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1005997

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	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	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 representations she has received about the effect on vulnerable people and those with mental health conditions of joint claims for Universal Credit which are paid to one person in the family.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190888
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2018 answer text <p>We recognise that the move to a single monthly household payment is a significant change and therefore for a minority of claimants, alternative payment arrangements can be provided to help them manage that change. These include: managed payment of the Universal Credit housing cost to landlords; making payments more frequently than monthly (e.g. twice monthly); and splitting the payment between partners within the household.</p><p> </p><p>Splitting payments between partners is normally considered to prevent hardship to a claimant and their family, for example if the Universal Credit claimant is not managing their financial affairs and cannot or will not budget for their own or their family’s basic day to day needs.</p><p> </p><p>We take seriously the need to support vulnerable claimants. Universal Credit provides enhanced personalised support for people by simplifying the benefits system. All claimants, including vulnerable claimants and those with mental health conditions, receive continuous tailored support managed through personal work coaches, who know each person’s case.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally we can offer Personal Budgeting Support which aims to prepare claimants for the financial changes Universal Credit brings. It provides transitional support to help them manage their monthly payments and prioritise essential bills, such as rent and utilities.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/11/2018 16:23:24 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1005995

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Digital Technology: Training
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ring-fence additional funding to enhance further education training in digital capability.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190886
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government will introduce an entitlement to full funding for basic digital courses from 2020. Adults will have the opportunity to undertake improved digital courses based on new national standards free of charge.</p><p> </p><p>As is the case for the English and maths adult entitlements, the new basic digital skills entitlement will be funded through the Adult Education Budget.</p><p> </p><p>In the interim, we will continue to support the provision of basic digital skills training for adults in colleges and community learning centres across England through the Adult Education Budget and other programmes.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 19/11/2018 14:00:02 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1005996

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Home Shopping: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using revenue from the online sales tax to support high streets.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190887
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2018 answer text <p>The Budget 2018 announced Our Plan for the High Street, a support package worth £1.5 billion that aims to help high streets and town centres in England to evolve and adapt to changing consumer demands.</p><p> </p><p>This support includes a two-year business rates cut of one third to the bills of small retailers, a £675m Future High Streets Fund to support high streets to evolve, and planning reforms.</p><p> </p><p>The measures apply to England. The UK Government is providing Barnett consequential funding to the Devolved Administrations so that they may offer similar support if they wish.</p>At the Budget, the government announced a Digital Services Tax. This is not a tax on online sales but a tax on the revenues of certain digital business activities which derive value from UK users. answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 21/11/2018 15:17:24 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1005998

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: Tax Allowances
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he will consider further tax breaks for micro businesses and small business to enable those businesses to take on more employees.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190889
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2018 answer text <p>This government recognises the UK’s 5.7 million small and medium businesses play a vital role in the economy, employing 16.1 million people.</p><p> </p><p>Since April 2014, businesses and charities have been entitled to the Employment Allowance (EA) to reduce their employer NICs bill every year to enable them to grow and hire new staff. The EA was increased in 2015 to £3,000 per employer and from April 2020 will be targeted at the smallest businesses, who need it most.</p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 21/11/2018 15:39:38 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1006177

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Officers: Labour Turnover
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to encourage more prison officers to stay in post.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190890
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>Retaining and recruiting engaged and motivated staff is critical to delivering the solutions to drive improvement across the service. We know that retention of staff will take more than a ‘one size fits all’ approach, and specific action is being taken where attrition is most acute.</p><p> </p><p>We launched a Retention Framework and Action Plan, designed to support prisons in identifying drivers of attrition and local interventions. Governors are proactively using the Framework to implement the actions required to tackle attrition at their prisons. A Retention Board has also been established to review Band 3-5 Prison Officer resignation rates, providing support and targeted interventions to prisons with acute issues or increasing resignation rates.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 20/11/2018 17:17:49 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1006178

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Unmanned Air Vehicles
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department plans to take against (a) drone operators and (b) prisoners involved in receiving messages or contraband.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190891
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>We are taking decisive steps to tackle the use of drones as a supply route for organised criminals to bring drugs and mobile phones into prisons. These drone operators can be prosecuted for offences related to conveyance of items into prison under the Prison Act 1952. Last year we launched Operation Trenton, a specialist team of police and Prison Service investigators, to work together to intercept drones and track down the criminals behind them.</p><p> </p><p>On 26 October, following the largest investigation of its kind, an organised criminal gang of 15 were collectively sentenced to nearly 40 years in prison for using drones to drop drugs into several prisons. One member of the gang received a sentence of 10 years’ custody, the highest single sentence for drone-related activity to date.</p><p> </p><p>Prisoners who break the law in prison should expect to be sanctioned according to the severity of the crime, with serious crimes being referred to the police for investigation. The maximum sentence that a court may impose will depend on the facts of the case and the offence the prisoner has been found guilty of committing. In respect of controlled drugs, for example, prisoners involved in their delivery may receive a sentence of up to 10 years’ custody and an unlimited fine.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 20/11/2018 17:16:31 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1005987

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	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	Prescription Drugs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has provided guidance to manufacturers on communicating the potential health benefits of their products to consumers.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190883
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government has not provided guidance to manufacturers on communicating the potential health benefits of their products provided through the NHS Supply Chain to consumers.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 21/11/2018 16:47:41 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1005988

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	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	Electronic Cigarettes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the implications are for his policies of the evidence from Public Health England and Cancer Research UK that one of the most effective ways to stop smoking is to use vape products.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190884
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government is committed to reducing public health harms caused by smoking and has consistently highlighted that quitting smoking and nicotine use is the best way to improve health. E-cigarettes are not risk free. However, the evidence is increasingly clear that vaping is significantly less harmful to health than smoking tobacco and can be particularly useful in supporting smokers to quit, especially when combined with stop smoking services.</p><p> </p><p>The most recent evidence report review from Public Health England, published on 6 February 2018, argues that e-cigarette use, alone or in combination with licensed medication and behavioural support from a stop smoking service appears to be helpful in the short-term, and that e-cigarettes have contributed to tens of thousands of additional quitters in England.</p><p> </p><p>The Department will continue to monitor the impact of regulation and policy on e-cigarettes and novel tobacco products in England, including evidence on safety, uptake, health impact and effectiveness of these products as smoking cessation aids, to inform our future policy.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine question first answered 20/11/2018 15:10:02 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1005989

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	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	Electronic Cigarettes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the regulation of non-nicotine liquid for vape products and nicotine shots.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	190885
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>Nicotine shots are regulated under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulation 2016 as they are a nicotine containing product. As shortfills do not contain nicotine when sold they are not regulated under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR), but are covered by General Product Safety Regulations.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to conduct a review of the TRPR at a later date.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine question first answered 20/11/2018 15:08:46 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon