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  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on developing proposals for implementing the Youth Obligation; and what organisations his Department are consulting to inform that process.

    Priti Patel

    The detailed policy design is still under development. We will set out our policy design for the Youth Obligation in due course.

    We will be conducting a stakeholder engagement exercise with organisations and employers shortly.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment for his policies of the findings of the National Federation of ALMOs Welfare reform survey relating to universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    DWP is currently considering the report from the National Federations of ALMOs and the Minister of State for Welfare Reform will be meeting to discuss their findings in due course.

  • Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken was between a fatal accident in construction and a conviction on the latest date for which data is available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    For fatalities in construction (Standard Industrial Classification, section F) reported to HSE between 2006/07 and 2014/15, the average time between the date of the incident and the date of the first hearing where a conviction is recorded is 1208 days. The time between the incident and conviction dates by yearly time bands is as follows:

    Date of Conviction

    Average number of days between incident date and conviction date

    2006/2007

    985

    2007/2008

    1234

    2008/2009

    1153

    2009/2010

    1214

    2010/2011

    1251

    2011/2012

    1251

    2012/2013

    1336

    2013/2014

    1185

    2014/2015

    1267

    Within the overall time frame from fatal incident to conviction a number of discrete stages may be involved and these are performed by different agencies largely out of HSE’s control:

    • The police assume primacy initially and retain it until negligent homicide offences have been identified or eliminated.

    • Where negligent homicide is suspected, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will consider a file submitted to them by the Police.

    • HSE works closely with the police and CPS throughout this phase in accordance with the Work Related Deaths Protocol (WRDP) to which the Police, CPS, HSE and other regulators are signatories.

    • Before HSE brings a prosecution it is normal to await the outcome of an inquest held by HM Coroner.

    • If a defendant has been charged it can take some time for the case to come to trial particularly where if　it is defended and heard in the Crown Court.

    Recognising the importance to victims of ensuring all stages of the process are concluded as quickly as possible, the WRDP National Liaison Committee recently agreed that any decision to prosecute should be made within 3 years of the date of death other than in exceptional circumstances – currently approximately 85% of investigations are completed within this timescale.

    For its part HSE has an internal target of completing 95% of fatal accident investigations within 12 months of assuming primacy – attainment is now at 70% and the trend is improving.

  • David Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to reform the police complaints process.

    Mike Penning

    Complaints made against the police must be responded to in a way that builds public confidence, and allows lessons to be learned.

    The Policing and Crime Bill will reform the complaints system so that the handling of police complaints is customer focused and that cases are dealt with quickly and effectively, not just for the benefits of the public, but also for officers who have done nothing wrong.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the timeliness of the processing of Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

    Karen Bradley

    The average processing time for disclosure applications is 15.3 days and 94.3% of applications are issued within 8 weeks, as of December 2015. Some Enhanced Certificate applications are referred to relevant police forces. DBS is working closely with the small number of forces whose performance does not meet turnaround targets.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government’s policy is on steps to increase cooperation between police forces and fire services.

    Mike Penning

    The Government is committed to supporting the police and fire services to work more closely together. The Policing and Crime Bill includes a duty to collaborate and enables Police and Crime Commissioners to make the case to take on responsibility for fire and rescue locally, extending the benefits of directly elected, accountable leadership and driving collaboration.

  • Stephen Hammond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Hammond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the Metropolitan Police in tackling terrorism in London.

    Mr John Hayes

    We have ensured the police have the necessary powers and resources to tackle the terrorist threat, including in London, where the Metropolitan Police play a leading role in tackling terrorism across the country.

    Counter-Terrorism Policing spending will be protected over the next Spending Review period. Indeed, for 2016/17 it will be increased in real terms to £670 million for England and Wales. An additional £34 million will also be provided to enable a national uplift in armed policing capability and capacity to respond more quickly and effectively to a firearms attack.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the police on the police grant settlement.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Secretary has regular meetings with policing partners on a range of issues, including police funding. The Government published the Final Police Grant Report for 2016/17 on 4 February following the usual public consultation. The Final Police Grant Report was approved by the House on 10 February. This represents a good settlement for policing.
  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps have been taken during the Government’s negotiations on the UK’s membership of the EU to restore the UK’s rebate to its full previous value.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has been clear that the four priorities of our renegotiations are: economic governance; competitiveness; sovereignty; and benefits to EU migrants.

    The EU budget financing system was agreed in 2013, when we secured an historic real-terms cut and protected the rebate. Parliament ratified that deal last year.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on the options circulated by the President of the European Council on the UK’s relationship with the EU.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    As The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) made clear in his statement to the House yesterday, the renegotiation deal delivers on the Government’s commitment to fix the problems with the EU that have frustrated people in the UK. It is legally binding, irreversible and delivers for the UK. The deal gives the UK the best of both worlds: in to the parts of Europe that work for us and out of those parts which don’t.