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, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the new national living wage on carers who will lose their eligibility for the carer’s allowance for working 16 hours per week.

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 2016-04-25.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many prosecutions were brought under Section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each year since the coming into force of that Act.

Matthew Hancock

No prosecutions have been brought under section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

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

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

Mr Mark Francois

My Department spent the following amounts on non-payroll staff in 2015-16, as will be reported in our Annual Report and Accounts:

Cost of contingent labour (agency staff and contractors) – £2,858,046

Cost of consultants/consultancy – £511,460

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many civil servants in her Department are paid through limited companies.

George Eustice

Core Defra publishes Workforce Management Information on a monthly basis. This sets out the number of staff who are a) on payroll and b) off payroll and the published data covers financial years 2010-11 to 2015-16. It can be found at the following link: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/workforce-management-information-defra.

No civil servants within Core Defra are paid through limited companies.

The figure for spend on non-payroll staff in 2015-16 will be published in the 2015-16 Annual Report and Accounts.

“

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

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

Mrs Theresa Villiers

My Department has not incurred any expenditure on non-payroll staff during this period.

All staff employed by the Northern Ireland Office during this period were paid through the Department’s payroll.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the annual running cost of the gov.uk website was in each year since 2012.

Matthew Hancock

The annual running cost of the GOV.UK website between financial year 2012/13 and 2014/15 is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/central-government-websites.

“

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of tax credit cases awaiting consideration by Concentrix.

Jane Ellison

As at 12 October 2016, 181,054 cases have been passed to HM Revenue and Customs by Concentrix of which 149,211 have been resolved. Of the cases remaining with Concentrix, there are currently 4,385 outstanding cases for consideration. These are the cases that are yet to be worked and/or receive a decision around entitlement.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of government IT spending was spent with small and medium sized (SME) enterprises in 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of that spending that will be with SMEs in 2015-16.

Matthew Hancock

We are finalising the data for government spend with small business during 2014-15 and will publish this information before the end of the year.

Data for 2015-16 will be published in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mark Lancaster

Where external recruitment to Senior Civil Service (SCS) posts is required, recruitment agencies and head-hunters may be engaged to assist with campaigns. The costs of agency services include search, advertisement, response handling, assessment and support to selection panels.

Details of spend on SCS recruitment with external agencies and head-hunters, by calendar year, are as follows:

Calendar Year	Spend
2010	£121,000
2011	£144,000
2012	£284,000
2013	£373,000
2014	£583,000
2015 (to 31 March)	£33,000

Note: information held by the Ministry of Defence extends to 31 March 2015 only; from 1 April 2015 recruitment for SCS posts has been managed centrally by Civil Service Resourcing.

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

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

Mr Robert Goodwill

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.

“