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1038936

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
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	Universal Credit
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 on the financial circumstances of universal credit claimants who receive their wages on a fixed day each month and therefore have multiple pay days during an assessment period; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	207176
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit payments reflect, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period. Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income falls, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award.</p><p> </p><p>Some claimants receive earnings from work multiple times within an assessment period if they are paid via four-weekly, fortnightly, or weekly patterns. This in turn may reduce, or in some cases, nil the Universal Credit award the claimant receives that month. Claimants can always discuss the implications of this with their case managers and work coaches and can be referred to Personal Budgeting Support to help them manage their budgeting.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant’s Universal Credit claim is closed due to this, claimants can re-claim the following month via a more simplified process than for an initial claim. We have produced guidance to help ensure claimants, staff and representatives are aware of the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles. This is available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles</a></p><p> </p><p>The Government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines in order to minimise the incidence of erroneous or late reporting by employers. HMRC have recently updated guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/01/2019 15:22:58 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1038938

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been granted legal aid in welfare cases in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	207160
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>Information about the volumes of people granted legal aid in welfare benefits cases is published at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics</a>. The latest figures (to September 2018) of Legal Help matter starts (from table 5.1) and Civil Representation granted certificates (from table 6.2) in welfare benefits cases are outlined in the below table.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Legal Help Matter Starts</p></td><td><p>Civil Representation Granted Certificates</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008-09</p></td><td><p>135,751</p></td><td><p>51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>141,625</p></td><td><p>53</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>116,081</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>102,920</p></td><td><p>22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>82,554</p></td><td><p>16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>163</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>505</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>250</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>442</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>443</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The MoJ has spent several months conducting a wide-ranging review of the reforms to legal aid and engaged with more than 100 organisations and individuals as part of the evidence-gathering phase.</p><p> </p><p>Having finalised this engagement at the end of November, the review is now near completion and will be published shortly.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 15/01/2019 17:54:42 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1038942

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	North Wales Police
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were employed by North Wales Police in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	207161
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins.</p><p>Data on the number of police officers in North Wales, as at 31 March each year and going back to March 2007, can be found in the accompanying Open Data Table: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629362/open-data-table-police-workforce.ods" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629362/open-data-table-police-workforce.ods</a></p><p>The next release of ‘Police workforce’ statistics is due to be published on 24th January, and will represent the picture as at 30 September 2018.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 15/01/2019 17:14:22 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1038944

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Volkswagen
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that legal action is pursued against Volkswagen executives regarding that company's emissions scandal.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	207177
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>Volkswagen's behaviour in installing defeat devices in its vehicles has been entirely unacceptable. Taking criminal action against Volkswagen is complex given that in legal terms the wrongdoing appears to have taken place outside the UK. It is for the German Government in the first instance to prosecute.</p><p> </p><p>For this reason, it would be inappropriate to carry out a separate parallel UK criminal investigation. The Department reserves the option to do so, however, based on the evidence from any German prosecution.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 16/01/2019 14:33:38 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1038945

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Undocumented Migrants: English Channel
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his oral statement of 7 January 2019 on Migrant Crossings, Official Report column 85, whether asylum seekers arriving on the Kent Coast since 1 October 2018 have had their applications for asylum processed using standard procedures.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Kate Green
uin	207208
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>Over 500 migrants, the majority of whom are Iranian nationals, attempted to travel to the UK on small vessels in 2018. The vast majority of those attempts were made in the last three months of the year.</p><p>All asylum claims made in the UK are processed, managed and decided in line with Home Office policy, guidance and relevant case law and legislation. This supports an efficient and effective asylum process for the UK and ensures that asylum claims are handled in a manner that is appropriate to the individual, including ensuring any reasonable adjustments and safe-guarding needs are considered.</p><p>All asylum claimants must be treated with dignity and fairness regardless of their age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief.</p><p>An asylum claim will be registered where an individual makes a particularised protection claim for the first time, in person and in their own right. That does not mean that the UK will always be responsible for making a substantive decision.</p><p>As part of that process, there is a need to assess whether what a person is saying amounts to a protection claim and if so, whether the claim is admissible to the decision-making process. Inadmissibility is a concept by which the Home Office can decline to consider an asylum claim because the individual already enjoys sufficient protection in another country, or another country is responsible for considering the claim.</p><p>We are unable to state how many asylum seekers arriving on the Kent coast since 1 October 2018 have had their claims registered and processed using standard procedures, as we do not comment on the status of cases once they have claimed asylum.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 15/01/2019 16:54:30 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

1038947

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Prime Minister’s Office file PREM 19/3076, whether the UK is legally obliged to supply Saudi Arabia with aircraft parts under the Al Yamamah arms deal.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Lloyd Russell-Moyle
uin	207274
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2019 answer text <p>The Al Yamamah programme concluded at the end of 2006 and HMG commitments under that agreement have been completed. Follow on in-service support for the Tornado and Hawk fleets is now undertaken through the Saudi British Defence Cooperation Programme.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 22/01/2019 11:44:43 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	4615 label Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle

1038948

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Governors: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) rate of (b) average amount paid in Required Hours Addition allowance was to prison governors in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	207209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2019 answer text <p>The payment of RHA is not claimed by individuals, but is automatically paid as a separate salaried allowance (pensionable) on taking up duty in a qualifying role (both operational and non-operational). RHA is pensionable and is paid to recognise that a role regularly requires the incumbent to work unsocial and unpredictable hours as part of their normal duties. An individual retains payment of the addition while they remain in a qualifying role, but will cease if at any time they move to a non-qualifying role. The information is not readily available as for each year all staff movements will need to be checked to ensure the continued entitlement each year and to check whether the allowance has been reinstated. As such the exact information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost for the number of prison governors in receipt of RHA in each financial year since 2010 and what the rate and average amount paid in Required Hours Addition allowance was to prison governors.</p><p> </p><p>Due to the protections given towards pay after the introduction of the Fair and Sustainable structures in April 2012, there are two different rates of RHA payable. Those given protection to remain in the closed world pay and grading structures receive a flat rate value of £5,696 per annum. Operational managers within the Fair and Sustainable structures receive an amount calculated at 17% of the rate of base pay they receive.</p><p> </p><p>The pay ranges for the operational manager roles (Bands 7 to 11) under F&amp;S are open ranges, and individuals may be on a rate base pay at any point between the minimum and maximum within the open range. As payroll is undertaken by a third party provider, there would be an additional charge of around £1500 to prepare the report and confirm the average. As such, an average amount paid as RHA to operational managers is not available due to disproportionate costs.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart grouped question UIN 206776 206777 207210 207211 question first answered 17/01/2019 17:01:53 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1038949

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Governors: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prison governors claiming the Required Hours Addition allowance without completing the required training.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	207210
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2019 answer text <p>The payment of RHA is not claimed by individuals, but is automatically paid as a separate salaried allowance (pensionable) on taking up duty in a qualifying role (both operational and non-operational). RHA is pensionable and is paid to recognise that a role regularly requires the incumbent to work unsocial and unpredictable hours as part of their normal duties. An individual retains payment of the addition while they remain in a qualifying role, but will cease if at any time they move to a non-qualifying role. The information is not readily available as for each year all staff movements will need to be checked to ensure the continued entitlement each year and to check whether the allowance has been reinstated. As such the exact information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost for the number of prison governors in receipt of RHA in each financial year since 2010 and what the rate and average amount paid in Required Hours Addition allowance was to prison governors.</p><p> </p><p>Due to the protections given towards pay after the introduction of the Fair and Sustainable structures in April 2012, there are two different rates of RHA payable. Those given protection to remain in the closed world pay and grading structures receive a flat rate value of £5,696 per annum. Operational managers within the Fair and Sustainable structures receive an amount calculated at 17% of the rate of base pay they receive.</p><p> </p><p>The pay ranges for the operational manager roles (Bands 7 to 11) under F&amp;S are open ranges, and individuals may be on a rate base pay at any point between the minimum and maximum within the open range. As payroll is undertaken by a third party provider, there would be an additional charge of around £1500 to prepare the report and confirm the average. As such, an average amount paid as RHA to operational managers is not available due to disproportionate costs.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart grouped question UIN 206776 206777 207209 207211 question first answered 17/01/2019 17:01:53 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1038950

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Service: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that all Required Hours Addition claimants have completed the required training; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	207211
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2019 answer text <p>The payment of RHA is not claimed by individuals, but is automatically paid as a separate salaried allowance (pensionable) on taking up duty in a qualifying role (both operational and non-operational). RHA is pensionable and is paid to recognise that a role regularly requires the incumbent to work unsocial and unpredictable hours as part of their normal duties. An individual retains payment of the addition while they remain in a qualifying role, but will cease if at any time they move to a non-qualifying role. The information is not readily available as for each year all staff movements will need to be checked to ensure the continued entitlement each year and to check whether the allowance has been reinstated. As such the exact information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost for the number of prison governors in receipt of RHA in each financial year since 2010 and what the rate and average amount paid in Required Hours Addition allowance was to prison governors.</p><p> </p><p>Due to the protections given towards pay after the introduction of the Fair and Sustainable structures in April 2012, there are two different rates of RHA payable. Those given protection to remain in the closed world pay and grading structures receive a flat rate value of £5,696 per annum. Operational managers within the Fair and Sustainable structures receive an amount calculated at 17% of the rate of base pay they receive.</p><p> </p><p>The pay ranges for the operational manager roles (Bands 7 to 11) under F&amp;S are open ranges, and individuals may be on a rate base pay at any point between the minimum and maximum within the open range. As payroll is undertaken by a third party provider, there would be an additional charge of around £1500 to prepare the report and confirm the average. As such, an average amount paid as RHA to operational managers is not available due to disproportionate costs.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart grouped question UIN 206776 206777 207209 207210 question first answered 17/01/2019 17:01:53 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1038951

registered interest
date	10/01/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Passports: Applications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funds his Department has spent on advertisements promoting online passport applications in each of the last three years; and what funds he plans to spend on promoting online passport applications in the next financial year.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	207212
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>HM Passport Office (HMPO) has an ambitious transformation plan to increase digital applications, helping to reduce operational expenditure by removing paper and customer errors from the process.</p><p>In June 2016, HMPO launched its first fully digital online application service for adults renewing their passport. This launch was supported by no cost communications activity, including PR and stakeholder engagement. Last financial year (2017/18) a small scale paid search campaign, costing £9,665, was trialled to encourage customers to use the online application channel. In this financial year (2018/19) a marketing campaign, costing £536,639.04, was delivered via radio and digital advertising.</p><p>A re-launch of the marketing campaign in 2019/20 has been planned, forecast at £1m. This activity is dependent on the outcome of the EU Exit withdrawal agreement.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 15/01/2019 17:04:22 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows