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1042292

registered interest
date	16/01/2019
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	Offshore Industry: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Health and Safety Executive on the (a) application and (b) enforcement of the UK Continental Shelf of Directive 2013/30/EU on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations in the event that the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019 without a deal.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	209347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to maintaining health and safety protections for workers when the UK leaves the EU so there is no reason for these standards to change .</p><p> </p><p>The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations 2015 (SCR15) transposed the health and safety requirements of Directive 2013/30/EU into domestic legislation. All requirements and duties in SCR15 will continue to apply after the UK has left the EU. This will provide certainty and clarity for workers and industry.</p><p> </p><p>Minor technical amendments are required to make sure SCR15 remains operable after EU exit.</p><p>Three amendments are included in <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1370/introduction/made" target="_blank">The Health and Safety (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (SI 218/1370)</a> (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1370/introduction/made). This Statutory Instrument (SI) was laid in Parliament on 18 December 2018.</p><p> </p><p>One further amendment is included in <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2019/9780111176368" target="_blank">The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019</a> (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2019/9780111176368). The draft SI was laid in Parliament on 11 December 2018.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 209350 question first answered 24/01/2019 17:30:53 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1042293

registered interest
date	16/01/2019
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	Offshore Safety Directive Regulator
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the (a) Health and Safety Executive and (b) Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the status of the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	209348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2019 answer text <p>The Offshore Safety Directive Regulator (OSDR) will continue to function as the competent authority and regulator of the offshore oil and gas major hazard regime after the UK leaves the EU.</p><p> </p><p>This partnership competent authority was set up administratively under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU and arrangements in place will not be affected after exiting the EU.</p><p> </p><p>The legislative requirements of the Directive were transposed into domestic legislation which will continue to apply in the UK after EU exit. OSDR will continue to oversee industry compliance with this legislation and perform its’ regulatory and administrative functions.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 24/01/2019 15:22:53 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1042294

registered interest
date	16/01/2019
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	Offshore Safety Directive Regulator
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator last updated trade unions organising offshore oil and gas workers.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	209349
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2019 answer text <p>The Offshore Major Accident Hazards Advisory Committee (OMAHAC) is tripartite in composition. This means that the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator can discuss regulatory developments with both trade union and employers’ representatives. Representatives of both Unite and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) are members of OMAHAC and expect to attend all meetings if they are available to do so.</p><p> </p><p>The most recent OMAHAC meeting was held on 18 December 2018 and both Unite and RMT attended the meeting. Most of OMAHAC’s meeting agendas, minutes and attendee lists are available on HSE’s website: <a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/osdr/omahac.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hse.gov.uk/osdr/omahac.htm</a>.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 24/01/2019 17:01:23 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1042295

registered interest
date	16/01/2019
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	Offshore Industry: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the provisions of the Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations 2015 (OSDR) require amendment in order to continue applying on installations on the UK Continental Shelf after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	209350
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to maintaining health and safety protections for workers when the UK leaves the EU so there is no reason for these standards to change .</p><p> </p><p>The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations 2015 (SCR15) transposed the health and safety requirements of Directive 2013/30/EU into domestic legislation. All requirements and duties in SCR15 will continue to apply after the UK has left the EU. This will provide certainty and clarity for workers and industry.</p><p> </p><p>Minor technical amendments are required to make sure SCR15 remains operable after EU exit.</p><p>Three amendments are included in <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1370/introduction/made" target="_blank">The Health and Safety (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (SI 218/1370)</a> (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1370/introduction/made). This Statutory Instrument (SI) was laid in Parliament on 18 December 2018.</p><p> </p><p>One further amendment is included in <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2019/9780111176368" target="_blank">The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019</a> (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2019/9780111176368). The draft SI was laid in Parliament on 11 December 2018.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 209347 question first answered 24/01/2019 17:30:53 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1042296

registered interest
date	16/01/2019
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	Offshore Industry: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many meetings of the Offshore Major Accident Hazards Advisory Committee (OMAHAC) there have been since March 2016; and if she will list the attendees at each meeting of OMAHAC to date.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	209351
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2019 answer text <p>There have been five OMAHAC meetings since March 2016. OMAHAC’s membership comprises representatives from the following organisations: Health and Safety Executive (HSE); Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning; Maritime and Coastguard Agency; Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (Regulators); Oil &amp; Gas UK; International Association of Drilling Contractors; British Rig Owners Association; International Marine Contractors Association; Step Change in Safety (Industry Bodies); National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and Unite (Unions). Most of OMAHAC’s meeting agendas, minutes and attendee lists have been made available from HSE’s website: <a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/osdr/omahac.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hse.gov.uk/osdr/omahac.htm</a>.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 24/01/2019 17:23:41 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1010286

registered interest
date	19/11/2018
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	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 the average processing time for income-related employment support allowance claims where a claimant has a DS1500 medical condition report is.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	192886
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2018 answer text <p>The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The DS1500 is not a claim form and its use in providing evidential support for claims from people who are terminally ill claiming benefit is not obligatory.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 26/11/2018 11:54:41 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

999543

registered interest
date	01/11/2018
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, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2018 to Question 177771 on Universal Credit, whether the Department’s plans to check evidence of complex needs will include a requirement to undertake a home visit.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	187021
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2018 answer text <p>We have improved how our Work Coaches and Case Workers view the claimant’s</p><p>Universal Credit account so they can identify a vulnerable claimant, in order to tailor the support they need. This may include contacting the claimant’s healthcare professional.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking a slow, measured approach to managed migration and this will allow for on-going evaluation of the process to ensure that it is working successfully and will allow us to refine our methods to support claimants.</p><p> </p><p>Where it is identified that existing benefit claimants are vulnerable or have complex needs and they have not made a new UC claim by the deadline day, their existing benefit claims are not terminated. This can be delayed until the claimant feels comfortable continuing with the managed migration process or for a home visit to be arranged to help them make a new UC claim.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 187022 question first answered 06/11/2018 16:41:48 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

999544

registered interest
date	01/11/2018
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, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2018 to Question 177771 on Universal Credit, whether the Department’s plans to check evidence of complex needs will include a requirement to contact a claimant’s healthcare professional where that information is known.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	187022
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2018 answer text <p>We have improved how our Work Coaches and Case Workers view the claimant’s</p><p>Universal Credit account so they can identify a vulnerable claimant, in order to tailor the support they need. This may include contacting the claimant’s healthcare professional.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking a slow, measured approach to managed migration and this will allow for on-going evaluation of the process to ensure that it is working successfully and will allow us to refine our methods to support claimants.</p><p> </p><p>Where it is identified that existing benefit claimants are vulnerable or have complex needs and they have not made a new UC claim by the deadline day, their existing benefit claims are not terminated. This can be delayed until the claimant feels comfortable continuing with the managed migration process or for a home visit to be arranged to help them make a new UC claim.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 187021 question first answered 06/11/2018 16:41:48 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

900161

registered interest
date	08/05/2018
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	Carers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of carers; what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing the level of carer’s allowance to the existing level of contributions-based jobseeker’s allowance for people aged 25 and over; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing the carer premium by the current difference between carer’s allowance and contributions-based jobseeker’s allowance for people aged 25 and over.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	141782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2018 answer text <p>The level of Carer’s Allowance (CA) is protected by uprating it annually in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Since 2010 the rate of CA has increased from £53.90 to £64.60 a week, meaning an additional £550 a year for carers. In 2022/23 the Government is forecast to spend £3.7 billion on CA, a 36% real terms increase in expenditure on 2016/17.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits according to their circumstances. There are carer “premiums” in income-related benefits, such as Income Support, Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. These amounts recognise the additional contribution and responsibilities associated with caring and mean that lower-income carers can receive more than others who receive these benefits. For example, in 2017, 6 out of ten households on Universal Credit with a Carer Entitlement recorded received a Monthly Award Amount of over £400: this is in addition to any CA they may receive.</p><p> </p><p>According to the Family Resources Survey (2016/17), there were an estimated 5.4 million informal carers in the United Kingdom in 2016/17. Only some of these receive Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>DWP can provide a broad illustrative gross cost of paying an extra £8.50 a week (the current difference between the rate of CA and the Jobseeker’s Allowance over 25 rate) to 810,000 CA recipients (rounded down CA in-payment cases in Great Britain, August 2017). This would have cost in the region of £360m in 2018/19. (Around 9% of this expenditure covers carers living in Scotland where CA will shortly be devolved to the Scottish Government.) Actual costs will also be affected by possible behavioural impacts, such as whether the higher rates of benefit will encourage more people to claim CA and, therefore, may be higher than the indicative forecast costs. The information requested on premiums is not available.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 15/05/2018 11:44:47 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

896284

registered interest
date	02/05/2018
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	Offshore Industry: Pollution Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of (a) detection and (b) reporting of hydrocarbon releases from oil and gas installations on the UK continental shelf since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	140715
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2018 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive has recorded the following hydrocarbon releases (HCRs) by year:</p><p> </p><p>2000 264</p><p>2001 251</p><p>2002 242</p><p>2003 242</p><p>2004 273</p><p>2005 224</p><p>2006 190</p><p>2007 185</p><p>2008 147</p><p>2009 179</p><p>2010 186</p><p>2011 142</p><p>2012 105</p><p>2013 118</p><p>2014 94</p><p>2015 93</p><p>2016 101(p)</p><p>2017 103(p)</p><p> </p><p>Final figures for 2016 will be confirmed and published with the provisional figures for 2017 as part of the Health and Safety Executive’s annual <em>Offshore Statistics &amp; Regulatory Activity Report, </em>due to be published in July.</p><p> </p><p>Releases are categorised as “major”, “significant” and “minor”, depending on the potential consequences of the event, which is usually directly linked to the total quantity or rate of release.Overall reported hydrocarbon releases have approximately halved since 2010. The reporting process presents an opportunity for both the regulator and the industry to investigate and identify underlying causes and learn lessons.</p><p> </p><p>Although the offshore industry has seen the overall downward trend as an indicator of improved performance, HSE remains concerned that every release represents a deficiency in an operator’s process safety management, and an increased risk of harm to workers. There have also been a small number of large releases every year which could have resulted in a major accident.</p><p> </p><p>Consequently, the Director of HSE’s Energy Division wrote recently to challenge the offshore industry to identify and address any weaknesses in its leadership and safety culture, as well as its arrangements for safety system audits, which have allowed such releases to occur (see attachment entitled Letter from the Director, HSE Energy Division to the Oil and Gas Industry on Hydrocarbon Releases).</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 140076 question first answered 10/05/2018 14:33:45 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham