Sheila Gilmore

Labour - Former Member for Edinburgh East

First elected: 6th May 2010

Left House: 30th March 2015 (Defeated)


Sheila Gilmore is not a member of any APPGs
Public Administration Committee
11th Nov 2013 - 30th Mar 2015
Work and Pensions Committee
25th Oct 2011 - 30th Mar 2015
Political and Constitutional Reform Committee
12th Jul 2010 - 20th Jan 2014


Division Voting information

Sheila Gilmore has voted in 916 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Sheila Gilmore Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Steve Webb (Liberal Democrat)
(58 debate interactions)
Lord Grayling (Conservative)
(53 debate interactions)
David Gauke (Independent)
(50 debate interactions)
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Department Debates
Department for Work and Pensions
(444 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(444 debate contributions)
Department for Transport
(86 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(81 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Sheila Gilmore has not made any spoken contributions to legislative debate
View all Sheila Gilmore's debates

Latest EDMs signed by Sheila Gilmore

12th March 2015
Sheila Gilmore signed this EDM on Wednesday 25th March 2015

VAT ON WOMEN'S SANITARY PRODUCTS

Tabled by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
That this House is concerned about the level of Value Added Tax (VAT) levied on women's sanitary products, such as tampons and sanitary towels; notes that, whilst female sanitary products are subject to a five per cent rate of VAT, shaving razors are subject to a zero per cent rate, …
70 signatures
(Most recent: 25 Mar 2015)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 21
Conservative: 5
Independent: 2
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Liberal Democrat: 1
The Independent Group for Change: 1
Green Party: 1
Scottish National Party: 1
10th March 2015
Sheila Gilmore signed this EDM on Wednesday 25th March 2015

POSTAL WORKERS AND CYBERSTREETWISE PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN

Tabled by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
That this House calls on the Government to withdraw the Cyberstreetwise publicity campaign which makes a joke of dogs biting postal workers; notes that over 3,000 postal workers are injured every year and that two were nearly killed in 2007-08; believes that education, training, encouraging responsible dog ownership, enforcement and …
32 signatures
(Most recent: 25 Mar 2015)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 14
Independent: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
View All Sheila Gilmore's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Sheila Gilmore, 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.


Sheila Gilmore has not been granted any Urgent Questions

3 Adjournment Debates led by Sheila Gilmore

Monday 16th June 2014
Friday 6th September 2013
Wednesday 12th June 2013

Sheila Gilmore has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Sheila Gilmore has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
10 Other Department Questions
9th Sep 2014
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 409W, on domestic visits, what domestic visits (a) she and (b) her predecessors have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

The answer is in the tables.

Rt Hon Maria Miller MP

Date

Visit

Purpose

10/5/13

Bury

To launch pilot scheme to get more women and girls active and tackle the gender gap in sport.

14-18/10/13

USA

Included discussions on women and the economy.

1-4/12/13

China

Included equalities related activity.

15-17/12/13

Russia

Included discussions on LGBT rights.

10/1/14

Wiltshire

Included visit to Riding for the Disabled, to see how the organisation supports disabled people.

11-14/3/14

UN Commission on the Status of Women

To promote women’s rights and help ensure a strong set of agreed conclusions.

Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP

Date

Visit

Purpose

21/5/14

Brighton

Included an interview with a local LGBT publication.

2/6/14

West Midlands

Visited Birmingham LGBT and interview with local online LGBT publication.

Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP

Date

Visit

Purpose

7/5/14

The National Science Museum, London

To launch the ‘Your Life’ campaign to motivate more girls to continue to study maths and physics.

13/5/14

Google Campus for Mums, Shoreditch, London

To announce a new £1million challenge fund to help female entrepreneurs benefit from superfast broadband.

05/06/14

Paris

Attended a Conference to explore practical strategies and best practices in accelerating women’s economic progress worldwide

Helen Grant MP

Date

Visit

Purpose

19/6/13

Pimlico Academy, London

To encourage girls in their career aspirations.

25/6/13

St Mary’s Primary school, Moss Side, Manchester

To encourage girls in their career aspirations.

3/12/13

Bury

To see the progress of Sport England pilot.

2-3/6/14

Malta

Undertook equalities meetings as well as tourism events.

Jo Swinson MP

Date

Visit

Purpose

31/1/13

Durham

To raise SMEs awareness of the Equality Act 2010.

7/3/13

Epsom

To raise SMEs awareness of the Equality Act 2010.

8/3/13

The National Science Museum

To celebrate International Women’s Day and speak to young girls about careers in science, engineering, technology and maths.

14/3/13

Big Bang Fair - ExCeL centre London

To encourage interest by women in science and engineering.

4/10/13

Wiltshire

To visit military personnel and spouses benefiting from Rural Growth Network.

21/11/13

Bridge Academy London

To launch project to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying Project.

Jenny Willott MP

Date

Visit

Purpose

2/6/14

Royal Free Hospital London

To launch report into body image during pregnancy and after birth.

4/6/14

Highams Park School, Highams Park, London

To launch the ‘Opening doors’ pilot scheme aimed at encouraging more girls to undertake A’ Levels in subjects traditionally dominated by boys.

18/6/14

Liverpool

To promote the role of women in the economy at the International Festival for Business.

4th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, column 618W, on official visits, what domestic visits he and his predecessor have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Previous and present Secretaries of State carry out official visits to different parts of the UK as part of their role, both for departmental business and for broader Government business such as regional Cabinet meetings. The destinations of regional visits are in the public domain at the time of the visit, but the Department does not keep a central log of such visits.

3rd Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 688W, on official visits, what domestic visits he has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

As noted in my predecessor’s answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report Col 688W, information relating to domestic visits can be provided only at disproportionate cost as it is not held centrally.

7th Jul 2014
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 677W, on official visits, what domestic visits each of the Ministers in the Government Equalities Office have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost

Helen Grant
Shadow Solicitor General
12th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Details of Ministers' overseas visits are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills&publication_type=transparency-data

Information for January to March 2014 will be published shortly.

Information relating to UK visits can only be provided at disproportionate cost as it is not held centrally.

12th Jun 2014
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what visits each of the Ministers in the Government Equalities Office have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Details of Ministers' visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-meetings-and-hospitality-data-october-to-december-2013

Helen Grant
Shadow Solicitor General
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by his Department were in each financial year since 2009-10.

The information requested is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost. The directorates of the Department of Energy and Climate Change carry out their own purchasing with professional support from a procurement team.

Contracts of the Department are published on the Cabinet Office Website which can be found at www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk.

The Department would be able to provide further information by narrowing the scope, if specific procurement projects were identified.

The following table from the Departments financial records show the total spend with 20 suppliers of the highest value. This value can be made up of one or many contracts between April 2013 and February 2014.

Total Procurement Spend from Apr 2013 to February 2014

Supplier

Grand Total

MET OFFICE

£22,454,098.25

Office Of Gas & Elect Markets

£10,312,175.00

D T Z Debenham Tie Leung

£6,223,422.17

FUJITSU SERVICES LTD

£5,579,513.01

PA Consulting Services Ltd

£4,489,654.19

Energy Saving Trust Ltd

£3,618,597.79

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS INNOVATION & SKILLS

£3,374,346.57

SNR DENTON UK LLP

£3,319,774.82

KPMG LLP

£2,829,292.91

Slaughter & May

£2,592,452.03

ASE CONSULTING LTD

£2,447,938.74

DELOITTE LLP

£2,428,812.08

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

£2,259,766.63

SHELL UK LTD

£2,200,000.00

METHODS CONSULTING LTD

£2,075,259.99

PARITY RESOURCES LTD

£1,944,156.57

Ricardo-A E A Ltd

£1,926,379.88

ERNST & YOUNG LLP

£1,676,114.76

DTZ DEBENHAM TIE LEUNG

£1,627,647.37

Building Research Establishment Ltd

£1,559,234.87

Grand Total

£84,938,637.60

To ask the Prime Minister, whether the appointment of the hon. Member for Wealden as (a) a consultant to Vitol Group and (b) a senior adviser to Atlantic Supergrid Corporation Ltd were considered by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; and whether any conditions were imposed by the Advisory Committee on either such appointment.

In accordance with the requirements set out in the Ministerial Code, the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA) provides advice direct to former Ministers about any appointments or employment they wish to take up within two years of leaving office. Details about the ACoBA's advice is published on its website when appointments are taken up or announced.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much has been spent on hospitality by his Office in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

The information requested is not held centrally.

3rd Sep 2014
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 551W, on official visits, what domestic visits he and his predecessor have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

I have nothing to add to the previous answer given by my Hon. Friend, the previous Solicitor General.

12th Jun 2014
To ask the Attorney General, what visits each of the Ministers in the Law Officers' Departments have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Details of Law Officer visits are published quarterly online at www.gov.uk

To ask the Attorney General, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by the Law Officers' Departments' were in each financial year since 2009-10.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the

2nd April 2014 (Official Report, Col 721W).

26th Nov 2014
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the mortality rates are of patients aged over 75 years suffering from (a) cardiovascular disease, (b) respiratory disease, (c) liver disease and (d) cancer; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the upper-age limit on the survival rates of those diseases.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

10th Oct 2014
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will arrange for a substantive reply to be sent to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East in response to her letter of 26 March 2014 to Richard Heaton CB, Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office and First Parliamentary Counsel.

A response to this letter has been sent

3rd Sep 2014
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 359W, on domestic visits, what domestic visits he has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 July 2014 (Official Report) Column Ref: 360W.

7th Jul 2014
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 506W, on official visits, what domestic visits each of the Ministers of his Department has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Details of all Ministerial overseas travel is published on a quarterly basis.

Information about the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister's visits within the UK are published quarterly.

12th Jun 2014
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what visits (a) each of the Ministers in his Department, (b) the Prime Minister and (c) the Deputy Prime Minister have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Details of Ministers' visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

As was the case prior to the last General Election various officials are provided with pagers when there is a business case to do so. We do not hold details centrally of when pagers were purchased but currently spend £360 a month on the services.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much (a) his Department and (b) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent on a wellbeing strategy in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

The Deputy Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

In 2010 the Office for National Statistics established a Measuring National Wellbeing Programme to look at wellbeing across the UK. The Cabinet Office is supporting this with a wellbeing policy programme across Government.

The costs of the programme are met from existing departmental budgets. Details on staffing are published through my department's organogram, on gov.uk

3rd Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 13W, on domestic visits, what domestic visits he and his predecessor has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Details of Ministers’ visits are published quarterly and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-meetings-and-hospitality-data-october-to-december-2013

Helen Grant
Shadow Solicitor General
7th Jul 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 665W, on official visits, what domestic visits each of the Ministers of his Department has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Helen Grant
Shadow Solicitor General
12th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Details of Ministers' visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-meetings-and-hospitality-data-october-to-december-2013

Helen Grant
Shadow Solicitor General
4th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, column 621W, on official visits, what domestic visits she and her predecessor have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

The Department for Education does not hold a list of domestic visits in the format requested. Information about visits, meetings and events held in the diary is not set out in a way that would enable a list to be compiled without exceeding the cost threshold. Domestic visits attended by the current and former Secretary of State would include attendance at events, visits to schools and other institutions as well as external meetings held from May 2010. To compile a list of all domestic visits stating the purpose of each in an accessible format would therefore exceed the cost threshold.

12th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

The Department does not hold a list of ministerial visits and to compile a list would exceed the cost threshold.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by his Department were in each financial year since 2009-10.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) on 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 721W.

4th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, columns 626-7W, on official visits, what domestic visits she and her predecessor have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Information on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations is published quarterly on the Gov.uk site. This reflects the Government’s commitment to transparency. However, we cannot identify without incurring disproportionate cost every visit over the period for all Ministers.

Relevant transparency reports can be found as follows:

1 January to 31 March 2013: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/212312/defra-min-transparency-1213-q4.pdf

There has been a delay in publishing transparency data for 1 January to 31 March 2014. We expect it to be available shortly.

1 April to 30 June 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246396/Ministerial_expenses_-_1_April_to_30_June_2013.pdf

1 July to 30 September 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265462/Ministers_Quarterly_return_July_to_September_2013.pdf

1 October to 31 December 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/320333/Ministerial_Quarterly_Transparency_information_-_October_to_December_2013.pdf

12th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

To identify every visit made by all of our Ministers over the period would incur a disproportionate cost as the information is not collated centrally.

However, information on Ministers' meetings with external organisations and their overseas travel is published quarterly on the Gov.uk site. This reflects the Civil Service's commitment to transparency.

Please find links to the relevant reports from 1 January 2013 until 31 December 2013:

1 January to 31 March 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/212312/defra-min-transparency-1213-q4.pdf

1 April to 30 June 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246396/Ministerial_expenses_-_1_April_to_30_June_2013.pdf

1 July to 30 September 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265462/Ministers_Quarterly_return_July_to_September_2013.pdf

1 October to 31 December 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/320333/Ministerial_Quarterly_Transparency_information_-_October_to_December_2013.pdf

Transparency data for 1 January to 31 March 2014 is expected to be available on the webpage later this month. The data for 1 April to 30 June 2014 is due to be published in September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by his Department were in each financial year since 2009-10.

The 20 highest and 20 lowest value contracts awarded by Defra for the respective financial years are set out in the table attached.

We are unable to provide data for 2009/10 as we did not have a central contracts management system in place prior to April 2010.

The lowest value for contracts shown here is £10,000. Any purchasing below that level is made under standard purchase order terms and conditions rather than through a specific contract. These are not recorded on our central system.

The data does not included contracts for research and development which are not held centrally and could only be included at disproportionate cost.

7th Jul 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 681W, on official visits, what domestic visits each of the Ministers of her Department has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Since January 2013, DFID Ministers have made the following domestic visits on official business:

Secretary of State (Rt Hon Justine Greening MP)

17 January 2013 – Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride

28 January 2013 – Regional Cabinet in Leeds

20 May 2013 – Regional Visit to Watford

27 June 2013 – Regional Visit to Dartford

24 October 2013 – Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride

20 November 2013 – Regional Visit to Brighton and Hastings

11 February 2014 – Regional Visit to Pudsey

24 February 2014 – Regional Visit to Edinburgh and Regional Cabinet in Aberdeen

1 May 2014 – Regional Visit to Birmingham and Warwick

Minister of State (Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP)

6 March 2014 – Regional Visit to Aberdeen

1 May 2014 – Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride and Glasgow

2 May 2014 – Regional visit to Edinburgh

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lynne Featherstone MP)

4 February 2013 – Regional Visit to Winchester

10 June 2013 – Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride.

2 July 2013 – Regional Visit to Milton Keynes

9 October 2013 – Regional Visit to Bristol

24 February 2014 – Regional Visit to Birmingham and Ruby

26 February 2014 – Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride

17 March 2014 – Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride

29 June 2014 – Regional Visit to Edinburgh

12th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what visits each of the Ministers in her Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Details of all overseas visits undertaken by DFID Ministers are published under the transparency section of the DFID website and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-secretary-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-minister-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by her Department were in each financial year since 2009-10.

I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given to her by my Rt. Hon Friend, the Member for Horsham (Francis Maude) on 2 Apr 2014, Official Report (Col. 721W).

10th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, columns 661-2W, on official visits, what domestic visits he has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Details of all Ministerial overseas travel are published on a quarterly basis.

2nd Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the recommendations contained in the report, A review of pedestrian walking speeds and time needed to cross the road, published by Living Streets and Transport Research Laboratory on 1 September 2014.

The Department notes the recommendation that the relevant guidance on this subject should be updated.

The Department expects to bring the successor to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, which will include all pedestrian crossing types, into force in 2015 and once that is complete will consider the need to update existing guidance.

12th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Details of ministerial overseas travel and meetings with external organisations are routinely published every quarter and information covering the period up to the end of March 2014 can be accessed on the Department's website via the following:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/ministerial-transparency/.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by his Department were in each financial year since 2009-10.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given by the Right Honourable Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Francis Maude) on 2 April 2014, Official Report, Column 721W.

4th Feb 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2015 to Question 221342, what the name is of the first of two evaluation partners who have been appointed by his Department to independently evaluate the 17 Innovation Fund pilots set up under the Help for Separated Families initiative.


We have signed a contract with Adetiq to ensure the security of data during evaluation.

4th Feb 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which of the 17 Help and Support for Separated Families Innovation Fund pilots will finish in March 2015 as originally planned; and which of those pilots will continue, and for how long.

Officials are in discussion with all current projects about a possible extension beyond March 2014. I will make an announcement about this in the coming weeks.

3rd Feb 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average proportion of pensioners' energy bills that was met by the winter fuel payment in winter (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2013-14.

This information is not available.

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether an external evaluator has been appointed to provide an independent assessment of the 17 Innovation Fund projects set up under the Help for Separated Families initiative to establish what works in assisting separated parents to co-operate in the interests of their children; when it is planned that that evaluation process will take place; and when it is planned that that evaluation report will be published.

One of two evaluation partners has been appointed and we are in the process of appointing the second.

Evaluation data continues to be collected by all of the live projects and this data will be analysed and interpreted by our independent evaluator throughout the duration of their contract into 2016.

Results will be published after all projects have ended delivery and the external evaluator has completed their follow up work and analysis.

17th Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls were received by the Child Maintenance Options Service from parents who had been in contact with the Options Service during the period covered by his Department's most recent survey of effective family-based arrangements.

The number of inbound calls received by the Child Maintenance Options Service in each month from Apr-13 to March 14 is available in the table below.

Month

Number of calls received by the Child Maintenance Options Service

Apr-13

8,024

May-13

7,845

Jun-13

8,915

Jul-13

10,360 1

Aug-13

11,990

Sep-13

13,835

Oct-13

14,835

Nov-13

21,375 2

Dec-13

22,760

Jan-14

26,515

Feb-14

25,875

Mar-14

26,865

Notes:

- Data Sourced from CMO Monthly MI Service Pack

- Data rounded to nearest 5

1 Child Maintenance Options started providing a ‘soft gateway’ to the 2012 statutory child maintenance scheme, offering parents applying to the 2012 Scheme the opportunity to explore the full range of options before making an application, including considering making their own arrangements.

2 Child Maintenance Options became the automatic ‘gateway’ to the statutory 2012 child maintenance scheme, ensuring all parents who wish to access the 2012 Scheme are making a fully informed decision and have considered making their own arrangements first.

17th Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of parents in the survey conducted by his Department of parents' contact with the Child Maintenance Options Service between February 2013 and March 2014 chose to make a statutory maintenance arrangement following contact with the Service; and how many children such statutory arrangements covered.

Information around different arrangement types is under development and while not included in this publication, once assured, it will be included in future releases of this publication.

11th Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 44 of Information about Secondary Legislation Arising from the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill, published by his Department in January 2008, if he will publish the report of the evaluation to test the links between payments of child maintenance and client behaviour concerning the repayment of other financial commitments.

The report ‘Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill: Disclosure of Information to credit reference agencies - exploratory analysis’ was published by the Department in 2008 and a copy is attached.

6th Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2014 to Question 203664, when he plans to start the public consultation on the implementation of section 40 of the Welfare Reform Act 2008.

I will be making a written ministerial statement soon to address this issue.

6th Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2014 to Question 203665, when he plans to publish a report on the initial findings of the series of behaviour change trials carried out by his Department to test different interventions that tackle barriers that prevent parents making regular child maintenance payments.

The series of behaviour change trials are now complete, and full evaluation is on-going. Where appropriate, findings will be published once full evaluation is complete. Trials that we have found to be successful are already being considered for wider implementation and we will be incorporating the learning from all our trials into our approach to tackling compliance and arrears.

14th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2014 to Question 205882, what the full cost, including apportioned indirect costs, is of initiating payment of employment and support allowance (ESA) at the assessment rate; what the full cost is of an ESA change; and how many changes ESA claimants require on average per year.

Please see the table below:

Operational Operating Costs

Unit Cost

Total DWP

Operating Costs

Unit Cost - Total Costs

ESA Claims

£21,639,678.74

£25.09

£59,680,390.98

£66.66

ESA Changes (Incl WCA)

£61,465,559.37

£12.74

£143,414,434.36

£28.52

Number of Customers

ESA Changes Processed

Average Number of Changes

ESA Changes

1,880,822

5,028,874

2.67

The cost of initiating payment of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) at the assessment rate is provided in ESA Claims. We have provided the annual costs for 13/14 and the Unit Costs. The Unit Cost is the average cost of one ESA Claim through the process.

We have provided the annual cost for ESA changes 13/14 and the unit costs. The Unit Cost is the average cost of one ESA change being made.

We have calculated the average number of changes required by ESA claimants in 13/14 by dividing the number of ESA changes processed by the number of ESA customers.

14th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2014 to Question 205883, what the full cost, including apportioned indirect costs, is of processing a new claim for jobseeker's allowance; and what the full cost is of a jobseeker's allowance interview.

Please see table below:

Unit Cost - Total Costs

JSA Claims (Incl LMDM)

£ 27.16

(WS) JSA NJI Advice

£ 46.48

The cost of processing a New Claim for Jobseekers’ Allowance is provided in JSA Claims. We have provided the unit costs for 13/14. The Unit Cost is the average cost of one JSA Claim through the process.

For the costs of a jobseekers' allowance interview, we have provided the New Jobseekers’ interview Unit cost for 13/14 under JSA NJI advice. The Unit Cost is the average cost of one New Jobseekers’ interview.

13th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East of 10 December 2012, Official Report, column 47W, on employment and support allowance, what average time was taken by his Department's decision makers to issue a decision to employment and support allowance claimants following receipt of advice from Atos Healthcare in the most recent year for which data is available.

The average time between the recommendation made by Atos Healthcare and the decision reached by the Department’s decision maker is 14 days. This refers to all initial decisions made on new Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims started in 2013.