Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available if a claimant cannot attend a Job Centre appointment due to a disability.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a claimant on a work-related benefit has a health condition, illness or a disability, Work Coaches have the discretion to tailor requirements to what is reasonable and achievable, taking into account the claimant’s needs, circumstances and capability. Where appropriate, Work Coaches have the discretion to adjust how often the claimant meets with them and how these meetings take place, including face to face appointments in the Jobcentre, telephone appointments, video conference, or digital appointments for Universal Credit claimants. In some circumstances a claimant’s work-related requirements maybe be lifted for a period if their ability to carry them out is disrupted due to their personal circumstances.
If a claimant is deemed to be vulnerable or needs additional support when making an application for benefit, the DWP Visiting Team can meet with them at their home or another location to support with their claim.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will open an independent public enquiry into the conduct of the police at Orgreave coking works during the 1984-85 miners' strike.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are no plans to establish a public inquiry into the policing of the events at the Orgreave coking plant on 18 June 1984.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to provide a pardon to people convicted of certain offences related to the miners' strike committed between 12 March 1984 and 3 March 1985.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The legislative programme for the current Parliamentary session has been announced. The Government has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals in this area.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of commissioning an independent review of criminal convictions during the miners strikes of 1984-85.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not believe that an independent review of criminal convictions during the miners' strike of 1984-85 is appropriate or necessary. Any individual who believes they have been wrongly convicted of a crime can make a request to the independent Criminal Cases Review Commission who can investigate and where appropriate refer cases back to the courts.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available for claimants unable to complete his Department's forms.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We aim to provide a tailored service that recognises those with complex needs at any point throughout their journey and ensures appropriate support is made available quickly.
For customers who are unable to complete forms themselves a home visit from a visiting officer can be arranged, if they wish to retain autonomy and not use an appointee.
Customers claiming Universal Credit can also be supported by the universal support scheme.
An example of the support available is; Getting help with an application - Understanding Universal Credit
Further support for other service lines can be found on Welcome to GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
DWP continuously reviews and improves the service for people who claim or seek to claim benefits to ensure services are accessible and responsive to citizen needs.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help provide humanitarian support following the recent outbreak of cholera in Zambia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is providing £670,000 towards the International Federation of the Red Cross emergency appeal, which is operating to support the Government of Zambia Cholera Response Plan. We have also deployed a two-member UK Emergency Medical Team and a three person UK Public Health Rapid Support Team who are providing support to the response. These teams have joined the existing UK Health Security Agency team in Zambia, which has developed a close partnership with Zambian health authorities since 2019, helping to build technical capability and strengthening public health systems.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues on the minimum temperature at which a temporary classroom can be safely used.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Guidance on recommended temperatures for classrooms are included in the energy efficiency guidance for schools. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-further-education-college-estate#heating.
More generally, the Health and Safety Executive’s published guidance includes the recommended minimum temperature for working indoors. This guidance can be found at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/employer/index.htm.