Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 on access to housing for post-release offenders.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act on 20th July 2015. It set out its assessment of the impacts of the social rents policies in the Act on 28th September 2015.
A link to the impact assessments is included:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 on access to housing for victims of domestic violence.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act on 20th July 2015. It set out its assessment of the impacts of the social rents policies in the Act on 28th September 2015.
A link to the impact assessments is included:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 on access to housing for people with dementia.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act on 20th July 2015. It set out its assessment of the impacts of the social rents policies in the Act on 28th September 2015.
A link to the impact assessments is included:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's wellness strategy is.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP recognises the importance of good health and wellbeing and the positive impact this has on employee morale, engagement and performance.
We have in place a comprehensive range of policies and measures to encourage and help employees.
Particular interventions include:
An Occupational Health service which supports employees during periods of ill health and absence, enabling them to remain in work/return to work more quickly.
An Employee Assistance Programme which offers immediate support for employees on a wide range of issues.
We also provide employees with access to a range of advice on our dedicated Wellbeing site.
And we have a longstanding, active network of 2,000 volunteer Wellbeing Champions, who arrange and deliver a large number of local events.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the hon.Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my Rt.Hon. Friend Matthew Hancock, Question UIN 27946.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of the Government as an employer and commissioner to increasing rates of employment among disabled people.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All Government Departments have clear objectives to increase workforce diversity, including disabled people. We have been working with officials across Whitehall to assess the proportion of disabled people employed by Government, and to identify ways to improve those numbers.
As at 31 March 2015, 8.9% of Civil Service employees declared their disability status, up from 7.6% in 2010 and 8.8% in 2014.
With reference to commissioning, successful bidders for contracts in excess of 12 months are required to submit annual Diversity & Equality Delivery Plans, workforce monitoring data and Contractor and any Sub-contractor’s policy/policies and procedures for preventing unlawful discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity in respect of a range of groups, including people with a disability.
This Government is committed to being an exemplar employer and will continue to support employers and disabled people to create opportinities and increase disability emplyment.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has commissioned advice on the potential introduction of a compulsory unemployment insurance scheme.
Answered by Priti Patel
No such advice has been commissioned.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure the continued funding of the Grandparents' Association.
Answered by Steve Webb
This government is committed to building on the excellent work already in place to strengthen family relationships and as the Prime Minister announced at the Relationships Alliance summit in August 2014, we will be investing the same amount of funding in 2015/2016 as we have done in 2014/2015.
Grandparents Association are subcontracted by Relate who are one of the lead suppliers delivering relationship support services. DWP will be funding this Relate contract in 2015/16 at the same level as they have received in 2014/15. It is Relate’s responsibility to decide how they manage this contract and which partners / sub-contractors they involve in supporting delivery of these services.
However, we would encourage existing providers to make use of the valuable skills and expertise that are offered by the third sector, such as Grandparents Association.