Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of wheelchair accessible (a) homes, (b) flats and (c) bungalows which will be built in each of the next five years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Local authorities are best placed to understand the housing needs in their area. We expect them to work closely with key partners and their local communities in deciding what type of housing is needed.
National policy sets out clearly the need for local authorities to plan for the housing needs of all members of the community and that planning should encourage accessibility. The introduction of optional requirements for accessibility in the Building Regulations provides local authorities with the tools needed to ensure that new homes are accessible and that in particular the needs of disabled people are met.
At the same time as introducing these new optional requirements, we amended planning guidance to provide further advice on how they should be applied through local planning policy. We also published a data sheet setting out information and statistics on older and disabled peoples’ needs to act as a starting point for local authorities wishing to develop suitable policies.
An impact assessment supporting implementation of the Housing Standards Review estimated, for appraisal purposes, an indicative rate of construction of accessible housing in the period 2015 to 2025 - the impact assessment and accompanying documents can be found at the link below;
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-standards-review-final-implementation-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that all railway stations in (a) Liverpool Walton constituency, (b) Liverpool City region and (c) England and Wales are wheelchair accessible.
Answered by Claire Perry
Whenever the rail industry carries out infrastructure work at stations it is required to meet the latest UK and EU accessibility standards.
We have also extended the Access for All programme, which will have provided step free access at over 200 stations by 2019. In Liverpool Walton both Fazkerley and Orrel Park have been completed. In the wider Liverpool City area Liverpool Central, Sandhills, Birkenhead North, Formby, Hooton, Meols and Waterloo have also been included in the programme.
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to close the pay gap between disabled workers and other workers.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. Work is an important part of this, which is why we committed to halving the disability employment gap in our manifesto – we want to ensure that many more disabled people who can and want to work have that opportunity.
Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people (and other groups) from discrimination at work, including unequal pay (in relation to the disabled person's gender) and less favourable treatment, which may require the employer to provide a reasonable adjustment.
The National Living Wage - which will ensure that all low wage workers, including those with disabilities, can take a greater share of the gains from growth - will come into force from 1 April 2016.
Disability Confident works with an increasing number of employers to promote the benefits of employing disabled people, encouraging good practice, challenging prejudicial attitudes, increasing understanding of disability, removing barriers, and helping to ensure that disabled people have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.
Access to Work provides support above and beyond employers’ reasonable adjustments. Every year, Access to Work supports tens of thousands of disabled workers to enter or retain employment and progress in their careers.
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) Liverpool have appealed against sanctions; what the average length of sanctions in those areas was in the last 12 months; and how many such appeals were successful.
Answered by Priti Patel
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 11863 asked on 14 October 2015
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants have been sanctioned in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) Liverpool since the implementation of that policy.
Answered by Priti Patel
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 11863 asked on 14 October 2015
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants there have been in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) Liverpool city region since that policy's implementation.
Answered by Priti Patel
The information requested can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the provision of technical education.
Answered by Nick Boles
We will put in place clear professional and technical routes to employment, building on the work of the last parliament to ensure only high quality qualifications are approved for performance tables.
For post-16 students we have introduced Tech Levels and Technical Certificates, all of which are backed by employers, trade or professional bodies and cover most practical careers. Employers will be involved in the delivery or assessment of all technical qualifications from September 2017.
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the decision to send Mark Jenner of the Special Demonstration Squad into a covert long-term surveillance operation in the 1990s was approved by (a) officials and (b) Ministers of his Department.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement by the Home Secretary on 12 March 2015 at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2015-03-12/HCWS381/
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2015 to Question 226443, on what date the review commissioned by the Permanent Secretary into the extent of her Department's knowledge of the Special Demonstration Squad from 1968 to 2008 will be published.
Answered by Mike Penning
Stephen Taylor’s independent review into the Home Office’s knowledge of the Special Demonstration Squad was published on 12 March 2015. A copy has been made available on Gov.uk and placed in the House Library.
Asked by: Steve Rotheram (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question
To ask the Prime Minister, whether the decision to send Mark Jenner of the Special Demonstration Squad into a covert long-term surveillance operation in the 1990s was approved by (a) officials of 10 Downing Street and (b) the then Prime Minister.
Answered by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton - Foreign Secretary
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) on 12 March 2015, Official Report, column 43WS-44WS, HCWS381.