Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure people who are in receipt of Section 4 support are able to cover (a) travel fares which can only be purchased with cash and (b) other upfront travel costs in order to report at Home Office reporting centres.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ensure reporting frequencies are not excessively (a) burdensome and (b) expensive for people who live in places where the journey to a reporting centre is significant.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many SMEs have been awarded Defence Science and Technology Laboratory contracts.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During 2018-19, 4,312 (36 per cent) of Dstl's contracts were awarded to Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what analysis he undertakes of social value when awarding contracts.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continually seeks to improve its public procurement and contract award processes to obtain the best commercial outcome for the taxpayer. We do this in a way that looks to strengthen our economy and prosperity where it is relevant to what is being procured and is fair and non-discriminatory.
To maximise UK economic benefits, the MOD uses the Treasury's Green Book framework when making investment decisions; this requires all assessments to be made on the basis of social value.
In competitive procurement, socio-economic factors can be used as criteria for awarding contracts providing they are relevant, proportionate and do not prejudice fair competition. Where appropriate, these factors are considered alongside traditional award criteria such as quality, cost and delivery, to ensure social value is fully considered and value for money is achieved.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of naming one of the future Type 31 frigates after Burslem, the mother town of the potteries.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The names of the Type 31 Frigates have already been proposed by the Navy Board and are awaiting final approval. Following approval, the names will be announced at appropriate opportunities in the future.
I have asked the Navy Board's Ships' Names and Badges Committee to note the proposal for the name 'Burslem' to be considered for a ship or submarine in the future.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to protect people on benefits or low incomes who would be most vulnerable to rising food prices or food supply disruption in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government's priority remains securing a deal to leave the EU. We have more people in work than ever before, with wages continuing to grow. However, as a responsible government we have plans in place for a range of scenarios. The welfare system provides a strong safety net. A system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans will be available for eligible claimants who need them.
For new claimants applying for Universal Credit (UC), new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first UC payment is due. We have increased work allowance rates by £1,000 in April 2019 and they will be uprated in line with inflation in the future. This measure provides additional support in a package announced in Autumn Budget 2018, worth £1.7 billion by 2023/24, to some of the most vulnerable low paid working households.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many letters of delay the Veterans Agency is issuing to veterans awaiting an assessment appeal for their war pension on average.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) average and (b) longest time taken is for his Department to process war pensions in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The information requested is published within the annual National Statistics on awards under the War Pension Scheme. The latest information, as at 31 March 2019, can be found on the Gov.uk website at this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/war-pension-recipients-index
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of veterans with PTSD have been refused a war pension since 2010.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Information on the total number of veterans medically diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not held.
However, between 1 January 2010 and 31 March 2019 an estimated 6,730 veterans have claimed compensation for PTSD under the War Pension Scheme, of which 1,320 (19.5%) were unsuccessful.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what procurement policies his Department has put in place to ensure that (a) the Foreign Office and (b) UK embassies promote UK (i) ceramics and (b) manufacturing, specifically.
Answered by Alan Duncan
All procurement is guided by the Public Contracts Regulations and Cabinet Office guidance.