Tag: Neil Coyle

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance appeals his Department conceded prior to their being heard at first-tier tribunals in the last 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson

The requested information in relation to Personal Independence Payment could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

For ESA the figures for the latest 12 months available are as follows:

Month	Total
April 2015	260
May	190
June	240
July	360
August	230
September	230
October	240
November	280
December	250
January 2016	250
February	210
March	270
Total	3010

These figures represent the number of appeals revised and lapsed before the appeal is heard. A decision will be revised at this stage of the decision making process mainly because of new information provided by the claimant in his grounds of appeal.

– Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten.

– This is unpublished data and, as such, it does not meet the quality standard required for official statistics publication. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.

– Data taken from the Decision Making and Case Recording system

– Figures are for GB only

– Figures are correct as at 7 June 2016

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role her Department plays in Government plans to ensure a higher rate of prosecution for knife crimes.

Sarah Newton

The decision whether or not to bring a prosecution is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The Home Office works closely with the CPS, other Government departments, and the police to tackle knife crime and ensure that offenders are dealt with effectively.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have benefitted from the Government’s extension of the Access to Work scheme to cover work experience placements in the last two years; and how the £2 million allocated to that initiative has been spent.

Justin Tomlinson

We do not hold official statistics to the standard of the National Statistical Authority and so are unable to provide this information.

Access to Work supported 36,760 disabled people to take up or remain in employment during 2014/15 (up from 35,560 in 2013/14).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce the productivity gap.

Greg Hands

The government has published “Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation”, its plan for productivity growth in the UK. This plan outlines the steps the government is taking to encourage further investment in the drivers of productivity growth, including science, education, skills and infrastructure. It also sets out the ways the government is promoting a dynamic economy through reforming planning laws, boosting competition and creating a Northern Powerhouse.

These steps include: investing £6.9 billion in the UK’s research infrastructure up to 2021; introducing a levy on large employers to help deliver 3 million apprenticeships starts this Parliament; guaranteeing that all revenue raised from VED in England from 2020-21 will be allocated to a new Roads Fund and invested directly back into the strategic road network; and creating a new “zonal” system which will grant automatic permission in principle on brownfield sites.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 14 March 2016, Official Report, on unemployment, if he will publish the Government’s employer engagement strategy referred to in that Answer.

Priti Patel

In December 2015 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published ‘English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision’, which sets out how government will engage with employers and increase the quality and quantity of apprenticeships, achieving three million new starts by 2020. This is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-in-england-vision-for-2020

A new approach to working with employers is in development. This is a new engagement strategy and is an internal work plan. We have no plans to publish it at this time. The strategy aims to ensure that we engage with the right employers in the right sectors in the most productive ways.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants have had their claim re-assessed more than six months before the end of their initial award period in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department does hold the requested information and it could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

For all PIP claimants with a fixed term award, except where the claimant would be expected to have little or no functional limitation within a two year period, a review date is set when the award is made. This review date is based on advice from a health professional and is communicated to the claimant when the award is made. A review process is then initiated on this date. In all such cases the review process is initiated a year in advance of the award end date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to involve small and medium-sized enterprises in the proposed digital apprenticeship system.

Nick Boles

We are developing the digital apprenticeship service to support apprenticeships in England. It will help all employers to select an apprenticeship framework or standard, choose a training provider, choose an assessment organisation and post apprenticeship vacancies. By 2020, all employers will be able to use the service to pay for training and assessment for apprenticeships and we will help smaller employers to prepare for this.

We continue to work with a wide range of employers to develop, test and improve the digital apprenticeship service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce knife crime.

Sarah Newton

Tackling knife crime is a priority for the Government. On 23 March this year, we published the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy which sets out a range of measures to strengthen our response to knife crime including working with the police and industry to ensure there are effective controls on the sale of knives to under-18s.

We have also passed legislation to ban the sale and importation of ‘zombie knives’ which came into force in August. We are encouraging the police to undertake a series of coordinated weeks of action to tackle knife crime under the Operation Sceptre banner.

This includes targeting habitual knife carriers, weapon sweeps, test purchases of knives from identified retailers, and use of surrender bins. The next operation will take place the week of 17 October.

We are also working with Crimestoppers and other potential organisations in delivering knife crime prevention messages to young people. In July 2015, the Government also introduced the sentencing provision that anyone caught in possession of a knife for a second time will now face a mandatory minimum custodial sentence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many psychiatric assessments have been requested by judges in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people who want to work full-time who are in part-time rather than full-time work.

Damian Hinds

The recent performance of the labour market speaks for itself, the unemployment rate is at a 10 year low and the employment rate is the highest since records began. Over the last year nearly 3 out of 4 jobs created have been full time jobs. Through Universal Credit and the National Living Wage we are ensuring it always pays to increase your hours, and our childcare offer of 30 hours means more families are able to do so.