Tag: Roger Godsiff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to maintain or enhance the UK’s environmental protection standards following an exit from the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

We remain fully committed to delivering our manifesto commitment to be the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than we found it. We are developing a 25 Year Environment Plan to deliver this.

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced our plans for a Repeal Bill that will convert current EU law into domestic British law. This will give consumers, workers and businesses as much certainty as possible by maintaining the existing laws wherever practicable and desirable. Any future changes in the law will be subject to full scrutiny and proper Parliamentary debate. The decision to leave the EU means we now have a unique opportunity, in future, to design a set of policies tailored to the needs of the UK, its species and habitats.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the UK will take to safeguard children and other civilians in any assault on IS in Mosul; what steps she will take to put in place safe routes out for children and families; and if she will ensure that screening procedures take care not to separate families.

Rory Stewart

On 21 September, the UK announced an extra £40 million of humanitarian funding to Iraq, taking our total commitment to £90 million this financial year and £169.5 million since June 2014. This new assistance will be targeted specifically to enable a scale up of humanitarian assistance ahead of the Government of Iraq-led Mosul operations. It will include support to efforts aimed at ensuring the protection of civilians, including children.

The UK will continue to lobby all parties to adhere to International Humanitarian Law and for screening to take place in a transparent manner, under a fully accountable chain of command, and to be monitored independently by the UN and other neutral and impartial humanitarian actors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the consultation on whether to introduce a new online system for disability benefit appeals, whether the Government (a) took steps to ensure claimants were aware of that consultation, (b) plans to consult with groups representing disabled and ill people and people who claim employment and support allowance, personal independence payment or disability living allowance and (c) will take steps to ensure that the views of claimants are given sufficient weight when deciding whether to proceed with those proposals; and when she plans for the results of that consultation to be released.

Sir Oliver Heald

The Government is investing £1 billion to modernise our world-leading justice system. That means creating a system that is just, proportionate and accessible.

Technology will be at the forefront of our reforms but specific support will be provided to ensure tribunals remain accessible to all and physical hearings will be used to resolve many cases.

The ‘Transforming our Justice System’ consultation is about the administration of justice across all courts and tribunals and not one specific area. My officials are engaging with appropriate stakeholders, including disability groups, on relevant matters. We will consider all submissions before issuing a response in the coming months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans for the public consultation on the Cancer Drugs Fund to begin.

George Freeman

The Government remains committed to the Cancer Drugs Fund and is working with NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the future arrangements for the Fund.

NHS England has advised that its plans for a public consultation on its proposals for the Fund are being finalised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for a disability benefit appeal to reach a tribunal in Birmingham.

Mr Shailesh Vara

HMCTS is unable to provide the information requested as it is not held centrally.

Information about the timeliness of SSCS appeals is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report (for the period April to June 2015, published on 10 September 2015) can be viewed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2015.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to improve home energy efficiency.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is committed to meeting its legally binding target to help as many fuel poor homes as reasonably practicable reach energy efficiency Band C by 2030, with interim targets on Band E by 2020 and Band D by 2025.

This Government has also set a specific goal of insulating 1 million homes by the end of this Parliament, in line with our commitments on fuel poverty.

A reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017 will upgrade the energy efficiency of well over 200,000 homes per year. This will help to tackle the root cause of fuel poverty and continue to deliver on our commitment to help 1 million more homes this Parliament. We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through the new supplier obligation, which will run for 5 years.

Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m pa will alsohelp households who are at most risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing penalties levied on employers who do not pay staff at least the national minimum wage.

Nick Boles

From April 2016, we are increasing the calculation of penalties from 100% to 200% of the arrears owed. The penalty is reduced by half if employers pay within 14 days.

By increasing the penalties for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) we intend to deter employers from breaking the law so that working people receive the money they are legally due.

This new calculation ensures a tougher penalty for employers found to have underpaid the NMW.

The fast track Impact Assessment for increasing the penalties has been validated by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published here – http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/324

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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 completed repeat assessments there have been of people with Parkinson’s disease by year of repeat assessment, since the introduction of employment and support allowance in 2008.

Priti Patel

The information available is shown in the table below. Repeat assessments are conducted to ensure that individuals receive the right level of support.

Calendar years:	Cystic Fibrosis	Spinal Muscular Atrophy	Parkinson’s Disease	Multiple Sclerosis	Other Rheumatoid Arthritis
Oct-08 to Dec-08	–	–	–	–	–
Jan-09 to Dec-09	–	–	–	–	–
Jan-10 to Dec-10	–	–	100	700	600
Jan-11 to Dec-11	100	100	300	1,500	1,500
Jan-12 to Dec-12	200	100	500	2,900	2,500
Jan-13 to Dec-13	100	100	400	2,400	2,500
Jan-14 to Dec-14	100	–	300	1,900	2,100
Jan-15 to June-15	–	–	–	300	300

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many venues where assessments for personal independence payments or employment and support allowance are carried out do not have (a) disabled parking facilities, (b) disabled access toilets, (c) a distance between the car park and the venue of 50 metres or less, (d) a ramp in addition to stairs to the entrance, where there are stairs; and for what reason it is not his Department’s policy that such facilities must be provided at assessment centres.

Justin Tomlinson

The information you have requested is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. All our sites fully comply with current legislation: Building Regulations, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Equalities Act 2010.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the benefits to passengers with sight problems of requiring all new buses to have audio-visual next stop and final destination announcements.

Andrew Jones

Accessible on-board information has the potential to give a range of passengers, including those who are visually impaired, greater confidence in using bus services. Traditionally audio/visual systems have been expensive to fit and maintain, however innovative and low cost solutions are making the technology more affordable. I encourage bus operators to consider the benefits to all of their customers of providing it on their vehicles and progress continues to be made. For example recently several operators across the country have invested in new buses with audio-visual announcements on their major bus routes. The Department is also aware that at least five local authorities are increasing the number of buses with audio-visual announcements funded through the Department’s £70 million ‘Better Bus Area’ fund.