Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
Liberal Democrat - Life peer
Became Member: 10th June 2005
Left House: 2nd September 2020 (Retired)
1 Former APPG membership
Gardening and HorticultureDivision Voting information
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 16 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 42 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 247 Noes - 181
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 11 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 51 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 228 Noes - 195
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 16 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 48 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 219 Noes - 186
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 27 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 28 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 222 Noes - 197
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 2 Liberal Democrat No votes vs 40 Liberal Democrat Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 183 Noes - 157
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 75 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 215 Noes - 262
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 40 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 72 Noes - 143
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 26 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 37 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 209 Noes - 243
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 26 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 27 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 158 Noes - 174
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 64 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 173 Noes - 220
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 2 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 56 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 233 Noes - 191
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 16 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 28 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 203 Noes - 165
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 6 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 59 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 236 Noes - 226
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 66 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 216 Noes - 256
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 16 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 30 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 270 Noes - 128
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 17 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 41 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 222 Noes - 250
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 25 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 38 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 252 Noes - 237
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 14 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 43 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 258 Noes - 190
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 2 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 60 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 224 Noes - 227
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 45 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 187 Noes - 189
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 47 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 152 Noes - 182
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 8 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 40 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 122 Noes - 155
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 2 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 31 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 107 Noes - 192
All Debates
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Sparring Partners
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(27 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(245 debate contributions)
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(8 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(4,927 words contributed)
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Lords initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Latest 50 Written Questions
(View all written questions)2 Other Department Questions
A new Strategy and Policy Statement, which Government consulted on last year makes it clear that helping vulnerable households is one of the Government’s strategic priorities to which Ofgem should have regard when carrying out its regulatory functions. The statement will replace the existing Social and Environmental Statutory Guidance to the Gas and Electricity Market Authority, as recommended by the Ofgem Review of 2010-11.
We are currently considering the responses to our consultation on the Strategy and Policy Statement and expect to publish in due course.
GOV.UK Verify is the new way to prove who you are online so you can access digital services securely and safely, without having to use postal or face-to-face services. It is on target to go live by April 2016, and so far nearly half a million identities have been verified, with the service used more than 1 million times. GOV.UK Verify helps fight the growing problem of online identity theft and makes sure people only have access to their own records and services.
It's the first of its kind in the world, allowing users create a verified digital identity with their choice of certified company from a range of high quality providers. Feedback from users has described GOV.UK Verify as “excellent” and “very impressive”.
6 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
(View all Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope's BEIS questions)As part of the Autumn Statement, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a new National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF). The NPIF will provide for £23 billion of spending between 2017/18 and 2021/22, and build on existing plans over this Parliament. In addition, improving productivity will be a key underlying theme of the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy.
In addition to fully implementing the Government’s Productivity Plan (published in 2015), my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a new National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) as part of the Autumn Statement. This will be targeted at 4 areas that are critical for improving productivity: housing, transport, digital communications, and research and development (R&D). Productivity will also be a key underlying theme of the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy.
The Government has not explicitly targeted a level of productivity for the UK. However, as part of the follow-up work to the Productivity Plan it has tracked progress made in implementing each of the Productivity Plan’s commitments, along with success metrics which can be used to measure progress against each of the Plan’s headline objectives.
Details of these can be found in the Government’s response to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee Inquiry into the Productivity Plan: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmbeis/931/93102.htm
The Productivity Plan published in 2015 set out a whole of government approach to raising UK productivity, progress on which is regularly reported by government departments. This includes working in partnership with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive in areas of policy where powers are partly or wholly devolved. At the Ministerial level a number of Cabinet Committees regularly consider issues relating to the main policies in the Productivity Plan, including the Economic Affairs sub-Committee. This will also be a key area of focus for the overarching Economy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
The Government set out its assessment of the likely causes of the UK’s low levels of productivity in the 2015 Productivity Plan. This decomposes the problem into two components, a long standing productivity gap and a more recent productivity puzzle. Full details of this analysis can be found in the annexe to the Productivity Plan, here:
1 Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Questions
(View all Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope's DCMS questions)We plan to publish the Digital Strategy in early 2016. The Minister for the Digital Economy launched a public call for ideas on 29 December. We are now analysing these responses, and we continue to work closely with Whitehall departments on the Strategy.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
There is no Government research assessing the provision of family support for children from low income families in other countries.
The Child Poverty Strategy, published in June 2014, outlined the Government’s actions to tackle child poverty and improve the living standards of poor children.[1]
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-poverty-strategy-2014-to-2017
The Child Poverty Strategy, published in June 2014, outlined the Government’s actions to tackle child poverty and improve the living standards of poor children.[1]
We are working with the charity ‘Magic Breakfast’ to help over 180 schools in some of the most deprived communities to set up breakfast provision to ensure that the children attending those schools start the day with a healthy breakfast as fuel for learning.
Universal infant free school meals will ensure that up to 1.5 million additional pupils are being offered a free nutritious meal every school day, helping them to do better in school, eat healthily and saving families up to £400 a year.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-poverty-strategy-2014-to-2017
The Child Poverty Strategy, published in June 2014, outlined the Government’s actions to tackle child poverty and improve the living standards of poor children.[1]
In relation to nutrition, the Government has introduced Healthy Start Vouchers for young children in low-income families, free school meals for all infant school pupils, and breakfast clubs in deprived areas. In addition, children aged four to six attending state schools continue to be entitled to receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable each school day.
Universal infant free school meals will ensure that up to 1.5 million additional pupils are being offered a free nutritious meal every school day, helping them to do better in school, eat healthily and saving families up to £400 a year.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-poverty-strategy-2014-to-2017
The Child Poverty Strategy, published in June 2014, outlined the Government’s actions to tackle child poverty and improve the living standards of poor children.[1]
We have not considered including school holiday provision in passported benefits to be included in Universal Credit.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-poverty-strategy-2014-to-2017
The Child Poverty Strategy, published in June 2014, outlined the Government’s actions to tackle child poverty and improve the living standards of poor children. [1]
The Government has not made an estimate of the costs to the Exchequer of providing adequate nutrition for children for children of school age during the school holidays.
Universal infant free school meals will ensure that up to 1.5 million additional pupils are being offered a free nutritious meal every school day, helping them to do better in school, eat healthily and saving families up to £400 a year.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-poverty-strategy-2014-to-2017
5 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions
(View all Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope's Defra questions)Woodland planting schemes supported by Countryside Stewardship (and earlier Rural Development Programme schemes) for planting in 2016-17 and 2017-18 have budget allocations of £3.3m and £8.3m respectively.
The Woodland Carbon Fund has a budget allocation of more than £19 million for the remainder of this Parliament.
The Woodland Creation Planning Grant’s budget allocation is drawn from the £1m Forestry Innovation Fund.
We have allocated up to £3.2m over 4 years to the Trees for Schools programme. This will give hundreds of thousands of children across England a chance to plant saplings in their school grounds and communities as part of a Government-backed scheme to give free trees to schools in partnership with the Woodland Trust.
Countryside Stewardship offers incentives for small scale woodland creation. The normal minimum application area is 3 hectares with a minimum block size of 0.5 hectares; or 1 hectare and 0.1 hectares where woodland creation is part of a suite of measures for water quality or flood prevention.
Countryside Stewardship also provides support for existing woodlands as small as 3 hectares, including preparing a woodland management plan and support a range of woodland management activities and capital items. Additional support is available for woodland tree health
Woodland planting schemes supported by Countryside Stewardship (and earlier Rural Development Programme schemes) for planting in 2016-17 and 2017-18 have budget allocations of £3.3m and £8.3m respectively.
The Woodland Carbon Fund has a budget allocation of more than £19 million for the remainder of this Parliament.
The Woodland Creation Planning Grant’s budget allocation is drawn from the £1m Forestry Innovation Fund.
We have allocated up to £3.2m over 4 years to the Trees for Schools programme. This will give hundreds of thousands of children across England a chance to plant saplings in their school grounds and communities as part of a Government-backed scheme to give free trees to schools in partnership with the Woodland Trust.
Countryside Stewardship offers incentives for small scale woodland creation. The normal minimum application area is 3 hectares with a minimum block size of 0.5 hectares; or 1 hectare and 0.1 hectares where woodland creation is part of a suite of measures for water quality or flood prevention.
Countryside Stewardship also provides support for existing woodlands as small as 3 hectares, including preparing a woodland management plan and support a range of woodland management activities and capital items. Additional support is available for woodland tree health
The Forestry Commission collect and publish National Statistics for England on the area of new woodland planting. Figures for the ten years since 2006-07 are shown in Table 1 below, with the year-on-year annual rate of change. In this period almost all the new planting recorded was conducted by private owners including charities and conservation bodies supported by Government funding under successive Rural Development Programme grant schemes (Woodland Grant Scheme 2006-7; English Woodland Grant Scheme 2007-14; Countryside Stewardship 2015-).
Table 1: New planting of woodland in England over the ten years since 2006-07
Financial Year to 31st March | a) New planting by land area | b) Annual change in new planting by land area compared to previous year |
| Thousand hectares | Thousand hectares |
2006-07 | 3.2 | -0.5 |
2007-08 | 2.6 | -0.6 |
2008-09 | 2.5 | -0.1 |
2009-10 | 2.3 | -0.2 |
2010-11 | 2.5 | 0.2 |
2011-12 | 2.7 | 0.2 |
2012-13 | 2.6 | -0.1 |
2013-14 | 3.3 | 0.7 |
2014-15 | 2.4 | -0.9 |
2015-16 | 0.7 | -1.7 |
Source: Forestry Statistics 2016 (Forestry Commission).
Note: These figures do not include planting as part of restocking woodland.
Forestry is a devolved matter and this response relates to forestry in England only.
New woodland planting in England is supported by the Rural Development Programme Countryside Stewardship woodland creation grant scheme. We also launched the second round of the Woodland Creation Planning Grant last September to encourage further uptake of Countryside Stewardship Grants. To support tree planting further throughout England, the Forestry Commission opened the Woodland Carbon Fund, which will aim to boost woodland creation rates and help to meet the Government’s future carbon targets. This fund was launched last November.
There have been no targets set, in terms of hectares per annum, for woodland planting. We remain committed to planting 11 million trees before the end of this Parliament. We also aspire to have 12% woodland cover by 2060 and we are committed to working with the public, private and third sectors to develop new ways of supporting landowners to plant more trees.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continues to support existing benefit recipients in exceptional cases where their absence from home goes over the period allowed under the temporary absence benefit rules as they are self-isolating due to COVID-19.
Although the DWP has overall responsibility for the Housing Benefit scheme and its funding, local authorities have the statutory responsibility for its day-to-day administration. This includes the assessment of individual claims for benefit. Although local authority staff will keep a record on individual claims when a claimant is absent from home, this information isn’t recorded centrally.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continues to support existing benefit recipients in exceptional cases where their absence from home goes over the period allowed under the temporary absence benefit rules as they are self-isolating due to COVID-19.
Although the DWP has overall responsibility for the Housing Benefit scheme and its funding, local authorities have the statutory responsibility for its day-to-day administration. This includes the assessment of individual claims for benefit. Although local authority staff will keep a record on individual claims when a claimant is absent from home, this information isn’t recorded centrally.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continues to support existing benefit recipients in exceptional cases where their absence from home goes over the period allowed under the temporary absence benefit rules as they are self-isolating due to COVID-19.
Although the DWP has overall responsibility for the Housing Benefit scheme and its funding, local authorities have the statutory responsibility for its day-to-day administration. This includes the assessment of individual claims for benefit. Although local authority staff will keep a record on individual claims when a claimant is absent from home, this information isn’t recorded centrally.
We are working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care to consider how best to support the NHS during this period whilst ensuring that we can continue to provide financial support to claimants through the benefit system. We welcome our Providers’ continued support and flexibility during this period.
The information requested is not held. Health Professionals in addition to conducting telephone assessments, can undertake a range of other duties commensurate with their training, for example, scrutiny, quality audit and training.
The Government announced on 16 March 2020 that all face-to-face assessments for all sickness and disability benefits will be suspended. The temporary move, effective from 17 March 2020, is being taken as a precautionary measure to protect vulnerable people from unnecessary risk of exposure to coronavirus as the country's response ramps up in the 'delay' phase. We will ensure those who are entitled to a benefit continue to receive support, and that new claimants are able to access the safety net.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
DWP will support a claimant to put in place a split payment where they have requested it as a result of domestic violence.
DWP has a long standing relationship with the local government sector. Most recently, on 25 April 2018, the Rt Hon. Ester McVey, Secretary of State, had a conference call with the Chair and other representatives of the Local Government Association (LGA) to discuss ways of working and future collaboration. Further meetings with the LGA are being planned, to cover a number of topics.
DWP’s Universal Credit Local Authority Engagement Team has continuous engagement with local authorities and we share and obtain feedback with them through a range of engagement approaches on Universal Credit and Universal Support. The team are currently holding the latest round of quarterly engagement events with local authorities and DWP staff in areas where Universal Credit Full Service is available, or soon to be rolled out.
Officials from the Department for Work and Pensions meet regularly with key stakeholders including the Trussell Trust, where a range of issues are discussed. We are also currently reviewing research carried out by organisations including the Trussell Trust to add to our understanding of food bank use and will consider requirements to add to our evidence base.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
When a claimant reports domestic abuse to the Jobcentre Plus we will review their conditionality requirements, and provide easements where appropriate.
The vast majority of Jobcentres delivering Universal Credit full service have private interview facilities as standard. In the small number of offices where they are not available we are able to make arrangements for customers at nearby offices which do have rooms, or arrange for a home visit to be made where it is appropriate to do so.
We always endeavour to deal with vulnerable claimants sensitively, taking into account the particular circumstances and individual needs of the customers.
In supporting victims of domestic violence, the Jobcentre offers a range of support open to survivors and those still experiencing domestic abuse.
Work Coaches delivering Universal Credit undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality service to all claimants. Specific training and guidance is provided for working with different vulnerable groups, including people who have been the victims of domestic violence.
Work Coaches will signpost claimants to national and local organisations who can provide specialist support and apply the domestic violence easement, switching off all work-related requirements for a period of time.
A national call was held recently to raise awareness and understanding of domestic abuse across the Jobcentre network and a video has been produced to highlight good practice when supporting individuals who have been or are currently in a domestic abuse relationship.
Government is funding a £38 million Credit Union Expansion Project to enable the credit union sector to improve access to affordable credit.
Government will also continue to support the development of cross sector partnerships to raise awareness and accessibility of affordable credit.
Ahead of the introduction of the new State Pension in April 2016, we are specifically encouraging people to find out how they could increase their new State Pension, including through National Insurance credits. This includes encouraging people who are eligible but may not be claiming carer’s credits at the moment. We are working with the media, local authorities, the NHS, voluntary organisations and charities, including carers’ organisations to promote material, including fact sheets and videos, ensuring the right information and advice is available on carer’s credits.
The Department does not hold information that would allow us to identify individuals who might be eligible for the carer’s credit. We use a range of methods to signpost the carer’s credit to individuals who contact us about other benefits who might be potentially eligible, including when someone has claimed but is not entitled to Carer’s Allowance. Departmental officials promote the carer’s credit at carers’ events, including Carer’s Week, and amongst support organisations. Information on the credits is available on the government’s website GOV.UK and also on carers’ organisations websites.
Ahead of the introduction of the new State Pension in April 2016, we are specifically encouraging people to find out how they could increase their new State Pension, including through National Insurance credits. This includes encouraging people who are eligible but may not be claiming carer’s credits at the moment. We are working with the media, local authorities, the NHS, voluntary organisations and charities, including carers’ organisations to promote material, including fact sheets and videos, ensuring the right information and advice is available on carer’s credits.
The Department does not hold information that would allow us to identify individuals who might be eligible for the carer’s credit. We use a range of methods to signpost the carer’s credit to individuals who contact us about other benefits who might be potentially eligible, including when someone has claimed but is not entitled to Carer’s Allowance. Departmental officials promote the carer’s credit at carers’ events, including Carer’s Week, and amongst support organisations. Information on the credits is available on the government’s website GOV.UK and also on carers’ organisations websites.
DWP statisticians are considering all of the points raised by UK Statistics Authority about the publication of sanctions statistics and what additional information and commentary is appropriate to explain this complex area.
DWP statisticians are considering all of the points raised by UK Statistics Authority about the publication of sanctions statistics and what additional information and commentary is appropriate to explain this complex area, including the future release of Universal Credit sanctions statistics.
There are no plans for Her Majesty’s Government to make any statement on Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) at this time as the financial and monitoring returns analysis for 2014/15 will be published on the morning of 25th June 2015, on the GOV.UK website.
The Department is committed to monitoring the allocation and use of DHPs and has published mid-year and annual reports using data provided by Local Authorities (LAs) which highlight over and under-spending LAs.
The release of this analysis into the public domain demonstrates the Department’s continuing commitment to supporting LAs efforts to use existing housing stock more effectively as, since 2013, the Department has made available £470 million in Discretionary Housing Payment funding, of which a significant sum is returned by LAs each year.
The Work Programme allows providers the freedom to use a range of tools to support people into work, including providing financial inclusion support if they believe this would be beneficial. The Department is currently developing the next phase of the Work Programme . Evaluation of the existing programme will inform how the next programme best meets the needs of participants.
The Government’s commitment to save £12bn from welfare spending was set out in its election manifesto. Further details will be given in due course.
Performance indicators have been set for those aspects of child maintenance activity that are most critical to the objectives set out in the Government’s strategy on arrears published in January 2013, namely to prevent the build up of arrears in the first place and prioritise the recovery of arrears where this will benefit children today. We therefore have indicators, for example, on the clearance of cases, collections, the number of cases contributing towards current liability and the number of children benefiting. A simple indicator for the collection of arrears would not reflect the objectives of the strategy. Since 2010 we have collected almost £600 million in arrears.
The recommendations are set out on pages 20 to 34 of the Advisory Panels 2011 Report “Advisory Panel on Arrears of Child Maintenance” which can be found at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120716161734/http:/www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/advisory-panel-arrears-sep-11.pdf
In response to the report the Department published its Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012 – 2017 – “Preparing for the future, tackling the past.” which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214338/cm-arrears-and-compliance-strategy-2012-2017.pdf
In December 2012, the Department introduced two sections of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008; the ability to write off debt in prescribed scenarios and to accept part payment in full and final satisfaction.
We have also trialled the use of the Australian Model of arrears classification, and are considering the results to inform future action.
Performance indicators have been set for those aspects of child maintenance activity that are most critical to the objectives set out in the Government’s strategy on arrears published in January 2013, namely to prevent the build up of arrears in the first place and prioritise the recovery of arrears where this will benefit children today. We therefore have indicators, for example, on the clearance of cases, collections, the number of cases contributing towards current liability and the number of children benefiting. A simple indicator for the collection of arrears would not reflect the objectives of the strategy. Since 2010 we have collected almost £600 million in arrears.
The recommendations are set out on pages 20 to 34 of the Advisory Panels 2011 Report “Advisory Panel on Arrears of Child Maintenance” which can be found at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120716161734/http:/www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/advisory-panel-arrears-sep-11.pdf
In response to the report the Department published its Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012 – 2017 – “Preparing for the future, tackling the past.” which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214338/cm-arrears-and-compliance-strategy-2012-2017.pdf
In December 2012, the Department introduced two sections of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008; the ability to write off debt in prescribed scenarios and to accept part payment in full and final satisfaction.
We have also trialled the use of the Australian Model of arrears classification, and are considering the results to inform future action.
Performance indicators have been set for those aspects of child maintenance activity that are most critical to the objectives set out in the Government’s strategy on arrears published in January 2013, namely to prevent the build up of arrears in the first place and prioritise the recovery of arrears where this will benefit children today. We therefore have indicators, for example, on the clearance of cases, collections, the number of cases contributing towards current liability and the number of children benefiting. A simple indicator for the collection of arrears would not reflect the objectives of the strategy. Since 2010 we have collected almost £600 million in arrears.
The recommendations are set out on pages 20 to 34 of the Advisory Panels 2011 Report “Advisory Panel on Arrears of Child Maintenance” which can be found at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120716161734/http:/www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/advisory-panel-arrears-sep-11.pdf
In response to the report the Department published its Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012 – 2017 – “Preparing for the future, tackling the past.” which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214338/cm-arrears-and-compliance-strategy-2012-2017.pdf
In December 2012, the Department introduced two sections of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008; the ability to write off debt in prescribed scenarios and to accept part payment in full and final satisfaction.
We have also trialled the use of the Australian Model of arrears classification, and are considering the results to inform future action.
Performance indicators have been set for those aspects of child maintenance activity that are most critical to the objectives set out in the Government’s strategy on arrears published in January 2013, namely to prevent the build up of arrears in the first place and prioritise the recovery of arrears where this will benefit children today. We therefore have indicators, for example, on the clearance of cases, collections, the number of cases contributing towards current liability and the number of children benefiting. A simple indicator for the collection of arrears would not reflect the objectives of the strategy. Since 2010 we have collected almost £600 million in arrears.
The recommendations are set out on pages 20 to 34 of the Advisory Panels 2011 Report “Advisory Panel on Arrears of Child Maintenance” which can be found at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120716161734/http:/www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/advisory-panel-arrears-sep-11.pdf
In response to the report the Department published its Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012 – 2017 – “Preparing for the future, tackling the past.” which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214338/cm-arrears-and-compliance-strategy-2012-2017.pdf
In December 2012, the Department introduced two sections of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008; the ability to write off debt in prescribed scenarios and to accept part payment in full and final satisfaction.
We have also trialled the use of the Australian Model of arrears classification, and are considering the results to inform future action.
1 Department of Health and Social Care Questions
(View all Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope's DHSC questions)This Government is grateful for the work of the Law Commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in reviewing the regulation of health and (in England) social care professionals. The Law Commissions made 125 recommendations to reform the existing complex and burdensome regulatory system. The joint four United Kingdom country response to the Law Commission was published on 29 January 2015 which accepted wholly or in part the vast majority of its recommendations.
The recommendations focussed on modernising and simplifying the legislation to enable the regulators to respond more quickly to emerging risks to patient safety and deal with poor professional practice swiftly and proportionately. This Government remains committed to bringing forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows. This will be a substantial Bill and it is important that Parliament has sufficient time to give it the consideration it requires.
The government set up the Money Advice Service in 2010 to enhance consumers’ understanding of their finances. Pension Wise was launched in April 2015 to help people with their defined contribution pensions. The Public Financial Guidance consultation is currently exploring how the current statutory arrangements for the provision of free and impartial financial guidance can be made more effective for consumers.
The Government also launched the Financial Advice Market Review, which aims to make sure that people can access high quality, affordable professional advice to help them make informed financial decisions. FAMR and the Public Financial Guidance Consultation will report back around Budget 2016.
Part of the government’s long term economic plan is to ensure that banks serve all sections of society. The government is committed to increasing competition to deliver innovation and good financial products and services for all customers.
The government launched an international FinTech benchmarking exercise to identify emerging areas of opportunity for FinTech in the UK in November 2015. This exercise is being carried out by Ernst & Young, and findings are due to be delivered in early 2016. The report will look at the future needs of customers for financial services delivered through digital channels.
The Government has not commissioned research to identify the future needs of customers for financial services delivered via physical premises. However the Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. Since May 2015, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch, including the preparation of meaningful local impact assessments. There is a commitment to a review of the operation of the protocol after one year, and the government looks forward to the publication of its conclusions.
The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The personal financial position of households is improving. Household debt as a proportion of income has fallen from a peak of 169 per cent in 2008 Q1 to 146 per cent in 2014 Q4, as households have reduced borrowing and repaid debt. The government has introduced a number of measures to support domestic finances including the New ISA, abolishing the starting rate of tax on savings income, NS&I pensioner bonds and now the Help to Buy ISA.