Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Multi Academy Trusts have closed down in each year since 2010.

Edward Timpson

The Department has a role in monitoring the performance of Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and the academies within them. This includes transferring an academy where there are significant concerns about performance from one MAT to another.

MATs are charitable trusts and companies limited by guarantee. It is for its board to decide whether or not to dissolve the trust; the Department has no role.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to raise the situation of Rohingya refugees at the UN Summit on Refugees on 19 September 2016.

Alok Sharma

Whilst the British Government did not raise the subject of Rohingya refugees at the UN Summit on Refugees on 19 September 2016, we remain keen to play our part in helping refugees globally. We are deeply concerned about the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya and have repeatedly raised our concerns with the Burmese Government at the highest levels. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), discussed the Rohingya with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi during her visit to the UK in September and I raised the issue in my intervention at the UN Secretary General’s Partnership Group during my visit to the UN General Assembly in September.

The British Government is one of the largest bilateral donors to Rakhine providing over £18 million in humanitarian assistance since the intercommunal violence of 2012. Across the border in south east Bangladesh, a total of 82,000 people have benefitted from UK funded humanitarian programmes. Since 2014, the British Government has provided nearly £8 million to address the humanitarian suffering of Rohingya refugees and the vulnerable Bangladeshi communities that host them.

We are encouraged to see the new Burmese Government has started to take real steps to try to defuse tensions in Rakhine while making progress for the Rohingya, including through the recently announced Rakhine Commission led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, formation of a cross-Government Rakhine committee and re-starting the citizenship verification exercise. On 25 August I issued a statement welcoming the establishment of the Rakhine Commission, and on 14 September I spoke by phone with Mr Annan to convey the UK’s strong support for his appointment and mandate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much the Education Funding Agency has spent to date on refurbishing the former East Ham Police Station; and how much of that sum was spent on demolition of the former accommodation for police officers.

Edward Timpson

The Department approved £599,470 for works to the East Ham Former Police Station of which £476,947 was for the demolition of the accommodation building at the rear of the site and the remainder was used for essential maintenance works to the Grade II listed building to ensure it was safe. The purchase of East Ham Former Police Station was completed on 4^th February 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee of 28 October 2015, for how long a welfare rights adviser has been placed in the Birkenhead food bank; and when he plans to roll-out the placement of such advisers to all food banks.

Priti Patel

Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches regularly undertake outreach work in local communities. We have no specific knowledge of a welfare rights advisor working in a food bank in Birkenhead.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions between 1 June 2013 and 31 May 2014 Plaistow Jobcentre paid from the Flexible Support Fund for a jobseeker’s two month Zone 1-4 Transport for London Travelcard.

Priti Patel

The information is not collated centrally as to specific purchases on Flexible Support Fund and would require detailed analysis of transaction reports within London and Greater London. To provide this information could only be done so at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what reports he has received of claimants receiving overlapping payments of both universal credit and housing benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson

Since April 2013, arrangements have been in place to identify potential overlapping payments between Universal Credit Live Service and Housing Benefit. Any cases identified are referred to Universal Credit for resolution with the appropriate Local Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his policy that a claimant of employment and support allowance (ESA) in the Support Group who transfers to the Work Related Activity Group will receive the current rate of ESA, as an existing claimant, or the reduced rate of ESA proposed in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

Priti Patel

Existing claimants, whether in the work-related activity group or the support group, who undergo a work capability assessment after April 2017 and are placed in, or remain in, the work-related activity group, will continue to receive the work-related activity component.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the cost of Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Karen Bradley

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is funded through fees charged for disclosure certificates and from subscriptions to the DBS disclosure update service. DBS operates on a full cost recovery basis. There has not been a fee increase in four years and volunteers receive free checks.

The table below sets out the average time taken to process all three types of checks.

The fluctuations in processing times over the years relate to a number of factors, including changes in demand and demand forecasting, changes to IT systems and the performance of police forces for enhanced disclosures.

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

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

Karen Bradley

The report captures the findings from the first part of the Children’s Commissioner’s inquiry into child sexual abuse in the family environment. The Government will give careful consideration to the findings of the full inquiry when it is completed in December 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2015 to Question 19474, in what circumstances her Department plans to recompense spousal visa applicants whose application is not determined within the eight-week postal service standard.

James Brokenshire

Generally, the Home Office will not recompense a customer whose spousal application is not considered within the eight week postal service standard.

The Home Office aims to process all straightforward applications, that is those that have complied with the application process including provision of mandatory information, evidence and biometrics, within eight weeks of receipt.

There are a variety of reasons why a spousal application may take longer than the publicised service standard. As such the Home Office service standard reflects that and does not allow for all cases to be decided within that publicised standard.

If the Home Office cannot make a decision within the service standard, the Home Office will write to customers to inform them of the next steps and when they are likely to receive a decision.

It is open to a customer to submit a complaint if their application is not considered within the service standard. These claims are considered on an ex-gratia basis under the complaints procedure. Any compensation would be handled based on individual customers’ exceptional circumstances, and as such these are considered on a case-by-case basis.