Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with train operating companies on the delivery of mobile connectivity for rail passengers.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The department continues to be in regular dialogue about mobile connectivity for rail passengers with Train Operating Companies.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Department for Transport and (b) Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ahead of the 2019 Spending Review on the level of public funding required to provide (i) 4G mobile connectivity and (ii) Wi-Fi services to all rail passengers throughout the UK.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The government remains committed to improving rail passenger connectivity throughout the UK.
The Treasury has regular discussions with government departments on public spending across all policy areas – including rail passenger connectivity. Future spending decisions are a matter for the Spending Review.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the levels of public spending required to provide a good standard of mobile connectivity to all rail passengers throughout the UK.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The government remains committed to improving rail passenger connectivity throughout the UK.
The Treasury has regular discussions with government departments on public spending across all policy areas – including rail passenger connectivity. Future spending decisions are a matter for the Spending Review.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he is taking to ensure that businesses in the North East have the ability to (a) export and (b) trade with the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Political Declaration sets out a plan for a free trade area for goods, including no tariffs, with ambitious customs arrangements. However, as a responsible government, we are planning for all scenarios.
We are supporting trader readiness through 106 technical notices, communications from HMRC to businesses, and the cross-government Partnership Pack. The Border Delivery Group and Border Force have also visited key locations in the North East to discuss no deal planning.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Government has made of the effect on low-income families of the roll-out of universal credit in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the North East.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
When fully rolled out, Universal Credit will support households with around £62 billion a year across the whole of Great Britain. In addition, Universal Credit covers up to 85% of childcare costs, up from 70% in the old system.
The Department has made no assessment specifically in Jarrow, South Tyneside or the North East specifically. However, we continue to evaluate progress as we roll out Universal Credit nationally in a careful and co-ordinated way, reviewing against key measures, to ensure safe and secure delivery.
Work is the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives to move into and progress in work.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people with diabetes in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the North East.
Answered by Steve Brine
The information requested is not centrally held.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed Withdrawal Agreement on the economy in the North East.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government’s analysis, ‘EU Exit: Long-term economic analysis’, considers the long run economic impact of the new relationship with the EU after the economy has adjusted to the changes.
The analysis shows that every region, including the North East, would be stronger than under a no deal scenario.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit sanctions have been issued to people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the North East in receipt of (i) jobseekers allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance and (iii) universal credit in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support and Universal Credit sanction decisions by parliamentary constituency is published and can be accessed at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
The Department publishes quarterly statistics on sanctions, including a breakdown by sanction referral reason, as part of the Benefit Sanction Statistics publication:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions
We take a number of steps to make sure our decisions are fair. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number and proportion of unemployed people who are entitled to claim (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) universal credit but are not doing so in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside and (iii) the North East.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to PQ192726, answered on 27 November 2018.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support (a) grassroots football and (b) other sports in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) Gateshead and (iiii) the North East.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government, through Sport England, is investing over a billion pounds over the next four years to support grassroots sport. The Football Foundation is an organisation investing £60m each year into improving the country's grassroots football and sports infrastructure with money provided by its funding partners: the Premier League, The FA and the Government (via Sport England).
Total grassroots football investment (Sport England and Football Foundation) for the North East is over £23m since 2010.
A full breakdown of figures for other grassroots sports funded by Sport England are available on their website: www.sportengland.org.
UK Sport, which receives funding from the UK government and the National Lottery, prepares athletes for Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK, and is investing up to £345m to fund at least 38 sports across the current 4-year Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic funding cycle. UK Sport has also invested over £32m into Winter Olympic and Paralympic sports in the current PyeongChang 2018 funding cycle.