Tag: Heidi Alexander

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what target his Department sets for the amount of time for people to receive an accurate assessment for personal independence payments under (a) normal rules claiming and (b) special rules claiming.

Mike Penning

There are no legal requirements to complete action on a claim to PIP within a specified time, but we continuously monitor how long the claimant journey is taking against original estimates and implement measures to speed up the process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are being taken to better identify those personal independence payment claimants who could be assessed solely on the basis of evidence without the need for face-to-face assessments.

Mike Penning

We are working with our providers to ensure that all PIP claims received are reviewed and where sufficient evidence is available at that initial review we may make a decision on the claim without the need for a face-to-face consultation. Where a face-to-face consultation is needed or further evidence must be gathered, the assessment provider will undertake that activity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will provide financial assistance to people facing delays to personal independence payments applications.

Mike Penning

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave the hon. Member for Livingstone, Graeme Morrice, on 24 June, Official Report, col 178W.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation Trust and (b) that Trust’s auditors on possible fraud within the Trust.

Mr Edward Timpson

The Trust reported to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) that a theft had occurred. The Trust undertook a full independent review, and the EFA monitored their response. The Department for Education’s most recent discussion with the Trust has been to confirm progress with the recovery of funds and the police investigation.

The Department has not had recent discussions with the Trust’s auditors. The EFA reviewed the most recent audited accounts in early 2014.

The Department does not hold a copy of the service level agreement between the Federation Trust and its schools.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what checks the Education Funding Agency makes on the quality of auditors and others taking professional fees for services provided to academies.

Mr Edward Timpson

As companies and charitable trusts, academy trusts are required to appoint independent auditors to report on their financial statements. It is for the academy trust to manage the contract for their services.

Auditors are qualified accountants and regulated by their professional institutes. The institutes undertake a programme of quality assurance visits to ensure firms are operating in accordance with expected professional standards. The outcomes of these reviews are publically available.

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) supplements the various institute regulatory regimes with:

· reviews of academy trusts’ audited financial statements, the associated audit reports on these and auditor management letters. The EFA follows up significant issues with individual trusts and their auditors;

· regular attendance at sector training events and delivery of online presentations/webinars for auditors on the key issues arising from reviews, to help ensure they are aware of the requirements expected of them and key risk areas; and

· responding to auditor queries received through the academy questions mailbox.

Other professional services provided to academy trusts will also be regulated by their relevant institute body, e.g. the Law Society.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much land his Department has released for the purpose of building new homes since May 2010.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Department is committed to disposing of surplus property assets expeditiously. Since the start of the Spending Review (SR10) the size of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) estate has reduced by over 600 properties to nearly 1,500 properties. The MoJ has already released land suitable for 1,253 housing units and in 2014/15 we are expected to release land suitable for a further 300 units. Therefore we will comfortably exceed our SR10 target of releasing land suitable for 1,262 housing units.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much land his Department has released for the purpose of building new homes since May 2010.

Stephen Crabb

None. Our London office stands on the only land owned by the Wales Office.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his most recent estimate is of the average cost of housing an individual in (a) a probation hostel and (b) approved premises for 12 months.

Jeremy Wright

On release from custody, offenders who meet the referral criteria may be accommodated in an Approved Premises (AP). (APs were formerly known as Probation & Bail Hostels.)There are 100 APs in England & Wales, providing supervised accommodation for offenders under probation supervision. They also house a small number of defendants on bail.

Most APs are managed by probation trusts and funded out of the total grant paid to the trust by the National Offender Management Service. The AP element is not separately identified. Because of this funding arrangement, it is not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-05-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2014, Official Report, column 461W, on NHS: insolvency, when he plans to place in the Library the minutes of the meeting on 2 April 2014.

Jane Ellison

We plan to place a final copy of the minutes of the meeting on 2 April in the Library in due course, once the terms of reference for the Committee have been finalised.