The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were imprisoned for non-violent drug offences in each year since 2005.
Andrew Selous
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to develop a standardised methodology for measuring SME spending by government departments which can be used as a baseline over the next five years.
Matthew Hancock
We have developed our methodology over time, starting in 2010 when there was no reliable estimate for spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We now have much better data than before 2010 and we are continuing to improve our understanding of spend. The Government exceeded its target of 25% of central government procurement spend going to small and medium businesses by 2015, achieving over £12 billion (27.1%) of spend with SMEs by the end of the last Parliament.
The Government standardised its methodology for collecting data on direct spend with SMEs in 2011-12; data on direct spend published since that point is comparable. Data on indirect spend for 2013-14 and 2014-15 is also comparable. This is an area of continuous improvement and we intend to standardise our methodology again during 2016-17.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many e-courts there are in Lancashire.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Excluding one closing court, in Lancashire all criminal courts (4 Crown courts and 6 magistrates’ courts) are equipped to work digitally through services such as in-court evidence presentation, video links, a shared file store, Wi-Fi and a new digital case management system in the Crown courts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-05-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential value in career development of service by police on international deployments.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The National Police Chiefs’ Council has established the new Joint International Policing Hub to triage requests for international police assistance through a single point. The Hub joins up the police at a national level and with Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is intended to promote the UK model of policing by consent. Decisions on who to recommend to deploy, and where, lies with Chief Constables, in conjunction with their Police and Crime Commissioners.
As the first professional body for all of policing in England and Wales, the College of Policing develops standards and guidance for policing. The College is considering flexibility and the structure of entry, exit and re-entry of officers. It is also considering routes for officers to gain external experience, such as secondments, as part of the Leadership Review.
The Government has no plans to publish the details of police, law enforcement specialists and other relevant civilian experts in service in UN operations and at the UN Headquarters. Any personnel deployed as part of a national contingent are listed on the UN website: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2016/apr16_4.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce approval process timescales for woodland planting.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
Forestry is a devolved matter and the answer refers to England only.
We have improved the process for Countryside Stewardship applications for woodland creation in the 2016-17 planting season. Any amendments that may be required for existing Environmental Stewardship Schemes can be made earlier in this year than in previous years. The Rural Payments Agency has new systems for digitisation of land registration and parcel amendments to support smoother application processing. Scoring has been simplified and we have introduced a self-calculating and self-populating application form to ease the application process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on requiring areas which are bidding for devolved powers to introduce directly elected mayors.
Andrew Percy
The Government is clear that devolution deals are locally-led and bespoke – not one-size-fits-all. The Government has, however, been consistent in stating that the most ambitious deals in terms of the powers and funding devolved will be those that are the most ambitious in their governance proposals, for example those willing to offer a directly elected, single point of accountability by establishing mayoral combined authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to help rough sleepers and homeless people.
Mr Marcus Jones
One person without a home is one too many. That is why we launched a new £40 million Homelessness Prevention programme to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
This will enable authorities to support vulnerable people, preventing them from becoming homeless, and ensuring those who do have somewhere safe to stay.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about its decision to approve the construction of Israeli settlement units in Bethlehem and close to Ramallah.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised the issue of settlement announcements with the Israeli Ministry of Defence on 17 November and the Israeli Deputy National Security Adviser on 18 November. The Government has repeatedly condemned settlement announcements, and we will continue to call on the Israeli authorities to cease all settlement building and to remove illegal outposts, as required under international law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in her Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether her Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether her Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain, to ensure we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the mandatory retirement age for magistrates from 70 to 75; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government position remains that a retirement age of 70 for all judicial office holders is appropriate.
A mandatory retirement age of 70 means both judges and magistrates can continue to make a contribution to society whilst allowing for regular recruitment of the judiciary.
It also enables the judiciary to have the correct number of judges and magistrates, while preventing them from retiring on an ad hoc basis, and ensuring judicial independence is protected.