The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether North Wales is to be included in the Northern Powerhouse.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Northern Powerhouse presents a once in a generation opportunity to redress the North-South economic imbalance. North Wales is an integral part of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse vision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in its Insights into selected government departments, published on 10 November 2015, on scrutiny of the quality of its overall performance.
James Brokenshire
The cases referred to in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report do not reflect current visa and asylum processes. We have made significant improvements in our handling of complaints in recent years and have a clear plan to improve this element of our service further.
This plan takes account of feedback from the Public and Health Services Ombudsman and we will continue to work with the Ombudsman to identify further service improvements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to remove foreign national offenders from prisons to their home countries.
Andrew Selous
It is right that foreign criminals who break our laws are properly punished but this shouldn’t be at the expense of the British taxpayer. This government has a longstanding policy to do everything possible to return foreign prisoners to their home country at the earliest opportunity. Since 2010, 29,000 foreign national offenders have been removed from the UK and the foreign national offender’s total population in our prisons is reducing, falling from 10,866 in December 2010 to 9,895 in December 2015.
As announced in the Prime Minister’s speech on 8 February, my officials have been working closely with the Home Office to introduce a legal requirement for defendants appearing in court to provide their name, date of birth and nationality. This will enable earlier identification of foreign national offenders and help with the removals process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what insurance cover her Department and police forces make available for special constables who are injured on duty and require long-term compensation for loss of earnings.
Mike Penning
In order to ensure that special constables have legal protection, the Home Office provides legal assistance cover currently through Arc Legal Assistance. This is available to all special constables, free of charge, and includes personal injury cover including financial compensation for damages. It also includes cover for legal advice as well as representation at criminal proceedings.
The Government recognise the importance of police welfare. In October 2014 we allocated £10 million to help support emergency services personnel and volunteers, focused on mental health, physical recuperation and bereavement support for those who need it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 35127, what the average cost of removing to India a person who had been refused leave to remain by (a) sea and (b) air was in the last year for which figures are available.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office has published information on the average cost of removal but this is not broken down by mode of transport, and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. Further information can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/costs-involved-in-detaining-and-removing-illegal-migrants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Europe of 8 June 2016, Official Report, column 138WH, what assessments were last carried out on (a) whether the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen were targeting civilians and (b) respect for and compliance with international humanitarian law; and if he will place in the Library copies of documentation used in such assessments.
Michael Fallon
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) analyses allegations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations arising from air strikes in Yemen conducted by the coalition. The MOD has not assessed that the coalition is deliberately targeting civilians.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pat McFadden on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what percentage of children from each local authority area in England go to university in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Joseph Johnson
Information on the percentage of pupils from state-funded schools aged 15 in 2009/10 who entered higher education in 2012/13 at age 18, or in 2013/14 at age 19, by local authority, is available in Table 2 of the Statistical First Release ‘Widening Participation in Higher Education, England, 2013/14 age cohort’. The publication is available at the following weblink:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the new contract with junior doctors on recruitment in the NHS.
Ben Gummer
The independent Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) made recommendations for the reform of the junior doctor contract as a basis for national level negotiations. The new contract will be introduced from August 2016 and will be included in any evidence we provide to the DDRB for the 2017/18 pay round on the recruitment, retention and motivation of junior doctors.
Junior doctors are the backbone of National Health Service, but their current employment contract lets them down by failing to prevent some from working unsafe hours and not rewarding them fairly. This is why doctors deserve a new contract that will be fairer for doctors, safer for patients and juniors alike, better for training, and will better support a seven day NHS.
The contract will ensure that pay relates more fairly to actual work done; increase basic pay, recognising the professional nature of the role in a seven day NHS: and pay a higher rate for work at the most unsocial times. In addition, flexible pay premia will apply for: general practitioner trainees, to maintain current earning levels; other shortage specialties who would otherwise lose out under the new pay structure; those switching to shortage specialties; clinical academic trainees and public health trainees undertaking PhDs etc; and those undertaking approved academic/other work that benefits the wider NHS and improving patient care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Government’s immigration policies on the number of international students enrolling in UK universities.
James Brokenshire
We have an excellent offer for international students who wish to study at our world-leading institutions and there remains no limit on the number who can do so. As a result, the UK remains the second most popular destination in the world for international higher education students, and our excellent universities continue to attract large volumes of overseas students.
Annual visa applications from international students to study at British universities are now 17 per cent higher than they were in 2010, with visa applications to our elite Russell Group universities up by 39 per cent since 2010.
The most recent figures produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency also show a 6 per cent increase in the number of full-time non-EU new enrolments to UK higher education institutions between 2012/13 and 2013/14.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2016-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 30 November 2015 (HL3712), whether, in the interests of transparency, they will arrange for police forces to collate and publicise the occasions on which persons arrested but not charged have had their names disclosed.
Lord Bates
The Home Office currently has no plans to arrange for police forces to collate and publish data in relation to the occasions on which persons arrested but not charged have had their names disclosed.
Police are guided in making such decisions by the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) Guidance on ‘Relationships with the media’.
There are clearly great risks in naming suspects and the College of Policing guidance makes clear that decisions should only be made on a case-by-case basis, and that the police should not release the names of those who are arrested or suspected of a crime unless they have clearly identified circumstances to justify disclosure.