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  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to families with children with autism.

    Norman Lamb

    The Care Bill has simplified the process for adult carers in England to access an assessment of need for social care, based on the appearance of a need for support.

    The Children and Families Act has introduced new arrangements for supporting young people with a special educational need, and their families. A single assessment involving professionals and commissioners, and the child’s family, will identify the care needs for the child or young person (from ages 0 to 25) to inform an individual Education, Health and Care Plan focusing on outcomes and the integrated services to deliver them.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her priorities are for extending the scope of the National Crime Agency in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the UK.

    Karen Bradley

    The National Crime Agency is committed to assisting the Police Service of
    Northern Ireland in tackling serious and organised crime as far as the
    restrictions on its powers permit.

    Discussions continue in order to achieve full operating powers for the National
    Crime Agency in Northern Ireland to ensure the response to organised crime in
    Northern Ireland is more effective. This is a priority.

    The National Crime Agency does have full operating powers elsewhere in the UK.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will take steps to ensure the negotiations between her Department and Praxis result in the continuation of the Secret Garden Service provided by that organisation.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The decision to invite Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) to take over management of Hillsborough Castle will provide a secure future for the castle and bring considerable economic benefits to the surrounding area.

    To deliver those benefits, HRP need control of the site currently used by Praxis in order to construct the infrastructure necessary to enable substantial visitor numbers to be welcomed to Hillsborough.

    The terms of Praxis’ use of the Walled Garden site were always clear that they would need to leave if given one month’s notice. Praxis confirmed over a year ago that they would leave if given one month’s notice.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to bring forward regulations for the introduction of the ban on smoking in cars with children present.

    Jane Ellison

    The Children and Families Act 2014 contains regulation making powers to prohibit smoking in private vehicles carrying children. The Department is currently drawing up proposals for how this could be achieved, which we will consult on. We plan to introduce these regulations during the lifetime of this Parliament.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to bring forward draft regulations for the introduction of standard packaging for tobacco products.

    Jane Ellison

    Before reaching a final decision on standardised packaging of tobacco products, and in order to ensure that the decision is properly and fully informed, we intend to publish the draft regulations to make sure that intentions are clear, alongside a final short consultation.

    This consultation will ask, in particular, for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to a final decision. The content and timing of the consultation will be announced shortly.

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the St Lucia government on delays in the criminal justice system in homicide cases in that country.

    Mark Simmonds

    Our officials have had a number of discussions with the Government of St Lucia about delays in the criminal justice system, particularly in relation to cases involving British nationals. In December last year, our High Commissioner to St Lucia raised the issue with the St Lucian Home Affairs Minister and in April 2014, the British Resident Commissioner raised the issue with the St Lucian Prime Minister. I also wrote to the Prime Minister of St Lucia in September about the delays in the criminal justice system.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office supports wider government efforts to build the St Lucian Government’s capacity to prosecute serious crime. This includes the deployment of a Crown Prosecution Service Criminal Justice Advisor (CJA) to the Eastern Caribbean. The CJA provides strategic analysis and advice to politicians and practitioners (judiciary, prosecutors and investigators) in order to improve the efficiency of the justice system and remove blockages to effective prosecutions.

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he is making to encourage the government of St Lucia to take steps to progress the trial of the defendants accused of murdering Gloria Greenwood.

    Mark Simmonds

    As soon as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was informed of the death of a British national, consular officials contacted the St Lucian authorities about the investigation into Mrs Greenwood’s tragic death. They remain in regular contact. Most recently, St Lucia’s Crown Prosecution Service informed our officials that a pre-trial hearing had been adjourned until 8 May. We will continue to press upon the St Lucian authorities the importance we place on bringing this case to trial. Consular officials have updated Mrs Greenwood’s family and continue to provide full consular assistance.

  • Jenny Chapman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jenny Chapman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jenny Chapman on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were serving on detached duty in each month from January 2011 to January 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    A nationally co-ordinated detached duty scheme has been operating since 21 October 2013. Information on the number of officers serving on detached duty before the introduction of the national scheme is not available. The full-time equivalent of officers provided on detached duty from the beginning of the nationally co-ordinated scheme until the 31 December 2013 is contained in the table below. Some allocations outside of the national scheme continued after October 2013 but is not included in the information provided. London region particularly allocated staff within their own region. Information collected on the staffing allocated. On occasions the resource is not actually deployed due to changes in local circumstances.

    The deployment of staff between prisons on detached duty is a regular and normal part of prison resourcing. It allows staff to be allocated from prisons with the capacity to provide them, to those where additional staffing is required. On average over the three month period (October to December 2013), less than 1% of staff were provided on detached duty. A large proportion of the capacity was available from prisons that were in the process of closure or going through a re-role. This process temporarily releases a number of officers who are not supplied for specific occasions but are sent and received on a shift pattern throughout the week.

    Full Time Equivalent of Officers Working on Detached Duty 1

    – 21 October 2013 to 31 December 2013

    Full Time Equivalent Officers Provided on Detached Duty

    Scheme started in October so no data available for earlier period

    October 2013 (Data relates to part month from 21 October)

    46

    Nov-13

    107

    Dec-13

    205

    1 Detached duty figures are not published but other staffing data is published up to 31 December 2013 and therefore information is only presented up until that date.

  • Jenny Chapman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jenny Chapman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jenny Chapman on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent by his Department on travel and accommodation costs for prison officers serving on detached duty in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

    Jeremy Wright

    Identifying total travel and accommodation costs for prisons serving detached duty would require manual collation of data from online expenses systems and travel providers, which would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Jenny Chapman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jenny Chapman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jenny Chapman on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many members of staff in each prison in England and Wales were serving on detached duty in (a) January, (b) February and (c) March 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    A nationally co-ordinated detached duty scheme has been operating since 21 October 2013. Information on the number of officers serving on detached duty before the introduction of the national scheme is not available. The full-time equivalent of officers provided on detached duty from the beginning of the nationally co-ordinated scheme until the 31 December 2013 is contained in the table below. Some allocations outside of the national scheme continued after October 2013 but is not included in the information provided. London region particularly allocated staff within their own region. Information collected on the staffing allocated. On occasions the resource is not actually deployed due to changes in local circumstances.

    The deployment of staff between prisons on detached duty is a regular and normal part of prison resourcing. It allows staff to be allocated from prisons with the capacity to provide them, to those where additional staffing is required. On average over the three month period (October to December 2013), less than 1% of staff were provided on detached duty. A large proportion of the capacity was available from prisons that were in the process of closure or going through a re-role. This process temporarily releases a number of officers who are not supplied for specific occasions but are sent and received on a shift pattern throughout the week.

    Full Time Equivalent of Officers Working on Detached Duty 1

    – 21 October 2013 to 31 December 2013

    Full Time Equivalent Officers Provided on Detached Duty

    Scheme started in October so no data available for earlier period

    October 2013 (Data relates to part month from 21 October)

    46

    Nov-13

    107

    Dec-13

    205

    1 Detached duty figures are not published but other staffing data is published up to 31 December 2013 and therefore information is only presented up until that date.