Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many meetings ministers held with officials from the Health and Safety Executive in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
The Minister for Welfare Reform and Minister for Disabled People meet with HSE officials on a regular basis. Other Ministers also meet with HSE officials on specific issues.
Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how the level of gross monthly income thresholds was determined for people applying for fee remission in employment tribunals.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The current fee remission scheme was introduced in October 2013, which established a single fee remissions scheme across all courts and tribunals of HMCTS (including the Employment Tribunals but excluding proceedings in the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal) and the UK Supreme Court.
The gross monthly income test, which was introduced following a consultation exercise, is designed to ensure that fee remissions are targeted to those who need them most. Those on qualifying benefits, including Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Pension Credit Guarantee credit are automatically entitled to a full fee remission, provided they also meet the disposable capital test.
Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information is collected by the Employment Tribunal Service to monitor the protected characteristics of people making claims to the Employment Tribunal Service.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
HM Courts & Tribunals Service collects information on the protected characteristics of those making a claim to the employment tribunals via the Diversity Monitoring section of the application form ET1. The form and questions can be found at http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/et001-eng.pdf.
Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve guidance on child sexual exploitation.
Answered by Edward Timpson
In response to the Ofsted thematic review ‘The sexual exploitation of children: it couldn't happen here, could it?’[1] the Department for Education will revise and re-issue the 2009 ‘Safeguarding children and young people from sexual exploitation’ guidance to reflect recent research, good practice and findings from child sexual exploitation reviews and criminal investigations. As it is statutory guidance, the department will consult and discuss with other government departments on the scope of the document.
On 3 March 2015, a summit was held where the government launched new measures to tackle child sexual exploitation: ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’.[2]
[2] www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-sexual-exploitation--2
Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received on whistleblowers who have been dismissed from their employment and are unable to afford employment tribunal fees.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
We have received no representations about the impact of Employment Tribunal fees on whistleblowers since fees were introduced in July 2013. Fees were introduced following a consultation exercise in 2012. A summary of the representations received, including on whistleblowers, and the Government’s response, are set out in “Charging Fees in Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal” which is available on the Ministry of Justice website at: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/et-fee-charging-regime-cp22-2011/results/employment-tribunal-fees-consultation-response.pdf Fee remissions are available so that those who are unable to afford to pay the fee are not prevented from accessing the Tribunal.Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to review the effect of the introduction of fees for employment tribunals.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
Small businesses can be hamstrung by unfounded employment tribunal claims and taxpayers should not have to pick up the £74 million bill for running the service.
We have made sure fee waivers are available for those who cannot afford to pay, as well as diverting people away from potentially acrimonious hearings, where possible, through a new early conciliation scheme which has already been used by 37,000 people in its first six months.
The Government has committed to review Employment Tribunal fees but believes this is better determined by the new Administration following the Election.
Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for remissions relating to fees for employment tribunal proceedings have been (a) made and (b) awarded in each month since July 2013.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
My answer given on 15 October 2014, which can be viewed at
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-07-15/206019, records the number of fee remission awards in each month from July 2013 to June 2014.
Official statistics are due to be published on 12 March 2015 which will include the number of remission applications made and awarded for the employment tribunals on a quarterly basis from July 2013 to September 2014.
Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the population is of each of the UK Overseas Territories.
Answered by James Duddridge
The populations for each of the UK Overseas Territories are:
Anguilla: 16,318 (2010)
Bermuda: 61,777 (2014)
British Antarctic Territory: no permanent settled population
British Indian Ocean Territory: no permanent settled population.
Cayman Islands: 56,700 (2012)
Falkland Islands: 2,932 (2012)
Gibraltar: 29,441 (2010)
Montserrat: 4,922 (2011)
Pitcairn, Henderson Ducie and Oeno (Commonly known as the Pitcairn Islands): 36 (2014)
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands: no permanent settled population.
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia: 9,700 (2011) Cypriot nationals and 5,800 temporary based UK Defence personnel and families.
St Helena: 4000 (2009/2010)
Ascension Island: No indigenous population and no right of abode
Tristan da Cunha: 267 (2014)
Virgin Islands (Commonly known as the British Virgin Islands): 28,054 (2010)
Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much support, and under what categories, her Department provided directly to British Overseas Territories in each of the last three years.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
Information on DFID’s provisions to the British Overseas Territories is published in our Operational Plan: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-overseas-territories-department-operational-plan-2014.
Asked by: Meg Munn (Labour (Co-op) - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households in Sheffield, Heeley constituency received the Warm Home Discount in each of the last three years.
Answered by Amber Rudd
Data for the number of people applying for or receiving assistance under the Warm Home Discount scheme are not available on a regional or constituency basis. Ofgem publishes an annual report on the scheme’s operation each year. The most recent report, for 2013/14, is available here:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-3.