Tag: Natalie McGarry

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of Government expenditure on the carer addition element of pension credit in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency in the 2015-16 financial year.

Justin Tomlinson

Forecasts of expenditure as a result of the carer addition element of Pension Credit for 2015/16 are not available. However, estimates of the outturn expenditure (as a result of the carer addition element of Pension Credit) in 2014/15 are shown in the table below.

Tables show expenditure for Great Britain, not the UK, as expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive.

Pension Credit expenditure as a result of the carer addition, 2014/15	£, million	…as a percentage of total pension credit expenditure in that area
Great Britain	£364.7	5.5%
Scotland	£39.6	6.7%
Glasgow (City)	£6.4	5.9%
Glasgow East (constituency)	£1.8	9.4%

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of welfare reform on health inequalities in (a) Glasgow, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK.

Nicola Blackwood

The policy responsibility for welfare reform sits with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Department of Health (DH) has not made a separate assessment of the effect of welfare reform on health inequalities in England or Scotland. It is for the Scottish Government to assess the impact of welfare reform in Scotland.

Although no assessment has been made in England, DWP has engaged across government on its proposals for welfare reform. DH has been involved in discussions on the introduction of Universal Credit and its impact on health inequalities for programmes such as Healthy Start and Help with Health Costs.

Healthy Start is a United Kingdom-wide statutory benefit, funded by DH, which aims to provide additional support to improve the diets of low income pregnant women and families with children under the age of four years. Currently, regulations are being put in place which will enable the scheme to function under Universal Credit. An equality analysis, which will include a consideration of the impact on health inequalities, will be published shortly.

Help with Health Costs is a set of arrangements which provide help with the cost of a range of National Health Services for example free NHS prescriptions or NHS dental treatment. On 1 November 2015, DH put in place criteria to determine entitlement to Help with Health Costs to those in receipt of Universal Credit. An equality analysis was produced to inform these changes, outlining the potential impact, including on health inequalities, on groups affected by the change from the previous benefits and tax credits exemption arrangements to the new criteria for Universal Credit exemption. A copy of the equality analysis is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times nuclear convoys travelled through (a) Glasgow East constituency, (b) the City of Glasgow and (c) Scotland from May 2015 to September 2016.

Mike Penning

The Ministry of Defence keeps defence nuclear material convoy movements to the minimum necessary to maintain the operational effectiveness of the UK’s nuclear deterrent. I am withholding information on the frequency and routes used by the convoys for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he he has made of the proportion of Government expenditure on pension credit which falls within the carer addition element of that credit in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency in the 2015-16 financial year.

Justin Tomlinson

Forecasts of expenditure as a result of the carer addition element of Pension Credit for 2015/16 are not available. However, estimates of the outturn expenditure (as a result of the carer addition element of Pension Credit) in 2014/15 are shown in the table below.

Tables show expenditure for Great Britain, not the UK, as expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive.

Pension Credit expenditure as a result of the carer addition, 2014/15	£, million	…as a percentage of total pension credit expenditure in that area
Great Britain	£364.7	5.5%
Scotland	£39.6	6.7%
Glasgow (City)	£6.4	5.9%
Glasgow East (constituency)	£1.8	9.4%

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to investigate reports that asylum seekers have been mistreated and housed in substandard accommodation in Glasgow.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office contract compliance teams regularly check supplier performance, including investigating complaints and incident reporting.

We have worked closely with our COMPASS Providers, including Serco, to improve property standards and over the lifetime of the contract, quality standards have increased.

Where a contractor is found to be falling short of these standards, we work with them to ensure issues are quickly addressed. When they are not we can and do impose sanctions.

Where there are allegations of asylum seekers being mistreated or their accommodation being substandard, I would encourage anyone to notify the Home Office so we can investigate and resolve any issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-12.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what work his Department has done to assess the potential effect of the soft drinks industry levy on levels of obesity in children and teenagers.

Jane Ellison

The Chief Medical Officer has said that reformulation and resizing are the key wins to tackle obesity.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has been specifically designed to encourage companies to reduce the amount of added sugar in their products and move consumers towards healthier choices, by promoting low-sugar brands and introducing smaller portion sizes for high-sugary drinks.

The government will monitor industry progress in reformulation over the coming years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many men in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency who are aged (i) 60, (ii) 61, (iii) 62, (iv) 63, (v) 64, (vi) 65, (vii) 66, and (viii) 67 are in receipt of carers’ allowance in the 2015-16 financial year.

Justin Tomlinson

The information as requested for 2015/16 is not available.

However information on the number of people in receipt of both the State Pension and Carer’s Allowance is published by the Department on a quarterly basis. The latest data available is February 2015 which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool

Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to reintroduce the post-study work visa in Scotland.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Her Majesty’s Government announced the closure of the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) category in March 2011 and implemented its closure in April 2012, as part of a package of reforms to immigration requirements for overseas students.

We closed the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) category because too many individuals in the route were unemployed or in low-skilled work. Furthermore, too many were using the student route merely as a means to work in the UK, without any intention of study, which does not help hard-working people or our educational institutions. We have replaced it with a more selective system.

We continue to have an excellent post-study offer for graduates that helps us retain the brightest and best overseas students to undertake skilled work in the UK after their studies. In 2015, more than 6,000 international students switched from Tier 4 to Tier 2 from within the UK. This is up from around 5,500 grants in 2014, and around 4,000 grants in 2013. Unlike former post-study work schemes, these students will all be moving into skilled employment with employers who have appropriate sponsorship duties placed upon them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-12.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which reports commissioned by his Department from external bodies between 1 January 2015 and 31 August 2016 have not yet been published; when each report was commissioned for research; what the nature of the research commissioned was; from which external body or individual person the research was commissioned; what the value was of each such piece of research commissioned; on what date each report was received by his Department; for what reasons the research has not yet been published; and when he plans to publish each report.

Simon Kirby

The Department does not hold this information centrally. The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans she has to improve the representation of women among (a) hon. Members and (b) local councillors.

Caroline Dinenage

This is the most gender diverseParliamentin British history – we now have more female MPs than ever before and one third of those attending cabinet are women. However, we know there is more that can be done to increase women’s political representation. Getting more women into public life is vital to effectively represent and govern our country.

The Equality Act 2010 enables political parties to use positive action, should they wish, to increase participation by under-represented groups.

We also know that women are under-represented on local councils, making up only 31.7% of members. This is why schemes such as the ‘Be a Councillor Campaign’ run by the Local Government Association to encourage new candidates from all walks of life to come forward and represent their local community, are so important.