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167612

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	Poverty: Children
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comments by Lord Freud in the Grand Committee debate on the Child Poverty Act 2010 (Persistent Poverty Targets) Regulations 2014, that the facts Lord McAvoy had quoted were "simply not true" (HL Deb, 25 November, col GC 263), how they were not true.
	tabling member printed	Lord McAvoy
	uin	HL3387
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>I wrote to the Noble Peer on this issue on 4<sup>th</sup> December 2014. I have placed a copy of this letter in the library of the House and have also attached it to this response.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 08/12/2014 15:43:27 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud attachment 1 file name Letter to Lord McAvoy 4.12.14.PDF title Letter to Lord McAvoy 4th Dec 2014
	tabling member	4158 label Biography information for Lord McAvoy

167856

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment
	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 who have been found fit for work following a work capability assessment have reapplied for employment and support allowance within (a) 12, (b) 24 and (c) 36 months.
	tabling member constituency	Erith and Thamesmead
	tabling member printed	Teresa Pearce
	uin	217123
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 12:48:54 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	4003 label Biography information for Teresa Pearce

167853

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances benefit claimants are permitted to undertake paid work which is regarded as therapeutic.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	217129
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>A person who is entitled to Employment and Support Allowance and who does any work will normally be treated as not having limited capability for work and will lose their entitlement accordingly. However, under existing provisions, there are types of work that a claimant can do without losing their benefit entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>This is called ‘exempt work’ (more commonly referred to as ‘permitted work’). <br> The categories of exempt work are Permitted Work; Voluntary Work and work done in a Work Placement. There are four types of permitted work.</p><p> </p><p>· Permitted Work Lower Level: work for no more than £20 a week at any time for as long as the person is on benefit;<br> <br></p><p>· Permitted Work Higher Level: work for less than 16 hours a week with earnings of no more than £104.00 a week for a fixed period of 52 weeks with the aim of progressing to work of more than 16 hours per week; <br> <br></p><p>· Permitted Work Higher Level Subsequent: at the end of the 52 week period of PWHL, if they have not progressed to work of more than 16 hours, claimants can continue to work for no more than £20 per week. After a gap of 52 weeks customers can undertake a subsequent period of 52 weeks at the higher level;<br> <br></p><p>· Supported Permitted Work: claimants can work for no more than £104.00 a week for as long as they are on benefit if they have a disability which is unlikely to improve over time and they need regular and on going support or supervision in the work place in order to make as much progress as they can towards full-time work. A person is able to work and earn up to and including £104.00 a week indefinitely where their work is supervised by someone who is employed by a public or local authority, or a voluntary organisation whose job it is to arrange work for people with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>A person can only do one type of Permitted Work at any one time and there are rules which cover the length of time that claimants may undertake each category, and the amount they can earn.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 12:24:20 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

167828

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Probation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of out-sourcing probation services in reducing re-offending rates.
	tabling member constituency	Islwyn
	tabling member printed	Chris Evans
	uin	217027
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Our Transforming Rehabilitation reforms will tackle the problem of persistently high reoffending rates by opening up the delivery of rehabilitation services to a diverse range of public, private and voluntary sector providers. Providers will only be paid in full if they are successful at reducing reoffending. We are also putting in place an unprecedented ‘through the gate’ resettlement service giving most offenders continuous support by one provider from custody into the community. Rehabilitation support is also being extended to an extra 45,000 offenders on sentences of less than 12 months, who currently get no support on release and have the highest reoffending rates.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the reforms, transition to new probation structures took place on 1 June 2014 and the National Probation Service and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies are now live. The 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies remain in public ownership while the competition to establish their new owners progresses. We will be able to assess the impact of the reforms on reoffending rates once we have transitioned service provision to the new providers.</p><p> </p><p>A significant step towards completing these reforms was taken on 5 December as we awarded contracts to the organisations that will lead a new approach to rehabilitation. There was strong competition for each of the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies, with bids showing real innovation. Nineteen of the 21 contract areas will be led by new partnerships and joint ventures between private sector firms and some of Britain’s biggest and most successful rehabilitation charities. Six will be run with the involvement of a probation staff “mutual”. We expect new providers to be in place by early next year, in line with the Government’s commitment to introduce these reforms by 2015.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 08/12/2014 15:16:35 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
	tabling member	4040 label Biography information for Chris Evans

167826

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners on Remand: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been remanded from courts in North Wales into police cells in the last six months.
	tabling member constituency	Wrexham
	tabling member printed	Ian Lucas
	uin	216974
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The information requested is not collected centrally in this form. To provide it, we would need to undertake a manual examination of individual records of prisoner journeys in North Wales. This could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.</p><p>Police cells are not normally used to accommodate prisoners remanded or sentenced by the courts. However, circumstances can exceptionally occur – for example where there is major traffic disruption owing to bad weather or other causes – in which it is not possible, at the end of the court proceedings, to complete a journey to a prison in the time available.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 08/12/2014 14:42:59 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
	tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

167863

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	Employment and Support Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increased number of claimants of employment and support allowance receiving benefit sanctions since mid-2013.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	217132
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The number of ESA claimants referred to the Work Programme has increased by more than half over the last 2 years and as such we would expect to see a consequential increase in sanction referrals as more people join the programme.</p><p> </p><p>ESA claimants are not sanctioned for not finding or taking up work and all activities claimants are referred to must be reasonable given their circumstances and capabilities. In any month less than 1% of ESA claimants are sanctioned.</p><p> </p><p>Evidence suggests that work and work related activity is good for people with health conditions. Through the Work Programme ESA claimants have access to the support they need to improve their skills and move closer to the labour market. With this increased support, comes increased expectations and where claimants fail to meet reasonable requirements, proportionate sanctions are applied.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 12:43:13 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

167818

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Sexual Offences
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have licences to use specialist software to monitor the internet usage of registered sex offenders.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	216995
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p><br>This information is not collated centrally. <br><br>Tough checks and a range of legislative measures are available to manage known sex offenders. Where there are specific concerns about the online activities of a registered sex offender, Sexual Offences Prevention Orders can impose <br>specific conditions and restrictions on their internet and computer use.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 08/12/2014 14:37:33 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

167777

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Pregnancy Tests
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made in setting up an inquiry into the use of the hormone pregnancy test Primados.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Riverside
	tabling member printed	Mrs Louise Ellman
	uin	216965
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p>A panel of independent experts is being convened to review all available data on the possible association between hormonal pregnancy tests, including Primodos, and birth defects. The Government is in the process of obtaining all relevant documents in order that they may be evaluated by the Panel. The time frame for the inquiry has yet to be finalised but the Panel is expected to review the evidence in the early months of 2015.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 08/12/2014 15:09:10 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
	tabling member	484 label Biography information for Dame Louise Ellman

167854

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	Employment and Support Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances claimants of employment and support allowance are permitted to retain their benefit while undertaking voluntary work.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	217130
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p>A person can do voluntary work as long as they do not receive any payment other than reasonable expenses. The work can be for a charitable or voluntary organisation, for example, or any other type of volunteering as long as it is not for a relative.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 12:35:05 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

167742

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Porpoises: Conservation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she or her ministerial colleagues have made to the government of Mexico on steps to protect the vaquita from extinction.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	216966
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p>At my request, the UK Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) raised the critically endangered status of the vaquita at the IWC meeting in September 2014, as well as in bilateral meetings with Mexican officials. The UK commended the efforts and progress made by the Mexican Government in tackling this issue and urged it to continue its important work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK also announced a donation to the IWC Small Cetaceans Fund, which supports research projects, including on the vaquita.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 08/12/2014 14:10:51 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy