Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of people who would have been entitled to a larger income due to the proposed changes to the Pension Protection Fund’s compensation cap and who have died since the proposals were first included in the Pensions Act 2014.

Richard Harrington

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2016 to Question 44488, when he plans to tighten the Planning Guarantee for minor planning applications.

Gavin Barwell

We will make an announcement about the timetable for tightening the Planning Guarantee for applications for minor development as part of our response to the consultation on implementing the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2016 to Question 40130, how Child Support Agency (CSA) (a) client and (b) former client activity requests collection of any CSA arrears held by the Child Maintenance Service.

Caroline Nokes

We have interpreted this question to mean “how Child Support Agency (CSA) (a) clients and (b) former clients actively request collection of any CSA arrears held by the Child Maintenance Service.” If a client or former client of the Child Support Agency (CSA) would like their arrears collected they should call the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). When debt is moved from the Child Support Agency to the Child Maintenance Service system, clients receive a letter that includes contact details for the CMS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Police and Crime Commissioners have powers to instruct the police to impose fines on motorists found to be travelling at 71 mph in 70 mph zones.

Mike Penning

How the police enforce road traffic law, including in respect of speeding offences, is a matter for their professional judgement and operational discretion.

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) do not have powers to instruct the police in operational policing matters. The operational independence of the police is a fundamental principle of British policing. The Policing Protocol Order 2011, which sets out how the relationship between PCCs and Chief Constables should work, is explicit when it states that “At all times the Chief Constable, their constables and staff, remain operationally independent in the service of the communities that they serve.”

Regardless of the PCC in office, the police have the discretion to use their judgment when deciding who to investigate or arrest, and must by law be wholly without influence of the PCC in respect of operational policing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to equalise access to IVF treatment through the NHS across the country.

Jane Ellison

The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence fertility guidelines.

On 14 December last year I met with stakeholders, together with colleagues from NHS England and Monitor, to discuss the issue of improving the provision of in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The Department along with NHS England and Monitor will be giving further consideration to the scope for improving the commissioning of IVF services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 18956, if he will provide details of the new Access fund for sustainable travel.

Mr Robert Goodwill

On 15 February 2016, we announced that the new Access fund would be launched later in 2016 for delivery in 2017/18, and will be preceded by a £20m Sustainable Travel Transition Year for 2016/17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in council tax on living standards in each income decile.

Mr Marcus Jones

Council tax schemes are set by local councils who are also responsible for local council tax support schemes. Local councils know the local demographics, and have designed their own council tax support schemes to reflect these. Between 1997-98 and 2010-11, the average Band D council tax in England more than doubled. However, since 2010, council tax in England has fallen by 11% in real terms, and electors can hold councils accountable at the ballot box for any excessive council tax rises. The Department has not made any assessment of the effect of any increase on living standards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) unaccompanied children and (b) partners of refugees who had already been granted asylum in the UK have a pending application for asylum in the UK.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum claims from Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the Immigration Statistics release. This includes information on applications received, decisions made by sex, age and country of nationality.

The Home Office does not centrally record the number of people that apply for asylum who have a partner in the UK who has already been granted. This could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation his Department conducted prior to the launch of its consultation on infected blood: reform of financial and other support.

Jane Ellison

We developed proposals in the consultation document based on a wide range of views we have heard over time including via numerous debates, representations from Members and several inquiries conducted by Parliamentarians.

In addition, an independently facilitated meeting was held on 5 October 2015 with some members of three groups (Tainted Blood, the Contaminated Blood Campaign and the Haemophilia Society). The aim was to further inform the Department’s understanding of what matters most to members of these groups in terms of financial and non-financial support. A separate meeting was held in November with members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, where we sought views on proposals for reform ahead of consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is permitted to consider a bid from a Combined Authority for a Police and Crime Commissioner elected in May 2016 to be subsumed by a Metro-Mayor.

Mike Penning

If a local area were to make the case to transfer Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) functions to an elected mayor, secondary legislation would set out the details of the transfer of powers and the relevant timescales based on discussions between the local area and central government.

These powers are provided for in Section 107F of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (as amended by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016), which sets out the Secretary of State’s necessary order making powers to enable the transfer of PCC functions to an elected mayor.

Local areas can put forward a proposal to transfer PCC functions at any time and, as stated in response to the honourable member’s earlier question on this issue [32271], any proposal submitted by a local area for an elected mayor to take on PCC functions would be considered on its merits, on a case-by-case basis. The timing of any transfer of powers would also form part of this consideration.