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1139846

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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	Carer's 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 potential merits of increasing the rate of the carer’s allowance to match the rate of jobseeker’s allowance.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	278481
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the cost to the public purse of increasing the rate of Carer’s Allowance to that of Jobseeker’s Allowance is not available but an indicative cost can be calculated using data published on StatXplore and gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>The current rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance for those aged 25 and over is £73.10. The difference between this and the rate of Carer’s Allowance (currently £66.15 a week) is £6.95. As of November 2018, there were approximately 780,000 claimants receiving Carer’s Allowance in England and Wales. Thus, paying an additional £6.95 a week to carers in England and Wales would cost in the region of £280m a year. Carer’s Allowance has been devolved to the Scottish Government since September 2018 and is delivered in Scotland by DWP for an interim period under an Agency Agreement.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also provides targeted financial support for carers on low incomes through income-related benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Income Support. In April 2019, the additional amount for carers in receipt of Pension Credit and Income Support increased to £36.85 a week. The Universal Credit carer element increased to £160.20 per monthly assessment period. Universal Credit also adjusts to fluctuating earnings and periods when paid employment is not feasible, for example due to caring responsibilities. The Government is committed to helping carers balance providing care with their own paid employment where this is possible, as indicated in the Carers Action Plan.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 278482 question first answered 22/07/2019 13:33:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1139847

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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	Carer's Allowance: Costs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing carer's allowance to the same level as jobseeker’s allowance.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	278482
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the cost to the public purse of increasing the rate of Carer’s Allowance to that of Jobseeker’s Allowance is not available but an indicative cost can be calculated using data published on StatXplore and gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>The current rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance for those aged 25 and over is £73.10. The difference between this and the rate of Carer’s Allowance (currently £66.15 a week) is £6.95. As of November 2018, there were approximately 780,000 claimants receiving Carer’s Allowance in England and Wales. Thus, paying an additional £6.95 a week to carers in England and Wales would cost in the region of £280m a year. Carer’s Allowance has been devolved to the Scottish Government since September 2018 and is delivered in Scotland by DWP for an interim period under an Agency Agreement.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also provides targeted financial support for carers on low incomes through income-related benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Income Support. In April 2019, the additional amount for carers in receipt of Pension Credit and Income Support increased to £36.85 a week. The Universal Credit carer element increased to £160.20 per monthly assessment period. Universal Credit also adjusts to fluctuating earnings and periods when paid employment is not feasible, for example due to caring responsibilities. The Government is committed to helping carers balance providing care with their own paid employment where this is possible, as indicated in the Carers Action Plan.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 278481 question first answered 22/07/2019 13:33:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1137230

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Climate Change: Departmental Coordination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate cross-governmental co-operation on tackling climate change.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	911861
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>Tackling climate change is a shared endeavour between all Government departments. BEIS Ministers and officials regularly engage with their counterparts across government on clean growth matters including delivery of the Clean Growth Strategy and progress against our carbon budgets.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore grouped question UIN 911847 911856 911859 question first answered 10/07/2019 11:23:58 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1134842

registered interest
date	26/06/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration: EU Nationals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question 267306 on Immigration: EU Nationals, what estimate he has made of the number of applicants for whom tax credit records would be relevant.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	269726
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>The purpose of the automated checks is to help the applicant establish their continuous residence in the UK. Eligibility to receive benefits is not dependent upon being continuously resident in the UK. Benefits except Job Seekers Allowance and Maternity Allowance on their own are not strong indicators of continuous residence unless receipt of them persists over a period of 12 months. There are also overlaps with other data that is available from the checks. For instance, PAYE data covers most applicants who claim working tax credits and receipt of other benefits included in the checks will overlap with receipt of child tax credits. Child Benefit is not included in the automated checks because it is not a sufficient indicator of continuous UK residence. A full explanation of how the automated checks work has been published at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-uk-tax-and-benefits-records-automated-check." target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-uk-tax-and-benefits-records-automated-check.</a></p><p>Following analysis conducted on an anonymised sample of 10,000 applications submitted under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, the Home Office estimated that the potential pool of resident EEA citizens who might benefit from tax credits data being included in the automated checks was around two per cent and this was before any consideration of the applicability of that data to proving continuous residence. Individuals who need to rely on tax credits to demonstrate their continuous residence are still able to provide documentary evidence of this as part of their application.</p><p>In accordance with section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, we have had due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 03/07/2019 15:35:26 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1131224

registered interest
date	11/06/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Libya: Migrants
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the number of refugees the Government plans to resettle from detention centres in Libya.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	263145
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2019 answer text <p>The ongoing plight of refugees in Libya is a matter of deep concern for the British Government. A range of interventions, including the focus and scale of the Government's existing resettlement programmes, are regularly discussed between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office. We continue to pressure the Libyan authorities to pursue alternatives to detention and prioritise human rights. I met the Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister last week and pressed the issue.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 17/06/2019 15:23:17 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1130877

registered interest
date	10/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Migrant Workers: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the allocation of revenues from the Immigration Skills Charge in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	262354
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2019 answer text <p>In 2017-18, income from the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) contributed £75 million to the department’s skills budget.</p><p>While the income raised is not additional funding for skills, the ISC is helping to maintain the department’s existing skills budget and existing level of investment in skills in England. As such, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of how the department’s ISC allocation is spent.</p><p>The ISC ensures that we can continue to invest in developing the skills that the country needs and also addresses skills gaps in the workforce. Similarly, it helps to maintain funding levels for each of the devolved administrations.</p><p>My letter of 17 January 2019 to the chairs of the Education and Home Affairs committees about the ISC, has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and is available to view at the following link: <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/" target="_blank">www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/</a>.</p><p>An internal review of the ISC, based on Home Office data, was undertaken in the second quarter of 2018. We continue to keep this policy under review.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton grouped question UIN 262355 question first answered 14/06/2019 12:49:59 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton previous answer version 122726 answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1130504

registered interest
date	06/06/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration: EU Nationals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 254186 and with reference to page 9 of the Memorandum of Understanding between his Department and the Department for Work and Pensions and to pages 12-13 of the Memorandum of Understanding between his Department and HMRC, for what reasons automated residency checks will not check applicants' records on working tax credit and child tax credit.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	261211
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs advice indicated that receipt of working tax credit and child tax credit are not currently available as a data set that we can interrogate through the automated checks.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 13/06/2019 11:46:07 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1125287

registered interest
date	08/05/2019
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	Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the (a) Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, (b) Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and (c) Social Security (Income-related Benefits) (Updating and Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 on the right of people with pre-settled status to access public funds.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	252029
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government has always been clear that EU, EEA and Swiss nationals and their family members granted status through the EU Settlement Scheme will be able to continue their lives in the UK much as before, with the same entitlements as now to access benefits, social housing and homelessness assistance services. Those granted pre-settled status under the scheme will not have any change in their entitlement to access benefits and services.</p><p> </p><p>A consultation has not been carried out as these regulations do not reflect a change in the existing rules or government policy and therefore will not have any adverse effects. These regulations provide legal clarity to claimants, applicants, decision makers and local authorities, delivering continuity and ensuring that the existing rules are applied fairly.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 252030 question first answered 13/05/2019 16:21:24 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1121930

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Climate Change: International Cooperation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2019 to Question 910174 on Climate Change: International Cooperation, what progress his Department has made on the UK’s bid to host COP26 in 2020.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	245765
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>​We are currently engaging at Ministerial and Official level with interested countries and the Western European and Others Group of the United Nations, as part of a cross-Government effort. We expect that a final decision will be adopted at COP25 in Chile in December 2019.</p> answering member constituency Cities of London and Westminster answering member printed Mark Field question first answered 25/04/2019 11:34:37 answering member 1405 label Biography information for Mark Field
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1110833

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Human Trafficking: Sexual Offences
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2018 to Question 137048 on Human Trafficking: Sexual Offences, how many potential victims of trafficking or modern slavery were identified through Project AIDANT activity in (a) 2017, (b) 2018 and (c) 2019 to date; how many of those potential victims were detained prior to identification; and how many of those potential victims were referred to the National Referral Mechanism.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	242819
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p>Information on Project AIDANT (the series of multi-agency operational intensifications to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking led by the National Crime Agency) can be found in the 2018 Annual Report on Modern Slavery which can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/749346/2018_UK_Annual_Report_on_Modern_Slavery.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/749346/2018_UK_Annual_Report_on_Modern_Slavery.pdf</a></p><p>It should be noted that the number of potential victims includes victims encountered overseas during the operations who do not qualify for referral to the UK National Referral Mechanism or Duty to Notify. The data held is reported individually by police forces and law enforcement agencies and may therefore not reflect the full picture of NRM referrals as it is not possible to determine from the NRM database directly which referrals relate to AIDANT activity.</p><p>Data on the number of potential victims detained prior to identification is not held centrally.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 23/04/2019 13:28:46 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield