An Impact Assessment of the benefit freeze was published in 2015, this is available in the link below.

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf

This benefit freeze excluded Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, the Support Group component of Employment and Support Allowance (for those not expected to look for work), disability premia in working-age benefits and the disabled elements of tax credits. This provides protection for those facing the additional cost of disability and long term health conditions.

The Secretary of State has a statutory duty to complete an annual review of benefit and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to either prices or earnings.

If there has been an increase in prices or earnings she must increase certain benefits by at least the increase in prices or earnings, using ONS data. For other benefits she may take into account the prevailing economic conditions and other relevant factors.

Whilst organisations external to Government are free to make representations to the Secretary of State, the Department has made no assessment around the introduction of an independent commission to review the value of benefits.

Universal Credit new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed urgently, until their first regular Universal Credit payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months.

The Department has delivered a number of improvements to support claimants during their first assessment period, such as removing waiting days and paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.

Claims may be backdated, by up to one calendar month, in limited circumstances for vulnerable claimants who may be delayed in claiming Universal Credit through no fault of their own. Claims may also be backdated in specific circumstances when a couple separates to ensure that there is no gap in entitlement between the couple claim and the new claim made by a single claimant.

For eligible Universal Credit claims with a payment due in May 2019 (the latest month of available data) 0.6% [11,000 claims] had a deduction for child maintenance arrears.

Notes

- Number of claims rounded to nearest 1000.

- Percentage rounded to nearest 0.1%

The Home Office has listened closely to representations made by a variety of campaigns and MPs on immigration issues affecting Commonwealth members of HM Forces and their families.We have received recent representations from the Royal British Legion “stop the service charge” and are aware of a public e-petition to waive settlement fees for Commonwealth nationals who served in HM Forces.

While there are no current plans to offer an exemption from paying a settlement fee to former military personnel, this specific area of policy is regularly reviewed. There are no plans to launch a public consultation on the question of waiving settlement fees.

The Home Office remains committed to upholding our obligations under the Armed Forces Covenant. The Home Office, along with all Government Departments, recognises the outstanding service of all members of the Armed Forces, including the many service personnel who are foreign and Commonwealth nationals.

The Government has no current plans to end the requirement, in the Enrolment of Deeds (Change of Name) Regulations 1994, that a court should satisfy itself that the spouse or civil partner is aware when an applicant wishes to change their name through the courts by deed poll. This recognises that the change of name may have implications other than for the applicant. It is not mandatory in all cases – an applicant may seek to demonstrate to the court that there is good reason to dispense with such consent.

This process is for those who wish to have a court-based verification and validation of the change of name Under the common law, it is open to a person aged 16 or above to change their name by deed poll themselves through the ‘unenrolled’ process. This simply requires the deed to be witnessed and attested by the signature of two witnesses.

​The Department is working with NHS England and Department of Health and Social Care to help schools and colleges provide support for children and young people with emerging mental health issues and secure specialist treatment where it is needed.

The NHS Long Term Plan set out that by 2023/24 an extra 345,000 children and young people in England aged up to 25 will receive mental health support via NHS-funded mental health services including new Mental Health Support Teams linked to groups of schools and colleges. The teams will work with groups of schools and colleges to provide swift access to support for children and young people, especially those with emerging, mild and moderate needs. Teams will also support referrals to more specialist treatment. Roll-out is starting with a trailblazer programme to test how teams can be effectively delivered, including how they can work effectively with local authority services to provide coordinated support for children and young people. Staff for the new teams are currently be being trained and the first 59 teams will be fully operational in 25 areas of the country by the end of the year.

Directors of Children’s Services and Directors of Public Health in Local Authorities will play an important role in supporting local implementation of the new teams. The Department for Education is working with Public Health England to ensure that local authorities are kept informed and are invited to contribute to local plans for implementation.

​This is a long-standing case and relates to contracts signed over 40 years ago with the pre-revolution Iranian regime. The case is subject to a legal process, and the most recent hearing concluded on 22 May. We await the court's judgement, which will be a step forward in this complex and long-standing case. As Ministers have said in Parliament, it would be inappropriate to comment in detail while litigation continues.

No, the previous national car scrappage scheme was undertaken to support the car industry and for any nationwide scrappage schemes there are concerns over deliverability and value for money. However, we have not restricted the types of measures eligible local authorities could bid for funding for from the Clean Air Fund.

The Department is aware of the Healthy Air for Healthy Children report. There are no plans to formally review the methodology and conclusions nor publish a response to the report.

Through the Air Quality Grant more than £3 million of government funding has been awarded to 28 innovative projects to improve air quality across local authorities in England. This includes funding to trial new technology to test the effectiveness of low-cost sensors to better understand the air quality data they produce.

Air Quality forecasts and information are already published on the Defra UKAIR website. We are undertaking further work to understand the range of different audiences for air quality information, the differing requirements of those audiences, and how air quality information needs to be tailored to meet those different audiences’ needs.

Anyone is able to take out a prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and it is on this basis that the RSPCA investigate calls and prosecute hundreds of people each year for offences under the Act. Local authorities also have enabling powers under the Act and make decisions on their approach to the Act based on local needs and resource priorities and the arrangements that work best for them, working as necessary in partnership with others where helpful. Defra is in regular discussion with the police and Home Office on animal welfare issues and we have received no specific representations from them in the last 12 months on the costs to them of protecting animal welfare where a local authority animal welfare inspector is not in place.

The Government estimates that hydrofluorocarbon emissions from refrigeration and air conditioning made up around 2.5% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2017, when gases are compared using their global warming potentials (GWPs). The UK greenhouse gas inventory uses the GWPs for individual hydrofluorocarbons from table 2.14 of Volume One (the Physical Science Basis) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report 4, as agreed by decision 9/CP.2 of the Conference of Parties.

The UK was one of the earliest countries to ratify the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol relating to hydrofluorocarbons and regulations are already in place regarding the phase down of their usage as well as controls on their management, disposal and recycling. A review is expected in 2022.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether drugs and other treatments represent an effective use of NHS resources.

NICE is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of ocrelizumab for treating primary progressive multiple sclerosis, with final guidance expected in June 2019. NHS England and Roche have now reached a commercial agreement and on 9 May NICE published final draft guidance which recommended ocrelizumab within its marketing authorisation, as an option for treating early primary progressive multiple sclerosis with imaging features characteristic of inflammatory activity in adults. Ocrelizumab will now be routinely available for eligible adults.

The Government is aware of the European Chemicals Agency report on the regulation of the use of lead ammunition. The European Union Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals (EU REACH) committee is considering this report and will shortly make recommendations to the European Commission about the current regulation on the use of lead in gunshot over wetlands.

We will review our position once we have seen proposals from EU REACH.

No such estimate has been made. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be paid to disabled people irrespective of their employment status and, as such, no details of an individual’s employment status are gathered during the course of their claim or award.

PIP is a more modern, dynamic and fairer benefit than its predecessor, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and focuses support on those experiencing the greatest barriers to living independently. 31% of people claiming PIP receive the highest level of support, compared to 15% of DLA’s working-age claimants and 39% of reassessment claimants are getting a higher award on PIP compared to when they were on DLA.

People with a health condition or disability, who require additional support getting to and from work, can apply for an Access to Work grant.

The enhanced rate of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Mobility component was always intended to be for those "unable" or "virtually unable" to walk.

We believe the current PIP assessment criteria, including the 20 metres distance, are the best way of identifying those whose physical mobility is most limited.

Senior Officials are in contact with the MS Society and will be meeting them in the coming weeks to discuss the latest research.

NHS England is responsible for decisions on the weighted capitation formula used to allocate resources between clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). This process is independent of Government. NHS England take advice from the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), a group of academics and other experts.

ACRA has recommended a new approach to health inequalities which was reflected in the CCG allocations published on 10 January 2019.

Population figures for all programme allocations are based on general practitioner registered list sizes, as they have been since 2013-14. Increases for future years are based on the Office for National Statistics estimates of population trends for resident populations, which is the only consistent and robust national data set available to use for this purpose.

Full details of the CCG allocations announcements for 2019-20 to 2023-24 can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/allocations/

NHS England is responsible for decisions on the weighted capitation formula used to allocate resources between clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). This process is independent of Government. NHS England take advice from the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), a group of academics and other experts.

ACRA has recommended a new approach to health inequalities which was reflected in the CCG allocations published on 10 January 2019.

Population figures for all programme allocations are based on general practitioner registered list sizes, as they have been since 2013-14. Increases for future years are based on the Office for National Statistics estimates of population trends for resident populations, which is the only consistent and robust national data set available to use for this purpose.

Full details of the CCG allocations announcements for 2019-20 to 2023-24 can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/allocations/

NHS England is responsible for decisions on the weighted capitation formula used to allocate resources between clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). This process is independent of Government. NHS England take advice from the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), a group of academics and other experts.

ACRA has recommended a new approach to health inequalities which was reflected in the CCG allocations published on 10 January 2019.

Population figures for all programme allocations are based on general practitioner registered list sizes, as they have been since 2013-14. Increases for future years are based on the Office for National Statistics estimates of population trends for resident populations, which is the only consistent and robust national data set available to use for this purpose.

Full details of the CCG allocations announcements for 2019-20 to 2023-24 can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/allocations/

No one has to wait five weeks for the first part of their benefit because, as the hon. Lady is aware, they can get an advance of up to 100%, and 60% of people do that. We have also introduced a two-week run-on of housing benefit, and from next year a further two-week run-on of employment and support allowance, jobseeker’s allowance and income support will be available. Those payments are in addition to each claimant’s universal credit benefit award.