Written Question
Tuesday 7th July 2020
Asked by:
Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has in place to support the extremely clinically vulnerable to covid-19 who have not been furloughed and are asked to return to work after 1 August 2020 in the event that they believe that their workplace is not covid-19-secure.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Guidance for the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19
Guidance for employers can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Guidance for employees (including links to advice services if a person is worried about going back to work) can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/worker-support
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 25 Jun 2020
Universal Credit: Court of Appeal Judgment
"Will my hon. Friend congratulate and thank the staff at Harlow jobcentre on all the work they have been doing on jobs and universal credit at this difficult time? I have had communication with a single parent in my constituency who says that if she puts her child into childcare, …..."Robert Halfon - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 11 May 2020
Oral Answers to Questions
" What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on support for vulnerable children during the covid-19 outbreak. ..."Robert Halfon - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 11 May 2020
Oral Answers to Questions
"Given that we know that nearly 90% of vulnerable children are not at school or learning and that there are new frontiers of vulnerabilities in children suffering from possible domestic abuse and mental health issues, what further work, other than that which the Minister has mentioned, is the Department doing …..."Robert Halfon - View Speech
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Written Question
Tuesday 24th March 2020
Asked by:
Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is providing to people on zero-hours contracts whose employment has been terminated as a result of covid-19 and do not qualify for Statutory Sick Pay because they are not self-isolating.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system in the past fortnight to ensure people are supported in doing this. These changes include:
- making it easier to access benefits. Those applying for Contributory ESA will be able to claim from day 1 – as opposed to day 8 - and we have removed the need for face-to-face assessment. Both Universal Credit and Contributory ESA can now be claimed by phone or online;
- increasing the standard allowance of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by around £1000 per year;
- temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate; and
- increasing in the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.
Together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system.
The Chancellor has also confirmed that, depending on their status, workers on zero hours contracts may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and we would urge people to explore this avenue too.
Written Question
Monday 23rd March 2020
Asked by:
Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with supermarket chains and suppliers on ensuring that the foodbanks can meet the increased demand as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Will Quince
Food banks are independent charitable organisations and, as such, are best placed to decide on the most appropriate arrangements for supporting people who use them. As both the Prime Minister and the 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 no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
I also refer the honourable member to the response given by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to an oral question made on 19 March:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-03-19/debates/EBB8F3D7-F9F4-4C5C-B913-86FD27851B5D/VulnerablePeopleFoodSupplies”
[Additionally announcements were made at the Prime Minister’s daily briefings on 21 and 22 March in relation to food supply]
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 09 Mar 2020
Oral Answers to Questions
"14. If she will hold discussions with her Cabinet colleagues on ensuring that people with disabilities receive financial assistance in addition to welfare payments for costs related to their disability. ..."Robert Halfon - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 09 Mar 2020
Oral Answers to Questions
"What assistance are the Government giving to apprentices with disabilities to help them with their travel costs or any other costs they may incur, and what are the Government doing—specifically and currently —to get more people with disabilities to do apprenticeships?..."Robert Halfon - View Speech
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Written Question
Tuesday 3rd March 2020
Asked by:
Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the total amount of funding from the public purse given by her Department to (a) civil society and (b) campaigning bodies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mims Davies
- Shadow Minister (Women)
The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 01 Jul 2019
Oral Answers to Questions
"11. Whether she has discussed with Cabinet colleagues the potential merits of making all public bodies join the Disability Confident scheme. ..."Robert Halfon - View Speech
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