Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what date he has set for full implementation of universal credit across the UK.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
In the WMS (link below) of 13 October 2014 the Secretary of State confirmed plans for the next stage of implementing universal credit to all remaining jobcentres and local authorities as we progress national expansion through 2015-16 and secure delivery of universal credit across Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of children living in poverty in each constituent part of the UK; and how many children were living in poverty in each such region in each of the last three years.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative low income are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. This information is captured using the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and has been reported since 1998/99 in the DWP’s Households Below Average Income (HBAI) publication. These estimates are available for each financial year up to 2012/13, the latest period for which estimates are available.
Comparable estimates are available for each of the constituent countries of the UK and for English regions. The survey sample sizes for these regions are not sufficiently large to support robust single-year figures, so estimates are provided using three-year averages. The latest estimates are for 2010/11-2012/13.
These estimates can be found at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-hbai-199495-to-201213
Relevant estimates can be found in the "Supporting Data tables (Microsoft Excel files) WINZIP link. The Excel document is titled "chapter_4ts_risk_hbai14.xls".
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
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 effect on disabled people of the Government's welfare reform policy in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
These are devolved matters which are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive Minister for Social Development.
Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on tackling child poverty.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Tackling child poverty is a cross-government matter. Ministers in HM Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Education work together, in conjunction with other Government Ministers, towards the goal of ending child poverty.
The Child Poverty Act 2010 places a duty on the government to consult with the devolved administrations when preparing a child poverty strategy. The Government has also established the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, an independent advisory NDPB, to monitor the progress the Government and others are making towards improving social mobility and reducing child poverty in the United Kingdom. This includes describing the measures taken by the Scottish and Welsh Governments.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Minister of State for Schools recently consulted with the devolved administrations on two matters. The consultation on the Child Poverty Strategy 2014-17 (from 27 February to 22 May) and the consultation on Setting a Persistent Poverty Target (from 26 June to 14 August). Ministers carefully considered the views expressed by the devolved administrations, and all other respondents, when making their decisions on these.
Additionally, UK Government officials met with officials from the devolved administrations in August to discuss approaches and evidence. Regular meetings are planned for the future.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive has taken to enforce the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in respect of employees in the traffic management industry in the last 10 years for which information is available.
Answered by Mike Penning
This information is not held centrally to the level of detail required to distinguish the traffic management sector from others in the construction industry. It would incur disproportinate cost to find this information.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) works with the industry to help develop traffic management layouts or schemes which improve the safety of those working on high speed roads. It also carries out investigations of incidents and complaints and takes enforcement action in line with its published emforcement policy.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive has taken to recommend or mandate the use of automated traffic management technology to lift and lay cones on the motorway network in the last 10 years for which information is available.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Health and Safety Executive has not taken any action to mandate or recommend the use of automated traffic management equipment to lift and lay cones.
The highway maintenance industry has trialled cone laying machines and the decision to use such machines rests with them on a commercial operational basis