Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the case for and feasibility of an additional station on Crossrail at London City Airport.

Claire Perry

No formal assessment of the case for an additional Crossrail station at London City Airport has been undertaken by the Department.

Any proposal to add a further station to Crossrail would require a strong business case, and remains unfunded.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how frequently a person with a (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) another degenerative disease should be required to attend an assessment in connection with their claim for (i) employment and support allowance and (ii) personal independence payment.

Priti Patel

The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) assesses individuals against a set of functional descriptors not specific conditions, as two people with the same condition can be affected in different ways. This does however take account of how fluctuating and degenerative conditions, such multiple sclerosis, affect a claimant’s ability to work.

A healthcare professional gives advice on when they think a claimants functional capability may have changed sufficiently to trigger a change in the outcome of the WCA. Re-referral dates chosen can be 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 or 36 months depending on when it is considered most appropriate for the claimant to have their next contact with the Department.

Decisions on claims to Personal Independence Payment are made by case managers and are based on advice received from the assessment providers following an assessment, together with any other evidence received. People with a progressive condition, and who are not expected to live beyond six months, are not required to attend a face-to-face assessment and their claims will always be decided on the basis of the evidence received.

Claims to Personal Independence Payment are looked at individually, considering the impact on daily living and mobility of the impairment or health condition, rather than solely basing the decision on the impairment or health condition itself. Award durations and reviews are based on an assessment of whether the individual’s functional abilities are likely to deteriorate, improve or stay the same. Reviews ensure that claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of award throughout their claim, including claimants with degenerative conditions who may get a higher award at review to reflect a deterioration in their condition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the difference between step-free access to trains and step-free access to platforms means in the context of plans for different Crossrail stations.

Claire Perry

Step-free access to trains provides direct access for a passenger from street level to the train via the use of ramps and lifts. Step-free access to platforms provides passengers with direct access from street level to platform via the use of ramps and lifts and further assistance with a ramp is required for those that require it to access the train.

In the context of Crossrail, all stations between Paddington and Abbey Wood will have step-free access to train. This means that these stations will have ramps or lifts from the street to the platform, and only a very small gap between platform and train allowing for level boarding when getting on and off a train. Heathrow Airport’s stations at Terminals 1-3 and Terminal 4 will also have step-free access to trains.

Those stations that Crossrail will serve on the existing network between Stratford and Shenfield and between Acton Mainline and Reading (not including Heathrow Airport) will have step-free access to platform. This means that there will be ramps or lifts from the street to the platform, but there will not be level access to the train without the aid of a ramp deployed by staff.

All Crossrail stations will be staffed for the entire period that train services are operating, so there will be staff on hand to assist passengers who need to board and alight using platforms ramps.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what ways his Department’s requirements for reassessment of continuing claims for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment by people with multiple sclerosis reflect the degenerative nature of that condition.

Priti Patel

The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) assesses individuals against a set of functional descriptors not specific conditions, as two people with the same condition can be affected in different ways. This does however take account of how fluctuating and degenerative conditions, such multiple sclerosis, affect a claimant’s ability to work.

A healthcare professional gives advice on when they think a claimants functional capability may have changed sufficiently to trigger a change in the outcome of the WCA. Re-referral dates chosen can be 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 or 36 months depending on when it is considered most appropriate for the claimant to have their next contact with the Department.

Decisions on claims to Personal Independence Payment are made by case managers and are based on advice received from the assessment providers following an assessment, together with any other evidence received. People with a progressive condition, and who are not expected to live beyond six months, are not required to attend a face-to-face assessment and their claims will always be decided on the basis of the evidence received.

Claims to Personal Independence Payment are looked at individually, considering the impact on daily living and mobility of the impairment or health condition, rather than solely basing the decision on the impairment or health condition itself. Award durations and reviews are based on an assessment of whether the individual’s functional abilities are likely to deteriorate, improve or stay the same. Reviews ensure that claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of award throughout their claim, including claimants with degenerative conditions who may get a higher award at review to reflect a deterioration in their condition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the effect of the introduction of the National Living Wage on rates of pay above the statutory minimum; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

The Government will publish an Impact Assessment for the introduction of the National Living Wage alongside the implementation regulations. The Office of Budget Responsibility estimates that 3.25 million people above the new statutory minimum will benefit from the National Living Wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Freedom of Information requests were (a) submitted to, (b) acceded to and (c) refused by his Department in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson

Information on Freedom of Information performance for the last five years for all Government Departments, including DWP, is routinely published on GOV.UK.

These reports are published quarterly and annually and include the number of requests received, acceded to and refused.

They are published at:

https://www.gov.uk/search?q=freedom+of+information+statistics+&tab=government-results

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how many families are likely to be more than (a) £1,000, (b) £2,000, (c) £3,000 and (d) £4,000 worse off in 2016-17 compared with 2015-16 due to proposed reductions in tax credit.

Harriett Baldwin

The Summer Budget offered a new deal for working people. It means Britain moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society.

A new National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, initially set at £7.20 per hour from April 2016, will directly benefit 2.7 million low wage workers, and up to 6 million could see a pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution. The new National Living Wage will boost pay for those currently earning the National Minimum Wage by £4,800 a year by 2020 when the National Living Wage is expected to rise to over £9 per hour.

To help working families keep more of what they earn, the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 and £11,200 in 2017-18. The government has committed to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 which will mean that a typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax cut by £1,205 a year compared to 2010.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s policies on increasing access to public transport for disabled passengers.

Andrew Jones

We have made significant progress on increasing access. By the end of the year, we expect around 75% of rail journeys to start or end at a step-free station. That is an increase from around 50% when the Access for All programme started. That programme will deliver 151 step-free routes at stations this year. On the buses, only 57% met accessibility regulations in 2009-10. That number is now nearly 90% and rising.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the introduction of proposed reductions in tax credits is not being phased in.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare economy to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society. By 2017-18, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the personal allowance, living wage and welfare changes in the Summer Budget.

The Tax Credit changes are being phased in in two stages. The taper, threshold and income disregard will change from April 2016. The changes to the Child Element and Family Element in Child Tax Credit will come into effect from April 2017.