Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will break down the £22 million spent by his Department on recruiting presenting officers to support his Department in personal independent payment and employment and support allowance tribunals.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The vast majority of the £22m, which will be spent over three years, will be used for Presenting Officer salary costs, with a small proportion for Learning and Development, communications and start up project costs.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to ensure the early referral of ex-offenders on day one of release onto specialist employment support provision under the proposed work and health programme from 2017.
Answered by Priti Patel
The details of the policy for referral criteria and eligibility for the Work and Health Programme are still in development and we are looking to ensure that claimants with different circumstances receive the right support at the right time.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether unemployed 18 to 21 year olds will be referred to specialist employment support providers under the Youth Obligation from 2017 if they are unemployed after one year of claiming benefits.
Answered by Priti Patel
We will be introducing the Youth Obligation for all 18-21 year olds who are claiming Universal Credit and are in the All Work Related Activity Conditionality Group from April 2017.
They will receive intensive support from Day 1 of their claim. After 6 months, if they have not found employment, they will be expected to apply for an apprenticeship, a traineeship, gain work-based skills employers value, or go on a work placement to give them the skills they need to get on in work.
The detailed policy design is still under development. We will make further announcements over the coming months as we develop the policy detail.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what public awareness campaigns his Department has planned to improve awareness of work-related respiratory illness.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as the national regulator for health and safety at work, takes a lead role in raising awareness of work related respiratory diseases. HSE has run campaigns targeted at specific at-risk workers and/or their employers, a recent example being the ‘Beware Asbestos’ campaign which ran from October 2014 to March 2015 and focussed on tradespeople such as carpenters, electricians and plumbers. HSE has also supported other organisations such as the British Occupational Hygiene Society to develop its 'Breathe Freely' campaign targeted at work in the construction industry.
HSE has recently published a new strategy for the GB health and safety system called ‘Helping Great Britain work well’. One of the six themes of the strategy is ‘Tackling ill health’ which will include long-term and coordinated action across all sectors, bringing in additional partners such as the NHS and others to support the substantial behaviour change and awareness programmes that will be required.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the minimum income floor on levels of relative child poverty.
Answered by Priti Patel
The Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and improving life chances for children. The objective of the Minimum Income Floor is to incentivise work and thereby raise the incomes of families and reduce dependency on benefits. Work remains the best route out of poverty and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows claimants move into work significantly faster and earn more than under the legacy system. In addition, from April 2016 Universal Credit provides for 85% of childcare costs meaning more support for hardworking families.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of universal credit on the number of children in relative poverty.
Answered by Priti Patel
The Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and improving life chances for children. We know that work is the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows claimants move into work significantly faster and earn more than under the current system. In addition, from April 2016 Universal Credit provides for 85% of childcare costs meaning more support for hardworking families.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of deaths at work.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to preventing loss of life in the workplace. Great Britain is one of the safest places to work, having one of the lowest rates of fatal injuries to workers in leading industrial nations.
In order to maintain and build on GB’s world class health and safety record, HSE launched a new strategy for the health and safety system called ‘Helping Great Britain Work Well’ last month. It will help protect lives, livelihoods and help Great Britain to become more prosperous.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many health and safety inspections of workplaces in the UK took place in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Health and Safety Executive undertook 22,240 targeted inspections in 2012/13, and 23, 470 in 2013/14.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of deaths at work related to (a) respiratory diseases and (b) mesothelioma.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s policy on reducing the number of deaths at work related to respiratory diseases, including mesothelioma, is well established. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has responsibility for occupational health and safety legislation which aims to prevent exposure to harmful substances that can cause these diseases.
HSE focuses its activities on areas where there are high numbers of workers who are exposed and/or where there is evidence of a high incidence rate of disease. It does this through a range of approaches and interventions, specifically:
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of children in each age group that will be in households in receipt of universal credit once it is fully introduced.
Answered by Priti Patel
The number of children in each age group estimated to be in households in receipt of Universal Credit, once fully rolled-out, is:
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The proportion of children in each age group estimated to be in households in receipt of Universal Credit, once fully rolled-out, is:
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These estimates have been made using the Department’s Policy Simulation Model, which is based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS)
The actual number of children in households receiving Universal Credit once fully rolled-out is dependent on a range of factors including demographic changes and the economic conditions at that time, and therefore these estimates are sensitive to changes in modelling and economic assumptions.