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  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children and women were seriously injured by a perpetrator of domestic violence after a Family Court decision to allow child access for a perpetrator of that crime in each of the last five years.

    Mike Penning

    Every family court has a system to support vulnerable court users. Protective measures are put in place whenever a court is aware that an individual involved in a case may be violent. These can include separate waiting areas, additional security and the use of separate entrances where appropriate.

    Information on the number of children or women injured by a perpetrator of domestic violence after a Family Court decision relating to child contact is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by manually checking case files in criminal and family courts and matching records.

    The family court takes the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. Where domestic violence or abuse is admitted or proven, any child arrangements order put in place must protect the safety and wellbeing of the child and the parent with whom the child is living, and not expose them to the risk of further harm. In particular, the court must be satisfied that any contact ordered with a parent who has perpetrated violence or abuse is safe and in the best interests of the child.

    Where the court does conclude that direct contact is safe and beneficial for the child, it can impose conditions such as supervised contact to protect the child.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Prime Minister, which hon. and Right hon. Members have been appointed by him to which countries as a trade envoy.

    Mr David Cameron

    Information regarding trade envoys can be found on the gov.uk website.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on what date he last visited a food bank in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    I have not visited a food bank in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Local Government Boundary Commission is under an obligation to ensure that proposals for boundary changes reflect representations it has received from people in the areas affected.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Local Government Boundary Commission for England informs me that the procedure for electoral reviews is set out in the Local Democracy, Economic Democracy and Construction Act 2009. The Act requires the Commission to publish recommendations and consider representations made on them.

    In drawing up new ward or electoral division boundaries, Section 58 of the Act requires the Commission to take into consideration any representations made to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England within its consultation periods.

    In practice, the Commission always conducts at least two phases of public consultation for every electoral review. First, in advance of drawing up draft recommendations, the Commission will invite local proposals for new ward or electoral division boundaries.

    Following the initial consultation, the Commission publishes draft recommendations and consults on them before finalising ward boundaries and the wider electoral arrangements for a local authority.

    After each phase of consultation, the Commission will consider all local representations against the statutory criteria which are set out in Schedule 2 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. The criteria oblige the Commission to have regard to delivering electoral equality for voters, to build electoral arrangements that reflect community interests and identities as well as ensuring that wards or divisions promote effective and convenient local government.

    The Commission analyses all local representations to assess the extent to which they meet the statutory criteria. If submissions present a fair reflection of the criteria and can be accommodated within an authority-wide scheme, it will usually adopt them. In the event that multiple (but conflicting) submissions meet the statutory criteria, the Commission will choose the option which it believes most strongly reflects them. If no local representations provide a satisfactory reflection of the statutory criteria, the Commission will substitute its judgement and draw up its own pattern of wards or divisions for the area in question.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts about EU proposals to block public access to Mandatory Occurrence Reports; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of those proposals on public confidence in aircraft safety.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation is governed by Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 which was adopted on 3 April 2014 and became applicable on 15 November 2015.

    The open reporting of safety occurrences is vital to help ensure that significant issues can be identified and addressed before they lead to an accident. To foster open reporting the Regulation aims to create a just culture in which occurrences can be reported without fear of any detriment. To support the just culture the Regulation requires that reports be given an appropriate level of confidentiality and that information derived from occurrence reports shall be used only for safety related purposes. However, the Regulation does permit information to be released on request to interested parties that have a genuine safety related need for the information.

    The Regulation also recognises the need to keep the public informed on aviation safety matters. It requires Member States to publish, at least annually, a safety review setting out the type of occurrences and safety-related information that has been reported, any trends that have been identified and any corrective action taken. In addition, the European Aviation Safety Agency is required to include information about the analysis of occurrence reports in its annual safety review.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24387, whether the proposed changes to mitigate the effect of lorry traffic on the hedgehog population in the area of Regent’s Park will require an amendment to the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The identified impact on the Regent’s Park hedgehog population is from the provision of replacement car parking for the Zoological Society of London rather than from lorries accessing the proposed lorry holding area. The measures being considered to mitigate this effect in the Regent’s Park area do not require an Additional Provision to the Bill. Any mitigation measures outside the limits of the Bill would be delivered with the cooperation of The Royal Parks.

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what works will be required south of Bedford to enable Midland Mainline electrification north of Bedford.

    Claire Perry

    The scope for Midland Main Line electrification includes making appropriate adjustment to the Fast Line Overhead Line Equipment between London St Pancras and Bedford South Junction.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24387, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of changing the route used by lorries involved in the High Speed 2 construction away from the hedgehog population in the Regent’s Park area as an alternative to establishing replacement habitats; and whether such a change would require an amendment to the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The identified impact on the Regent’s Park hedgehog population is from the provision of replacement car parking for the Zoological Society of London rather than from lorries accessing the proposed lorry holding area. Therefore, no assessment has been made of changing the route used by HS2 construction vehicles in the Regent’s Park area for the purpose of mitigating the impact on hedgehogs. Such a change would require an Additional Provision to the Bill.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25019, what efficiency savings he expects the British Transport Police to make in cash terms in each year up to 2020-21.

    Claire Perry

    During the recent spending review, the Department made clear to the British Transport Police Authority that it considered that appropriate efficiencies should be identified and made. However, it also emphasised that any efficiencies identified should not materially impact on the operational policing capability of the British Transport Police, including in relation to counter-terrorist activity. The British Transport Police Authority identified savings of over 8% that can be made between 2016/17 and 2019/20 from the British Transport Police’s (BTP) core policing budgets, focussed on those areas where reductions would not have a material operational impact on the rail network. The Department has set out its expectation that these savings should be achieved during the course of the spending review period. Any efficiency savings could, however, potentially be reinvested into counter-terrorist activities, depending on the need.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24539, whether the list provided in that answer includes all of the chief executives of FTSE 100 companies she has held meetings with to discuss the issue of increasing the number of women on company boards since May 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    My answer of 1 February 2015 to Questions 24538 and 24539 detailed all meetings that the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities and I have had with representatives of the FTSE 100 and other businesses. We have also spoken at a number of conferences and events, with representatives from across the FTSE 350 and other businesses in attendance. We always ensure that we use these opportunities to raise the issue of achieving a better gender balance on boards.