Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18747, if he will publish the eligibility criteria for advance universal credit payments.

Priti Patel

To be eligible for a Universal Credit (UC) Advance payment, the claimant has to have an underlying entitlement to UC, be in financial need, and be able to afford to repay the Advance. These criteria are contained within the Social Security (Payments on Account of Benefit) Regulations 2013.

If during the initial work search interview, a work coach identifies a claimant is in financial need, or cannot manage until they receive their first UC payment, they will advise them about advance payments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) jobs and (b) residents in full-time employment there were in the London Borough of Newham in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many potential overlapping payments between those processed through the universal credit live service and those processed for housing benefit have been identified in the East London Jobcentre Plus district since 2013.

Priti Patel

We do not retain statistics to identify the information requested, however we have safeguards in place to ensure an effective transition in these instances to avoid overlapping benefits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the number of people who live within 30 minutes’ travel time of Stratford International Station by public transport.

Claire Perry

The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the number of people who live within 30 minutes’ travel time of Stratford International Station by public transport.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the case for a free telephone number for those using a pay-as-you-go mobile telephone to resolve administrative errors with benefit payments.

Priti Patel

The Department has no plans to make an assessment regarding provision of free telephone numbers for those using mobile telephones to resolve administrative issues. Calls to make a claim to benefit are free at the point of use.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the state aid approval in relation to BDUK requires BT to provide Wholesale Open Access to other communication providers for ducts and poles built with BDUK funding which are (i) over one km in length and cost more than £50,000 to build and (ii) less than one km in length and cost less than £50,000 to build.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The UK 2012 state aid Decision applied different wholesale access conditions to new and existing infrastructure. On new infrastructure over one km in length and costing more than £50,000 to build, BT must provide access for any purpose, while on existing infrastructure and on new infrastructure less than one km in length or costing less than £50,000 to build, the primary use must be retail services (with business services only permitted where it supports the primary objective.) Both cases exceed what is required by Ofcom under regulation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many state playing fields were sold in each year since 2010.

Edward Timpson

This government will only give local authorities and schools permission to dispose of school playing fields if the sports and curriculum needs of the school can continue to be met. All proceeds of any sales must be put back into improving sports or educational facilities

It is not the government or the department that instigates the disposal of school playing fields. It is the schools themselves and their local authorities that propose to convert these often surplus or unused fields to invest in school sport or education.

Details of school playing field sales are not held centrally. Schools and local authorities only need to seek consent from the department to dispose of a school playing field. Disposal includes leasing to a third party provider. We have published a list of departmental decisions on applications for consent to dispose of school playing field land since May 2010, which can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to encourage academies to join high-performing rather than under-performing multi-academy trusts; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

Regional Schools Commissioners (RSC) are supporting the development of high-performing multi-academy trusts (MAT). MATs enable academies to realise a wide range of benefits and provide the formal structure in which high-performing schools can support under-performing schools to improve.

Where there are concerns about the performance of an academy, the RSC may decide that the support of a new academy trust is needed to bring about the necessary improvements. In selecting a new trust, the RSC will evaluate its capacity, including the performance of the trust’s existing academies and its ability to provide the support required.

In order to move an underperforming academy to a new trust, the RSC may be able to use the termination powers set out in the academy’s funding agreement to require the academy to move without the agreement of the academy or the existing trust. The Education and Adoption Bill will give RSCs stronger, more consistent powers to do this with all failing and coasting academies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in which universities the Frontline programme was promoted in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016.

Edward Timpson

Frontline was promoted at the following universities in both 2015 and 2016: Aston, Bath, Birmingham, Belfast, Bristol, Brunel, Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Greenwich, Kings College London, Kingston, Imperial College London, Lancaster, Leeds, Leeds Beckett, Liverpool, London Metropolitan, Loughborough, LSE, Manchester, Middlesex, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen Mary, Reading, Sheffield, SOAS, Southampton, Strathclyde, Surrey, St Andrews (not in 2016), UCL, UEA, University of East London, Warwick, Westminster, and York. In 2016, Frontline also visited Belfast, Leeds Beckett, Surrey, and UEA to promote the programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that Work Programme providers are alert to the mental health needs of clients.

Priti Patel

Work Programme providers have the freedom to deliver tailored support appropriate to the individual needs of all participants. This includes participants with health conditions for whom many providers employ advisers with the relevant skills and knowledge to provide specialist support or otherwise engage specialist sub-contractors.

The Department operates a robust performance management and checking regime to ensure all providers deliver the standards and performance we expect.

To the end of December 2015, around 17,000 participants who were claiming Employment and Support Allowance at the time of referral and have declared a mental or behavioural disorder as their primary health condition have been supported into sustained employment through the Work Programme