Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 9262 on Universal Credit: Gower, how many universal credit recipients were subject to sanctions in Gower constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics are published regularly showing the number of Universal Credit full service claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction. These can be found in the UC sanction rates dataset on Stat-Xplore and are available by Westminster parliamentary constituency monthly from April 2019 to August 2023.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of job centre clients that have been assisted by an armed forces champion in the Gower constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since July 2023, 30 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in the Gower constituency.
The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community, including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.
Every Work Coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps her Department has taken to help improve broadband coverage in Gower constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Almost 98% of premises in the Gower constituency can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps), in line with the national average of 97%. Over 69% of premises have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection, which is below the national average of 80%, but has increased significantly since January 2021, when coverage was under 25%.
To improve coverage further, the Government is rolling out Project Gigabit, and we have launched procurements across the UK inviting suppliers to bid for contracts to bring gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses that are unlikely to be reached by broadband suppliers' commercial rollout plans alone. The Gower constituency is included in a cross regional procurement which launched last year, and we expect to award a contract this summer.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Gower constituency had personal independence payments overturned as a result of an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 shows the number and percentage of initial decision awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after an appeal tribunal hearing, in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the initial decision.
Table 1
Financial Year of Initial Decision | Appeals Overturned at Tribunal Hearing | % PIP Decisions Overturned at Tribunal Hearing | All Initial |
2013/14 | . | 1% | 80 |
2014/15 | 50 | 5% | 1,080 |
2015/16 | 60 | 6% | 870 |
2016/17 | 160 | 8% | 1,920 |
2017/18 | 40 | 5% | 760 |
2018/19 | 40 | 6% | 580 |
2019/20 | 40 | 6% | 730 |
2020/21 | 20 | 4% | 610 |
2021/22 | 30 | 4% | 720 |
2022/23 | 30 | 2% | 1,100 |
Table 2 shows the number and percentage of Award Reviews (AR) and Change of Circumstances (CoC) awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after an appeal tribunal hearing, in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the AR or CoC decision.
Table 2
Financial Year of AR and CoC | Appeals Overturned at Tribunal Hearing | % PIP Decisions Overturned at Tribunal Hearing | All ARs and CoCs |
2016/17 | 10 | 5% | 240 |
2017/18 | 30 | 7% | 370 |
2018/19 | 30 | 5% | 600 |
2019/20 | 10 | 2% | 490 |
2020/21 | . | 1% | 560 |
2021/22 | . | 1% | 510 |
2022/23 | . | 1% | 590 |
Please note:
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of constituents in Gower constituency have had their personal independence payments overturned as a result of mandatory reconsideration in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 shows the number and percentage of initial decision awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the initial decision.
Table 1
Financial Year of Initial Decision | PIP Decisions Changed after MR | % PIP Decisions Changed after MR | All Initial |
2013/14 | 10 | 7% | 80 |
2014/15 | 50 | 5% | 1,080 |
2015/16 | 40 | 5% | 870 |
2016/17 | 100 | 5% | 1,920 |
2017/18 | 30 | 3% | 760 |
2018/19 | 10 | 2% | 580 |
2019/20 | 50 | 7% | 730 |
2020/21 | 60 | 10% | 610 |
2021/22 | 50 | 7% | 720 |
2022/23 | 30 | 3% | 1,100 |
2023/24 | 10 | 3% | 230 |
Table 2 shows the number and percentage of Award Reviews (AR) and Change of Circumstances (CoC) awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the AR or CoC decision.
Table 2
Financial Year of AR and CoC | PIP Decisions Changed after MR | % PIP Decisions Changed after MR | All ARs and CoCs |
2016/17 | 10 | 5% | 240 |
2017/18 | 10 | 2% | 370 |
2018/19 | 30 | 6% | 600 |
2019/20 | 40 | 8% | 490 |
2020/21 | 40 | 6% | 560 |
2021/22 | 20 | 4% | 510 |
2022/23 | 20 | 3% | 590 |
2023/24 | 10 | 6% | 200 |
Please note:
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit recipients were subject to deductions in Gower constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There were 3,000 Universal Credit households in the Gower constituency that were subject to a deduction in the period September 2022 to August 2023.
Notes:
1. Household level figures have been provided as deductions are applied at the household level.
2. The number of households has been rounded to the nearest 100.
3. Data for September 2022 - August 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.
4. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.
5. The figure includes the number of distinct Universal Credit households subject to a deduction in the period September 2022 - August 2023. Any household with deductions in more than one assessment period within the period requested will only be counted once.
6. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code) was put in place by the Competition Commission (CC) following a market investigation in 2008. The investigation found some unfair practices in the supply of groceries to large retailers had adversely affected competition in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority is responsible for keeping under review the effectiveness of the Code in addressing the issues identified in the CC market investigation.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK-France Joint Leaders' Declaration: 10 March 2023, and pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2023 to Question 191049 on Educational Visits: France, when the Government plans to (a) conclude its work on the details of implementation and (b) publish that information.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
At the Leaders’ Summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.
France and the UK further agreed to establish a Mobility Dialogue through a Technical Working Group under joint ministerial oversight to address bilateral mobility issues. The first of these was held in early June.
Work is now underway to operationalise these arrangements and more information will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the UK-France Joint Leaders Declaration, agreed on 10 March 2023, when her Department plans to publish the timeline for implementing changes to documentary requirements for school children on organised trips from France.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
At the Leaders’ Summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.
France and the UK further agreed to establish a Mobility Dialogue through a Technical Working Group under joint ministerial oversight to address bilateral mobility issues. The first of these was held in early June.
Work is now underway to operationalise these arrangements and more information will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of legally recognising humanist marriages.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In July 2019 we invited the Law Commission to undertake a wholesale review on weddings law in England and Wales. As part of that review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent.
The Law Commission report was published in July 2022 and contains 57 recommendations for extensive legislative reform. The Government is carefully considering these recommendations, and a response will be published in due course.