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  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the minutes of the negotiations on the 1990 Dublin Convention which took place between 1987 and 1990.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government has no immediate plans to publish the minutes of the negotiations on the 1990 Dublin Convention which took place between 1987 and 1990. Any surviving papers relating to negotiations will be contained in files relating to the Convention and these will be considered for selection and transfer to The National Archives in line with the 1958 Public Records Act as amended by subsequent legislation.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of officials of her Department resigned in each of the last six years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    1144 employees have left DFID. Resignations for each of the last 6 years have been set out in the table below:

    FY 2010/11 FY 2011/12 FY 2012/13 FY 2013/14 FY 2014/15 FY 2015/16
    Resignation 66 56 64 65 65 73
  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of officials of his Department resigned in each of the last six years.

    Mike Penning

    The table below sets out a) the number of and b) proportion of Ministry of Justice staff who have resigned over the past six years.

    Calendar Year

    Total No. Of Resignations

    Proportion

    2010

    2128

    3%

    2011

    1942

    3%

    2012

    1788

    3%

    2013

    1784

    3%

    2014

    2213

    3%

    2015

    2517

    4%

    The information includes staff within Ministry of Justice Headquarters, National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service, Office of the Public Guardian and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. Scotland Office and Wales Office staff are in scope for the years 2010-2011, UK Supreme Court staff are in scope for the years 2011-2012 and staff within the Legal Aid Agency are included from 2013.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Written Statement of 11 February 2016, HCWS540, on HM Courts and Tribunals Service estate, whether his Department’s plans for updating the technology of that estate have been revised following that announcement of additional court closures; and if he will publish his plans for technology investments in the Calderdale Local Justice area over the next four years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The overall investment plans have not been changed following the recent announcements of court closures. No new technology equipment will be installed into courts that are now planned to close.

    In regards to the Calderdale local justice area, the HMCTS Reform programme is designed to deliver an improved service nationwide. There is no intention to publish plans specifically for technology investments in the Calderdale Local Justice area.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how much of the £700m fund for updating the technology on the courts and tribunals estate was spent prior to October 2015.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The five-year £700m modernisation programme of the courts and tribunals, will build a justice system that is swifter and more certain. This programme incurred expenditure of c.£10.2m for the six months to end September 2015.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the additional costs incurred by his Department arising from appeal hearings at the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum and Immigration) being adjourned as a result of no Home Office representative being present.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    This information requested is not held centrally.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Capita Translation and Interpreting has met its key performance target since it has been contracted to provide courtroom interpreting services; and how many fines that company has incurred for missing those targets over that period.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The key performance target under the Language Services contract relates to successful completion of service requests for the provision of interpreters. The contract sets out a 98% target completion rate. The success rates for the first six months of the last financial year 2015/16 are 96.4 percent (Q1) and 97.3 percent (Q2). In addition the rate of complaints over this period was at its lowest level at just over 1 per cent.

    Service credits can be imposed on Capita in line with the terms of the contract when performance falls below the contractual level of 98% success rate. From the beginning of the contract in January 2012 until September 2015 Capita TI has paid Service Credits on 44 occasions.

    We are absolutely committed to further improving performance to ensure a standard of language services that meets the needs of all those who use the service in the justice system.

    The contract has delivered significant improvements so far and we now have a system that is robust, sustainable and able to deliver a quality service at an affordable level. Since we introduced a new interpreting contract in 2012 we have spent £38m less on language service fees.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to investigate the findings of the report by HM Senior Coroner, Mary Hassell on the death of Mr Sivaraj Tharmalingham, that Serco fabricated the number of checks that its staff made on Mr Tharmalingham at Thames Magistrates’ Court.

    Andrew Selous

    Following the inquest into the tragic death of Mr Tharmalingham, a prevention of future deaths report has been sent to Serco by HM Senior Coroner for Inner North London under Regulation 28 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has received a copy of the report. Serco are currently considering the report and will respond in accordance with the Regulations. NOMS manages all contracts with third party providers robustly and will work closely with Serco to ensure that the matters of concern identified by the Coroner are examined and appropriately addressed.

  • Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of supported housing in helping to rehabilitate ex-offenders by providing them with stable accommodation and helping them find work.

    Andrew Selous

    Ensuring ex-offenders have suitable, stable accommodation and employment is vitally important in helping to break the cycle of reoffending.

    In recognition of the importance of suitable accommodation, the ability to source accommodation is one of the measures against which Community Rehabilitation Companies are assessed.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the potential economic effect in Northern Ireland of the imposition of border checks between that country and the Republic of Ireland in the event of a UK withdrawal from the EU.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

    The UK and Ireland are part of the EU Customs Union, which means that there are no customs controls on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Without this, goods being exported across the border could be subject to various forms of customs controls and their liability to duty determined according to complex Rules of Origin.

    The absence of cross-border restrictions has both encouraged cooperation and increased trade over the last twenty years. Overall, around 60 per cent of Northern Ireland’s exports go to the EU, with 37 per cent going to Ireland alone. It is the Government’s view that if the UK left the EU these arrangements could be put at risk.