The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of HM Revenue and Customs have had the power of arrest in each year since 2009-10.
Mr David Gauke
The number of HM Revenue & Customs officers with the power of arrest is constantly fluctuating and it is not possible to give figures for each year from 2009-10. The total number of officers recorded as having powers of arrest in April 2016 was 1449.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the capping of payments to NHS agency staff on levels of patient safety.
Alistair Burt
Patient safety continues to be paramount and the rules include a ‘break glass’ provision for trusts should there be a need to pay in excess of the agency price caps for patient safety reasons. Trust boards are responsible for monitoring the impact of price caps and ensuring patient safety. More broadly, the Care Quality Commission Chief Inspector of Hospitals has been clear that he wants to see fewer agency staff because of the patient safety implications – continuity of care being so important to good services for patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make it his policy to ensure the UK maintains the requirements of Council Directive 1999/74/EC on battery hens.
Mr David Jones
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to her by my Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (written question 43718).
The EU-wide ban on keeping hens in ‘battery’ (conventional) cages in 2012 represented a significant welfare advance across the EU, was supported by the UK and has been implemented in full. The Government has a manifesto commitment to protect farm animal welfare and to push for high animal welfare standards to be incorporated into farming policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46333, how much has been spent on the functions of the Department for International Trade; and what estimate he has made of how much will be spent on those functions by the end of the current fiscal year.
Mark Garnier
Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes. The transfer of functions order (No 2016/ 992) laid on 19 October 2016 will come into effect on 9 November 2016.
DIT is a new Department and is in the process of establishing a separate and distinct budget for its operating costs. This will be shared with Parliament through the Autumn Statement and Supplementary Estimates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) victim liaison officers and (b) witness care officers were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 2010-11.
Robert Buckland
The total number of (a) victim liaison officers and (b) witness care officers that were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service at the end of each year since 2010-11, can be seen in the table below.
|
Victim Liaison [1] |
Witness Care |
|
|
FTE |
FTE |
|
|
2010/11 |
N/A |
182.5 |
|
2011/12 |
N/A |
137.8 |
|
2012/13 |
N/A |
118.5 |
|
2013/14 |
N/A |
89.2 |
|
2014/15 |
44.11 |
76.4 |
Notes:
Data extracted from the CPS HR Database iTrent as at the 31st March in each year. Data may be subject to change due to retrospective changes in the HR database. Data may differ from previously published data due to differing specifications.
There has been a reduction in total staff numbers and the proportion of the workforce that is employed in witness care units from a peak in 2008. Witness care has been dealt with primarily by the joint CPS/police Witness Care Units. However, most of the staff in WCUs are, and have always been, police staff. Witness attendance rates (which are used as a proxy for satisfaction) have remained above 80%.
[1] Dedicated Victim Liaison Units were established by the CPS in 2014
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken, in conjunction with the government of France, (1) to enable refugees now in France to come to Britain, such as for family re-union, and how many have come since 2013; (2) to assist those in irregular camps to apply for asylum in France; and (3) to register unaccompanied refugee children, wherever they may be; and what plans they have for further action.
Lord Bates
All migrants, including families and children, in Calais who wish to seek asylum should do so in France. We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child. If not claiming asylum, individual migrants in France, as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate application. Statistics for transfers of asylum applicants from France to the UK on the basis of family ties since 2013 are not routinely recorded.
The UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015 committed the UK to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. This includes increasing the frequency of communications campaigns involving British officials speaking to migrants in Calais to inform migrants of the reality of life in the UK and of their rights to claim asylum in France.
The French Government has opened up new places in its asylum system, away from Calais and migrants have started to voluntarily leave Calais to take up these places. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them briskly to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.
Unaccompanied migrant children who apply for asylum following arrival in the UK have their details recorded by the Home Office and are issued with an Application Registration Card. There are no plans for the UK to register the details of asylum seeking children in another country as this role will fall to the relevant authorities in that country.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Benjamin on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 13 January in response to the oral question from Lord Clinton-Davis on what plans they have to impose a sugar tax on fizzy drinks, whether they will consider introducing a mandatory sugar reduction target on all firms in the food and drinks industry because of the high hidden sugar levels in many everyday foods.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Measures by industry to reduce calories, including from sugar, are important components in any approach to reduce obesity. Some parts of industry have already taken a range of actions to help people eat a healthier diet, but the challenge to make further substantial progress remains.
We will be launching our childhood obesity strategy shortly. It will look at everything, including sugar, that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. It will also set out what more can be done by all sides.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to reduce the administrative burden placed on fishing boats under 10 metres.
George Eustice
I am keen to ensure that administrative burdens on the small-scale fleet are kept to the minimum possible, while still allowing for effective management of the fishery. Improvements to the services offered to fishermen by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) include:
Defra and the MMO will continue to engage with individuals within the ten metres and under fishing community in order to identify additional areas where administrative burdens might be reduced, or where other improvements could be made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Questions 26129 and 26130, how many and which organisations applied for funding for community projects to tackle female genital mutilation through schemes operated by (a) her Department and (b) the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2014-15; and which such applications were (i) accepted and (ii) rejected.
Karen Bradley
In 2014-15, the Government provided over £380,000 to community organisations through the Home Office’s female genital mutilation (FGM) Community Engagement Initiative and the Department for Communities and Local Government’s FGM and forced marriage prevention projects.
A total of 179 applications were received, and 29 of these applications were funded. The Answer of 11 February 2016 to Questions 26129 and 26130 provides a list of the organisations whose applications were successful. The Government did not provide specific funding for FGM community engagement projects in 2013-14 or 2015-16.
We know that changing attitudes within communities is key to ending FGM and we will continue to work with community organisations and survivors through the FGM Unit’s stakeholder group and ongoing outreach programme to drive this work forward.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will meet with NICE, NHS England and Vertex to discuss the provision on the NHS of the drug Orkambi to treat cystic fibrosis.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently consulting on its draft technology appraisal guidance on the use of Orkambi (lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in people who are homozygous for the F508del mutation. Stakeholders, including the Department, NHS England and the manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, now have an opportunity to comment on this draft guidance.
Departmental officials remain ready to discuss any proposals from the company that could enable National Health Service patients to access the drug at a cost-effective price.
NICE expects to publish its final guidance in July 2016.