Tag: Louise Haigh

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the eligibility threshold for carer’s allowance to enable carers working 16 hours per week on the new National Living Wage to keep their entitlement to that allowance.

Justin Tomlinson

The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. It is not, and was never intended to be, a carer’s wage or a payment for the services of caring, nor is it intended to replace lost or forgone earnings in their entirety.

The earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance is a net figure which is the figure left once income tax, National Insurance contributions and half of any contributions to an occupational or personal pension are deducted from earnings. There are also a number of other deductions which can be made that mean that people can earn significantly more than £110 per week and still be eligible for Carer’s Allowance.

The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit is not linked to the number of hours worked. Instead, it is set at a level that aims to encourage those who give up full time work in order to undertake caring responsibilities to maintain a link with the labour market through part time work.

Whilst the Government does not link the earnings limit to any other particular factor (including the National Living Wage), we do keep it under regular review and increase it when it is warranted and affordable, and this will continue to be our approach. Most recently in April 2015 the earnings limit was increased by 8% to £110, far outstripping the general increase in earnings.

For those carers working around 16 hours a week on a low income and receiving Working Tax Credit, Carer’s Allowance is taken fully into account as income. That means that any loss in Carer’s Allowance is likely to be offset by an increase in Working Tax Credit, and this is one of the changes of circumstances that results in an immediate change to Tax Credits. Going forward the earnings taper in Universal Credit will help ensure that people are always better off in work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the (a) premium income, (b) claims paid and (c) monies at risk of UK Export Finance were relating to the defence sector in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Nick Boles

The Information requested is in the table below:

Year	Net Premium Income[1]	Gross Amounts At Risk[2]	Claims Paid
2010/11	£ 2,597,418	£ 1,156,123,326	£ 0
2011/12	£ 11,832	£ 1,743,249,113	£ 0
2012/13	£ 42,664,931	£ 3,364,357,183	£ 0
2013/14	£ 27,162	£ 3,063,150,515	£ 0
2014/15	£ 3,472,656	£ 2,899,169,497	£ 0

It should be noted that premium income relates to business supported in that financial year, whereas amounts at risk will relate to all business in respect of which contingent liability still remains.

[1] Net of Premium due where reinsurance (if any) has been obtained.

[2] Inclusive of amounts reinsured (if any)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

Mr Mark Francois

Details of payroll and non-payroll staffing in my Department are published on Gov.uk and in the Annual Report and Accounts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is unable to confirm the amount spent on non-payroll staff in 2015-16 until the 2015-16 Accounts have been signed off and the National Audit Office has completed its audit. This information should be available after 6 July 2016 at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications .

In 2014-15 the FCO spent £5.9m on non payroll staff – a 24% reduction from the previous year.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.

David Mundell

The Scotland Office spend on non-payroll staff in 2015-16 was £121,369.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the capping of payments to NHS agency staff on levels of patient safety.

Alistair Burt

Patient safety continues to be paramount and the rules include a ‘break glass’ provision for trusts should there be a need to pay in excess of the agency price caps for patient safety reasons. Trust boards are responsible for monitoring the impact of price caps and ensuring patient safety. More broadly, the Care Quality Commission Chief Inspector of Hospitals has been clear that he wants to see fewer agency staff because of the patient safety implications – continuity of care being so important to good services for patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-09-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which companies tendered for the error and fraud tax credit contract with HM Revenue and Customs.

Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs, under appropriate procurement transparency mandates, publishes details of all suppliers who are awarded contracts with the Department. Whilst information on all bidding companies (and their bids) is retained, the list of such companies is commercially sensitive and cannot, in this instance, be disclosed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to revise the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) memorandum of understanding to permit the Government to request changes to OBR publications over and above factual comments on the presentation of analysis and forecasts; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin

There are currently no plans to revise the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to permit the Government to request changes over and above factual comments on the presentation of analysis and forecasts. Were there to be any changes to the MoU these must be approved by all its signatories – HM Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs and the OBR.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what average time his Department took to respond to freedom of information requests in each year since 2005.

Matthew Hancock

The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness. These reports can be accessed at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average time his Department took to respond to freedom of information requests in each year since 2005.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness. These can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

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