Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1108718

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2019
	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	Working Links
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, at the time of Working Links (Employment) Ltd's collapse what contacts they held with her Department; what the total value was of each of those contracts; and how much her Department had paid to Working Links (Employment) Ltd in relation to each of those contracts.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	239227
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>Working links held 3 Work Programme contracts, 5 Work Choice contracts, 6 European Social Fund contracts and were on the low value Dynamic Purchasing System.</p><p> </p><p>Work Programme and Work Choice were in exit mode, following cessation of referrals in March 2017 and November 2018 respectively, at the point of administration.</p><p> </p><p>Copies of the contract and contract values are accessible on the following site. <a href="https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search" target="_blank">https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search</a></p><p> </p><p>In accordance with the Government transparency commitment I can confirm that the DWP publishes a list of all financial transactions over £500 and £25,000</p><p> </p><p>For spend over £25,000 follow the below link:-</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://data.gov.uk/dataset/ccdc397a-3984-453b-a9d7-e285074bba4d/spend-over-25-000-in-the-department-for-work-and-pensions" target="_blank">https://data.gov.uk/dataset/ccdc397a-3984-453b-a9d7-e285074bba4d/spend-over-25-000-in-the-department-for-work-and-pensions</a></p><p> </p><p>Explanatory notes on your findings on spend over £25000 can be found by following the below link:-</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-monthly-payments-explanatory-notes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-monthly-payments-explanatory-notes</a></p><p> </p><p>For spend over £500 follow the below link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/what-dwp-spends" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/what-dwp-spends</a></p><p> </p><p>Explanatory notes on your findings on spend over £500 can be found by following the below link:-</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-government-procurement-card-monthly-payments-explanatory-notes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-government-procurement-card-monthly-payments-explanatory-notes</a></p><p> </p><p>Departmental contracts held by Working Links were on a payment by results basis and, therefore, actual spend will not align to the contract value as the latter is based on 100% performance.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 13:23:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1108717

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2019
	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	Working Links
	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 29 March 2019 to Question 235321 on Working Links, if she will introduce financial safeguards to protect the viability of the Community and Voluntary Sector in the event of a Department contractor collapsing with money owing to sub-contractors.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	239226
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The Administrator has statutory duties and obligations in relation to the management of a company and its property/assets during the period of any administration – these are covered by the Insolvency Act 1986. Any appropriate safeguards or commercial changes which DWP introduces will be subject to the normal application of insolvency law and procedure. DWP will seek to learn lessons as a result of the Working Links administration, and will implement appropriate commercial changes where appropriate.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 13:07:48 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1108716

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2019
	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	Working Links
	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 29 March 2019 to Question 235320 on Working Links, over what period her Department’s Employment Category team carried out the due diligence process on Fedcap Employment.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	239225
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The DWP Employment Category team undertook initial due diligence on the Fedcap Group in August 2018 when Fedcap first entered the UK market. Since then they have kept that due diligence up to date and impacted the changes arising from the Working Links takeover in February 2019.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 13:04:01 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1108715

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2019
	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	Working Links
	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 29 March to Question 235318 on Working Links, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the process of awarding the (a) Work Programme Leavers and (b) Links to Work contracts Working Links (Employment) Ltd.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	239224
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department has taken part (a) of the question to be in relation to The Work Programme provision let in 2011, there is no Work Programme Leavers programme.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken part (b) of the question to be in relation to the ESF Links to Work Provision let in 2016.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Department complies with Public Procurement rules and Procurement Regulations in all sourcing activity. Internal governance, departmental assessment against Government Commercial Office Standards and Internal Audit reports monitor compliance.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 12:57:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1105543

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2019
	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	Working Links
	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 Match 2019 to Question 235316 on Working Links, if he will meet with supply chain partners in Easington constituency effected by the collapse of Working Links (Employment) Ltd.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	237676
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>Supply chain partners effected are encouraged to engage with commercial officials to help identify lessons learnt to feed into our future employment contracting strategy.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/04/2019 16:24:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1327746

	registered interest
	date	25/05/2021
	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, when face-to-face work capability assessments for social security allowances will resume.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	7143
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2021 answer text <p>Following their suspension in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from 17 May 2021 we have resumed face-to-face Work Capability Assessments for Employment and Support Allowance claimants, and for Universal Credit claimants who have reported a disability or health condition that affects their ability to work. Initially they will only be for those who we are unable to assess by other channels, and are taking place alongside existing paper-based assessments, telephone assessments and a small number of video assessments where suitable.</p><p> </p><p>The Honourable Gentleman can find further information on the resumption of face-to-face assessments, including guidance for claimants and assessment providers on their safe resumption, on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face-to-face-assessments-to-resume-for-health-and-disability-benefits?_sm_au_=iVVTjVs88pbrSMNRW2MN0K7K1WVjq" target="_blank">GOV.UK</a></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/06/2021 12:58:05 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1336673

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2021
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2021 to Question 12107 on Work Capability Assessment, how many face to face assessments have been carried out at (a) Elvet House Assessment Centre in Durham, (b) Park Tower Assessment Centre in Hartlepool and (c) The Bridges Assessment Centre in Sunderland since 17 May 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	16067
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>The number of face to face assessments carried out at (a) Elvet House Assessment Centre in Durham, (b) Park Tower Assessment Centre in Hartlepool and (c) The Bridges Assessment Centre in Sunderland since 17 May 2021, is shown in the table below;</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Assessment Centre</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of face to face assessments </strong> <strong>completed since 17 May 2021 to 15 June 2021</strong> <strong> </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Elvet House, Durham</p></td><td><p>52</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Park Tower, Hartlepool</p></td><td><p>24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Bridges, Sunderland</p></td><td><p>58</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /><p>The department has worked with providers to put a range of measures in place to control and manage Covid-19 risk in assessment centres in line with Government Guidance, so that assessments can take place safely. These measures include, changes to assessment booking procedures to stagger appointment times and limit the number of people in an assessment centre at any one time and additional touchpoint cleaning within assessment rooms following each assessment. These procedures have an effect on the number of face to face assessments providers can conduct daily, whilst maintaining compliance with Covid-19 health and safety measures.</p><p> </p><p>At present, face to face assessments are only being carried out for claimants we have been unable to assess by other means. We continue to conduct paper-based assessments, telephone assessments and some video assessments where suitable.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 21/06/2021 16:40:35 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1330626

	registered interest
	date	08/06/2021
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2021 to Question 7143 on Work Capability Assessment, how many people have received a face to face assessment in Easington constituency since 17 May 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	12107
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 14/06/2021 13:14:13 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	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

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