Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers resident in (a) Wakefield constituency and (b) Wakefield District are living in hotel contingency accommodation as of 10 January 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation is published in table: Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK). Data is published on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of laser attacks on airborne emergency service vehicles; and what assessment he has made of the impact of such attacks on those vehicles.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst information on this is tracked through Mandatory Occurrence Forms, along with a range of other information, data on the specific number of incidences is not publicly released. However, I can say that in terms of a high-level trend, the current rate of laser incidents encountered by emergency service helicopters is similar to that of 2019 and 2020.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to prevent drones being used by members of the public to film footage of crime scenes and investigations.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is the responsibility of the police to secure a crime scene and ensure any sensitive details are kept out of public view. There is a robust legislative framework that supports them in doing so.
Air Navigation Order 265B(3) makes it an offence to fly close to or inside areas where an emergency response effort is ongoing, unless permission has been granted by the service undertaking the response.
Under the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021, the police have the power to ask drone operators to land their drones. If required, they may authorise the use of counter-drone equipment to force a landing. This legislation also gives the police the ability to seize the drone.
The police also have the power to create an Emergency Restriction of Flying which establishes a temporary airspace restriction. These are well-defined restrictions generally reserved for fatalities, major incidents, and serious crime searches.
The Home Office works closely with the police and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to ensure these restrictions are effective and are well understood by drone operators.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of claimants who were given a negative decision following the suspension of their claim by the Risk Review Team or Enhanced Review Team (a) appealed that decision and (b) had a tribunal allow their appeal in each of the last five years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Risk Review Team (RRT) has now been incorporated in to a broader and wide-ranging Enhanced Review Team (ERT), aimed at identifying and stopping fraud early.
As the NAO have reported in the Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23. ‘The majority of 2022-23 savings (£650 million) came from the Enhanced Review Team (ERT), which provides a rapid response service for detailed checking of high-risk Universal Credit claims before they go into payment. These estimates also suggest that preventative actions have a much higher level of return than investigating fraud and error after it has occurred.’
Data on how many and what proportion of cases handled by ERT have resulted in suspension is not available to this level for ERT and to produce it would incur disproportionate costs. This is due to large volumes of data being held across different clerical platforms, which would need to be forensically examined.
Likewise, data on cases closed, reinstated, or remaining suspended, cannot be provided within reasonable costs.
We are unable to provide the number of claimants who have appealed decisions on cases closed following RRT/ERT action and the number who have been successful in their appeals over the last five years because ERT only started completing reviews in April 2020.
We are unable to give per year figures since the formation of ERT due to the lengthy dispute process and are also unable to identify which appeals would have previously been suspended, due to this data not being held. However, the cumulative total of cases for RRT and ERT that have been through the dispute process are:
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of benefit claims suspended by the (a) Risk Review Team and (b) Enhanced Review Team in each of the last three years (i) have subsequently been (A) closed and (B) reinstated and (ii) remain suspended.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Risk Review Team (RRT) has now been incorporated in to a broader and wide-ranging Enhanced Review Team (ERT), aimed at identifying and stopping fraud early.
As the NAO have reported in the Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23. ‘The majority of 2022-23 savings (£650 million) came from the Enhanced Review Team (ERT), which provides a rapid response service for detailed checking of high-risk Universal Credit claims before they go into payment. These estimates also suggest that preventative actions have a much higher level of return than investigating fraud and error after it has occurred.’
Data on how many and what proportion of cases handled by ERT have resulted in suspension is not available to this level for ERT and to produce it would incur disproportionate costs. This is due to large volumes of data being held across different clerical platforms, which would need to be forensically examined.
Likewise, data on cases closed, reinstated, or remaining suspended, cannot be provided within reasonable costs.
We are unable to provide the number of claimants who have appealed decisions on cases closed following RRT/ERT action and the number who have been successful in their appeals over the last five years because ERT only started completing reviews in April 2020.
We are unable to give per year figures since the formation of ERT due to the lengthy dispute process and are also unable to identify which appeals would have previously been suspended, due to this data not being held. However, the cumulative total of cases for RRT and ERT that have been through the dispute process are:
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of benefit claims (a) flagged and (b) investigated by the (i) Risk Review Team and (ii) Enhanced Review Team have resulted in the suspension of benefits in each of the last three years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Risk Review Team (RRT) has now been incorporated in to a broader and wide-ranging Enhanced Review Team (ERT), aimed at identifying and stopping fraud early.
As the NAO have reported in the Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23. ‘The majority of 2022-23 savings (£650 million) came from the Enhanced Review Team (ERT), which provides a rapid response service for detailed checking of high-risk Universal Credit claims before they go into payment. These estimates also suggest that preventative actions have a much higher level of return than investigating fraud and error after it has occurred.’
Data on how many and what proportion of cases handled by ERT have resulted in suspension is not available to this level for ERT and to produce it would incur disproportionate costs. This is due to large volumes of data being held across different clerical platforms, which would need to be forensically examined.
Likewise, data on cases closed, reinstated, or remaining suspended, cannot be provided within reasonable costs.
We are unable to provide the number of claimants who have appealed decisions on cases closed following RRT/ERT action and the number who have been successful in their appeals over the last five years because ERT only started completing reviews in April 2020.
We are unable to give per year figures since the formation of ERT due to the lengthy dispute process and are also unable to identify which appeals would have previously been suspended, due to this data not being held. However, the cumulative total of cases for RRT and ERT that have been through the dispute process are:
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to the (a) risk review team and (b) enhanced review team on suspension and termination.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
All members of ERT are provided with full training and with guidance which is clear about how case suspensions and terminations (closures) should be handled.
If a suspension is put in place on a claim, the claimant is made fully aware of any actions they need to take and information they need to provide in order to progress the review of their case.
A clear explanation is also provided to the claimant about the potential consequences should they fail to fully comply with these requirements within the required timescales. The guidance also ensures that ERT team members consider potential customer vulnerability throughout the duration of any intervention.
As the NAO have reported in the Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, ‘The majority of 2022-23 savings (£650 million) came from the Enhanced Review Team (ERT), which provides a rapid response service for detailed checking of high-risk Universal Credit claims before they go into payment. These estimates also suggest that preventative actions have a much higher level of return than investigating fraud and error after it has occurred.’
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research his Department has commissioned into pavement parking (a) for the consultation entitled Managing pavement parking, which closed on 22 November 2020, and (b) beyond the scope of this consultation.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There were over 15,000 responses to the consultation. The Department has been giving careful consideration to the findings. The Department is working through the options and the opportunities for taking matters forward and will publish a formal response as soon as this process is concluded.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing Bus Service Improvement Plan funding to be used for light rail systems in areas where funding has been awarded.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
BSIP and BSIP+ funding is intended to be used by LTAs to support the aims of the National Bus Strategy to make buses more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better co-ordinated and cheaper. It can also be used to support and protect existing bus services that would otherwise be at risk. It should not be used to support other modes, including light rail systems, where it is not clear that the primary benefits accrue to buses.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme (a) have been ordered and (b) are on the road.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) 1 scheme provided funding to 16 local transport authorities in England outside London. The scheme will fund up to 1,300 zero emission buses, though this is subject to change as projects are progressed by local transport authorities. Of the buses funded, an estimated 984 have been ordered and 137 are on the road.
Overall, since February 2020, an estimated 4,200 zero emission buses have been funded across the UK, this includes buses funded by ZEBRA 1.