Results 1-20 of 425 for mark harper

Committees: Work and Pensions (23 Nov 2009)

Ordered, That Mr Mark Harper be discharged from the Work and Pensions Committee and Chloe Smith be added .-( Mr. Frank Roy, on behalf of the Committee of Selection.)

Business, Innovation and Skills: Topical Questions (12 Nov 2009) has video

Mark Harper: May I ask the Minister for further education about the National Star college, which he will know is in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown) and on whose behalf he has been campaigning assiduously? The college has a national remit to help young disabled people, but its capital programme was not funded. It recognises the tough economic climate that we...

Written Answers — Work and Pensions: Departmental Manpower (12 Nov 2009)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time equivalent officials in her Department process claim forms for (a) disability living allowance, (b) attendance allowance, (c) carer's allowance, (d) incapacity benefit and (e) employment and support allowance; and how many such forms were processed on average each working day for each benefit in each of the last five...

Written Answers — Work and Pensions: Employment and Support Allowance (12 Nov 2009)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of claimants of employment and support allowance had completed their work capability assessment within (a) one and four weeks, (b) five and eight weeks and (c) nine and 13 weeks of the start of their claim on the latest date for which figures are available; what the average waiting time has been for a work...

Written Answers — Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits (12 Nov 2009)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate she has made of expected (a) on-flows, (b) off-flows and (c) stock claimant numbers for (i) incapacity benefit (credits only), (ii) incapacity benefit (benefits), (iii) severe disablement allowance and (iv) employment and support allowance in the (A) support and (B) work-related activity group in each of the next five...

[Mr. Edward O'Hara in the Chair] — Sex Discrimination (Religious Organisations) (11 Nov 2009) See 1 other result from this Westminster Hall debate

Mark Harper: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. O'Hara. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Robert Key) on securing this important debate. It is a not debate about what instructions we should give to the Church of England, but a spirit of inquiry from my hon. Friend, who represents a part of the Church, just to test the matter and have the Minister be clear about...

Written Answers — Work and Pensions: Employment Schemes: Disabled (11 Nov 2009)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of the clients who have participated in the (a) Project Search and (b) Getting a Life programmes have achieved sustained employment; what estimate she has made of the average cost to each programme of each such job outcome; and what plans her Department has for the future operation of each such programme.

Written Answers — Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits (11 Nov 2009)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate her Department has made of the average unit cost of (a) job broking and (b) benefit processing for (i) incapacity benefit, (ii) employment and support allowance and (c) jobseeker's allowance in each year since 2004-05.

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 31 — relevant services (10 Nov 2009) has video See 1 other result from this debate

Mark Harper: The Minister will not be surprised to know that the amendments in the group have the support of the Opposition. I am pleased that the Government accepted them in the other place and worked closely with Baroness Campbell of Surbiton on co-producing them. The Government have effectively done what we urged them to do when we debated the issue in the Commons. The Minister will know, because he...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Report on operation of travel authorisation amendments (10 Nov 2009) has video

Mark Harper: I will be brief, Madam Deputy Speaker. I want to discuss Lords amendment 50 in relation to the travel authorisation provisions. I welcome the amendment from the Government. It follows a similar amendment that was tabled by my noble Friends, Lord Freud and Lord Taylor, on Report. There was a good debate on that occasion, in which Ministers made a commitment to return with a Government...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 25 — Contracting out functions under Jobseekers Act 1995 (10 Nov 2009) has video

Mark Harper: The Minister will know from reading the report of the debate in Committee that we were very supportive of the Government's proposals in this area and agreed that this is a significant problem. The Minister outlined the numbers—350,000 people on out-of-work benefits who are problem drug users for whom that is a barrier to moving into work. That is clearly a problem that people expect us...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 1 — Social security (10 Nov 2009) has video See 5 other results from this debate

Mark Harper: I do not want there to be any lack of clarity. I understand why the Government needed an amendment. The Social Security Administration Act 1992 gives the Minister the power to lay an order only if there has been a general increase in prices. For the Minister to lay an order in the first place, there has to have been an increase, so if inflation is negative he does not have the power. The...

Oral Answers to Questions — Culture, Media and Sport: Topical Questions (9 Nov 2009) has video

Mark Harper: Rural areas such as mine often have slower broadband speeds than in urban areas, which damages consumers and business. The Secretary of State's solution is a broadband tax. We do not support that, but since he does, can he confirm that the £150 million or so that it will raise each year means that it will take some 20 years to pay for the necessary investment?

Points of Order (5 Nov 2009) has video

Mark Harper: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. The House will know of the importance you attach to answering written questions. The Government have issued new guidance to Ministers that the reply saying that it has not been possible to answer a written question ahead of Prorogation should be used only for those questions tabled in the two weeks before Prorogation. As of last Thursday, more than 1,500...

Business of the House (5 Nov 2009) has video

Mark Harper: May we have a debate about how to measure accurately the difference in pay between men and women? In one of her other guises, the Leader of the House is always very fond of quoting just one figure, but the Office for National Statistics made it clear yesterday that pay rates are an important but complex matter, and that a range of measurements should be used. According to one of those...

Energy and Climate Change: Power Cuts (5 Nov 2009) has video See 1 other result from this debate

Mark Harper: What assessment he has made of the level of risk of power cuts arising from insufficient electricity-generating capacity over the next 10 years.

Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury: Topical Questions (3 Nov 2009) has video

Mark Harper: The Chancellor will be aware of the terms of the deal that has been hammered out between the Treasury and Lloyds Banking Group, which fortunately will safeguard for the moment the future of the Cheltenham & Gloucester branch in my constituency, and the 1,200 jobs in Gloucester. I understand that the terms of that deal have to be finalised by the college of Commissioners in the European...