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1139651

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Yemen: Humanitarian Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What recent discussions he has had with his (a) European and (b) other international counterparts on the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	911993
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK regularly discusses the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela in international fora.</p><p>This includes with our European counterparts, as well as during the visits to the UK by the Colombian President Duque and US Secretary of State Pompeo.</p><p>Together with our international partners, we continue to call for unimpeded access for humanitarian aid in to Venezuela.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 17/07/2019 15:33:38 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1139652

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Developing Countries: Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What progress his Department has made on achieving sustainable development goal 4 on education for children.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	911994
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>We are one of the largest bilateral donors to education globally</p><p><br>Between 2015 and 2019 we supported 14.3 million children to gain a decent education of which at least 5.8m were girls.</p><p>DFID’s focus is on ensuring that children have access to a quality education.</p><p>My ambition is that DFID increases the number of its education specialists in the field to support the major shift required in education systems and teaching to deliver improved learning for children.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 17/07/2019 15:52:29 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

1138793

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What recent assessment he has made of the effect on asylum seekers of his Department's policy on the right to work.
	tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
	tabling member printed	Stuart C. McDonald
	uin	911932
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government fully appreciates that this is an important and complex issue which we need to consider in further detail.</p><p>That is why the Home Secretary has committed to review the policy.</p><p>We are continuing productive discussions with key partners, listening carefully to the arguments and considering the evidence put forward on this issue</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 15/07/2019 16:10:06 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1138797

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Overseas Students: English Language
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What progress he has made on his review of the treatment of overseas students accused of cheating in the Test of English for International Communication between 2011 and 2014; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	911936
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Following my last update to the House and the publication of the National Audit Office report into this issue I have sought further advice from officials in my department about measures we can put in place for those who maintain their innocence.</p><p>I intend to make a statement to the House this very soon.</p> answering member constituency Bromsgrove answering member printed Sajid Javid question first answered 15/07/2019 16:20:21 answering member 3945 label Biography information for Sir Sajid Javid
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1138795

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Hate Crime: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of reported disability hate crime.
	tabling member constituency	Oldham East and Saddleworth
	tabling member printed	Debbie Abrahams
	uin	911940
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The latest official data indicates an increase in police recorded disability hate crime, which is mostly due to general police recording improvements.</p><p>The latest Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates a downward trend in overall hate crime incidence over the past decade but any instance is one too many and we stand alongside all victims of this abhorrent crime.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 15/07/2019 16:13:07 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4212 label Biography information for Debbie Abrahams

1138693

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	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: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he is taking to tackle universal credit fraud.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	276511
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes its obligation to prevent, detect and investigate fraud very seriously and will investigate all claims where fraud may have been committed. We have recently set up a dedicated team to investigate a specific type of emergent fraud, and we are also committed to the use of penalties such as prosecutions and tough financial penalties to discourage fraudulent behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has also recently been working to further improve knowledge and awareness of Universal Credit (UC) fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that all staff are aware how to quickly refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p><p> </p><p>Most welfare losses, across Government, arise from claimants failing to report changes of circumstances. UC provides a single, digital interface through which claimants can more easily report these changes. UC also allows us to adjust benefit entitlement in line with changing circumstances in real time. Internal and external data matches are increasingly helping to inform benefit payments and alerting staff to check for any undeclared changes in people’s circumstances. Once UC is fully rolled out, we expect cross-welfare losses to fraud, error and overpayments to be reduced by around £1 billion per year</p><p> </p><p>As of June 2019, potential fraudulent advance claims equate to less than 1 per cent of all Universal Credit claims.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 12:58:00 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138694

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	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: Proof of Identity
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure accurate verification of universal credit claimants who request an advance.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	276512
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>As of June 2019, potential fraudulent advance claims equate to less than 1 per cent of all Universal Credit claims.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has been working to improve knowledge and awareness of advances fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that staff are aware how to refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p><p> </p><p>We are developing our service iteratively and improving any areas in the service that may currently be presenting issues, to minimise the risk of fraud while ensuring that we can continue to provide financial support to those claimants who need it.</p><p>We cannot share advance detail of the specific security improvements we are making but this includes improving our process for verifying a claimant’s circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 12:46:01 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138699

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	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: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of universal credit scams.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	276513
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes benefit fraud very seriously and is committed to taking appropriate action when it is detected.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant has been the victim of fraud, and has not benefitted financially in any way, they will not be asked to repay the money. The Department considers all cases on their individual merits and decisions are made on the strength of the evidence provided.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has been working to improve knowledge and awareness of advances fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that staff are aware how to refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p><p> </p><p>Most welfare losses, across Government, arise from claimants failing to report changes of circumstances, Universal Credit (UC) provides a single, digital interface through which claimants can more easily report these changes. As such, once UC is fully rolled out, we expect cross-welfare losses to fraud, error and overpayments to be reduced by around £1 billion per year.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 13:47:42 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138443

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Construction: Apprentices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships were created in the construction sector in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Bootle
	tabling member printed	Peter Dowd
	uin	276218
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>The most recent statistics on apprenticeships starts by industry sector cover the academic years 2012/13 to 2016/17 and are published on GOV.UK:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeships-in-england-by-industry-characteristics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeships-in-england-by-industry-characteristics</a>.</p><p>In 2016/17 there were:</p><ul><li>36,170 starts in the manufacturing sector;</li><li>1,620 starts in the energy sector; and</li><li>31,610 starts in the construction sector.</li></ul><p>Statistics for 2017/18 are due to be published in October 2019.</p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton grouped question UIN 276215 276216 question first answered 16/07/2019 11:38:48 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
	tabling member	4397 label Biography information for Peter Dowd

1138639

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Autism: Diagnosis
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to reduce waiting times for autism assessments for adults.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton South
	tabling member printed	Dr Paul Williams
	uin	276605
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>No one should have to face long waits for an autism assessment. We expect services to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard which recommends that the length between referral and a first appointment to start an assessment should be no more than three months.</p><p>We are determined to drive up performance nationally. We will use data on autism diagnosis waiting times, available for the first time later this year, to hold local areas to account and act where waiting times exceed the NICE standard.</p><p>Whilst a diagnosis of autism should happen as soon as possible, it is important to recognise that a diagnosis is often complex and can involve different professionals and agencies. We are following the prevailing clinical guidance set out by NICE.</p><p>NHS England and NHS Improvement encourage local areas to follow existing NICE guidelines and quality standards when commissioning and delivering diagnosis services for both children and adults.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage grouped question UIN 276606 276607 question first answered 17/07/2019 15:23:52 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
	tabling member	4666 label Biography information for Dr Paul Williams