Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 23980, on employment plans: mental illness, whether he plans to introduce new measures of support for people with mental health problems before the end of the three year period of voluntary trials.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The 2015 Spending Review announced at least £130 million a year in steady state funding on the new Work and Health Programme, which we plan to launch in 2017. With this new programme we plan to restructure our current provision to focus on providing the best possible support for claimants with health conditions or disabilities, including those with mental health conditions.

    In addition, the Prime Minister has already announced plans to significantly improve the support that helps people with mental ill health retain or regain employment:

    • Over £300 million will be provided to double access to talking therapies for people suffering from conditions like anxiety or depression.
    • £50 million will be spent to double the reach of Individual Placement and Support Programmes, which find work for people with mental illness.
    • over £50 million is being invested to more than double the number of IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) employment advisors, so that they are linked in to every talking therapy service in the country.
    • 29,000 more people with mental health conditions will be helped to find or stay in work thanks to increased access to these therapies.
  • Lord Farmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Farmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Farmer on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether professionals who work with children, such as social workers and teachers, are legally required to leave their professions if they continue to live, or resume living, with a convicted sex offender to whom they are married, or with whom they have had children who are no longer minors, after that offender has served a custodial or community sentence.

    Lord Nash

    Arrangements within the Childcare Act 2006 and the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 disqualify a person from providing, working in, or managing childcare provision on the grounds that a person in their household has committed a relevant offence. A number of the qualifying offences are of a sexual nature.

    A person disqualified from working in any childcare setting for these reasons is able to apply to Ofsted for a waiver against disqualification. Where a waiver is granted the disqualified person is permitted to work in childcare.

    The Department publishes guidance (attached) to assist schools, childcare providers and those working in childcare and help them understand the arrangements.

  • Kirsten  Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of children likely to be affected by the planned replacement of widowed parent’s allowance by bereavement allowance.

    Priti Patel

    Bereavement support payments will be introduced from April 2017 for new claimants only. Existing claimants of Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Allowance will remain on those benefits for the lifetime of their awards therefore there will be no impact on them or their families.

    Bereavement Support Payment is forecasted to cost the Department for Work and Pensions an extra £100m in the first three years. The full cost to the exchequer will be greater than this as, unlike its predecessors, Bereavement Support Payment will not be taxable.

    Further information on forecast expenditure is provided via the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487612/outturn-and-forecast-autumn-statement-2015.xlsx

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to ensure that UK fisheries are managed at or below maximum sustainable yield by 2020; what steps she plans to take to maintain a sustainable fisheries policy after the UK leaves the EU; and if she will take steps to work with European partners to support sustainable fishing after the UK leaves the EU.

    George Eustice

    Exit from the European Union presents us with an opportunity to improve the way waters in the United Kingdom’s Exclusive Economic Zone are managed. No decisions have yet been taken, although the government remains committed to sustainable fisheries and the discard ban, as set out in its manifesto commitments, and will promote international cooperation in the management of shared stocks.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how (a) much funding from the public purse has been allocated to and (b) many full-time equivalent staff have been employed by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner in each of the last two years.

    Sarah Newton

    The Government allocation to the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner was £500,000 in 2015/16 and £575,000 in 2016/17. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner employed six full-time staff and one part-time staff in 2015/16, and seven full-time and one part-time staff in 2016/17.

  • Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what change there was in the number of firefighter posts in Kent Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

    Greg Clark

    Information on the number of full time equivalent firefighter posts for each fire and rescue service and for each year, together with greater detail, is available in the Department’s Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics publication (Table 2 for full time equivalent posts) at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Better Care Fund in reducing delayed discharges from hospitals.

    Alistair Burt

    The Better Care Fund (BCF) aims to incentivise the National Health Service and local government to work more closely together at a local level to provide a joined up health and care service for their local population. Integrating health and social care will take time. Delayed transfers of care per 100,000 (DTOC) is included as a metric for the BCF as it is one of a number of ways to measure the effectiveness of joint working among local partners.

    The results for Q4 2014-15 and Q1 2015-16 data collections can be found on the NHS England website at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/part-rel/transformation-fund/bcf-plan/

    The latest data was published on 26 November 2015.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political, economic and security situation in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I visited Erbil in December where I met a range of Kurdistan Regional Government ministers and officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, civil society contacts and members of the British military deployment in northern Iraq. I welcomed the recent military progress achieved by the Kurdish Security Forces against Daesh, particularly the liberation of Sinjar in November, and was able to see firsthand the contribution of British military training, equipment and support to counter-Daesh efforts. I encouraged progress on implementation of the economic reforms needed to manage the current economic downturn, as well as a rapid return to negotiations with Baghdad to secure a sustainable revenue sharing arrangement. To members of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and political party representatives, I underlined the importance of all the parties working together to resolve the issue of the KRG presidency peacefully, in the spirit of compromise and respecting democratic principles.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much East Northamptonshire Council received under the New Homes Bonus in each year since 2010.

    Brandon Lewis

    The New Homes Bonus was introduced in 2011. To date the total New Homes Bonus payments allocated to East Northamptonshire District Council is £2,626,043. The annual breakdown is shown in the table below:

    Year 1
    (2011-2012)

    £355,008

    Year 2
    (2012-2013)

    £ 551,047

    Year 3
    (2013-2014)

    £ 311,916

    Year 4
    (2014-2015)

    £306,847

    Year 5
    (2015-2016)

    £492,452

    Year 6
    (2016-2017 – provisional allocation)

    £608,774

    Total

    £2,626,043

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make available to the Welsh Government funds received as a result of the application to the EU Solidarity Fund announced on 25 February 2016.

    James Wharton

    Decisions regarding the disbursement of any funding will be made once we have received confirmation of whether our application has been successful.