Peter Bedford MP: written questions

584 published records · newest first.

Written questions

Treasury: StaffTreasuryTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18059More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employee settlement agreements there were in her Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: In each year since 2020, HM Treasury signed zero settlement agreements.
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: StaffForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18058More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: Since 2020 the FCDO has agreed 26 employee settlements totalling circa £1.921 million.YearNumber of Settlements2020420215202262023620245Total26All settlements are made with robust legal advice and following a value for money assessment.
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department of Health and Social Care: StaffDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18057More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: I can confirm that since 2020 to date, the Department has had one settlement agreement in 2024. The settlement agreement was for the value of £20,000.
Answered 11 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Work and Pensions: StaffDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18056More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employee settlement agreements there were in her Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: Since April 2020 the DWP has agreed 127 employee settlements totalling £2,322,639. PeriodNumber of settlementsApril 2020 – March 202126April 2021 – March 202230April 2022 – March 202329March 2023 – April 202430April 2024 - date20 All settlements are made ...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Transport: StaffDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18055More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many employee settlement agreements there were in her Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: Exit packages are published in the DfT Annual Reports and Accounts and all redundancy, severance and other department costs, are paid in accordance with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (except where instances are detailed in the accounts as otherwis...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: StaffDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18054More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: DSIT was established in February 2023 and we therefore do not hold date for the full period in question.There has been less than 5 instances of settlement agreements being used since the department's creation. We are unable to share the precise number and...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: StaffDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18053More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: Between 2020 and 2024 to date, Defra has agreed six settlement agreements: one in 2021, two in 2022, two in 2023 and one in 2024 to date. The total cost of these settlements is £234,200.
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: StaffDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18052More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: DESNZ was formed on the 7th of February 2023. In the last year – 2023-24 – there was one settlement agreement of the type outlined. We are unable to disclose the amount given this is a single case.
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Education: StaffDepartment for EducationTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18051More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many employee settlement agreements there were in her Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: The table below shows the number of employee settlement agreements since 2020. Number of employee settlement agreementsTotal value (£)2020/21002021/22002022/23<5<£10,0002023/24<5£25,001 - £50,0002024/25*<5£10,000 - £25,000 *Until 30 November ...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: StaffDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18050More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: The number of settlement agreements issued by the department in the last five years are listed below:2020 - 02021 - 02022 - 02023 - 02024 - fewer than 5Due to the low number of settlement agreements issued by the department we cannot disclose the total va...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Business and Trade: StaffDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18049More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: The Department for Business and Trade issued less than 5 settlement agreements in the years 2020 and 2022. We withhold the exact figures and the total value of these agreements under Section 40(2) (Personal information) of the Data Protection Act. Due to...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Attorney General's Office: StaffAttorney GeneralTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18048More
Question: To ask the Solicitor General, how many employee settlement agreements there were in her Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answer: The Attorney General’s Office has not entered into any employee settlement agreements since 2020.
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Financial Services: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 901682More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve financial education in schools.
Answer: Financial education currently forms a compulsory part of the National Curriculum for mathematics (at key stages 1 to 4) and citizenship (at key stages 3 and 4). The primary mathematics curriculum includes arithmetic knowledge that supports pupils’ ability...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Pensioners: Cost of LivingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16400More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the amount local authorities will spend on supporting pensioners with the cost of living in winter 2024-25.
Answer: No assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund in supporting pensioners with the cost of living in winter 2024-25 and no estimate has been made of the amount local authorities will spend on supporting pensioners this winter...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Household Support Fund: PensionersDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16399More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund in supporting pensioners with the cost of living in winter 2024-25.
Answer: No assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund in supporting pensioners with the cost of living in winter 2024-25 and no estimate has been made of the amount local authorities will spend on supporting pensioners this winter...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Pension CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16398More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time for Pension Credit applications is by constituency.
Answer: Pension Credit application Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) are measured weekly.The information is not available at constituency level. The table below the most recent national AACT data. Week Date28/10/2404/11/2411/11/2418/11/24PC Claims AACT (Worki...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Pensioners: Cost of LivingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16397More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on steps councils are taking to support pensioners with the cost of living in winter 2024-25.
Answer: The Government does not hold any data on the steps that councils are taking to support pensioners with the cost of living in winter 2024-25. In England, the Household Support Fund (HSF) is a scheme funded by the Department for Work and Pensions and delive...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Pension CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16396More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Pension Credit applications have been made since 29 July 2024 by constituency.
Answer: We do not currently hold this information at Constituency level. Data on how many Pension Credit applications made between 1 April 2024 and 22 September 2024 was recently published on gov.uk, Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 S...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Work and Pensions: TrainingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16394More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long it takes to train a new staff member to process pension credit applications.
Answer: The current training for staff on Pension Credit New Claims is 10 days. The training includes focus on the steps to process an application, with more activities to help with engagement and understanding. The training has been designed using experience, ad...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Work and Pensions: StaffDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16393More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the additional 500 staff deployed to process Pension Credit applications were new employees.
Answer: Since the announcement to means test Winter Fuel payments, to date we have increased the resource in Pension Credit claims by approximately 500 staff through a combination of internal redeployments, use of external providers and external recruitment. This...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Work and Pensions: Fraud and MaladministrationDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16391More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the time taken to (a) recruit and (b) train 3,000 additional staff in fraud and error.
Answer: Currently the time taken from the job advert being created to the individual being onboarded is between 7 to 20 weeks. Training time varies by function with the majority of new staff needing three to six months to fully consolidate learning, whereas speci...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Department for Work and Pensions: Fraud and MaladministrationDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16389More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost of hiring 3,000 additional staff in fraud and error.
Answer: His Majesty’s Treasury allocated DWP £110m to deliver on the fraud, error and debt Autumn Budget measures over the next financial year. As part of this, the Department is hiring an additional 3,000 staff to expand DWP’s Fraud, Error and Debt (FED) operati...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Pension CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16388More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a Pension Credit uptake target.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to. That’s why we have been running a nationwide communications campaign to promote Pension Credit since September. The latest phase of the campaign takes a ne...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
NHS: Termination of EmploymentDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15696More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS employees' contracts of employment were terminated for underperformance in each year since 2020.
Answer: NHS England publish monthly statistics detailing information on National Health Service staff recorded within the Electronic Staff Record, the human resource system for the NHS. Each quarter, these statistics include data on ‘reasons for leaving’, where t...
Answered 29 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
Civil Servants: Ex Gratia PaymentsCabinet OfficeTabled 22 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15695More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many employee settlement agreements there were within the civil service in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements was.
Answer: Full information on the use of settlement agreements is held by individual departments.
Answered 29 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record

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