The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sanctions on jobseekers allowance were imposed in the most recent year for which data is available; and how many such sanctions were (a) under one month, (b) between one month and six months and (c) six months or more in duration.
Priti Patel
The information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial savings she expects to result from the transfer of processing Bangladeshi visa applications to New Delhi.
James Brokenshire
Decision making on UK visa applications lodged in Bangladesh was transferred from Dhaka to New Delhi in September 2014. Logistical changes like this are made for operational reasons and to refine the longstanding hub and spoke structure of the visa network, where applications are decided at regional decision making centres. The hub and spoke structure increases resilience, improves security and enhances decision quality. The overall customer experience is unchanged as applications can be submitted at the same visa application centres and continue to be decided within the same global customer service standard. As result of this transfer of work we also estimate a saving of around £0.6m per year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to encourage more people to train as adults’ social workers.
Alistair Burt
The Chief Social Worker for Adults is actively working with the profession to create a highly skilled, flexible workforce which is able to contribute to improved outcomes for people in all settings.
She is developing a comprehensive framework for continuous professional development for adult social work, which will include development of specialisms in key areas of practice, such as dementia, end of life care and learning disabilities. This will provide a clear progression route for both newly qualified and experienced social workers to deepen their knowledge, skills and practice.
The Government has funded four teaching partnerships which build on and enhance the existing arrangements between Higher Education Institutions and employers. The key aims are to improve the quality of education received by social work students, mainly through a greater experience of quality statutory placements and employer involvement in the selection of students and provision of placements.
The Department has also developed Think Ahead, a new fast-track scheme for exceptional graduates and career-changers to become mental health social workers. The programme has been in development since 2014 and will take its first graduates in July 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30367, at which schools in East London Jobcentre Plus plans to offer Support for Schools in the 2015-16 academic year.
Priti Patel
Jobcentre Plus Support will be demand led and focused on those schools in the most disadvantaged areas of East London. In conjunction with the Careers & Enterprise Company JCP are considering which schools will be offered support. Details will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the mortality rate for claimants of incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance aged between 40 and 50 was in (a) England and Wales, (b) Newcastle, (c) Sheffield and (d) Newham in each of the last five years.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the additional cost to his Department in the last year of appeal hearings at the First Tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) which were adjourned because the Department of Work and Pensions did not send a representative in the last 12 months.
Mike Penning
The information requested is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of tuberculosis screening.
Jane Ellison
Actions to raise awareness and tackle stigma among populations at high risk of tuberculosis (TB) are highlighted in the Collaborative TB Strategy for England 2015 to 2020.
These actions consist of awareness raising of symptoms, targeted TB screening and education as part of new patient checks at general practice surgeries and the use of community workers and health advocates to signpost and facilitate patient access to local services. In addition, TB awareness raising is provided to statutory and voluntary agencies working with: the homeless; individuals who misuse drugs or alcohol; and migrants from countries with high TB incidence. Efforts to raise awareness of TB among health professionals are supported nationally by Public Health England and the leading national TB charity, TB Alert.
In addition, I have attended and hosted a number of events to raise awareness, most recently for World TB Day in March which included visiting the Find and treat mobile unit.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average reduction in benefits was for claimants subject to the under-occupancy penalty in each of the last three financial years.
Justin Tomlinson
The average weekly reduction for claimants subject to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy for each of the last three financial years was as follows:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to refer to the UN Security Council the evidence being collected by his Department on potential acts of genocide committed by Daesh.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
In August 2014, the UK sponsored UN Security Council resolution 2170 which reaffirmed the call for those who have committed or are responsible for violations of international humanitarian law in Iraq and Syria to be held accountable. UN Security Council resolution 2249, passed in November 2015, confirmed the importance of holding the Islamic State in the Levant (also known as Daesh) to account. These resolutions follow an attempt in May 2014 to have the Security Council refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court which was vetoed by Russia and China.
We continue to discuss with partners on the UN Security Council further ways to ensure that the perpetrators of crimes committed in Syria and Iraq are held to account and face justice. We will do all we can to support gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used in a court to hold Daesh to account. Addition as per PQ 35349.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK diplomats have taken secondment to the European External Action Service in each year since 2010.
Mr David Lidington
Since 2010, there have been 28 UK officials seconded to the European External Action Service (EEAS). Of these, 20 were UK diplomats from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO); 8 were from other government departments. The numbers of diplomats can be broken down by calendar year in which they took up their secondment as follows:
FCO number of TAs
2010 5
2012 2
2013 6
2014 2
2015 5