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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

1138051

registered interest
date	10/07/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Entry Clearances: Applications
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 17 June 2019 to Question 263146 on Visas: Applications, if he will ensure that the processing of in-country visa services by Sopra Steria will not result in increased prices for visa services for (a) international students and staff at UK universities and (b) universities.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	275742
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The application fee for a visa or visa extension is paid to the Home Office and is not related to the service provided by Sopra Steria.</p><p>As part of the application process in the UK individuals must enrol their biometrics at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service centre which are run by Sopra Steria.</p><p>For the majority of applicants in the UK there are a variety of offerings for students and other employees at UK education institutions which include free appointments at core service points, access to enhanced service points and the premium lounge for a fee. Additionally, to help meet demand for the autumn increase in student applications a “Tier 4 Service Point” will also be offered by Sopra Steria for a fee. This cost of this is lower than the costs of an out of hours, enhanced service point or premium lounge appointments under the normal UKVCAS service and will save students the financial and logistical burden of travel.</p><p>As part of our governance processes, we work closely with SSL to ensure that excessive charges are not imposed on UKVI customers. Whilst SSL may offer added value services to customers, these are optional and aim to enhance the customer experience.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 15/07/2019 12:31:44 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
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

1135859

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letter of 19 June 2018 from the hon. Member for Sheffield Central in respect of Written Parliamentary Questions on Tier 2 Visas, CTS Reference number M8354/18.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	271487
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office can confirm a substantive response to the questions raised is being prepared and apologises for the delay in responding.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 04/07/2019 15:40:42 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1135990

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
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, what estimate he has made of the number of applications that have been (a) received, (b) concluded and (c) turned down for the EU Settlement Scheme at 31 May 2019.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	271538
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The second official statistics – ‘EU Settlement Scheme Statistics, May 2019’ – on the operation of the scheme were published on 20 June 2019, including applications received and decisions made to 31st May 2019. These can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-statistics-may-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-statistics-may-2019</a></p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 04/07/2019 15:28:18 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1136060

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Senior Civil Servants: Resignations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials at (a) grade six, (b) grade seven and (c) SCS1 and above, have left his Department in each quarter of each year since July 2016.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	271560
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>Grade 7 and Grade 6 is currently a combined grade in Cabinet Office known as Band A. The Department also has an additional grade between Band A and SCS1 level known as 'Extended Band A'.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows how many officials at those grades have left Cabinet Office in each quarter of each year since 1 April 2016.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> Quarter</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Band A (G6/7 combined)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Extended Band A </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>SCS1 and above</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 16/17</p></td><td><p>82</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q2 16/17</p></td><td><p>69</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q3 16/17</p></td><td><p>95</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q4 16/17</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 17/18</p></td><td><p>65</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q2 17/18</p></td><td><p>79</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q3 17/18</p></td><td><p>56</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q4 17/18</p></td><td><p>59</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q1 18/19</p></td><td><p>93</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q2 18/19</p></td><td><p>96</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q3 18/19</p></td><td><p>71</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Q4 18/19</p></td><td><p>41</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>In the context of the total workforce size, the numbers of leavers in the grades shown represented 14% of the workforce in 2016/17, and 6% in both 2017/18 and 2018/19. This</p><p>compares with a figure of 16.5% for the Private Sector.</p> answering member constituency Hertsmere answering member printed Oliver Dowden question first answered 04/07/2019 15:43:53 answering member 4441 label Biography information for Oliver Dowden
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1136061

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Department for Exiting the European Union
answering dept id	203
answering dept short name	Exiting the European Union
answering dept sort name	Exiting the European Union
hansard heading	Department for Exiting the European Union: Termination of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many officials at (a) grade six, (b) grade seven and (c) SCS1 and above have left his Department in each quarter of each year since July 2016.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	271561
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Exiting the European Union was set up as a time limited department and as such the majority of staff are employed on 2-year fixed term contracts or are loaned from other Government Departments on a similar basis. The increase in numbers of leavers towards the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 is mainly due to planned leavers moving to other government departments following the end of their pre-set loan agreement or job rotation, or have left the civil service following the end of their 2-year fixed-term appointment. The department undertakes succession planning to ensure it maintains its high standards of delivery.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td colspan="2"><p>2016</p></td><td colspan="4"><p>2017</p></td><td colspan="4"><p>2018</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>2019</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Grade 6</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td> </td><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Grade 7</p></td><td> </td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>24</p></td><td><p>22</p></td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>SCS1 and above</p></td><td> </td><td> </td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td> </td><td> </td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td> </td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Spelthorne answering member printed Kwasi Kwarteng question first answered 04/07/2019 14:26:02 answering member 4134 label Biography information for Kwasi Kwarteng
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1136068

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
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	Research: EU Nationals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether EU nationals will be eligible for UKRI PhD studentships in the academic year 2020-21.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	271568
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>EU nationals will remain eligible for UKRI studentships for courses beginning in academic year 2020/21.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 04/07/2019 09:17:47 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1135475

registered interest
date	28/06/2019
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 11 June 2019 to Question 261210, how many applicants who have asserted in their application that they have been continuously resident in the UK for more than five years have been granted pre-settled status to date.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	270743
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>All applicants granted pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme will have agreed that they have been continuously resident in the UK for less than five years either in the application or, post-submission, in discussion with a caseworker.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 03/07/2019 15:41:03 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield