Tag: Julie Elliott

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to support women who have been affected by state pension inequalities.

Justin Tomlinson

Our pension policies are providing greater choice and dignity for people in retirement, whilst also ensuring the system is sustainable for the future.

The new State Pension is being introduced for those who reach State Pension age from April 2016. Under our state pension reforms over three million women will gain an average of £11 per week more State Pension by 2030.Around 75 per cent of women (and 70 per cent of men) who reach State Pension age under the new system in the first fifteen years will have a higher value State Pension when compared to the value of the State Pension they would have received under the old system.

National Insurance credits for those who take time out of work for caring responsibilities will gain the same state pension entitlement as National Insurance contributions through earnings.

The average woman reaching State Pension age in the new State Pension is also estimated to receive 10% more State Pension over her lifetime than the average man. Women reaching State Pension in the next 40 years will on average receive more State Pension over their lifetime than women ever have before. Women affected by equalisation of State Pension age will be entitled to the same working age in-work, out-of-work and disability benefits as men.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of homelessness in the North East of England.

Mr Marcus Jones

One person without a home is one too many. That is why the Government is clear that prevention must be at the heart of everything we do to tackle homelessness. We have protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, which will amount to £315 million by 2020, to help them provide quality advice and assistance to everyone who approaches them for help.

We have also increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million and why we have just announced the new £40 million Homelessness Prevention Programme to provide an innovative approach to reducing homelessness, with prevention at its heart.

The Homelessness Prevention Programme includes;

• £20 million to establish a network of ambitious Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer areas that will give local authorities the resources to ramp up prevention and take new approaches to reduce homelessness;
• a £10 million rough sleeping grant fund for targeted prevention or early intervention for those at imminent risk of sleeping rough; and
• a new £10 million Social Impact Bond to support rough sleepers with the most complex needs which builds on the success of the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond (SIB), run by the Greater London Authority. This SIB turned round the lives of around 830 of London’s most entrenched rough sleepers over half of which have achieved accommodation, employment or reconnection outcomes.

As well as this, we announced in the Budget an additional £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.

In the North East, Newcastle City Council has been announced as an early adopter of our Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer programme. The Council has been awarded £1 million to build on the good work they are doing in driving reform and innovation in homelessness prevention.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Government has not yet implemented its policy to increase the Pension Protection Fund compensation cap for service over 20 years; and when he plans to implement that policy.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer the hon.Member to the answer I gave on 1 February 2016 to 24981

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of disabled people participating in sport.

Tracey Crouch

Government is committed to increasing opportunities for disabled people to get involved in sport and physical activity. Our sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, places a much greater emphasis than before on encouraging under-represented groups, including disabled people, to take part in sport and physical activity.

Sport England’s new strategy,Towards an Active Nation, which was published in May, sets out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy. It will continue to support people who already play sport but it also has a specific focus on those groups who are less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, including disabled people.

Between 2011 and 2017, Sport England is investing over £170 million to get more disabled people playing sport.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to prevent scam and nuisance calls exploiting unknowing consumers.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government takes all types of fraud, including those operating through telephones, extremely seriously.

The Government is taking forward a range of measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law.

Specific actions include; lowering the threshold under the the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation 2003 (PECR) to make it easier for the ICO to take action against organisations that break the law, resulting in £3,420,000 worth of fines issued; and we recently made an amendment to PECR, requiring direct marketing companies registered in the UK, to display Calling Line Identification.

The Department is also working closely with Home Office who recently launched a new joint fraud taskforce to tackle the issue of scams. Further information about the taskforce is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-secretary-launches-new-joint-fraud-taskforce

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he plans to take to consult representatives of the higher education sector as part of his Department’s preparations for the negotiations on the UK exiting the EU.

Mr Robin Walker

The Department for Exiting the EU has engaged with a number of higher education institutions and groups including Universities UK. Over the next few months the department will continue to engage with key stakeholders in business and civil society, including universities, through a series of roundtables, bi-laterals and visits across the UK.

We have been clear that we want to create an environment in which the UK as a whole can continue to be a world leader in research, science and the tertiary education sector more broadly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require private landlords to fit safety devices on blinds to ensure children’s safety.

Brandon Lewis

Government has already taken steps to protect children, having worked with various sector bodies and lobby groups to revise the European standard EN 13120 (performance and safety requirements for internal blinds). This means all blinds placed on the market, since February 2014, have to display warning labels on the product, as well as on the packaging, and include safety devices to ensure blind cords are kept out of the reach of young children. It also imposes a maximum cord and chain length where there is a likely hood of young children (0-42 months) being present, which includes residential properties and public places like hotels, hospitals, schools, shops, places of worship and nurseries.

Local authorities also have powers, under the Housing Act 2004, to inspect properties and where hazards are identified require the landlord to rectify them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answers of 16 February 2016 to Question 26010 and 11 April 2016 to Question 32109, when he now plans to establish a reading room for hon. Members to access Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership documents.

Anna Soubry

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent steps she has taken to increase the UK’s energy self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported fuel sources; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The UK boasts a diverse range of energy sources including oil and gas, nuclear, a number of different renewable technologies and coal. These are home grown sources and it is our policy to add new nuclear and shale gas to the existing mix.

The recently established Oil & Gas Authority is working to maximize the economic recovery of UK conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources. In addition, the UK has six refineries which supply fuel into the domestic market and DECC is working closely with the industry to remove market distortions and ensure relevant regulations are fit for purpose, so they can continue to be competitive.

Furthermore, we are seeking to increase our domestic electricity generating capacity by working with three developers taking forward proposals to build six new nuclear power plants in the UK, including the recent commitment by EDF and CGN to take forward the Hinkley Point C Project. Renewables are also increasing our domestic generating capacity having provided nearly one fifth of the UK’s electricity needs in 2014 and we are on track to reach our target of 30% by 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answers of 16 February 2016 to Question 26010 and 11 April 2016 to Question 32109, when he plans to establish a reading room for hon. Members to access Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership documents.

Anna Soubry

The next round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will take place in July. The UK reading room will be open in time to access documents related to this round.