The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long after being found to be ineligible for employment and support allowance as a result of a work capability assessment can an individual submit a new claim.
Priti Patel
An individual can submit a new claim for Employment and Support Allowance at any time after being found fit for work following a Work Capability Assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who owns the RMS St Helena, and what financial support they have provided to operate the service between Cape Town and St Helena over the last three years.
Baroness Verma
The RMS St Helena is owned by St Helena Line, which is itself wholly owned by the St Helena Government. Her Majesty’s Government provided £3,199,382 of support to operate the service in 2013/14; £2,272,726 in 2014/15; and £619,751in 2015/16.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has received an application from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to release the former Two Trees High School site in Denton for development.
Edward Timpson
The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new academy or free school.
School playing fields are also protected by Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Schools and local authorities must obtain the Secretary of State’s approval before they can dispose of their land. Applications to dispose of school playing fields are first considered by the school playing fields advisory panel, who make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, before she then makes her final decision.
At this time I am not aware of an application by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to seek approval to dispose of the former Two Trees Sports College, including the playing fields.
Should an application be submitted, the Secretary of State would take into account any groups or organisations with permission to use the playing fields and what suitable alternative provision they may have been offered. Local schools, which are deficient in playing field land, should also be offered the opportunity to use the playing field before any application is presented. She will also take into account local school place needs and any academy requirement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will provide a schedule of documents held by his Department that relate to the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam from the Disney Wonder cruise ship in March 2011 and the investigation into that disappearance.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Consular documents show that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided assistance to the Coriam family at the time of their daughter’s disappearance in 2011, and provided updates on the progress of the Bahamian investigation through the Family Liaison Officer assigned by Cheshire Police. We also facilitated the handover of a copy of the Bahamian investigation report to Cheshire Police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 43456; when he expects the objectives and approach of the UK to negotiations with the EU to be agreed.
Mr David Jones
The Prime Minister has been clear that we will trigger Article 50 before the end of March 2017. The process for leaving the EU and determining our future relationship will clearly not be brief or straightforward, so we need to take time to think through our objectives and approach. We want to get the best deal for Britain, not the quickest one. We recognise the need to create certainty as soon as possible but also to get negotiations off to the right start.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey to Question 9852, by when his Department will be able to form a reliable estimate of the number of disability living allowance recipients who are Motability users who will not qualify for the enhanced rate of the personal independence payment mobility component.
Justin Tomlinson
We expect to be able to form a reliable estimate once a significant proportion of working-age Disability Living Allowance recipients have been reassessed for the Personal Independence Payment. Over 1.75 million claimants require reassessing; as of July 2015 circa 186,900 had been reassessed.
As referenced in our previous reply of 16 September 2015, DWP will continue to pay DLA for four weeks after the decision not to pay PIP enhanced mobility component is made. The Motability charity has confirmed that claimants can keep their car for up to three weeks after DLA payments end. This means that claimants will retain their car for up to nearly two months even though they are not entitled to PIP enhanced mobility component.
In addition, the Department has worked closely with Motability to ensure that those claimants who no longer meet the criteria for the Motability Scheme are supported through the transitional period. For most of these claimants who entered into their first lease agreement with Motability before January 2013, Motability will provide transitional support of £2,000. This will enable many claimants to continue to meet their mobility needs by purchasing a used car. For claimants who entered into their first lease agreement with the scheme after January 2013 and up to December 2013, Motability will supply transitional support of £1,000 to assist with mobility costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.
Brandon Lewis
The 2015 Spending Review set out settlements for departments and showed how the Government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.
Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Saudi Arabian authorities on the cases of (a) Raif Badaw, (b) Waleed Abu al-Khair and (c) Ashraf Fayadh.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of, and concerned by, the cases of Raif Badawi, Waleed Abu al-Khair, and Ashraf Fayadh. We have raised the cases of Raif Badawi and Waleed Abu al-Khair with the Saudi Arabian authorities and we continue to use suitable opportunities to raise our concerns over all these cases. We do not expect Mr Badawi to receive the lashes he has been sentenced to receive. We strongly support freedom of expression in every country and regularly make the Saudi Arabian authorities aware of our views.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what additional training has been provided to (a) NHS England and (b) Public Health England personnel on the Zika virus.
Jane Ellison
NHS England continues to work closely with Public Health England (PHE) and Government Departments to ensure appropriate advice is provided to the National Health Service in England in line with the current risk assessment. PHE will provide guidance and information specifically targeted at primary care and this will be available shortly. PHE has also produced regular briefing notes for local health protection teams who have been asked to share this with local NHS.
PHE has raised awareness about Zika virus among public health and clinical colleagues within PHE by circulating a briefing note to all staff. This will support clinicians to identify, investigate and manage cases that may present in clinical practice. The briefing note included information about the outbreak in the Americas and the unusual increase in microcephaly cases in Brazil. It highlighted existing resources available to PHE personnel, including the PHE Zika virus page:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/zika-virus
and the National Travel Health Network and Centre website:
http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/
An additional training session will also be provided to the duty doctors in PHE.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-02-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the reduction in the amount of child benefit spend on those EU migrants with a child resident in another country as a result of proposals to index the claims to the country where the child is resident.
Damian Hinds
The Government’s new settlement means that EU nationals whose children live abroad will ultimately receive Child Benefit at a rate that reflects the conditions – including the standard of living and child benefit paid – of the country where their child lives. This will restore fairness to the system.
Savings relating to the indexation of Child Benefit will be confirmed once the rates have been finalised.