The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people claiming, or applying for, Employment and Support Allowance, who are found fit for work, are then refused Jobseeker’s Allowance because they are judged by Jobcentre Plus as being not fit for work.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of migrants residing in the UK who claim benefits on behalf of children living abroad by country of residence of the child.
Damian Hinds
I refer the hon Member to the answer that I gave to the hon member for East Ham (Stephen Timms) on 16 June 2015:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a policy of requiring cash retentions from the construction industry to be placed in a trust in the event of insolvency.
Nick Boles
The Government acknowledges that some people are unhappy with the system of retentions as it stands, but it is an embedded feature of the construction industry. Therefore, our general approach is to work with the industry through the Construction Leadership Council and its supply chain payment charter; endorsing its commitment to zero retentions by 2025.
That will involve quite far-reaching changes to the way the sector works. With regard to shorter-term measure to require retentions to be held in trust, we must act on the basis of evidence. That is why the Government is commissioning an analysis of the cost and benefit of retention payments to inform future action.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many reports he has received in each of the last two financial years of HM Revenue and Customs’ electronic application portal failing to record and register data and supporting documentation submitted by applicants for child and working tax credits.
Damian Hinds
HM Revenue and Customs do not have an electronic application portal for applicants for child and working tax credits. New claims for tax credits can be submitted by post or over the telephone.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many children have been registered as homeless in each borough in the Liverpool City Region in each of the last five financial years.
Mr Marcus Jones
The numbers of households with children accepted as homeless in each of the Boroughs of the Liverpool City region in the financial years 2004/05 to 2014/15 are shown in the attached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many children in each borough in the Liverpool City Region have been transferred to temporary accommodation in each of the last five financial years.
Mr Marcus Jones
Figures for the numbers of children transferred to temporary accommodation are not collected centrally. The numbers of children in temporary accommodation on the last day of the financial years 2004/05 to 2014/15 in each of the Boroughs of the Liverpool City region are shown in the attached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to encourage Premier League football clubs to pay all staff, including those employed via external contractors, at least the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Tracey Crouch
I welcome the fact that Chelsea Football Club have signed up to be an accredited living wage employee, not just paying their direct staff but contractors too. That is a big step forward, and one that I expect all Premier clubs to follow. I will press home that message to the Premier League’s Executive Chairman as part of the regular dialogue we have on a range of football matters.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the annual cost is of providing free school meals on schools; and what proportion of this sum is spent on universal infant free school meals.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The Department for Education does not hold information on the annual cost of providing benefits-based free school meals (FSM). It allocates the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to local authorities on a per pupil basis. Local authorities distribute DSG to schools on the basis of a local formula, in which FSM can be used as a proxy for deprivation. It is then for schools to decide how to use their budget, including how much to allocate to pay for benefits-based free school meals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households will not be reimbursed for the funds they paid for a Green Deal Assessment; and what (a) total and (b) average sum is paid by such households.
Andrea Leadsom
598,612 Green Deal Assessments had been lodged by the end of August 2015.
This has played a part in the installation of around 1.6 million energy efficiency measures in around 1.3 million properties.
The Department’s Green Deal Customer Journey Survey, published in March 2015, showed that 80% of householders did not pay to have a Green Deal Assessment, and that of those people who did pay in full or in part for their assessment, half paid £150 or less.1,2 Consumers have obtained Green Deal assessments for a number of reasons, these include: saving money on their energy bills; the prospect of a warmer home; the offer of free assessments; having improvements done for free or at a reduced price; and concerns over rising energy bills. Assessments have allowed householders to access a number of different Government schemes or fund work themselves. The Government does not offer reimbursements for assessments which are payments to companies or private individuals.
[1] Page 10 of report at
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for autism diagnosis.
Alistair Burt
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.
NHS England has also been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Minimum Data Set. This will include provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded. This mandatory data set will, for the first time, provide data about diagnosis rates. The data will be published and available for everyone to use to support and develop services. NHS England has a commitment, over the next five years, to improve waiting times and this data will be invaluable for this. Information on average waiting times for autistic diagnosis in each clinical commissioning group area is not collected centrally.
The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and NHS organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This guidance sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies including general practitioners.
We are due to consult on how we set the mandate to NHS England prior to publication of the mandate itself. The mandate will be published following the Government’s Spending Review which is due to complete on 25 November.