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  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any (a) internal and (b) external reports were commissioned by Serco in relation to any steps taken by HM Prison Thameside to eliminate race discrimination in the workplace.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Government is committed to ensuring equality throughout the criminal justice system. Internal complaints procedures and the employment tribunal system enable any allegations of racial discrimination in the workplace to be thoroughly investigated.

    The Ministry of Justice conducted a routine assurance audit of HMP Thameside in 2013.

    Any internal document prepared by the contractor in relation to potential litigation is legally privileged and therefore exempt from disclosure.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunal cases were presented on the grounds of race discrimination in HM Prison Thameside in the last three years; what the nature was of each complaint; when each such tribunal began and ended; what the outcome was in each such case; and what the cost to the public purse was of defending such cases.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Government is committed to ensuring equality throughout the criminal justice system. Internal complaints procedures and the employment tribunal system enable any allegations of racial discrimination in the workplace to be thoroughly investigated.

    Two staff grievances alleging discrimination have been submitted at HMP Thameside in the last three years.

    The first, which alleged bullying at work, racial discrimination, unfair treatment and victimisation, was received in 12 October 2012. It was considered by the Employment Tribunal at two hearings (October 2013 and in December 2013). The Tribunal dismissed the claim in its entirety in January 2014.

    The second grievance, alleging unfair dismissal, racial discrimination, victimisation and harassment, was received in March 2013. It is currently being considered by the Employment Tribunal.

    Liability for any legal costs in relation to employment cases would fall on the employer.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many grievances on the grounds of race discrimination have been made in HM Prison Thameside in the last three years; what the nature was of each such grievance; when each grievance was made and resolved; and what the outcome was in each case.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Government is committed to ensuring equality throughout the criminal justice system. Internal complaints procedures and the employment tribunal system enable any allegations of racial discrimination in the workplace to be thoroughly investigated.

    Two staff grievances alleging discrimination have been submitted at HMP Thameside in the last three years.

    The first, which alleged bullying at work, racial discrimination, unfair treatment and victimisation, was received in 12 October 2012. It was considered by the Employment Tribunal at two hearings (October 2013 and in December 2013). The Tribunal dismissed the claim in its entirety in January 2014.

    The second grievance, alleging unfair dismissal, racial discrimination, victimisation and harassment, was received in March 2013. It is currently being considered by the Employment Tribunal.

    Liability for any legal costs in relation to employment cases would fall on the employer.

  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he will take to implement the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive; and what plans he has to distinguish between high and low risk trusts.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Treasury is leading the on-going negotiations on the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The UK is committed to implementing measures to prevent potential misuse of trusts for illicit purposes. We support mandatory requirements on trustees to hold beneficial ownership information on their trusts and together with the new automatic exchange of tax information agreements there will be more transparency and information exchange on trusts than ever before.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what basis the Government calculates entitlement to holiday pay for civil servants.

    Mr Francis Maude

    This is a matter delegated to individual Civil Service Departments and agencies under the Civil Service Management Code (CSMC).

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will introduce legislative proposals that employers be required to calculate holiday pay solely by reference to standard contract hours.

    Jenny Willott

    There are no current plans to require employers to calculate holiday pay solely by reference to standard contract hours.

    The arrangements for holiday pay are set out in the Working Time Regulations 1998.

    These arrangements differ according to the working pattern of the individual worker. If a worker has fixed hours and fixed pay, then a week’s holiday pay is the same amount as a worker receives for each week’s work. If the worker has no fixed hours, then a week’s holiday pay represents the average pay that a worker received over the previous 12 weeks.

    More information about holiday pay can be found on the Gov.UK website at

    https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/holiday-pay-the-basics

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of interpretation services provided to the (a) magistrates’ courts and (b) Crown Court in England and Wales in each of the last three years for which information is available.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Department does not hold centrally all of the information that has been requested. In order to provide the information we would be required toobtain a number of large reports from individual locations. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign nationals from (a) the EU and (b) countries outside the EU have been defendants in the (i) magistrates courts and (ii) Crown courts in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to identify from this centrally held information the nationality of offenders sentenced for criminal offences.

    Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of defendants being held in custody pending trial are foreign nationals.

    Jeremy Wright

    Information on the remand population is published quarterly and the latest available data is as at 31 March 2014 and can be found in Table 1.6 of the Prison Population spreadsheet Q1 2014 via the weblink below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual

    “

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many calls were made to the National Domestic Violence Helpline in 2013; and how many such calls mentioned use of (a) any weapon and (b) a firearm.

    Norman Baker

    The Home Office provides funding to the National Domestic Violence Helpline,
    which is run jointly by Women’s Aid and Refuge. Latest management information
    provided by Women’s Aid and Refuge sets out that in the first half of financial
    year 2013/2014 (April -September 2013), the National Domestic Violence Helpline received
    78,894 calls.

    This data does not provide information on the number of calls that mention the
    use of any weapon or firearms.