Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the Library the written correspondence between his Department and Motability from the last three months on possible changes to the Motability scheme.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Motability is an independent charitable organisation and it would not be appropriate to publish communications between Motability and the Department that were sent in confidence.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will investigate the collapse of Bradford and Bingley plc in 2008.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Government has no plans to conduct an investigation into the collapse of Bradford and Bingley plc in 2008.
The National Audit Office concluded in its report of 4 December 2009 that the public support provided to the UK’s banking system by the Treasury was justified, given the scale of both the economic and social costs if one or more major banks had collapsed. In providing that support, the Treasury met two of the Government’s principal objectives, namely maintaining financial stability and protecting retail depositors.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on plans to bring forward legislative proposals to support firefighters who joined the Firefighters Pension Scheme 1992 before the age of 20 who were required to continue paying pension contributions beyond the maximum entitlement before drawing their pension.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government has brought forward legislative amendments to the 1992 Firefighters’ Pension Scheme to address this issue in England, which came into force on 30 September 2016. These amendments ensure that a firefighter who accrues maximum pensionable service in the scheme will be entitled to a pension contributions holiday until they reach the age of 50.
The provision applies retrospectively to 1 December 2006 and affected firefighters may be entitled to a refund of some of their contributions. Fire and Rescue Authorities are expected to make the majority of those refund payments by the end of March 2017.
The Devolved Administrations have responsibility for firefighters’ pension schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether a recent assessment has been undertaken of the extent of the sale of counterfeit electrical goods in Scotland which includes the (a) cost to the economy of such sales, (b) amounts of such goods being imported and (c) extent of the sale of such goods.
Answered by David Mundell
The UK-wide Intellectual Property Office works with law enforcement and industry partners across Scotland to reduce the availability of all types of counterfeits, including electrical goods. The Intellectual Property Crime Group, which is comprised of representatives from private sector, law enforcement agencies and government departments, publishes an annual report into intellectual property crime, including the sale of counterfeit goods in the UK. The latest report can be accessed at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-ip-crime-report-2015-to-2016.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the effectiveness of the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 in preventing counterfeit electrical goods being sold and imported by online retailers in Scotland.
Answered by David Mundell
I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on a range of matters. I also have regular discussions with cabinet colleagues to consider issues relating to the Government’s parliamentary business and implementation of its legislative programme, including the Digital Economy Bill, which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on provisions in the Digital Economy Bill to protect Scottish consumers from counterfeit electrical goods being sold online.
Answered by David Mundell
I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on a range of matters. I also have regular discussions with cabinet colleagues to consider issues relating to the Government’s parliamentary business and implementation of its legislative programme, including the Digital Economy Bill, which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on government campaigns to raise awareness on the dangers of Scottish consumers buying counterfeit electrical goods.
Answered by David Mundell
I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on a range of matters. I also have regular discussions with cabinet colleagues to consider issues relating to the Government’s parliamentary business and implementation of its legislative programme, including the Digital Economy Bill, which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many decisions taken on claims for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment have been appealed in (i) Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock and (ii) the UK in each of the last five years; and how many of those appeals have been successful.
Answered by Oliver Heald
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not hold accurate information on the volumes of appeals against decisions on claims for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). At the point of receipt and registration of the appeal the Tribunal is unable to differentiate between appeals relating to new claims for these benefits and those relating to existing claims.
Information about the volumes and outcomes of appeals to the Tribunal is published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. The information provided below is a further breakdown of this data (excluding reassessment decisions).
ESA appeals (excluding reassessment decisions) found in favour of the appellant | |||||
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock1 | 775 | 845 | 1073 | 271 | 221 |
UK | 62147 | 56042 | 88946 | 24979 | 25831 |
.
PIP 2 appeals (excluding reassessment decisions) found in favour of the appellant | |||||
Year | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | 0 | 0 | 4 | 55 | 176 |
UK | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3374 | 20659 |
1 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock may be represented by the venues at Ayr, Dumfries, Irvine, Kilmarnock and Stranraer. Social Security and Child Support data are attributed according to the venue nearest the appellant’s home address. HMCTS cannot retrieve data based on the appellant’s actual address, or Parliamentary constituency, but can produce data detailing numbers of cases dealt with at regional centres, or at a specific venue.
Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system
2 PIP was introduced as a new benefit in April 2013 to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64, and appeal volumes have been rising ever since its introduction. In addition to new claims for PIP, the Department for Work and Pensions is also transitioning individuals in receipt of DLA, over to PIP, via a reassessment programme.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what key priorities have been agreed by the National Autism Programme Board on improving data and information collected on autism to support the effective commissioning of services for autistic people.
Answered by David Mowat
Since the meeting of the cross government Autism Programme Board on 16 June 2016, discussions with NHS England have focused on taking forward the actions agreed to improve diagnostic waiting times and outcomes for people with autism. The National Autistic Society and the report of the Westminster Commission on Autism have both suggested that NHS England create a new role of National Clinical Director for autism, and this is a matter for NHS England to consider.
The Autism Programme Board at its last meeting also considered current and possible future sources of autism data. The Board asked that further consideration be given to this issue and for the Department to report back to them before their autumn meeting. This work is on-going.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the President of Malawi on the rise in albinism-related crimes in that country.
Answered by James Duddridge
We are concerned by reports of a rise in human rights violations against persons with albinism in Malawi. Our High Commissioner to Malawi discussed the issue during a meeting with the Malawian Foreign Minister on 27 April and also with United Nations Independent Expert on the rights of persons with Albinism Ms Ikponwosa Ero, during her visit to Malawi on 29 April. Malawian President Mutharika has condemned the attacks and ordered the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
UN research recorded a total of 66 incidents in the last 14 months, 40% related to exhuming graveyards to collect body parts and 24% the sale of body parts by perpetrators including traditional healers.
In a recent press conference he said attacks on albinos are barbaric and ordered security agencies to intensify actions against perpetrators. So far 69 suspects have been arrested, awaiting prosecution.