Category: Speeches

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the range of waiting times is for the return of Disclosure and Barring Service documentation for applications in Dorset.

    Karen Bradley

    The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) measures its performance against a set of Published Service Standards (PSS). Performance data applying to certificates dispatched to people whose applications were made from a Dorset postcode between 1 December 2014 and 30 November 2015 are contained in the table below. Current performance levels reflect a number of challenges for Dorset Police, including delivering an upgraded IT system. The DBS has agreed a recovery plan with Dorset Police. This will mean additional staff are recruited to enable it to improve its disclosure turnaround times.

    Measure

    National Target

    Performance in Dorset

    All within 56 Calendar days

    95%

    82.7%

    All within 21 Calendar days

    85%

    75.7%

    All E-Bulk (or electronic applications) within 21 Calendar days

    88%

    77.9%

    All Paper within 21 Calendar days

    82%

    70.5%
  • Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many houses they expect to be brought back into use through the Empty Homes programme in 2015–16.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Empty Homes Programme created 9,044 homes from empty properties between 2012-2015. The number of empty homes is now at its lowest level since records began.

    Local authorities have powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes, and through the New Homes Bonus they earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. In addition, councils may also charge up to 150 per cent council tax for homes empty for over two years. Given these levers, the Government has no plans for a further empty homes funding programme.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to close the Collective Passport Service by the end of February 2016; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    The future use of the Collective Passport is under review in the light of changing demand for the product and the security of the document. We are engaging with staff and other stakeholders and expect to make an announcement shortly.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to public funds was of transport to London for people on temporary admission in Oxfordshire for mandatory reporting in each of the last four quarters.

    James Brokenshire

    Immigration Enforcement retains a record of tickets that are issued to people on temporary admission for the purpose of travel to report at an Immigration Reporting Centre.

    Immigration Enforcement does not keep a record of the area from which those individuals have travelled. We are required to provide a travel ticket if the subject resides more than 3 miles away from the reporting centre and is in receipt of Asylum Support. We do not routinely provide travel tickets for anyone else who reports unless they reside over 25 miles away and there is an exceptional reason to do so. Each case is assessed and considered on its own merit.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the flushability tests used by manufacturers of disposable wipes.

    Rory Stewart

    Sewer blockages can be a serious problem, and sewer flooding can cause great distress to householders.

    We support the work that the industry is taking forward to reduce the number of blockages. Water UK, the representative body for the UK water and sewerage industry, has led on development of a voluntary test that sanitary manufacturers can use to establish whether or not their product is truly flushable.

  • Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the potential effect of the introduction of the soft drinks industry levy on the cost of the average weekly shop in real terms in each year to 2018-19.

    Damian Hinds

    The tax rates for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy have not yet been set. The levy has been designed to encourage producers to reformulate their overall product mixes, and it is up to the industry how they respond to it. For example, if producers reformulate, they will pay less.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been forcibly removed on chartered flights in 2016 to date; and how many of those people had a criminal conviction in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office records indicate that 718 individuals have been forcibly removed on charter flights in 2016. In at least 194 of these cases the primary reason for return was a criminal conviction in the UK.

    This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts on recommended travel times to local health services.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    It is for local commissioners to ensure services are provided in a manner that combines quality of provision with timeliness of access, taking into account local geography and other issues.

    When considering service reconfiguration, NHS England has issued guidance on Planning and Delivering Service Change for Patients, and as part of this guidance specify that: ‘Based on evidence and national clinical reference groups’ advice, commissioners need to determine the appropriate range of providers and interplay of key access requirements such as travel time.’

    The guidance can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/plan-ass-deliv-serv-chge.pdf

    “

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) arrests and (b) safeguarding interventions arose from Operation Notarise.

    Karen Bradley

    Operation NOTARISE is an ongoing, NCA-led, UK-wide operation which has identified and taken law enforcement action against indiviuduals viewing indecent images of children (IIOC). Currently, there have been 745 arrests under NOTARISE with 518 children being safeguarded or protected.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates there were on 1 April (a) 1989, (b) 1994, (c) 2000, (d) 2005, (e) 2010, (f) 2014 and (g) 2015.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The requested information that is recorded is provided in the table below. Data for 1989 is not recorded. The reduction in the number of magistrates reflects the reduction in the workload in the adult criminal court. The role of a magistrate remains a sought after one and competition for vacancies tends to be strong.

    1994

    30,054

    2000

    30,308

    2005

    28,253

    2010

    28,607

    2014

    21,626

    2015

    19,634