Tag: Steve Reed

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service from people living in Croydon have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months.

Karen Bradley

The number of Enhanced Disclosure applications from people living in Croydon that have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months (for which data is available) is listed in the following table.

May 2015 – April 2016	Total Enhanced Disclosures Dispatched (applicants from Croydon)	Disclosures which took over 60 Days
Total	34,031	5,708

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the period of maternity leave for mothers of premature babies.

Margot James

The UK’s generous entitlement of 52 weeks’ maternity leave provides mothers with sufficient leave to take account of a range of circumstances. Parents who have been employees with the same employer for over a year also have a separate entitlement to parental leave of 18 weeks per parent per child, up to the child’s 18^th birthday, of which typically up to 4 weeks can be taken in one year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to review the effectiveness of the general power of competence.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Conservative led coalition Government gave a commitment that a post implementation review of the provisions of the Localism Act 2011, including the provisions relating to the general power of competence, would be undertaken within three to five years following implementation. We will honour that commitment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on (a) hospitality and (b) catering since May 2015.

Brandon Lewis

Guidance to staff now states that refreshments may only be ordered for meetings with external attendees of longer than four hours.

The Department has no separate budget for hospitality and catering. The Department spent £10,829.44 on hospitality from May 2015 to 29 February 2016.

This compares to a bill of almost £500,000 in the last year of the Labour Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service check, including the time taken by the Metropolitan Police, was in London for each year since 2010.

Karen Bradley

The average times taken for the Disclosure and Barring Service to complete all Enhanced Disclosure applications for applicants with a London postcode are listed in the following table.

Financial Year	Average Turnaround Days
2010/11	50
2011/12	20
2012/13	12
2013/14	14
2014/15	19
2015/16	24

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the contract with Maximus for delivery of the Fit for Work programme includes provision of public funding for taxi journeys for anyone (a) turned away from or (b) moved to a different assessment centre.

Penny Mordaunt

The Fit for Work service provides a supportive occupational health assessment and general health and work advice to employees, employers and General Practitioners (GPs), to help individuals stay in or return to work. Advice is delivered via a website, telephone line and webchat and does not involve participants travelling to an Assessment Centre.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2015 to Question 8917, what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Disclosure and Barring service; and what the average processing time is for disclosure applications.

Karen Bradley

The average processing time for disclosure applications was 15.3 days in December 2015, the latest month for which figures are available. The DBS operates to a target to issue 95% of disclosure certificates within 56 days (8 weeks) and 94.3% were issued within this target in December 2015.

DBS is working closely with those forces who performance does not meet turnaround time targets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27333, which local authorities he has visited in connection with the Northern Powerhouse.

Greg Clark

As part of my Ministerial duties I visit local authorities across the country, including regular visit in connection with the Northern Powerhouse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average waiting time is for the completion of pre-employment checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service in (a) England and Wales and (b) London.

Karen Bradley

Performance data relating to April 2016 for the average time taken by the Disclosure and Barring Service to complete Standard and Enhanced applications is listed in the following table.

(a) Based upon applicants living in England or Wales:
Month	Average Turnaround Time in Days
Apr-16	16
(b) Based upon applicants living in London:
Month	Average Turnaround Time in Days
Apr-16	28

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has given to Maximus to ensure that centres used for Fit for Work assessments are accessible to wheelchair users.

Penny Mordaunt

All Assessment Centres utilised by MAXIMUS to undertake Work Capability Assessments meet accessibility standards under the Equality Act 2010.

Before attending an assessment, claimants are given the opportunity to alert the assessment provider to any additional requirements they may have and the provider will endeavour to meet all reasonable requests.

If a claimant is unable to travel to or access an Assessment Centre as a result of their health condition or impairment, a home visit may be offered.

This is unconnected to Fit for Work, a website, telephone line and webchat service that does not involve participants travelling to an assessment centre. Fit for Work provides a supportive occupational health assessment and general health and work advice to employees, employers and General Practitioners (GPs) to help individuals stay in or return to work.