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  • Lord Pendry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Pendry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of British Cycling’s Time to Choose Cycling campaign, what progress has been made in promoting cycling as a safe and viable transport method around the United Kingdom.

    Baroness Kramer

    Cycling is normal and fun and we are committed to making it a safer travel choice so more people can appreciate the benefits of physical activity. Cycling can help tackle congestion, reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality.

    In August last year the Prime Minister set out his ambition for increasing cycling. This included £94 million for Cycling Ambition Grants which covered eight cities and four National Parks across England. These eight cities all have ambitious targets to increase cycling over the coming years.

    In addition, we have invested £15 million for cycling and walking links in communities and almost £15 million for cycling infrastructure at rail stations – our rail funding has been the major enabler in doubling the amount of cycle-rail facilities at stations since 2009. We also continue to support Bikeability training for children – we provide funding of up to £40 per training place – over a million children have been trained.

    Finally, to help realise the Prime Minister’s ambition for cycling, we are working with stakeholders and Government to produce a Cycling Delivery Plan for publication later this year.

  • Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) overall, and (2) age-standardised, deaths from liver disease there have been in (a) England, and (b) each parliamentary constituency, each year since 1997.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as the major shareholder in National Air Traffic Services, they intend to meet the costs of the employee share scheme if the Civil Aviation Authority confirm their proposal that those costs will no longer be provided for in the next regulatory settlement.

    Baroness Kramer

    The regulatory settlement is a matter for the CAA. We would expect the NATS Board, in the first instance, to continue to consider the benefits of the employee share scheme and the terms on which it operates.

  • Lord Bradley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Bradley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average annual household income in each of the ten districts of Greater Manchester in each of the last ten years.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Lord Lee of Trafford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lee of Trafford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lee of Trafford on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HM Revenue and Customs keeps records of the amount of Gift Aid claimed by, or paid to, attractions in respect of qualifying admission fees paid to view charity property; and, if so, in what form the records are kept.

    Lord Deighton

    HM Revenue and Customs does not collect information about Gift Aid claimed by, or paid to, charities in respect of admission fees to view charity property, except for charities subject to enquiry. It would be administratively burdensome for charities to routinely provide a detailed breakdown of their income with every Gift Aid claim they make.

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the reasons the government of Spain has given for sending warships and other state vessels into territorial waters around Gibraltar.

    Baroness Warsi

    Our assessment is that unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by Spanish State vessels are a futile attempt to assert Spain’s legal position in respect of the waters. Incursions are a violation of sovereignty, not a threat to it. They do not weaken or undermine the legal basis in international law for British sovereignty over Gibraltar, including British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

  • Lord Wigley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Wigley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the latest available figures of the number of people in employment in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales respectively; and how they compare with the figures for three and six years earlier.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Lord Wigley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Wigley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Imprisonment for Public Protection prisoners were imprisoned at the latest date available date; how many of those were beyond the tariff; and of those beyond their tariff, how many (1) have completed rehabilitation programmes courses successfully, (2) have been on rehabilitation courses but have not completed them successfully, (3) have been offered rehabilitation courses but are awaiting their completion, and (4) have not been offered rehabilitation courses.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The Parole Board assesses the risk posed by individual prisoners when considering their release or transfer to open conditions, and work that has been completed to reduce these risks, rather than only looking at whether specific offending behaviour programmes (OBPs) have been completed. It is not mandatory for Indeterminate Sentence Prisoners to complete OBPs in order to achieve release. Other work that may help to reduce risk may take the form of accredited OBPs; however, it may also include activities such as education or training, work, one to one sessions with a psychologist and a range of other interventions. Although in some circumstances an OBP may be the preferred option, the Parole Board may consider that an offender has reduced their risk of harm, despite not being able to attend a particular course, because they have been able to undertake other offending behaviour work which has achieved the same outcome.

    As at 31 December 2013 there were 5,335 prisoners serving an Indeterminate Sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection, of which 3,561 were beyond the tariff.

    Of these prisoners beyond tariff, 3,160 had completed at least one accredited offending behaviour programme successfully; 415 had attended a programme and not completed it successfully and of these, 62 had yet to complete any programme successfully; and 184 are currently attending a programme and the outcome is not yet known.

    The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

    No information is collected on how many prisoners have not been offered an accredited offending behaviour programme and this could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Baroness Stern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Stern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Stern on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to respond to the recommendation by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in his recent report on HMP Belmarsh that the library should increase its opening hours so that all prisoners have access to it.

    Lord Newby

    1. The prisoner regime includes a programme to allow access to the library once a week for those not attending education. The implementation of New Ways of Working, which includes the introduction of a new Core Day, will increase the opportunity for prisoners to access the library.

    2. All in use cells on the High Security Unit / Special Secure Unit are appropriately furnished in compliance with national guidelines, which are also included as part of the unit’s operating standards. The cells are also equipped to the specification required for accommodating Category A prisoners. The accommodation on the unit is inspected monthly, to ensure compliance and to maintain decency; this system is audited.

    3. The Governor has a programme of visits throughout the establishment; this includes visits to the HSU / SSU. The requirement for a weekly visit is completed by the Governor or the Deputy Governor, and the visits will ensure that all prisoners and staff are frequently seen and any emerging issues are heard and noted. These visits are now recorded for audit and inspection purposes.

  • Baroness Stern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Stern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Stern on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to respond to the recommendation by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in his recent report on HMP Belmarsh that not all cells in the High Security Unit and Special Security Unit were equipped with furniture and furnishings in line with the Prison Service’s operating standards for such units.

    Lord Newby

    1. The prisoner regime includes a programme to allow access to the library once a week for those not attending education. The implementation of New Ways of Working, which includes the introduction of a new Core Day, will increase the opportunity for prisoners to access the library.

    2. All in use cells on the High Security Unit / Special Secure Unit are appropriately furnished in compliance with national guidelines, which are also included as part of the unit’s operating standards. The cells are also equipped to the specification required for accommodating Category A prisoners. The accommodation on the unit is inspected monthly, to ensure compliance and to maintain decency; this system is audited.

    3. The Governor has a programme of visits throughout the establishment; this includes visits to the HSU / SSU. The requirement for a weekly visit is completed by the Governor or the Deputy Governor, and the visits will ensure that all prisoners and staff are frequently seen and any emerging issues are heard and noted. These visits are now recorded for audit and inspection purposes.