Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulations introduced in April 2015 which ended unsupervised stakes above £50 on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in betting shops.

Tracey Crouch

The Government, along with the Gambling Commission, is in the process of evaluating the effects of ending unsupervised stakes over £50 and we will publish the results in due course

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether adult children will be included in the vulnerable persons relocation scheme along with their younger siblings and parents.

Richard Harrington

We work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify cases that they deem in need of resettlement according to agreed vulnerability criteria for the Syrian Resettlement Scheme. This can include families where adult children form part of the family unit where the UNHCR deem resettlement is appropriate for the entire family group.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he intends to respond to the report of the Children’s Commissioner, Protecting children from harm, published in November 2015.

Caroline Dinenage

I refer my Honourable Friend to the response of the Secretary of State for Education to this question.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have been provided with advance payments of universal credit in each of the last 12 months.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not currently available.

The range of statistics published for Universal Credit has increased as quality assurance has been carried out. This process will continue on a wider range of breakdowns and Departmental statisticians anticipate being able to start releasing these, in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, during 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of recipients of their first universal credit payment received an advance payment of that credit in 2015.

Priti Patel

The information you have requested is not currently available.

During 2016 we will be increasing the range of statistics on Universal Credit which will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department expects to notify all claimants expected to be directly affected by the change to universal credit taking effect from April 2016.

Priti Patel

We will notify all claimants who we expect to be directly affected by the change and offer tailored support depending on the claimant’s individual circumstances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made with providing Jobcentre Plus advisor support in schools.

Priti Patel

Jobcentre Plus support for schools was launched on 14 January in Birmingham. The remaining nine pathfinders will be launched in this academic year before national rollout by March 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has, when removing housing benefit entitlement from young people, to protect the entitlement of those who are (a) leaving care, (b) pregnant, or (c) have dependent children.

Justin Tomlinson

Removal of automatic housing support for 18 – 21 year olds, announced in the Summer Budget 2015, will be introduced in April 2017. The Department is liaising with a range of key stakeholders as we develop the detail of the policy, and once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will reform taxation arrangements for temporary and contract workers to ensure that they are equitable in comparison with those of direct employees.

Mr David Gauke

The taxation of temporary and contract workers’ income will depend on their employment status for tax, as is the case for direct employees and the self-employed.

Decisions about tax policy are made by Treasury ministers. However, as recommended by the Office of Tax Simplification, officials from HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will form a Cross Government Working Group for Employment Status early this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the threshold for the number of coasting academies in an academy chain above which her Department plans to take action.

Edward Timpson

An academy will be considered coasting where data shows that over a three year period it has failed to ensure that pupils reach their potential. An academy will only be coasting if performance data falls below the coasting bar in all three previous years. Therefore, no academy will be identified as coasting until after the 2016 performance data is published and there is 3 years of data available for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Regional Schools Commissioners will take action when any academy falls within the coasting definition and cannot demonstrate that it has a sufficient plan to improve rapidly without additional support.