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576530

registered interest
date	05/09/2016
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	Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to increase awareness of the Disability Confident campaign; and how his Department plans to measure the effectiveness of that campaign.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44951
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>We have developed a new Disability Confident employer accreditation scheme. This went live in July.</p><p>This will be core to our engagement with employers to raise awareness, improve performance and drive up engagement on the disability employment agenda.</p><p>We are developing plans to formally launch the scheme in the Autumn and more information on take up and effectiveness measures will be available from then.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 12/09/2016 11:44:48 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

576535

registered interest
date	05/09/2016
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, what guidance his Department provides on the minimum number of days between benefit payments for a person ending an employment and support allowance claim and beginning a jobseeker's allowance claim; and what the average time between such benefit payments was in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44952
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The department does not specifically hold data in relation to claimants who transition from ESA to JSA and the time taken to award JSA following the closure of an ESA claim. As a department we strive to process all new claims made to JSA as quickly and efficiently as possible with a minimum expected level of 90% processed within 10 days. We are currently achieving 90.7% as of July 2016.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 12/09/2016 16:04:55 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573737

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Food Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, entitled Voices of the hungry, published in April 2016, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) initiate regular annual monitoring of adult and child food insecurity in the UK and (b) determine a precise estimate on which to base action to reduce food poverty.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44475
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>Food insecurity is a global problem which the United Nations (UN) agreed to confront at the World Food Summit in 1996 and has framed subsequent sustainable development goals. Getting accurate and informative data was the motivation for the ‘Voices of the Hungry’ project. This project has established an annual universal metric to measure lack of access to food and the severity of this in over 150 countries, and help inform UN policy. The Department for International Development has provided financial support to enable the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to take this forward.</p><p>The United Kingdom is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and to the data the FAO commissions and manages. There are therefore no plans for the Department of Health to independently monitor food insecurity going forward, or determine a precise estimate on which to base action to reduce food poverty.</p><p>The Government is committed to tackling childhood obesity and launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action on 18 August. A copy of the plan is attached and is also available at:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf</p> answering member constituency Ludlow answering member printed Mr Philip Dunne grouped question UIN 44476 question first answered 12/09/2016 16:12:30 answering member 1542 label Biography information for Philip Dunne
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573738

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Children: Obesity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, entitled Voices of the hungry, published in April 2016, whether tackling dietary inequality will be a focus of the forthcoming childhood obesity strategy.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44476
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>Food insecurity is a global problem which the United Nations (UN) agreed to confront at the World Food Summit in 1996 and has framed subsequent sustainable development goals. Getting accurate and informative data was the motivation for the ‘Voices of the Hungry’ project. This project has established an annual universal metric to measure lack of access to food and the severity of this in over 150 countries, and help inform UN policy. The Department for International Development has provided financial support to enable the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to take this forward.</p><p>The United Kingdom is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and to the data the FAO commissions and manages. There are therefore no plans for the Department of Health to independently monitor food insecurity going forward, or determine a precise estimate on which to base action to reduce food poverty.</p><p>The Government is committed to tackling childhood obesity and launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action on 18 August. A copy of the plan is attached and is also available at:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf</p> answering member constituency Ludlow answering member printed Mr Philip Dunne grouped question UIN 44475 question first answered 12/09/2016 16:12:30 answering member 1542 label Biography information for Philip Dunne
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573920

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
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	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, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of no longer being eligible to receive employment and support allowance payments at the assessment rate when undergoing a mandatory reconsideration of a work capability assessment.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44461
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>ESA claimants who are found fit for work and are waiting for their mandatory reconsideration application to be decided, are eligible to claim JSA. This is the right benefit for those who are capable of work, with Jobcentre work coaches fully supporting these claimants during this period - and the statistics released on 8 September show that this period is now a relatively short one – the median average being around 9 days.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 12/09/2016 13:30:24 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573922

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
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	Personal Independence Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many mandatory reconsiderations for personal independence payments have resulted in a revised decision as a result of further evidence in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44463
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 12/09/2016 11:17:37 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573923

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
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	Attendance 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 his Department has made of the potential effect of the introduction of personal independence payments on future rates of claims for attendance allowance.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44464
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>Individuals in receipt of PIP before the age of 65 will continue to receive PIP as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria. This mirrors Disability Living Allowance, the benefit that preceded PIP. Anyone that becomes disabled after the age of 65 will be able to claim Attendance Allowance.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 12/09/2016 14:46:12 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573924

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
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, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the decline in Short Term Benefit Advance applications in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK between February 2015 and March 2016.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) are payments on account of benefit. The majority of STBAs are awarded to people in the period before their benefit is first due to be paid, but STBAs can also be paid where a change of circumstances significantly increases the amount of benefit due. STBAs are predominately paid to people claiming Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance. They are not available to people claiming Universal Credit.</p><p>Between April 2015 and March 2016, there were 218,592 STBA applications in Great Britain as a whole, with monthly variations ranging from 17,188 in September 2015 to 21,529 in February 2016, but with no downward trend at the year end. In Scotland, there were 26,322 applications over the same period, with monthly variations ranging from 1,462 in November 2015 to 3,022 in April 2015, with a clear downward trend at the year end.</p><p>As the roll-out of Universal Credit to all new claimants progresses, we anticipate a corresponding decline in the number of STBA applications.</p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions continues to advertise the availability of STBAs through the gov.uk website, with information posters and leaflets in Jobcentres nationwide.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 12/09/2016 12:45:34 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573925

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
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, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of having no timescale within which his Department must return a mandatory reconsideration decision to the claimant.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44468
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>There has been no statutory requirement to make a benefit decision within a specified time since 1998. This applies equally to a claim for benefit, an application for review and, since it was introduced in April 2013, an application for Mandatory Reconsideration. Decisions are made without delay – whilst giving claimants every opportunity to provide new and additional evidence to support their application.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 12/09/2016 11:02:01 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573931

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
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: Telephone Services
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 and median waiting time is for users calling the universal credit helpline; and how many calls to that helpline were answered in (a) less than five, (b) between five and 10, (c) between 10 and 15, (d) between 15 and 20 and (e) more than thirty minutes between 1 January and 30 June 2016.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
uin	44470
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The data below states the Average Speed of Answer for all UC calls for the period 1 January 2016 – 30 June 2016.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Universal Credit Average Speed of Answer</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average Speed of Answer</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>January 2016</strong></p></td><td><p>00:02:09</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>February 2016</strong></p></td><td><p>00:02:03</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>March 2016</strong></p></td><td><p>00:02:01</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>April 2016</strong></p></td><td><p>00:02:44</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>May 2016</strong></p></td><td><p>00:02:24</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>June 2016</strong></p></td><td><p>00:02:41</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p>00:02:22</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Data source: Operational Management Information System (OPMIS)</p><p>It would be a disproportionate cost to compute the median in each month, and the breakdown by waiting time intervals.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 12/09/2016 12:06:10 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford