Category: Speeches

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk posed to children by domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

Data showing the total number of women who have suffered domestic abuse in the last five years is set out in the Crime Statistics published on 11 February 2016: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences–2014-to-2015/index.html.

Since the 2004/05 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), the number of women aged 16 to 59 experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year has reduced from 1.71 million to 1.35 million (360,000 fewer victims and a fall of 21%) and the estimate of the number of women experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year is the lowest since the survey began.

Latest data published by the Office for National Statistics from the 2014/15 CSEW additionally show that in 46% of cases of partner abuse, a child was present in the household, of which 20% of children saw or heard the abuse.

Data on children referred to and assessed by local authority children’s social services in England in 2014/15 show that there were 197,700 assessments where domestic violence was identified as a relevant factor. This data is only available for 2014/15.

The Government works closely with charities, academics and statutory agencies to assess and address the impact of domestic abuse on children and wholly recognises the life changing impact domestic abuse can have on the lives of children. That is why we have expanded the Troubled Families Programme for a further five years (2015-2020) to work with an additional 400,000 families, including those affected by domestic abuse.

To further address the impact of domestic abuse on victims and their children, we have introduced a new domestic abuse offence to tackle coercive and controlling behaviour, and in England and Wales we have rolled out Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. Improvements have been made to the police response to domestic abuse, and we are supporting multi-agency working which takes a whole family approach.

We will shortly publish a refreshed cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy setting out how we will do more still to support victims and their children. The Government has already announced £40 million of funding for domestic abuse services between 2016 and 2020, as well as a £2 million grant to Women’s Aid and Safelives to support early intervention programmes.

01/01/2023
Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-04.

To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the proposed changes to the Landfill Communities Fund on the restoration and repair of listed church properties and church buildings.

Mrs Caroline Spelman

The Church of England has engaged with the recent consultation from the Treasury over the future of the Landfill Communities Fund. Local churches are able to apply to the fund to support restoration, extension and repair projects.

Local parishes have benefitted from this generosity since its creation in 1996. Over its lifetime the scheme has enabled churches across the country to benefit from an approximate £75 million worth of repairs. As part of its submission the Church of England asked the Treasury to consider reducing the administrative burdens on applicants to the fund.

The Church has since received assurances that the scheme will continue and we await with interest further detailed announcements from the Treasury regarding the operation of the fund.

01/01/2023
Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to support Syria’s economy after the end of the current conflict in that country.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Much of our assistance is already laying the groundwork for future reconciliation, stabilisation and reconstruction efforts inside Syria. Regarding the economy, we are already taking a long term approach to foster market stability and economic recovery. This includes the supply of agricultural inputs to farmers to increase production as well as support to small businesses. This has potential to be scaled up once a political transition is reached and depending on the nature of that settlement.

On 26 November 2015, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will commit at least £1 billion to Syria’s reconstruction. We anticipate that reconstruction funds would be allocated against a plan agreed between a new, inclusive Syrian government and the international community. We expect that, over time, this funding will include support for re-building Syria’s shattered economy and infrastructure.

However, we must not underestimate the scale of the challenge of post-conflict reconstruction. Syria has experienced 40 years under an oppressive regime and a brutal civil war. Conflict has reversed Syria into poverty. Consequently, reconstruction will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. That is why we will use our influence as a major shareholder to push the UN and International Financial Institutions and the private sector to bring their planning, resources and expertise to bear.

01/01/2023
Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the Parole Board to complete its review of the rules on releasing convicted murderers from prison if they refuse to reveal the locations of their victims’ bodies.

Andrew Selous

When assessing an offender’s continuing risk for the purposes of deciding whether he or she is eligible for possible release, the independent Parole Board already takes into account any wilful failure on the part of the offender to disclose the whereabouts of their victim’s body. The Parole Board has at my request, agreed to review its guidance on this particular issue as part of a review of all its guidance in 2016.

01/01/2023
Philippa Whitford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philippa Whitford on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department received the request from the Scottish Government to allow increased payments to Scottish people affected by contaminated blood through the current financial structures.

Jane Ellison

Since the Scottish Government announced its decision to accept the recommendations of its independent financial review in March 2016, officials in the Department and Scottish Government have been working together to facilitate the increased payments using the current payment scheme. There have, in addition, been recent conversations at Ministerial level.

01/01/2023
Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what he discussed in his recent meeting with his Maldivian counterpart.

Alok Sharma

I met the Foreign Minister for the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Asim, on 13 September. I discussed the importance of the UK/Maldives relationship, particularly with regard to the large number of UK tourists that visit the Maldives each year. I raised the Government’s concern about the decline in democracy and human rights in the Maldives, and urged the Maldives government to make progress on the recommendations made by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group.

01/01/2023
Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the reduction in the number of English language testing centres on the number of international students entering the UK; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

English language ability is a key strand of the immigration requirements for many of those coming as partners and to work, study and settle in the UK. Significant abuse within the English language testing sector was uncovered in 2013/2014, following which the Home Office commissioned an independent review. A key outcome was the need to develop new and robust business and commercial requirements for Secure English Language Testing (SELT). The Home Office has rightly responded to that abuse robustly, particularly considering that thousands of people sought to use evidence that was obtained fraudulently to enter and remain in the UK. The new, strengthened arrangements for SELT came into effect on 6th April 2015.

One of the security changes introduced was the reduction of the test centre network to mitigate the risks of oversupply and enable the Home Office to achieve greater control and ability to audit centres.

Whilst the Home Office has reduced the number of test centres, it has increased the number of countries where students could sit tests. Before the 6th April students could sit tests in 79 countries (excluding the UK), they can now sit tests in 129 countries.

The Home Office has planned the reduced test centre network to meet anticipated demand and test centres in each country are currently meeting demand.

We continue to have a highly competitive offer for international students who would like to study at our world-class institutions and this is borne out by the figures: visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 17 per cent since 2010, whilst visa applications to our world-leading Russell Group institutions are up by 33 per cent since 2010.

01/01/2023
Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have libraries; and which organisations (a) run and (b) fund each such library.

Andrew Selous

All prisons in England and Wales have a library. NOMS has been responsible for funding prison library services in England from April 2011.

The total NOMS allocated budget for prison libraries in 2015/16 in England was £7,592,414

The attached table shows both the provider and allocated library budget for each prison in England since 2010. NOMS is not responsible for funding library services in prisons in Wales as this is a devolved function of the Welsh Government so data is not included. Privately managed prison contracts put in place since 2011 have identified levels of funding for libraries and so are included in the table. The table does not include library provision at privately managed prisons whose contracts were awarded before 2011 as this was part of the overall included contract price and so it is not possible to extract a specific cost element to this part of the contract. This equates to 10 prisons.

On 8 September 2015 the Secretary of State announced a review of the quality of education in prisons, chaired by Dame Sally Coates, which will report later in the year.

01/01/2023

Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the average length of time taken by Concentrix to determine applications for mandatory reconsideration of a tax credits decision.

Mr David Gauke

The number of requests for mandatory reconsideration of a decision about a tax credits award that Concentrix have received since the commencement of their contract with HM Revenue and Customs in November 2014 is as follows:

Month	Number of MRs
November 2014	0
December 2014	2
January 2015	6
February 2015	38
March 2015	29
April 2015	137
May 2015	100
June 2015	45
July 2015	71
August 2015	108
September 2015	1221
October 2015	925
November 2015	871
December 2015	2371

The total is about 1.6% of all decisions Concentrix made in the same period.

As of 15 January 2016, there are 566 mandatory reconsiderations in progress that have been opened and Concentrix are waiting for customers to provide further evidence. Concentrix have 30 further mandatory reconsiderations that are awaiting determination.

The average length of time taken between Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and making a decision is 24 days. This includes the time needed for customers to provide any further evidence.

01/01/2023

Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the human papilloma virus vaccination programme for men who have sex with men will commence.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department and Public Health England are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to secure vaccine to support the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls. The procurement will take account of the costs and benefits of all vaccines offered to establish which provides best value for money for the National Health Service.

In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters, advised that a targeted HPV vaccination programme should be undertaken for men who have sex with men up to 45 years of age who attend genitourinary medicine and HIV clinics. They noted that this should be subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price. The JCVI acknowledged that finding a way to implement its advice would be challenging and made clear that work was needed by the Department and others to consider commissioning and delivery routes for this programme. This work is already underway and we will announce our plans as soon as we can.

01/01/2023