The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on the powers of appointment of university vice-chancellors for staff working in Confucius Institutes on their university campus.
Joseph Johnson
Universities are autonomous from Government and responsible, by law, for all decisions about who they appoint as staff.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the legal advice given by the Attorney General in Northern Ireland that genocide is being committed against Christian and other minorities in Iraq and Syria.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
This Government condemns Daesh atrocities against Christians, other minorities, and the majority Muslim populations of Iraq and Syria. As the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has said, the Government’s position remains that although there is a very strong case to answer, ultimately it should be a matter for judicial authorities.
We are supporting the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used in a court to hold Daesh to account. And we continue to deliver our comprehensive strategy to defeat Daesh, and thereby stop them from preventing more atrocities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in which reporting periods the performance of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise has (a) met and (b) exceeded its breach performance level for the (i) train operating company minute delay, (ii) cancellation and (iii) short-formation benchmark.
Claire Perry
Since Rail Industry period 7 in financial year 2015/16 (ending mid October 2015), GTR have exceeded the breach level for the Cancellations benchmark. The Secretary of State issued GTR with a Remedial Plan Notice last year requiring them to set out in a Remedial Plan the measures they will take in order to improve their performance and included benchmarks against which GTR are measured for the duration of the Remedial Plan. GTR has not breached the remedial plan cancellations benchmark and are under the breach benchmark for train operating company minute delays and peak short formations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Attorney General, what plans he has to extend the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
Jeremy Wright
The Government has committed to extending the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and is carefully considering its approach.
The number of offenders who have had their sentence increased under the unduly lenient sentence scheme in each of the last five years is set out below.
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Offenders who have had their sentence increased by the Court of Appeal |
95 |
62 |
61 |
106 |
102 |
Some cases attract multiple referrals from various sources and we do not record how many referrals each case has received. The total number of cases where requests were received by the Attorney General’s Office for sentences to be reviewed in each of the last five years is set out below.
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Total number of referrals received by the Attorney General’s Office for sentences to be reviewed under the scheme |
377 |
435 |
498 |
674 |
713 |
The number of sentences referred to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme that were (a) increased and (b) kept the same in each of the last five years is set out below.
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Total number of sentences referred to the Court of Appeal |
117 |
82 |
70 |
122 |
136 |
|
Total number of sentences that were increased |
95 |
62 |
61 |
106 |
102 |
|
Total number of sentences that remained unchanged |
22 |
20 |
9 |
16 |
34 |
The number of referrals under the unduly lenient sentence scheme that have been rejected due to falling outside the remit of the scheme in each of the last five years is set out below.
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Number of referrals that have been rejected due to the offence falling outside the remit of the scheme |
62 |
75 |
131 |
194 |
228 |
|
Number of referrals received out of time |
3 |
12 |
9 |
10 |
16 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the joint projects between the UK and Sudanese governments that are tackling extremism in the Horn of Africa region.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are not engaged in any joint projects with the Government of Sudan directly designed to tackle extremism in the Horn of Africa. We are, however, exploring options for cooperation in this area with relevant Sudanese Government bodies, as we believe the Government of Sudan has an important role to play in countering these threats.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of still births; and what steps he is taking to improve communication between coroners and health professionals to inform such steps.
Ben Gummer
On 13 November 2015, the Government announced an ambitious campaign to halve the national rates of maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths and brain injuries in babies by 2030.
To help meet these aims trusts will receive a share of over £4 million of government investment to improve outcomes for women and babies. This includes:
– a £2.24 million fund to help trusts buy monitoring or training equipment to improve safety;
– a £500,000 investment in developing a new system for staff to review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death; and
– over £1 million investment to roll out training packages developed in agreement with expertise from the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to make sure staff have the skills and confidence they need to deliver world-leading safe care.
Stillbirths are certified by a registered medical practitioner if they are present at the stillbirth or examined the baby, or in the absence of a registered medical practitioner, by a midwife. The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 provides the legal framework for the coroners role, which is limited to investigating the cause of deaths. Stillborn babies are not legally classified as having died because they did not show signs of independent life after birth.
Medical professionals will only refer a case to the senior Coroner if there is reason to suspect that a baby’s death may have been violent or unnatural. This includes babies who only briefly showed signs of independent life and/or where there is doubt about whether a child was born alive or was stillborn.
One of the powers available to a coroner is the power to make a Rule 43 report. If the coroner feels that the evidence gives rise to a concern that circumstances creating a risk of other deaths will occur or continue to exist, he/she may make a Rule 43 report, which is sent to the organisation that has responsibility for the circumstances. A recipient of a Rule 43 report must send a written response within 56 days. The response must give details of any action which has been or is proposed will be taken, or provide an explanation when no action is proposed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 13628, whether the £230 million spend incurred by BT is an addition to the £683 million recorded as state aid receipts in BT’s accounts.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The £230m is BT expenditure and would therefore be in addition to receipts recorded on the BT annual accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which community rehabilitation companies have been placed on a formal remedial plan under their contract in each year since 2010; and what the outcome of those plans was in each case.
Andrew Selous
We monitor the performance of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) closely, to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending, protect the public and deliver value for money to the taxpayer. No CRC has been placed on a formal Remedial Plan under the contract.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women have taken their own lives in the first year after the birth of their child in each of the last five years.
Alistair Burt
This information is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Schools of 22 October 2015, Official Report, column 457WH, what plans her Department has to consult on a revised Building Bulletin 100.
Edward Timpson
It has not yet been decided what further review or consultation is necessary on the revised Building Bulletin 100 (Fire Safety in Schools) before publication.