First elected: 6th May 2010
Left House: 3rd May 2017 (Defeated)
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Eilidh Whiteford, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Eilidh Whiteford has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Eilidh Whiteford has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Eilidh Whiteford has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Financial Regulation of Funeral Services Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Neil Gray (SNP)
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Liz Saville Roberts (PC)
Regulations requiring an employment tribunal to order an equal pay audit where an employer is found to be in breach of equal pay law came into force on 1st October 2014. We are not so far aware of any cases where an audit has been ordered.
The table below shows show many tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by renewable electricity in each of the UK, England, Scotland and Wales in 2013.
UK | England | Scotland | Wales | |
Carbon dioxide displaced by renewable electricity generation (million tonnes) | 37.6 | 22.8 | 11.9 | 1.9 |
Carbon emissions displaced by renewable electricity generation have been calculated as renewable electricity generation multiplied by the average emissions factor for electricity supplied by fossil fuel stations in 2013. A breakdown of electricity generation for the countries can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/regional-renewable-statistics
Carbon dioxide emissions factors for electricity supplied can be found in table 5D of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics, 2014, available at:
Information on the carbon savings from the total renewable heat produced in the UK is not available. Chapter 6 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics provides more information on renewable heat, and shows that 1,729.1ktoe of renewable fuels were used to generate heat in 2013. The full renewable energy chapter is available at:
The Committee for the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee) has recently, as part of the Independent Military Medals Review, considered the proposals to institute a National Defence Medal and a Nuclear Test Veterans Medal. HD Committee considered the merits of both medals but in respect of the latter concluded that this was not the sort of operational duty that would normally be recognised by the award of a medal; and that a strong enough case could not be made at this time for a National Defence Medal.
The Department engages regularly with the Home Office on matters of student migration.
Overseas students can remain in the UK to work following their studies by switching to several existing visa routes, including Tier 2 (skilled worker) visas.
The Government closed the dedicated Post Study Work visa route in 2012 on the grounds that it was open to immigration abuse (including low-skilled work and fraudulent applications).
This Government is determined to get the best deal for the whole of the UK and are clear that the benefits of that deal should apply to all UK citizens. At every step of this negotiation we will seek to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people, including low income families.
DFID helped to establish the use of the Food Insecurity Experience Scale. This is the method the UN’s Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators has recommended for tracking and reporting on the prevalence of food insecurity for Global Goal 2.
DFID is in the process of reviewing its results framework and is also considering ways to apply the Food Insecurity Experience Scale in relevant programmes. For example, this year DFID supported the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme to agree a new Monitoring and Evaluation framework which will use the Food Insecurity Experience Scale to track progress on food security for households supported by the programme.
There are no current plans to place overtaking restrictions on Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) on motorways and trunk roads, beyond their current prohibition from the outside lane of any motorway with three or more lanes. Such restrictions could delay journeys and lead to increased operating costs which could be passed on to consumers.
In addition, the possibility of nose to tail convoys of HGVs in the nearside lane could cause difficulty for drivers wishing to join or leave the motorway. All drivers should know and apply the rules contained in The Highway Code, which includes advice and rules to drivers on overtaking and lane discipline.
However, in very specific locations where there have been congestion problems caused by lorries overtaking on uphill sections of the strategic road network, restrictions have been put in place by Highways England. These restrictions have only been kept in place where clear evidence shows overall journey time improvements. If the Hon Member is concerned more specifically about the situation on roads in Scotland, she should contact Transport Scotland who have a similar power in Scotland to ban overtaking on specific sections of road.
In addition, we have recently increased the national speed limit for HGVs of more than 7.5 tonnes on dual carriageway roads in England and Wales from 50mph to 60mph. This may help to assist with light vehicle journey times when HGV drivers do choose to overtake on dual carriageways. This change only applies to England and Wales so if the Hon Member is concerned more specifically about the situation on roads in Scotland, she should discuss this with the Scottish Government.
The Department for Transport does not collect statistics on the use of average speed cameras on local roads.
The most recent evaluation of the effectiveness of safety cameras was carried out in the four-year evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme, published in 2005. This evaluation did not however specifically address average speed reduction cameras.
In England, since the National Safety Camera Programme ceased in 2007, evaluation of safety cameras on local roads has been for the individual Safety Camera Partnerships, local authorities and police forces which operate the cameras.
The Highways Agency produces Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) reports for average speed camera systems on the Highways Agency network in England.
In England, the Highways Agency has the following 6 Average Speed Camera systems on its network:
M3 (Junction 2) (South East Region)
M3 (from the M25) (South East Region)
M25 (J12) (South East Region)
A14 (East of England)
A38 Saltash Tunnel (South West Region)
A3 Hindhead Tunnel (South East Region)
Average speed cameras are also used in road works as a temporary measure.
The Department for Transport does not hold this information for cameras on local authority roads. Local authorities have statutory duties related to road safety and decisions about whether they operate speed cameras are a matter for them.
This is a devolved matter so the Department does not hold information on average speed cameras in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
We know that work is the best route out of poverty. That is why the Government has introduced welfare reforms – such as those included in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 to increase work incentives and reduce welfare dependency. These reforms are working.
We now have the lowest rate of unemployment in over a decade, and the lowest number of workless households since records began. Millions of people are taking home more of what they earn thanks to this Government’s actions to lower taxes and introduce the National Living Wage. This has helped give lower earners their fastest pay rise in 20 years.
We know that work is the best route out of poverty. That is why the Government has introduced welfare reforms – such as those included in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 to increase work incentives and reduce welfare dependency. These reforms are working.
We now have the lowest rate of unemployment in over a decade, and the lowest number of workless households since records began. Millions of people are taking home more of what they earn thanks to this Government’s actions to lower taxes and introduce the National Living Wage. This has helped give lower earners their fastest pay rise in 20 years.
I refer the Member for Banff and Buchan to the impact assessment of the benefit rate freeze that was published alongside the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 - http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf
Advances of Universal Credit are available if claimants need financial support before they receive their first payment. Advances can be up to 50% of the household’s monthly entitlement.
In addition, there are various forms of Alternative Payment Arrangement available. These are designed to address various aspects of financial difficulty, including a direct payment of housing costs to the landlord, more frequent than monthly payments and split payments within a household in certain circumstances.
At the initial meeting with a new claimant, the Department’s Work Coaches will assess the claimant’s financial situation and determine if there is a need for Personal Budgeting Support. If there is, the claimant can be referred to a range of free services including the Money Advice Service and locally provided support. The Work Coach can also consider whether the criteria for an Alternative Payment Arrangement are met.
Current estimates suggest that 10,000 people will be affected by the policy by 2020/21.
Current estimates suggest that the removal of the housing costs element of universal credit from 18 to 21 year olds will save £95 million over the course of the current Parliament.
The information available for the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants by Parliamentary Constituency and duration is published and can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users is available at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
The department does not specifically hold data in relation to claimants who transition from ESA to JSA and the time taken to award JSA following the closure of an ESA claim. As a department we strive to process all new claims made to JSA as quickly and efficiently as possible with a minimum expected level of 90% processed within 10 days. We are currently achieving 90.7% as of July 2016.
We have developed a new Disability Confident employer accreditation scheme. This went live in July.
This will be core to our engagement with employers to raise awareness, improve performance and drive up engagement on the disability employment agenda.
We are developing plans to formally launch the scheme in the Autumn and more information on take up and effectiveness measures will be available from then.
The Department updated its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in February 2016. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently assessing the data for UC and will only release information once the necessary quality assurance work has taken place. These statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.
Universal Credit official statistics and the Departments release strategy can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics
ESA claimants who are found fit for work and are waiting for their mandatory reconsideration application to be decided, are eligible to claim JSA. This is the right benefit for those who are capable of work, with Jobcentre work coaches fully supporting these claimants during this period - and the statistics released on 8 September show that this period is now a relatively short one – the median average being around 9 days.
The number of Disability Employment Advisers employed by the Department for Work and Pensions is 263 at July 2016.
Individuals in receipt of PIP before the age of 65 will continue to receive PIP as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria. This mirrors Disability Living Allowance, the benefit that preceded PIP. Anyone that becomes disabled after the age of 65 will be able to claim Attendance Allowance.
Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) are payments on account of benefit. The majority of STBAs are awarded to people in the period before their benefit is first due to be paid, but STBAs can also be paid where a change of circumstances significantly increases the amount of benefit due. STBAs are predominately paid to people claiming Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance. They are not available to people claiming Universal Credit.
Between April 2015 and March 2016, there were 218,592 STBA applications in Great Britain as a whole, with monthly variations ranging from 17,188 in September 2015 to 21,529 in February 2016, but with no downward trend at the year end. In Scotland, there were 26,322 applications over the same period, with monthly variations ranging from 1,462 in November 2015 to 3,022 in April 2015, with a clear downward trend at the year end.
As the roll-out of Universal Credit to all new claimants progresses, we anticipate a corresponding decline in the number of STBA applications.
The Department for Work and Pensions continues to advertise the availability of STBAs through the gov.uk website, with information posters and leaflets in Jobcentres nationwide.
There has been no statutory requirement to make a benefit decision within a specified time since 1998. This applies equally to a claim for benefit, an application for review and, since it was introduced in April 2013, an application for Mandatory Reconsideration. Decisions are made without delay – whilst giving claimants every opportunity to provide new and additional evidence to support their application.
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The data below states the Average Speed of Answer for all UC calls for the period 1 January 2016 – 30 June 2016.
| ||
Universal Credit Average Speed of Answer | Average Speed of Answer |
|
January 2016 | 00:02:09 |
|
February 2016 | 00:02:03 |
|
March 2016 | 00:02:01 |
|
April 2016 | 00:02:44 |
|
May 2016 | 00:02:24 |
|
June 2016 | 00:02:41 |
|
Total | 00:02:22 |
|
|
Data source: Operational Management Information System (OPMIS)
It would be a disproportionate cost to compute the median in each month, and the breakdown by waiting time intervals.
This information can be found on the Contract Finder website - please see the below link.
Whenever a service problem is identified the Department always prioritises claimants first ensuring their payments are not interrupted. In this instance the outage impacted only 24 of the 712 Jobcentres across Great Britain and none of the claimants impacted experienced a delay in their payments.
The performance of all systems is continuously monitored on many resilient servers and in the event of an outage an immediate impact assessment is made and appropriate action taken to ensure normal service is resumed at the earliest possible opportunity and the impact on claimants is minimised.
We continually assess the performance of our suppliers, and underlying engineering, to ensure systems are available to meet the needs of claimants and the Department. With the exception of this isolated supplier outage the performance of the UC portal has been higher than expected, however, further improvements to resilience were already under active consideration as part of preparing for UC Full Service national expansion.
Whenever a service problem is identified the Department always prioritises claimants first ensuring their payments are not interrupted. In this instance the outage impacted only 24 of the 712 Jobcentres across Great Britain and none of the claimants impacted experienced a delay in their payments.
The performance of all systems is continuously monitored on many resilient servers and in the event of an outage an immediate impact assessment is made and appropriate action taken to ensure normal service is resumed at the earliest possible opportunity and the impact on claimants is minimised.
We continually assess the performance of our suppliers, and underlying engineering, to ensure systems are available to meet the needs of claimants and the Department. With the exception of this isolated supplier outage the performance of the UC portal has been higher than expected, however, further improvements to resilience were already under active consideration as part of preparing for UC Full Service national expansion.
The sanctions publication strategy which details the approach being taken by DWP statisticians to improve the sanctions statistics being developed, which include the addition of Universal Credit sanction statistics, can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-sanction-statistics-publication-strategy
The latest release of sanction statistics within the Quarterly Statistical Summary: August 2016 includes an experimental monthly rate of claimants sanctioned and can be found (on page12) at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dwp-statistical-summaries-2016
The related background information to support this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/monthly-rate-of-claimants-sanctioned-background-information-and-methodology
Management Information data on the number of applications and awards for hardship payments were published on 18th November 2015 and can be found at:
We will consider the regularity of future publications of hardship statistics alongside our routine prioritisation of our statistical work programme.
Many claimants come to Universal Credit with final earnings to support them until their first payment, and they often find work quickly.
The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure is a fundamental part of the design; it mirrors the world of work, where 75% of people are paid monthly.
As with other working age benefits, Universal Credit is not designed to provide cover for brief spells of unemployment or sickness, and seven waiting days are served in Universal Credit as they are in Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.
We have a number of safeguards in place to help claimants' transition to Universal Credit, including Advances and Budgeting Support.
The Department does not hold any direct contracts with the technology company SCC. It has however tendered services from SCC via the Crown Commercial Service.
Whenever a service problem is identified the Department always prioritises claimants first ensuring their payments are not interrupted. In this instance the outage impacted only 24 of the 712 Jobcentres across Great Britain and none of the claimants impacted experienced a delay in their payments.
The performance of all systems is continuously monitored on many resilient servers and in the event of an outage an immediate impact assessment is made and appropriate action taken to ensure normal service is resumed at the earliest possible opportunity and the impact on claimants is minimised.
We continually assess the performance of our suppliers, and underlying engineering, to ensure systems are available to meet the needs of claimants and the Department. With the exception of this isolated supplier outage the performance of the UC portal has been higher than expected, however, further improvements to resilience were already under active consideration as part of preparing for UC Full Service national expansion.
Information on the applications and awards for hardship are provided below. The figures cover Great Britain; information regarding Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. It is not possible to provide figures for the number of applications declined before review or appeal.
JSA and ESA hardship awards between 1 July and 31 December 2015 | ||||
Benefit | Great Britain | Scotland | ||
JSA | 60,100 | 5,900 | ||
ESA | 1,500 | 200 | ||
JSA and ESA hardship applications between 1 July and 31 December 2015 | ||||
Benefit | Great Britain | Scotland | ||
JSA | 67,600 | 6,400 | ||
ESA | 1,700 | 200 | ||
(1) The tables show the total number of JSA and ESA hardship applications received and the number of awards made in the period from 1 July 2015 to 31 December 2015. These figures show applications and awards rather than the number of individuals; individuals may have made more than one application and received more than one award.
(2) The numbers are collated from aggregate DWP MISP Management Information. This data is a combination of system and clerically sourced Management Information. As such it may contain duplicates and other inaccuracies. It does not form part of the official statistics outputs that are released by the Department in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice, and is subject to potential future revision.
(3) The difference between applications and awards will include those not progressed for a number of reasons, for instance applications that are refused or withdrawn.
(4) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
Later this year, we will produce a Green Paper and conduct a consultation on a wide range of issues.
Full impact and equality impact assessments will be undertaken in due course.
Single people under 35 will be exempt from the Shared Accommodation Rate if they fall into one of the categories below:
For those who are not covered by these exemptions, they will be able to apply for Discretionary Housing Payments if they need help meeting the shortfall in their rent.
The Department has no plans to update these statistics.
Guidance for Department for Work and Pensions staff responsible for carrying out Genuine Prospect of Work tests can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/510008/dmgch0703.pdf
The revised version of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) Handbook, which contains written guidance on all aspects of the Work Capability Assessment including the application of Regulation 35, will be published in due course.
The Department does not record statistics on applications for Jobseeker’s Allowance following a genuine prospect of work assessment.
To collate the information requested would take the costs of responding to the question over the disproportionate cost threshold.
HSE does not carry out unplanned inspections, but targets its proactive visits (the majority of which are unannounced) based on intelligence about industry risk profiles and duty holder performance. The following table provides the available data for the last 5 years (HSE does not hold data for inspections in Northern Ireland):
Inspections1 | Scotland | England | Wales | Region not recorded3 | |
2011/12 | HSE | 2215 | 18010 | 1289 | 200 |
Construction2 | 1290 | 9883 | 942 | 173 | |
2012/13 | HSE | 2787 | 18177 | 1125 | 151 |
Construction2 | 1283 | 9009 | 627 | 128 | |
2013/14 | HSE | 2124 | 19869 | 1448 | 157 |
Construction2 | 958 | 10384 | 541 | 136 | |
2014/15 | HSE | 1700 | 16980 | 1320 | 120 |
Construction2 | 649 | 8987 | 526 | 110 | |
2015/16 | HSE | 2082 | 14774 | 1170 | 105 |
Construction2 | 873 | 7794 | 453 | 97 | |
Notes:
1 – The data provided is based on live, operational records as at 25 May 2016.
2 – This represents inspections of construction activities carried out by inspectors in Construction Division and by inspectors in other HSE divisions at sites with the Standard Industrial Classifications 41-43.
3 –The regional location is determined by local authority area, which may not have been confirmed at the time of recording.
HSE does not carry out unplanned inspections, but targets its proactive visits (the majority of which are unannounced) based on intelligence about industry risk profiles and duty holder performance. The following table provides the available data for the last 5 years (HSE does not hold data for inspections in Northern Ireland):
Inspections1 | Scotland | England | Wales | Region not recorded3 | |
2011/12 | HSE | 2215 | 18010 | 1289 | 200 |
Construction2 | 1290 | 9883 | 942 | 173 | |
2012/13 | HSE | 2787 | 18177 | 1125 | 151 |
Construction2 | 1283 | 9009 | 627 | 128 | |
2013/14 | HSE | 2124 | 19869 | 1448 | 157 |
Construction2 | 958 | 10384 | 541 | 136 | |
2014/15 | HSE | 1700 | 16980 | 1320 | 120 |
Construction2 | 649 | 8987 | 526 | 110 | |
2015/16 | HSE | 2082 | 14774 | 1170 | 105 |
Construction2 | 873 | 7794 | 453 | 97 | |
Notes:
1 – The data provided is based on live, operational records as at 25 May 2016.
2 – This represents inspections of construction activities carried out by inspectors in Construction Division and by inspectors in other HSE divisions at sites with the Standard Industrial Classifications 41-43.
3 –The regional location is determined by local authority area, which may not have been confirmed at the time of recording.
Tackling ill health is one of six strategic themes in the new strategy for the health and safety system, ‘Helping Great Britain work well’. The strategy is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/strategy/index.htm
Information on the outcomes of initial Employment and Support Allowance claims awarded under regulation 35 of the ESA Regulations 2008 can be found in Table 5 of the published statistics:
The rest of the information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Healthcare professionals who carry out the Work Capability Assessment are trained in all aspects of their role including the application of Regulation 35. They are also issued with written guidance on all aspects of the Work Capability Assessment including the application of Regulation 35.
The responsibility for any backlog in safety-critical maintenance in the offshore oil and gas industry lies with the operators of the offshore installations. The Health and Safety Executive is in dialogue with OGUK, the principal industry representative body, regarding how best industry can track, report and improve upon its performance in this area.
The Health and Safety Executive has a programme of inspections of offshore installations. Examination of the standards of maintenance is a key part of the inspection programme and inspectors are empowered to require improvements where standards fall below legal requirements.