The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has allocated to the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme for the 2014-15 financial year.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The Department has allocated a budget of £40 million to fund the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme for the 2014-15 financial year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the UK Border Agency’s handling of the case of Aidah Asaba.
James Brokenshire
The general policy of the Home Office is not to disclose personal information
about another person. This is because we have obligations under the Data
Protection Act and in law generally to protect this information.
The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection
and we consider every claim for asylum on its individual merits.
We believe that those with no right to be in the UK should return to their home
country and we will help those who wish to leave voluntarily. However, when
they refuse to do so we will take steps to enforce their removal at the
earliest opportunity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings have taken place since the beginning of 2014 between departmental officials and the NSPCC; who attended such meetings; what the purpose was of such meetings; and if she will make a statement.
Norman Baker
Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of
international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public
and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are
passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently
published on the Cabinet Office website which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-ministers-gifts-and-hospi
tality-oct-2012-to-dec-2012
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 1WS, on higher education (student support), what estimate he has made of how many prospective students will no longer be eligible for the disabled students’ allowance once the changes set out in the statement are introduced; and what steps he plans to take to support those prospective students.
Mr David Willetts
Disabled students will continue to receive support through a combination of disabled students’ allowances (DSAs) and reasonable adjustments made by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Each student’s needs are unique. Some will receive more support through reasonable adjustments than previously experienced. Written guidance will be available.
It is not possible to make an accurate estimate of how many prospective students will no longer be eligible for DSAs as many students receive more than one type of support.
Current DSA recipients and disabled students applying for DSAs in 2014/15 will not be affected by these changes in 2015/16.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote human rights in North Korea.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UK is deeply concerned by reports of widespread and systematic state sanctioned human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as I made clear in my Written Ministerial Statement following the publication of the UN Commission of Inquiry report into these violations. I have called publicly on the DPRK to take immediate steps to close political prison camps, to act on the Commission’s recommendations and to give full and unimpeded access to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other relevant parts of the UN. I also made clear the UK’s commitment to ensuring the Commission’s findings were a beginning and not an end.
Reflecting this commitment, the UK played an active role in ensuring a strong DPRK resolution at the March UN Human Rights Council. I lobbied personally on this issue during my visit to Geneva at the beginning of the Council. Since the resolution was passed we have continued to engage, supporting an informal briefing of the UN Security Council and pressing the DPRK during its recent Universal Periodic Review to respond to the Commission of Inquiry’s findings. In May, I met US Special Envoy on DPRK Human Rights, Robert King, to discuss next steps, and during a visit to Geneva next week I will have further discussions with Ambassador King and others.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for personal independence payments were made by individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness in each of the three months to June 2014.
Mike Penning
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave him on 18 June, Official Report, column 629W. Information on clearance times is not currently available. Statistics on clearance times are intended for future publication.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which local authorities have withdrawn from the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme to date.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The Department is not aware of any local authorities withdrawing from the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme to date.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) computers, (b) job-search stations and (c) telephones were available for jobseekers to use in Jobcentre Plus offices in the United Kingdom in each financial year since 2008-09; and whether these will be available in every Jobcentre Plus in 2015-16.
Esther McVey
We are changing the way we provide our service, moving from a telephone and Jobpoint based service to one which is making use of the latest technologies.From now until the end of October, we will be installing WIFI and new Web Access Devices across the Jobcentre network. This will enable claimants to access Universal Jobmatch and other job sites, as well as allowing them to apply directly for vacancies that they find.
Equipment Available for Jobseekers to use in Jobcentres in Great Britain* from 2008 to 2016
|
a) Computers |
b) Jobsearch stations (Jobpoints) |
c) telephones (Customer Access Phones) |
|
|
2008-09 |
0 |
6860 |
3790 |
|
2009-10 |
0 |
6967 |
3790 |
|
2010-11 |
0 |
6933 |
3790 |
|
2011-12 |
0 |
6647 |
3790 |
|
2012-13 |
2176 |
6079 |
3730 |
|
2013-14 |
2411 |
6079 |
2384 |
|
2014-15 |
8307 |
0 |
0** |
|
2015-16*** |
8307 |
0 |
0** |
All figures are as of financial year end
*Figures for Northern Ireland not available.
**Assisted service available to vulnerable claimants who are unable to access DWP services without our help. The Assisted Service is face-to-face and includes use of a telephone for claimants who need support to resolve their enquiry. Support is tailored to the individual’s needs.
***Estimated figures
The figures for 2013-14 were provided by Operations to the Digital Jobcentre Project as part of an audit undertaken at the start of the Project and have not been properly checked and verified.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many decisions on applications for personal independence payments from individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness were made in each of the three months to June 2014.
Mike Penning
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave him on 18 June, Official Report, column 629W. Information on clearance times is not currently available. Statistics on clearance times are intended for future publication.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in which local authorities 30 per cent or more pupils entitled to free school meals are not claiming them; and what steps he is taking to improve the take-up of free school meals.
Mr David Laws
The Department for Education routinely collects information on pupils who are both eligible for and claiming free school meals. This information is published in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2013′ Statistical First Release[1]. Identifying pupils who are eligible for but not claiming free school meals is more difficult.
The Department has published a research paper – ‘Pupils not claiming free school meals: 2013′[2] – which presents estimates of the numbers and proportions of pupils who are entitled to receive free school meals but are not claiming. The paper compares registration rates for children aged between four and 15 and highlights regions and local authorities where under-registration rates are high. A table showing under registration rates by local authority can be found in the annex.
The Department has developed a free school meals Eligibility Checking System (ECS). The ECS enables local authorities to check very quickly and determine whether a parent can claim free school meals by linking benefits information from DWP, HMRC and the Home Office. It represents a significant achievement in reducing bureaucracy and cost for local authorities and encouraging more parents to sign up their children for a free school lunch. The ECS has been extended to allow parents to check their own eligibility, and to apply online, for free school meals. The new system reduces the time, stigma and bureaucracy previously associated with applications for free school meals.
Resources are also available from the Children’s Food Trust to help schools increase take-up of free school meals.[3]
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013.
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming-free-school-meals-2013.
[3]http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/schools/resources/free-school-meals-matter-toolkit
“