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908456

	registered interest
	date	21/05/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Long Term Unemployed People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What recent assessment she has made of trends in long-term unemployment.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	905458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2018 answer text <p>The number of long term unemployed (over 12 months) stood at 358,000 in the 3 months to March 2018, down by nearly 30,000 in the past year. It has fallen by 430,000 since 2010, a decrease of 54.5%.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2018 15:56:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1135322

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent improvements her Department has made to the online system for universal credit applications.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	270438
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2019 answer text <p>We are building an agile, adaptable system, fit for the 21st century, to help people to transform their lives through work - while supporting those who cannot work and are most in need.</p><p> </p><p>Using feedback from stakeholders and claimants we have had more than 100 releases to the system since it was introduced, all resulting in improvements to the claimant’s experience.</p><p>Most recently these include:</p><p> </p><ul><li>adding a playback screen to the child details gather reducing error in moving on with incomplete child details;</li><li>changing an appointment booking error message;</li><li>improving password creation for new registrations;</li><li>developing estimated award tool to assist claimants in understanding potential UC award and indicative New Claim Advance value;</li><li>improving questions regarding other people who live with claimant, providing clarity about lodgers, family members, and anyone else living with the claimant.</li></ul> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 05/07/2019 11:47:45 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1135324

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Angus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Angus receive universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	270439
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>As of May 2019 at a Local Authority level there were 4,400 people on UC (at the constituency level it is 3,835)</p><p> </p><p>The latest available information on the number of people on Universal Credit by parliamentary constituency and local authority is published and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 08/07/2019 17:26:01 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1045661

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Females: Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department’s work to ensure that women are not held back in the workplace.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	210717
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2019 answer text <p>Every woman in the UK must have the support needed to fulfil her potential. This government is making this a reality by shining light on inequality through gender pay gap reporting, Returners programmes, Shared Parental Leave and flexible working.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have invested £4 million in our two gender equality research programmes, the Workplace and Gender Equality Research Programme (WAGE) and the Gender and Behavioural Insights Programme (GABI), which are providing employers with the evidence they need about what works to create a more equal workplace.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The gender pay gap nationally is the lowest on record at 17.9%, but there is a way to go and we are committed to supporting this change.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 28/01/2019 15:49:11 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1105654

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Banking Hubs: Rural Areas
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing banking hubs in rural locations.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	237768
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>Decisions on opening and closing bank branches are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis. Banks themselves are best placed to make these commercial decisions based on their strategies. However, the Government has and will continue to encourage providers to think creatively about the merits of alternative models including in rural areas.</p><p> </p><p>Existing services, such as the Post Office, already offer a range of banking services across an extensive network that ensures essential banking facilities remain available in as many communities as possible. Individual and small business customers can withdraw money, deposit cash and cheques and check balances at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2010, Post Office branch numbers have been at their most stable for decades and 99% of the national population now lives within three miles of a branch. Furthermore, 93% of the national population live within one mile of their nearest post office branch. Almost 98.7% of the rural population lives within 3 miles of a post office.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 04/04/2019 09:26:35 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1027382

	registered interest
	date	17/12/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Fuels: Prices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the petroleum retail industry on fuel prices in rural and remote areas.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	202872
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>Ministers and officials hold regular discussions with representatives of the petroleum sector on a range of issues, including fuel prices.</p><p> </p><p>The rural fuel duty rebate scheme allows around 125,000 people living in the UK’s most rural communities, including on the Scottish mainland and Scottish Islands, to benefit from a five pence per litre fuel price cut. The government also recognises that fuel costs remain a significant part of business and household costs, particularly in rural areas. That is why at Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced the main rate of fuel duty would remain frozen for the ninth successive year, which by April 2020 will have saved the average driver a cumulative £1000 compared to pre-2010 escalator plans.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 20/12/2018 16:06:14 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1135313

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Banks: Closures
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) high streets, (b) businesses and (c) communities of the closure of local bank branches.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	270431
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The Treasury does not make assessments of the bank branch network. The decision to close a branch is a commercial issue for the management team of the bank. However, Government believes it is important the impact on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated where possible. That is why the Government continues to be very supportive of the Access to Banking Standard and the commitment it places on banks to minimise the impact of branch closures, including by ensuring that customers are aware of the alternative ways they can continue to access banking services.</p><p> </p><p>The Financial Conduct Authority undertook an analysis of branch closures as part of their Strategic Review of Retail Banking Business Models. This analysis can be found in Annex 1 of the final report (https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/multi-firm-reviews/strategic-review-retail-banking-business-models-final-report.pdf)</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 04/07/2019 14:08:54 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1045660

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Retail Trade: Urban Areas
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department is having with the devolved Administrations on government support for high street businesses.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	210716
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>At Budget 2018, the Government announced a £675 million Future High Streets Fund to support local areas in England in developing and funding plans to make high streets fit for the future. Alongside this, the UK Government announced a business rates discount of one third for small retailers in England for two years from April 2019. As high streets funding and business rates are devolved, the Barnett formula has been applied to both in the normal way, and it is for the Devolved Administrations to decide how to use this additional funding.</p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 29/01/2019 16:13:13 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1135312

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Post Offices: Bank Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with representatives from Post Office Ltd on expanding the provision of banking services in post offices in rural communities.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	270430
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The Post Office agreed a three-year, industry-wide agreement known as the Banking Framework in January 2017. This agreement allows 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers to access their account at post offices and marked the largest expansion of face-to-face banking in a generation, allowing communities and businesses to withdraw money, deposit cash and cheques and check balances at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK. The volume of basic banking transactions undertaken at Post Offices has steadily increased since the introduction of the Banking Framework, with close to 130 million transactions in 2018.</p><p> </p><p>The Post Office has recently renegotiated the commercial terms and service enhancements for Banking Framework 2, which will take effect from January 2020. Under the new agreement, there will be a significant increase to the fees that the Post Office will receive from the banks for processing transactions. The Post Office’s overall income through Banking Framework 2 will only increase further as transaction volumes continue to grow.</p><p> </p><p>HM Treasury is very supportive of the agreement and recognises fully its role in providing continued access to over-the-counter banking services for customers across the country, particularly when a bank branch closes. However, these are commercial matters for the banks and the Post Office and they require full commercial freedom to consider what, if any, further banking services might be feasible to offer through the Post Office network.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 04/07/2019 14:18:47 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair

1105657

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Oil: Prices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis his Department has carried out on the correlation between changes in crude oil prices and changes in petrol and diesel prices paid by motorist at the pumps.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Kirstene Hair
	uin	237769
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The pump prices for petrol and diesel are affected by a number of factors including the oil price and exchange rate. It is important for motorists to be confident that they are being treated fairly, and that when wholesale costs of fuel come down, these reductions are passed on transparently, and without unnecessary delay.</p><p> </p><p>The Government believes this is achieved through effective market competition. In 2013, the Office of Fair Trading found that competition in the road fuels sector was working relatively effectively, although a competition problem was identified in the market for road fuels on motorways, for which action was taken at Autumn Statement 2014.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will continue to make it clear to industry that it expects it to pass any savings that result from lower oil prices onto customers.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also frozen fuel duty in every year from 2011 to lessen the impact of high fuel prices on households and business costs. By the end of 2019-20, fuel duty will have been frozen for nine successive years, saving the average car driver £1000 compared to the pre-2010 fuel duty escalator plans.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 04/04/2019 13:59:35 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	4675 label Biography information for Kirstene Hair