Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who were in receipt of disability benefits re-joined the workforce in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available. Disability benefits are comprised of Attendance Allowance (AA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). These benefits are all non-means-tested, cash benefits available to disabled people to provide a contribution towards extra costs and can be paid regardless of the employment status of the claimant. Because of this, the employment status is not collected during the claims process or at any other point during the lifetime of a claim.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many referrals were made to coroners in England which relate to people who have died in state detention in (a) 2010 and (b) 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Ministry of Justice does not have operational responsibility for coroner services, as they are funded and run by local authorities. The level of funding for the Birmingham and Solihull, Black Country and Coventry coroner services is a matter for the relevant local authorities and the Ministry of Justice holds no information on this.

    Statistics for deaths reported to coroners, including deaths in state detention and those subject to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, are published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coroners-and-burials-statistics.

    We do not have information on the number of deaths in state detention reported to coroners in 2010 as this information has only been gathered centrally since 2012. The statistics for 2015 will be published in due course.

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  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which external organisations officials in his Department have met to discuss the potential consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

    David Mundell

    Scotland Office officials have not held any such meetings. At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the purchase and subsequent support contracts for the P-8A aircraft will come under the single source contract regulations.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 December 2015 to Question 19776 to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle).

    The Ministry of Defence has not yet made a final decision on the method for contracting for delivery of the P8-A Poseiden aircraft to the UK. Therefore the information requested is yet to be determined.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the oral contribution of the then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on 20 December 2012, Official Report, column 989, for what reasons the Insolvency Service’s investigation into Comet was not shared with the opposition front bench.

    Anna Soubry

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39849, what his Department’s expenditure other than Network Rail expenditure was on the level crossing reform programme in the last Parliament; and how much such expenditure is budgeted in this Parliament.

    Claire Perry

    Capital expenditure on level crossings is a matter for Network Rail. The department does not hold a separate budget for this.

  • Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to amend the eligibility criteria for pension credit so that all men and women aged 60 and above can access that credit.

    Richard Harrington

    Pension Credit is an income-related benefit paid out of general taxation which targets help at the poorest pensioners. It is a condition of entitlement for Pension Credit that a person has attained the “qualifying age”, which is linked to the women’s State Pension age. This is the same age at which entitlement to Universal Credit ceases.

    Changing the eligibility criteria would mean displacing Universal Credit with Pension Credit. Universal Credit has much better work incentives than Pension Credit, and ensures that work always pays. Universal Credit also disregards pension pots in the means test, encouraging further saving, whereas Pension Credit takes pension pots into account and therefore provides no incentive to increase their size.

    For those with disability and care needs, the welfare system already makes provision through benefits and services based on needs assessment. This includes provision for those whose health condition means that it is difficult for them to remain in employment. The Government will be publishing a Green Paper on Work and Health later this year which will consider this issue.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the size of deposit needed to buy a starter home in London.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Starter Homes will be sold at a minimum of 80% of the full market price and offered to first time buyers under the age of 40. The discounted Starter Homes price will be capped at £450,000 in London.

    The cap is not an expectation of the going price for a Starter Home. Most first time buyers are not buying average-priced properties, but those at the lower quartile of values in an area. This is the first time buyers market that exists, and this is where we anticipate developers pricing starter homes

    Starter homes will reduce deposit requirements for first time buyers. The average price paid by a first time buyer in London in Q2 2015 was £376,000 (Office for National Statistics data). The discount achieved through the Starter Home initiative would reduce the price of such a property to £301,000 and also reduce the deposit.

  • Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will discuss with her ministerial colleagues in other departments (a) reducing UK support for fossil fuels overseas and (b) ensuring that support for energy in developing countries is directed towards low-carbon technologies.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    My Department works closely with other government departments on UK energy policy overseas, including the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the Treasury, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The UK Government has committed to end public funding for coal fired power plants, , except in rare circumstances, in the world’s poorest countries. This policy has been agreed with DECC and was announced at the Warsaw Climate Change conference in 2013.

    DFID will continue to support international initiatives to promote cleaner energy sources and other low carbon technologies. For example, the Energy Africa campaign will accelerate the expansion of the household solar market in Africa, helping to bring universal energy access to the continent. The International Climate Fund (ICF) managed by DECC and DFID also actively supports low-carbon technologies, and monitors this through Key Performance Indicators. The UK reports publicly on achievements through the ICF (see https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463954/ICF_Results_Note_Final.pdf).

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  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Leader of the House, what progress the Government is making on reform of the Estimates process.

    Chris Grayling

    Estimates are formal requests for authorisation of expenditure proposed to the House by the Government. Scrutiny of these, which are effectively departmental budgets, is undertaken in a variety of ways including debates selected by the Liaison Committee and it is open to select committees to examine these budgets.

    The Procedure Committee has recently announced that it will examine the House’s procedures for examining the Estimates and the passing of legislation which authorises this expenditure through the Supply and Consideration Bill.

    The Committee is accepting written submissions until 25 March 2016.