives are not offered as part of the In-work Progression Randomised Control Trial.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the duration and value is of his Department’s contract with Monster Worldwide Ltd for the management of Universal Jobmatch; and on what basis payments to Monster Worldwide Ltd are made under that contract.

Priti Patel

The contract with Monster Worldwide Ltd was signed on 25 January 2012 and will end on 18 March 2017. The total contract value is £20,026,152. Payment is made monthly in arrears.