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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 32963, how many people who have personal independence payments with enhanced mobility payments have initial awards of (a) three years or less and (b) greater than three years before further re-assessment is required.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The review date is set at 12 months before the end of the award so there are no changes to the benefit paid before the re-assessment takes place.

    As at 31st January 2016, there were 218,270 claims in payment with enhanced mobility payments, of which;

    (a) 112,340 had an initial award that had a review date of three years or less

    (b) 105,960 had an initial award that had a review date of greater than three years.

    This is unpublished data and, as such, it does not meet the quality standard required for official statistics publication.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.

    Notes;

    1) The source of the data is the PIP computer system.

    2) Figures are correct as at 31st January 2016 and have been rounded to the nearest 10.

    3) Figures include both new claims and reassessment claims, and normal rules and special rules for the terminally ill claims.

    4) Figures are for Great Britain.

    5) We have provided data based on when the initial award’s review date was set to be, as this is the point at which the claimant would be invited to undertake an award review (i.e. further reassessment of their claim). The award review date occurs exactly 12 months before the initial claim end date.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential environmental and safety benefits of using single rather than double-decker buses during off-peak times on journeys with small numbers of passengers.

    Andrew Jones

    Whether to use single- or double-decker buses must be an operational decision for local bus operators. They are in the best position to understand and appreciate which type of vehicle to use on their bus routes, at which times during the day.

    The Government is committed to helping local bus operators to operate more environmentally friendly buses. Measures such as the Green Bus Fund, awarded £89m from 2009-2014 for over 1200 low emission buses, including both single and double-decker buses. The £30m Low Emission Bus Scheme, announced last year, is available to fund both single- and double-decker low emission buses and supporting infrastructure.

  • Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what forms of medical evidence his Department accepts for personal independence payments claims from a person suffering from (a) myalgic encephalopathy and (b) other illnesses with variable symptoms that permit part-time work.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a non-means-tested, non-taxable cash benefit that is paid regardless of the employment status of the claimant. It has been designed to take full account of fluctuating and variable conditions.

    The Department encourages claimants to provide as much relevant evidence as necessary to support their claim. The “How your disability affects you” form and accompanying guidance sets out the range of information that can help the Department reach a decision. The guidance for Health Professionals also sets out sources of further evidence which could help inform their advice to the Department (Section 2.3 Further Evidence); this includes family members, carers or anyone else who supports them.

    This guidance can be accessed on the gov.uk website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/547146/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

    “

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 18 July (HL1279) and in the light of the recent report by NHS Digital concerning social media pressure and mental health, whether they will now conduct that research.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health Research and the Department’s Policy Research Programme have no current plans to commission research into the possible mental and psychological impact on children of using Twitter and Facebook.

    In their report, the Mental Health Taskforce recommended that the United Kingdom should aspire to be a world leader in the development and application of new mental health research. The Taskforce asked specifically that the Department, working with relevant partners, should publish a report by February 2017 setting out a ten year strategy for mental health research. The final ten-year strategy is planned for publication in February 2017 and will identify future needs in mental health research. This will include a specific focus on the mental health of children and young people.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to help home owners in negative equity.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    If homeowners are in negative equity, or worried about meeting payments in the future, it is vital to make early contact with their lender.

    There are a number of organisations available that provide free, impartial advice on money and debt management, including the Money Advice Service, which Government has set up to promote understanding of Financial Systems.

    The Government is working to mitigate the impact of Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) activity on those in negative equity and following consultation government released a response document on the 29th October, which is available on the gov.uk website.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to create additional airport capacity in the north of England.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    It is for individual airports to put forward proposals for capacity expansion, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, particularly economic and environmental impacts. We therefore welcome the investment airports in the north of England are already making to increase capacity and improve terminals and passenger facilities.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the remit of the Extremism Analysis Unit is.

    Karen Bradley

    The Extremism Analysis Unit (EAU) has been established with a remit to analyse extremism in this country, and abroad where it has a direct impact on the UK and/or UK interests. The EAU is a cross-government resource, with government departments able to commission research and analysis.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in funding for community pharmacies on the provision of pharmacy services; and what steps he is taking to ensure that busy community pharmacists are not forced to reduce their services.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the agriculture and fishing sectors of the UK leaving the EU.

    George Eustice

    We have not made any assessment of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on the UK agriculture and fishing sectors.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what independent scrutiny her Department commissioned of reports of invalid and questionable results in English Language tests conducted by ETS.

    James Brokenshire

    We are disappointed by the decision of the recent Upper Tribunal. Once we have the full determination we will carefully consider next steps, including appealing the decision.