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1136577

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
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	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, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2019 to Question 270341 on Personal Independence Payment, what improvements to processing mandatory reconsiderations have been made since her Department adopted the quality-driven approach.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	272815
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>We have been engaging with stakeholders to explore how we can improve the Mandatory Reconsideration process. We have also recently implemented a new operational approach in PIP where we are proactively contacting claimants, where appropriate, to see if there is information that would enable us to change the decision. Early indications are that this is helping decision makers.</p><p> </p><p>Further to this we have already been working on reviewing cases at the appeal stage and where new evidence is provided that changes the decision we are lapsing cases so that claimants don’t need to wait for a hearing.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/07/2019 15:32:23 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1136606

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether isolated incidents of sleepwalking between the ages of 13 to 18 years old constitutes grounds for a permanent bar to entry to the armed forces.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	272816
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>The medical entry standards for the Armed Forces are uniquely stringent to ensure operational efficiency and the safety of personnel in the operational environment. Accordingly, a history of a number of medical conditions are a bar to Service.</p><p>Sleepwalking poses a risk of injury to personnel within the operational environment (such as a hostile land environment or the confines of a ship at sea), as the individual has no awareness of their situation or actions. Consequently, unless an applicant can prove their diagnosis was incorrect, Armed Forces candidates with a history of sleepwalking experienced after the age of 13 are graded Permanently Unfit for Service.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 08/07/2019 16:40:02 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1135583

registered interest
date	28/06/2019
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	Hospitals: Cleaning Services and Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will conduct a review of hospital (a) food and (b) cleaning contracts to assess the potential merits of bringing those services in-house to improve (i) food standards and (ii) infection control in NHS England hospitals.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	270795
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>National Health Service trusts make decisions locally on how the services needed to run their hospitals are delivered. This will be based on their service needs and their local environment, including taking into account the locations, types and economics of how these services can be procured and run. All organisations regardless of whether they are outsourced, or in-house teams are required to follow the same National Cleaning Standards and the five Core Standards for Hospital Food.</p><p>A review of NHS food was announced on 17 June 2019, and this will include how bringing the provision of food services in-house could improve quality and value for money.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 03/07/2019 13:26:10 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1135596

registered interest
date	28/06/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Gambling: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard children against exposure to gambling opportunities associated with (a) in-app and (b) in-game purchases on gaming consoles and mobile devices.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	270805
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>Protecting children and the vulnerable from being harmed or exploited by gambling is a core objective of the Gambling Commission, as the regulator for gambling in Great Britain, and a priority for the government. There are also strong protections in place for children who play video games.</p><p> </p><p>The Pan European Game Information (PEGI) ratings system used to classify video games, will not award ratings to products that allow gambling, significantly restricting their ability to be sold in the UK. Where a game contains elements that could teach or encourage gambling like behaviour, it will be awarded a minimum PEGI 12 rating and will also have a gambling pictogram label applied to alert parents to the content.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, most video games and mobile platforms come with a range of parental control tools that can include allowing parents to block games based on PEGI age ratings, disable in-game purchases and monitor and place limits on use. PEGI provides more information here https://pegi.info/parental-controls.</p><p> </p><p>Where licensed online gambling is offered, operators are required to verify the age of a consumer before they can deposit money and gamble, or access free-to-play demo games.</p><p> </p><p>The Gambling Commission has strong powers and has shown it will take action where there are breaches of the rules - in 2017, it successfully prosecuted the FutGalaxy website for offering illegal gambling with in-game items – known as skins gambling.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 03/07/2019 11:23:55 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1135188

registered interest
date	27/06/2019
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	Personal Independence Payment: County Durham
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 26 June 2019 to Question 267733 on Personal Independence Payment: County Durham, what key performance indicators his Department uses to monitor the processing of personal independence payments mandatory reconsiderations.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	270340
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>There is no target in law for processing mandatory reconsideration (MR) applications. Decisions are made without delay, but the focus is on making sure that the decision under dispute is thoroughly reviewed.</p><p> </p><p>We are engaging with stakeholders to explore how we can improve the MR process. We have also recently implemented a new approach in PIP which includes contacting claimants, where appropriate, to see if there is information that would enable us to change the decision ourselves at an earlier stage. To support this, we are investing additional time and resource for communication, evidence gather and review, which means that some cases can take longer. However, this approach supports our aim; to make the right decision as early as possible so that claimants don’t need to progress to the Appeal stage.</p><p> </p><p>Introducing performance indicators - be they in relation to outcomes or the speed of clearance - would compromise the Department’s quality-driven approach. But as explained in my previous reply, from late May 2019 claimants have been advised that as a guide, and to manage their expectations, that they should hear from the Department within 10 weeks.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 270341 question first answered 02/07/2019 15:20:39 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1135189

registered interest
date	27/06/2019
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	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, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2019 to Question 267733 on Personal Independence Payment: County Durham, if she will make it her policy to (a) establish and (b) publish a waiting time target for processing personal Independence payment mandatory reconsiderations.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	270341
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>There is no target in law for processing mandatory reconsideration (MR) applications. Decisions are made without delay, but the focus is on making sure that the decision under dispute is thoroughly reviewed.</p><p> </p><p>We are engaging with stakeholders to explore how we can improve the MR process. We have also recently implemented a new approach in PIP which includes contacting claimants, where appropriate, to see if there is information that would enable us to change the decision ourselves at an earlier stage. To support this, we are investing additional time and resource for communication, evidence gather and review, which means that some cases can take longer. However, this approach supports our aim; to make the right decision as early as possible so that claimants don’t need to progress to the Appeal stage.</p><p> </p><p>Introducing performance indicators - be they in relation to outcomes or the speed of clearance - would compromise the Department’s quality-driven approach. But as explained in my previous reply, from late May 2019 claimants have been advised that as a guide, and to manage their expectations, that they should hear from the Department within 10 weeks.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 270340 question first answered 02/07/2019 15:20:39 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1135199

registered interest
date	27/06/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Fire and Rescue Services: Finance
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 265493 on Fire and Rescue Services, what criteria his Department used to determine that £2.3 billion would adequately resource the Fire and Rescue Services.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	270342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>The £2.3billion comprises around £1.4billion in locally raised council tax receipts and around £850million from the Local Government Finance Settlement, which is comprised of locally retained business rates and revenue support grant. The fire share of the Local Government Settlement was determined at the point of the previous Spending Review, based on analysis of the needs assessment and previous spend.</p><p>Single purpose fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 2.3 percent in cash terms in 2019/20 and as of March 2018, these authorities held £545m in reserves, an increase of 80 percent since March 2011 and equivalent to 42 percent of their core spending power.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 02/07/2019 15:15:18 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1135203

registered interest
date	27/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question 265494 on fire extinguishers, if he will publish any assessment carried out by his Department into the cost of retrofitting sprinklers for (a) public buildings and (b) all high-rise buildings.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	270343
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>As part of our work on fire safety, we have investigated the costs of a wide range of fire protection measures. The costs of retrofitting sprinklers varies widely depending on the nature and construction of the building in question. Building owners should assess the risks based on the building design and take action, in consultation with residents, if necessary.</p><p>The cost of installing sprinkler systems in new buildings is covered in a report commissioned my Department and published on 1 February this year which is available on line at; <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F783478%2FWS_5_DCLG_BD_2887__D27V1__286859_Final_Work_Stream_5_Report.pdf&amp;data=02%7C01%7CParliamentary%40communities.gov.uk%7Cb9d6007d83f74f2107bb08d6fef295f4%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C636976715184432915&amp;sdata=prfdgQ%2BTh%2BIxXhHldQTyVbC7pIR2z354fTQ02C4rTLc%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/783478/WS_5_DCLG_BD_2887__D27V1__286859_Final_Work_Stream_5_Report.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 02/07/2019 14:36:23 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1135262

registered interest
date	27/06/2019
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	Pension Credit: Easington
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the uptake of pension credit in Easington constituency.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	270344
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government wants to ensure that <em>all </em>pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. We welcome and encourage initiatives to promote take up of Pension Credit by local organisations who may often be best placed to understand the local circumstances and needs in the community.</p><p>On a national basis, the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p>Potential customers can use the Pension Credit <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.</p><p>One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information. In Easington there are just over 3000 pensioners already claiming Pension Credit.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 02/07/2019 13:55:42 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1134443

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
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	Personal Independence Payment: County Durham
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 20 June 2019 to Question 265489 on Personal Independence Payment, for what reason recent correspondence on casework enquiries to hon. Members states that waiting times for personal independence payments mandatory reconsiderations are 10 to 12 weeks in County Durham and table 7D, entitled MR clearance time (median calendar days), normal rules, by year of clearance, region and local authority of her Department's quarterly statistical publication, Personal Independence Payment: April 2013 to April 2019 states that such waiting times are 39 median calendar days.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	269031
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The figures published in table 7D of the publication “Personal Independence Payment: April 2013 to April 2019” are based on median calendar days that a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) is cleared in each Financial Year. Clearance times can vary over time, and the median time is the middle value if all the times were ordered from lowest value to highest value.</p><p> </p><p>Table 7C of the same publication shows median clearance times by month for Great Britain as a whole, with April 2019 being the latest month official statistics have been published for.</p><p> </p><p>There is no legislative clearance target for a mandatory reconsideration. However, from late May 2019 claimants have been advised that, as a guide, they should hear from the Department within 10 weeks.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/07/2019 14:01:58 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris