Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment she has been made of the effect of preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal on her Department's climate-focused work.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on his Department's climate-focused work of planning for the UK to leave the EU without a deal.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
DFID is fully supporting the Government’s preparations to ensure that the UK leaves the EU on 31 October. At the same time, as the Prime Minister made clear at the recent G7 Leaders meeting, the UK is strongly committed to tackling the two immense threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. Putting climate change and environment at the heart of our development programming is a high priority for DFID. While we have, since July 2019, deployed a small number of staff (fewer than 5) who were working on climate change to work on planning for our exit from the EU, overall the number of staff working on climate change is increasing.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate she has made of the number of staff in her Department who previously worked on climate change who have moved to a role to plan for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff of his Department who previously focused on climate change have moved to a role to plan for the UK leaving without a deal since July 2019.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
DFID is fully supporting the Government’s preparations to ensure that the UK leaves the EU on 31 October. At the same time, as the Prime Minister made clear at the recent G7 Leaders meeting, the UK is strongly committed to tackling the two immense threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. Putting climate change and environment at the heart of our development programming is a high priority for DFID. While we have, since July 2019, deployed a small number of staff (fewer than 5) who were working on climate change to work on planning for our exit from the EU, overall the number of staff working on climate change is increasing.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department plans to implement the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change to meet the net zero emissions target without the use of international offsets.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2019 to Question 253698 on Universal Credit: Domestic Abuse, what progress has been made on establishing the practicalities of delivering separate payments in Scotland.
Answered by Will Quince
The development of a detailed policy to split payments of Universal Credit in Scotland is something for the Scottish Government to determine.
Any policy has to be capable of implementation and as a consequence must fit with the existing architecture of the system if it is not to undermine system stability for all claimants across Great Britain.
Scottish Government final proposals have not yet been shared with the Government. We welcome the great care Scottish Government is taking with this.
When a comprehensive set of proposals has been decided upon by the Scottish Government, we will provide advice on timing and implementation dates, with regard to the wider plan to deliver Universal Credit and the relative priorities of split payment proposals against other demands.
Officials from both Governments continue to explore these issues together to see if a workable solution to the many issues raised can be found.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2019 to Question 212664 on Universal Credit: Domestic Violence, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Scottish Government on the implementation of separate universal credit payments by default; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
When an individual suffering from domestic abuse requests a split payment, we will make split payments available to them.
Whilst DWP is not intending to introduce split payments by default, as a department we respond positively to requests for split payments, and can take other actions to support those experiencing abuse, such as making a managed payment of rent direct to landlords. We also ensure that claimants who disclose domestic abuse are signposted to specialist organisations for support. All work coaches undergo mandatory training regarding how to support vulnerable claimants, including recognising the signs of domestic abuse.
We will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to establish the practicalities of delivering split payments in Scotland.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the information for British Sign Language users to contact the universal credit helpline through a video relay service.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Universal Credit has been designed with accessibility in mind and we are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants.
Where our customers need assistance to access our services and information, we make reasonable adjustments to meet their individual needs. DWP customers who have a specific communication barrier are able to use a variety of different communication methods including via third party interpreters for British Sign Language (BSL) and textphone and next Generation Text services are available to customers who are unable to contact the Department by phone.
In addition, Universal Credit claimants can use their online accounts to send messages direct to their Work Coach or Case Manager, check their Universal Credit benefit payments and notify us of any changes.
We are currently in the design stage of a test to implement Video Relay Service for our Universal Credit British Sign Language customers in one geography by June 2019. This will be robustly evaluated incorporating customer insight ahead of any decision to roll out the service nationally.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of British Sign Language users who have not received adequate support in accessing the universal credit helpline.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Universal Credit has been designed with accessibility in mind and we are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants.
Where our customers need assistance to access our services and information, we make reasonable adjustments to meet their individual needs. DWP customers who have a specific communication barrier are able to use a variety of different communication methods including via third party interpreters for British Sign Language (BSL) and textphone and next Generation Text services are available to customers who are unable to contact the Department by phone.
In addition, Universal Credit claimants can use their online accounts to send messages direct to their Work Coach or Case Manager, check their Universal Credit benefit payments and notify us of any changes.
We are currently in the design stage of a test to implement Video Relay Service for our Universal Credit British Sign Language customers in one geography by June 2019. This will be robustly evaluated incorporating customer insight ahead of any decision to roll out the service nationally.
Asked by: Danielle Rowley (Labour - Midlothian)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which Department is responsible for monitoring and implementing policies relating to the targets under Sustainable Development Goal 10 on economic inequality.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Goal 10 is to reduce inequality within and between countries, and so responsibility for delivery is shared across Government. For example, the Office for Disability Issues in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) leads on disability policy, the Race Disparity Unit in the Cabinet Office is key to our approach on race equality, DWP and HM Treasury are responsible for addressing income inequality within the UK, and the Department for International Development leads on tackling inequality between countries.
To aid transparency, all Departments are expected to set out how their activity aligns to the Goals in their Single Departmental Plans. The Government Equalities Office is coordinating reporting for Goal 10 across Government for the Voluntary National Review this year.