Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the requirement that placements on the Kickstarter scheme be submitted in batches of 30 to batches of five.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
We will keep the 30 vacancy minimum under review throughout the scheme, which is open until December 2021 for the funding of new jobs.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will help companies by extending statutory sick pay to gardening leave so employees stay with the companies they work in.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that everyone should be supported to do the right thing.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending statutory sick pay to people who are not self-isolating due to covid-19 but their place of employment has no work as a result of that infection.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that everyone should be supported to do the right thing.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support parents that have (a) ongoing claims and (b) been waiting for payment of arrears for up to 10 years through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS); whether she plans to reduce the amount of time before the CMS seeks a court order for enforcement of payment of arrears; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing greater penalties for parents that avoid making payments in cases where there are substantial arrears.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Where paying parents fail to pay their maintenance on time and in full, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aim to take immediate action to recover the debt and re-establish compliance using its range of enforcement powers.
If all efforts to re-establish compliance have been exhausted and the paying parent is employed, the Service can deduct their maintenance and any arrears directly from their earnings. The CMS can also deduct directly from bank accounts as a lump sum or regular amount. We have a range of other strong enforcement powers, including the use of Enforcement Agents to take control of goods, forcing the sale of property, disqualification from holding a UK passport or commitment to prison.
The CMS is committed to using its wide ranging enforcement powers proportionally, and in the best interests of children and separated families, and must consider on a case by case basis whether taking action will secure more money for children.
Since 2018 we have introduced new collection and enforcement powers. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the new powers. At present we have no plans to further extend these powers.