The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr RO Estemogbo.
James Brokenshire
I wrote to the Rt. Hon. Member on 16 June 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 6 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Bernioe Cssai Ogunribido.
James Brokenshire
I wrote to the Rt. Hon. Member on 12 June 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been paid in overtime and other costs incurred in the last three weeks due to changes in HM Passport Office.
James Brokenshire
The precise information requested by the Hon Member is not available. Overtime
payments to staff are recorded by the month in which payment is made. In May
2014, Her Majesty’s Passport Office incurred overtime costs of £964,742.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will revise her Department’s guidelines to the Metropolitan Police on whether domestic violence cases should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service before prosecutions can be initiated by the police; and if she will make a statement.
Norman Baker
The Coalition Government takes the issue of domestic violence and abuse extremely seriously. That is why in 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned HMIC (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary) to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic violence and abuse and is chairing a National Oversight Group, on which I also sit, to oversee the delivery of HMIC’s recommendations. Following the publication of HMIC’s report, the College of Policing is updating its authorised professional practice for officers on domestic abuse.
The Metropolitan Police Service uses national CPS guidelines when referring cases for prosecution. The Director of Public Prosecution’s Guidance on Charging clearly advises both police officers and prosecutors that the CPS will charge all domestic violence cases where the appropriate evidential standard has been met. The CPS is also currently revising its domestic violence policy – a revised policy was published for consultation on 14 May 2014. The CPS is also working closely with the police to assess how the criminal justice response can be improved together with the police consideration of the HMIC review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, If she will ensure that all asylum interviews are routinely audio and video recorded.
Karen Bradley
The Home Office is required to allow claimants, with some exceptions, to have their asylum interviews electronically recorded on request. The request to record the interview is at the discretion of the claimant. The invitation to interview letter advises eligible claimants to inform the asylum office if they wish the interview to be recorded, and to provide a minimum of 24 hours notice of their request to avoid a delay on the day. For those in detention, at least three days notice must be provided. We recognise that digitally recording asylum interviews has the potential to bring benefits to both asylum seekers and to the Home Office and we are currently exploring this as an option for the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that convictions are brought for possession of large quantities of illegal drugs.
Norman Baker
Action to restrict drug supply, including the investigation of drug offences and enabling the prosecution of those responsible, is a priority for law enforcement and other regulatory agencies. It is important that the courts are able to consider all the circumstances of any offence and offender which is why law enforcement agencies work closely with their prosecutors to provide the courts with the best evidence of an offence, presented in the most effective way.
In addition to prosecution, law enforcement agencies and the Criminal Justice System in the UK have at their discretion a number of disposals available to deal with drug-related offenders, including referral for drug treatment. This ensures that a robust and proportionate enforcement approach can be taken, which gives due regard to the public interest.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of (a) new passport applications and (b) passport renewal applications were received by HM Passport Office in each week since 6 January 2014; and what proportion of those applications (i) were completed in three weeks, (ii) were completed in four weeks and (iii) remain outstanding for each of these weeks.
James Brokenshire
Table 1 sets out the volume of new and renewal passports on a weekly basis since 5 January 2014.
Table 2 provides the proportion of straightforward cases dealt with within three weeks , four weeks and over four weeks. The information is not available by breakdown of application type.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the policy is of the Passport Office on the passing of information on the status of a delayed passport application when dealing with correspondence from an hon. Member acting on behalf of a constituent.
James Brokenshire
Her Majesty’s Passport Office’s policy is to make available the same
information to MPs and their constituency secretaries as they would
to their constituents. On receipt of correspondence on behalf of a constituent, it
is deemed that the constituent has provided authority for their MP to act on
their behalf. This applies to written, e-mailed and telephone correspondence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what compensation the Passport Office provides to British passport holders who have faced increases on the cost of their flights because they have had to wait an extended period for a completed passport application.
James Brokenshire
HM Passport Office’s policy on compensation can be downloaded from the website
at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/compensation-and-complaints-handling
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were employed by HM Passport Office on 1 January (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
James Brokenshire
The formal record for workforce data is made on the last day of each calendar
month.
The data as of 31 December in each year were as follows.
31 December 2010: 3,700 full-time equivalents
31 December 2011: 3,286 full-time equivalents
31 December 2012: 3,164 full-time equivalents
31 December 2013: 3,333 full-time equivalents
These figures are for permanent civil servants employed by HMPO, including part
year appointments and permanent members of staff employed on contracts for nine
months of the year. This excludes staff on secondment or loan, and agency and
temporary staff – with these staff included, the March 2014 figure is 3,444.