The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government’s Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government set up the first Anti-Muslim Hatred working group in 2012 and we are proud of its achievements. We are committed to tackling anti-Muslim hatred and see the group as an important role in advising Ministers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the criteria are for choosing the credible commentators referred to in paragraph 46 of her Department’s Counter-Extremism Strategy, published on 19 October 2015.
Karen Bradley
We have taken the question to mean the credible commentators referred to in paragraph 65 of the Counter-Extremism Strategy. We are determining the requirements and precise funding allocation for research to be commissioned. We will be working closely with a range of experts, including academics and universities, to improve our understanding of extremism. Opportunities for part-funded research will be allocated competitively.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his proposals for a new junior doctors’ contract, what penalties would be enforceable against employers who fail to keep junior doctors’ hours within safe limits.
Ben Gummer
Safeguards will be significantly improved compared to the existing contract, with employers contractually required to ensure safe working including:
– No junior will be contractually required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week;
– Those who choose to opt-out of the Working Time Regulations (WTR) (legally allowing them to work longer) will be limited to an average of 56 hours a week;
– The maximum number of hours in any week will be 72, less than the 91 currently possible under the WTR;
– There will be limits of no more than four consecutive night shifts and no more than five consecutive long days; and
– Employers will be required to take action where a junior is concerned about hours as part of an agreed system of work scheduling and review. In exceptional approved circumstances doctors would be compensated for hours worked outside their work schedule.
Employment contracts are legally enforceable. There will also be external NHS review processes relating to the educational experience and the impact of working patterns on safe care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legislation to prevent pavement parking in London.
Andrew Jones
Local authorities are best placed to assess the need for pavement parking controls in their area and the effectiveness of any restrictions in place. It would be for the relevant traffic authorities to conduct an assessment of legislation specific to London.
Last year this Department received around a thousand communications from Guide Dogs campaigners in support of two Private Members’ Bills on pavement parking. Departmental officials met with Guide Dogs officials as recently as 13 October this year.
Local authorities already have the powers to introduce enforceable pavement parking restrictions where they consider it appropriate. My Department’s guidance to local authorities makes clear that, during the appraisal of their parking policies, an authority should consider whether pavement parking is problematic in any part of its area. If it is, and is not covered by an existing Traffic Regulation Order, the authority should consider amending the existing Order or making a new one. We have issued councils with authorisation to place specifically designed traffic signs without the need for Whitehall approval.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his letter of 9 September 2015 to the hon. Member for Leeds North West, what additional training and guidance has been given to staff administering disability living allowance.
Justin Tomlinson
Between July and October 2015, training was delivered to all DLA Child decision makers on the award duration in progressive neurological conditions with special reference to Batten Disease. Guidance has also been updated to reflect the training.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 88 of the Counter-Extremism Strategy, published on 19 October 2015, what support was given to the 700 individuals.
Karen Bradley
Channel is a multi-agency process and support can be provided from a range of local agencies. The support programme is tailored to the individual based on an assessment of their vulnerabilities. It can include: ideological and theological mentoring; anger management; education skills; and family or health support. Further information is provided on page 17 of the Channel Duty Guidance, available on www.gov.uk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12724, on the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what the achievements of that group have been.
Mr Marcus Jones
Since 2012, the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group has advised Ministers on issues including training for journalists to tackle the negative portrayal of Muslims in the media; encouraging increased reporting and recording of anti-Muslim incidents and online abuse; supporting social media workshops to build the capacity of community organisations to promote positive narratives; and facilitating a number of regional road shows to engage communities on integration and tackling anti-Muslim hatred. The group also worked on the issue of disaggregation of anti-Muslim hate crime, as is done with anti-semitic hate crime. Last month, my Rt Hon Friend, the Prime Minister announced that police forces in England and Wales would be required to disaggregate religion based hate crime data.
The Working Group meets quarterly and uses this forum to advise Ministers on issues relating to anti-Muslim hatred rather than through official submissions.
The independent members of the Working Group volunteer their own time to take part in the group and can claim basic travel expenses for the meetings. As part of a broader role, one official in the Department provides secretariat support to the group and officials from across Government Departments attend quarterly meetings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on marketing the Right to Buy scheme’s extension to housing associations since 8 May 2015.
Brandon Lewis
The Department recently set up a ‘register of interest’ to promote extended Right to Buy using our existing Right to Buy website and we also signposted the register across other channels, resulting in over 2,000 expressions of interest to date from existing housing association tenants. As the set up costs have been borne from existing Right to Buy website hosting services, it would not be possible to disaggregate the costs of marketing extended Right to Buy alone but it is a very small proportion of the overall costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received from local authorities, charities and disability groups on pavement parking.
Andrew Jones
Local authorities are best placed to assess the need for pavement parking controls in their area and the effectiveness of any restrictions in place. It would be for the relevant traffic authorities to conduct an assessment of legislation specific to London.
Last year this Department received around a thousand communications from Guide Dogs campaigners in support of two Private Members’ Bills on pavement parking. Departmental officials met with Guide Dogs officials as recently as 13 October this year.
Local authorities already have the powers to introduce enforceable pavement parking restrictions where they consider it appropriate. My Department’s guidance to local authorities makes clear that, during the appraisal of their parking policies, an authority should consider whether pavement parking is problematic in any part of its area. If it is, and is not covered by an existing Traffic Regulation Order, the authority should consider amending the existing Order or making a new one. We have issued councils with authorisation to place specifically designed traffic signs without the need for Whitehall approval.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is given to staff in his Department’s Personal Independence Payment Directorate on dealing sensitively with disabled people; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that training.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department is committed to dealing with disabled claimants sensitively, adjusting to individual needs where appropriate. All frontline DWP staff are provided with Disability Awareness training on induction into DWP. This includes Equality and Diversity Essentials, Introduction to Mental Health Conditions and Supporting Vulnerable People, with some courses being tailored to Telephony staff. All staff can also access dedicated internal web pages that provide further guidance and details of additional training and support for working with vulnerable claimants. Following training, there is a consolidation process to ensure that it has been successful and a robust quality checking regime in place.
Additional training and consolidation on dealing with claims from disabled people is provided to staff processing Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims within the benefit specific training modules. Including dedicated learning on Special Rules for Terminally Ill including the dedicated SRTI claims line. All these build on the skills developed in the previous learning, supported by access to medical advice where needed.