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  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the number of police call-outs of reductions in staffing in (a) mental health units, (b) hospitals and (c) social care services.

    Mike Penning

    Decisions on the deployment of a police force’s workforce in relation to local requirements are operational matters for individual chief constables, working with their Police and Crime Commissioners. However, a range of initiatives at both local and national level including the Crisis Care Concordat partnership arrangements and street triage scheme have already helped to reduce inappropriate mental health demands on the police.

    The use of police cells in England as places of safety under the Mental Health Act, for example, reduced from 8,667 instances in 2011/12 to 3,996 in 2014/15. Legislative changes being introduced in the Policing and Crime Bill currently before Parliament, to prohibit the use of cells as places of safety for children and further limit their use for adults, as well as reductions in detention periods, will ensure progress in maintained.

    In addition, the Government has committed to invest an additional £1 billion in mental health services by 2020 to ensure improved mental health support in the community and for people in Accident and Emergency, as well as crisis response provision and treatment options for both adults and children. In the last Autumn Statement, the Government also gave local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of ne support for social care per year by 2019/20.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the request of the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey for an urgent meeting on behalf of his constituents as requested by that hon. Member on 30 May 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    I have arranged to meet the Honourable Gentleman.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of provision of frontline police officers to ensure public safety; what steps she is taking to monitor that provision; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    Decisions on the size, composition and deployment of a police force’s workforce are operational matters for individual chief constables, taking account of local needs and circumstances.

    Overall, the Government delivered a good settlement for policing through last year’s Spending Review, protecting overall police spending in real terms over the course of the Spending Review period, when local income is taken into account – an increase of up to £900 million in cash terms by 2019/20.

    The public should therefore be in no doubt that the police will have the resources they need to keep the public safe and to respond to new threats rapidly and effectively.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will take steps to address demolitions by Israel of Palestinian homes and other structures in the West Bank.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    The UK remains extremely concerned at the large increase in demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015, and continues to raise this with the Israeli authorities. Demolitions and the evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering, are harmful to the peace process, and in all but the most exceptional of cases are contrary to international humanitarian law. The UK supports the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide legal aid to Palestinian communities that are at risk of displacement.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the findings of the report of the International Development Committee, UK implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, HC103, published on 8 June 2016, on the need for a cross-government approach in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on those goals.

    Justine Greening

    I have discussed the government’s approach to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. This will be a cross-government effort with individual Secretaries of State accountable through their Single Departmental Plans. There will continue to be regular discussions involving all relevant departments across Government. The Government will respond to the IDC report.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the implications are for the Government’s policy on using Overseas Development Funding aid through the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa to send Eritreans in the EU back to Eritrea of the recommendation by the Commission established by the UN Human Rights Council to refer that country to the International Criminal Court.

    Justine Greening

    There are no programmes under the EUTF that are specific to Eritrea or that are funding the return of Eritreans currently in the EU.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the implications for her policies are of the report from the Committee on Development of the European Parliament on the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN), published on 3 May 2016, on the Government’s support for the NAFSN.

    Justine Greening

    The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is a multi-stakeholder platform that aims to accelerate responsible investment in African agriculture. At the continental level, it is led by the African Union Commission. We support their aims through our policy engagement and programme work.

    The report makes some useful recommendations which we are considering and will discuss with the wider AU-led initiative. Many of the report’s recommendations have already been the focus of DFID policy and programme work.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many female offenders received an immediate sentence of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more in each police force area in Wales in each of the last six years; and what the offence group was for such offenders.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts taking into account all the circumstances of each case. In order to pass a custodial sentence the court must be satisfied that the offence is so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community order can be justified. Where a custodial sentence is imposed it must be for the shortest period commensurate with the seriousness of the offence.

    The number of female offenders who received an immediate sentence of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more in each police force area in Wales by offence group from 2010 and 2015 can be viewed in the table. This information is a further breakdown of the sentencing data tool, published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015.

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  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the number of EU nationals in prisons in England and Wales in (a) the latest period for which figures are available and (b) each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    It is the Government’s position that, wherever possible, prisoners should serve their sentences in their home countries, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer. The most recent foreign national offender statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/519445/prison-population-31-march-2016.xlsx.

    Foreign national offender prison populations back to 2002 are published at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449241/prison-population-2015.xlsx

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  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons the Government did not extend the European Union Referendum (Voter Registration) Regulations 2016 to Northern Ireland to enable late registration by any method; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The registration deadline extension for the EU Referendum was implemented following system disruption to the online registration portal in Great Britain. The extension did not apply to Northern Ireland because online registration will not be available in Northern Ireland until later this year and voters there were not disadvantaged by the system disruption in GB.