Tag: Mark Hendrick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-12.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what timescales the Tax Credit Office in Preston has in place to respond to representations made by hon. Members by (a) telephone, (b) email and (c) letter; and how this Office performed against these timescales in the last reporting year.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Tax Credit Office aim to prioritise and respond to representations from hon. Members as soon as possible, irrespective of the route by which they are received. HMRC do not, however, routinely record and collate performance against specific timescales for such representations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people using the Chorlton Benefit Delivery Centre applied for funeral payments in each month in 2015; how many of those applications were granted; and what the average amount awarded was in each of those months.

Justin Tomlinson

The Table below gives figures for the number of application and awards for Funeral Expense Payments for the Chorlton Benefit Delivery Centre by month for 2015. (Some individuals may have made more than one application in a month.)

Month	Applications Received	Awards	Average Award
Jan	480	290	£1,375
Feb	460	270	£1,229
Mar	360	270	£1,323
Apr	390	270	£1,286
May	440	300	£1,380
Jun	440	310	£1,377
Jul	360	240	£1,382
Aug	310	180	£1,368
Sep	350	220	£1,344
Oct	340	200	£1,369
Nov	350	230	£1,361
Dec	190	130	£1,379

Source: DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Figures for Applications Received and Awards made are rounded to the nearest 10.

Average Award amounts are given to the nearest £1. The average award is calculated by dividing gross expenditure by the number of awards (including awards made on review, reconsideration or appeal).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the outcome of the EU referendum does not have an adverse effect on funding for collaboration by and recruitment of astrophysicists.

Joseph Johnson

The UK will maintain its status as a global centre for research and innovation. In last year’s Spending Review the Government committed to protecting science resource funding in real terms from its 2015-16 level of £4.7 billion a year for the rest of the parliament, as well as committing to invest in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale – £6.9 billion over the period 2015-2021.

While the UK remains a member of the EU, funding and collaboration arrangements continue unchanged. Researchers can continue to bid for competitive EU research funding such as Horizon 2020 while we remain a member of the EU. The Government will work with the Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded. The Treasury will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. This commitment will provide reassurance and stability to the research community, and recruitment should continue as normal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the implementation of the Healthy Child Programme; and what recent meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had to discuss that Programme.

Nicola Blackwood

The responsibility for leadership of the Healthy Child Programme is with Public Health England (PHE).

The Healthy Child Programme is the Government’s framework that underpins PHE’s priority to give every child the best start in life. The Best Start in Life Board meets bimonthly, jointly chaired by PHE and a local authority Chief Executive. The Board has cross-government representation from the Department of Health, Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions, and Department for Communities and Local Government.

The Department has commissioned PHE to undertake a review of the delivery of the universal elements of 0-5 services, mandated to local authorities, and will report later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department allocated to pay staff of HM Revenue and Customs to deal with enquiries from hon. Members relating to constituents’ concerns about tax credits in (a) 2015-16 and (b) each of the three previous years.

Damian Hinds

I refer the member to the answer I provided on 30 October 2015 to question 13346:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=13346

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which (a) magistrates and (b) crown courts in the North West and London ask for wage slips, P60s, certified accounts or letters confirming benefit entitlement when setting fines.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Data on the number of instances when individual magistrates’ or the Crown Court make such directions is not collated by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she has visited (a) women’s refugee shelters, (b) maternity units, (c) ante-natal groups and (d) women’s groups since 15 July 2014.

Caroline Dinenage

Since taking office as the Minister for Women and Equalities in May 2015, I have visited a variety of organisations, including:

• 30% Club
• Everywoman
• Minerva Women’s Centre
• Rights of Women
• The Equality and Diversity Forum
• WeAreTheCity
• Women’s Business Council
• Women’s Private Equity Network

I have also hosted a number of meetings within my department with women’s organisations. These will be published online at www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-quarterly-returns-2015 as part of the quarterly returns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18492, what assessment he has made of the level of compliance in magistrates’ and crown courts with the procedures set out in that Answer for seeking confirmation of defendants’ income.

Mr Shailesh Vara

It is a judicial decision to seek evidence of a defendant’s income and means to pay. Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not record data on the number of instances where this information is required or provided.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to update planning guidance on using money from Section 106 agreements to fund flood prevention projects.

Brandon Lewis

The Government is investing in flood protection at record levels, with an unprecedented 6-year commitment of £2.3 billion in more than 1,500 projects to better protect an additional 300,000 homes by 2021.

National planning policy is designed to protect people and property from flooding. Local planning authorities are expected to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding by directing development away from areas at highest risk. In addition government guidance is clear that policies for seeking section 106 planning obligations should be set out in Local Plans or neighbourhood plans to enable fair and open testing of the policies at examination.

Mitigation measures to make development acceptable in flood risk areas can be made a requirement of any planning consent. All local planning authorities are expected to follow the strict tests set out in national planning policy and guidance. Where these tests are not met, national policy is very clear that new development should not be allowed.

The Government’s preferred approach for enabling developer contributions to infrastructure is the Community Infrastructure Levy, which is faster and more transparent than individually negotiated section 106 agreements. The Levy can fund infrastructure requirements where they are most needed across an area. Legislation and Government guidance specifies that flood defences form part of the infrastructure that can be funded in this way. More than 100 authorities currently charge the Levy and well over 100 more have made substantive progress towards doing so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people using the Chorlton Benefit Delivery Centre required a mandatory reconsideration of funeral payments in each month in 2015; and how many of the decisions on those reconsiderations were in the claimant’s favour.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not available.