Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken is for a decision to be made for a personal independence payment claim in (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Scotland and (c) England.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The table below shows the average (median) actual clearance times (AACT), in weeks, for normal rules new claims and DLA reassessments to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for Airdie and Shotts, Scotland and England in April 2016.

    April 2016

    Normal Rules, New Claims AACT (weeks)

    Normal Rules, DLA Reassessments AACT (weeks)

    Airdie and Shotts parliamentary constituency

    11

    13

    Scotland

    10

    13

    England

    9

    12

    Source – PIP Computer Systems management information.

    Notes to table:

    1) The figures are for normal rules only, and do not include special rules for the terminally ill, as these claims have a separate and faster route through the claims process.

    2) ‘Time take for a decision’ has been interpreted as the average time between the date of referral to the assessment provider and the date of the DWP decision to either award or disallow the claim. It does not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant or claims that were disallowed by DWP pre-referral to the Assessment Providers (e.g. for failure to meet basic eligibility criteria or failure to return the Part 2 form within the time limit).

    3) Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number of weeks.

    Further information on AACTs is published and available at;

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to announce the contract award date for the Defence Business Services corporate services integration and innovation provider contract; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme. No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS’ current operations will be outsourced. Timescales will be confirmed in the event of a decision to outsource.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the Royal College of Nursing on links between the consumption of carbonated drinks and the incidence of heart failure.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no recent discussions with the Royal College of Nursing on the links between the consumption of carbonated drinks and the incidence of heart failure.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to offer deadline extensions for tax due by businesses affected by flooding in Cumbria.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operates a dedicated Severe Weather helpline to offer help and advice on any tax matters to those people and businesses affected by the recent flooding. The helpline is 0800 904 7900

    Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 8.00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, excluding bank holidays.

    HMRC will also:

    • consider instalment arrangements where customers are unable to pay as a result of the floods;
    • agree a practical approach when individuals and businesses have lost vital records to the floods;
    • suspend debt collection proceedings for those affected by the floods; and
    • cancel penalties when the customer has missed statutory deadlines due to the floods.

      The helpline is in addition to other HMRC telephone contact numbers.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson’s disease have had at least one repeat assessment, by year of initial assessment, since the introduction of employment and support allowance in 2008.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many local libraries closed in Lancashire in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014 and (d) 2015.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service that takes account of local needs within available resources. Government has the power to ensure public libraries comply with the law, and where individual authorities have failed to meet this duty we will – and have – intervened. While the Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not commission specific information relating to the closure of public libraries, the Department monitors closely proposed changes to library service provision throughout England. Desk research undertaken by the Department indicates that no local static libraries closed in the Lancashire Library Authority in 2012 – 2015.

    This Government is helping libraries innovate, to ensure they serve the needs of local communities – particularly through the expansion of their digital offer. In the latest spending round we secured extra funding for our Libraries Task Force, set up in 2015, to promote the role of digital and share best practice between councils, and we have funded the rollout of free Wi-Fi so that it will be available in 99% of public libraries in England. E-book loans have rocketed more than four-fold from nearly 445,000 in 2011/12 to over 2.3 million in 2014/15.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Prime Minister’s announcement of 10 January 2016, Prime Minister pledges to transform sink estates, how the figure of £140 million relating to the redevelopment of 100 sink estates was calculated.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer to him on 29 February, PQ 28338. The £140 million loan fund was determined as part of the Spending Review. The new fund will be used to lever in private sector funding to enable estate regeneration, and will be able to be drawn down alongside other supportive Government programmes. Under the right conditions some schemes could be self-financing.

  • Oliver Heald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Oliver Heald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Heald on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the annual amount of corporation tax paid by minicab businesses, in each of the last three years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information requested is set out at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/456459/Corporation_Tax_Statistics_August_2015.pdf

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times she has visited Scotland in an official capacity since the 2015 General Election; and what meetings were held on each such visit.

    Nick Gibb

    My Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, visited Scotland in December 2015 for a number of engagements.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff were employed by the (a) Defence Growth Partnership and (b) UK Defence Solutions Centre on 1 April 2016.

    Jesse Norman

    The Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) is an industry led group, established jointly by industry and government to deliver export-led growth within the Defence sector. It does not receive any public funding. Since 2014, it has enabled joint industry and government resource equivalent to £50 million over three years to achieve its agenda: £30 million for strengthening the UK Defence & Security Organisation and establishing the UK Defence Solutions Centre (UKDSC). The remaining £20 million is currently delivered through a number of initiatives supporting the DGP’s growth agenda: establishment of the Centre of Maritime Intelligent Systems (CMIS); Dual Use Technology Exploitation (DUTE) cluster and the MOD Innovation Challenge fund.

    Government and industry have committed through a mix of cash and resource equivalent to £3.8m in 2015-16 to the UKDSC and a similar figure is predicted for 2016-17. As of 1 April 2016, there were 4 staff directly employed by the UKDSC and 28 secondees from across the 16 DGP Partner Companies.