Category: Speeches

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of crime and witnesses were supported by the Witness Service at (a) York Crown Court and (b) York Magistrages’ Court in each year since 2004-05.

    Damian Green

    The Ministry of Justice does not routinely collect this data. Victim Support has provided the data based on available information.

    As part of its Grant in Aid to Victim Support, the Ministry of Justice requires the provision of a court based witness service.

    Victim Support has provided the following figures for 2009/10-2013/14 showing the number of people supported:

    Year

    York Crown Court

    York Magistrates’ Court

    2009/10

    717

    606

    2010/11

    701

    405

    2011/12

    612

    368

    2012/13

    557

    333

    2013/14

    547

    870

    Whilst crime rates continue to fall, Victim Support continues to support all witnesses who wish to receive support when attending court.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to require all police referrals to the National College of Teaching and Leadership to include details of the school where the alleged teacher previously taught.

    Mr David Laws

    Referrals by the police to the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) are currently made under the Notifiable Occupations Scheme, which is the responsibility of the Home Office (Home Office Circular No. 6/2006). The scheme is currently under review with new provisions being considered by the Home Office to supersede the existing scheme.

    Officials at NCTL are in discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers to ensure that the new scheme continues to provide consistent, timely and relevant information. Disclosure of the teacher’s current or last employment will be considered as part of those ongoing discussions.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much capital funding the Government allocated to (a) York College, (b) Askham Bryan College, (c) the University of York and (d) York St John University in each year since 1995-96.

    Mr David Willetts

    The capital funding allocated by this Department and its predecessor departments to York College, the University of York and the University of York St John in each year between 1992 and 2000 is not readily available. However, the capital allocations for each of the institutions named since 2000/01 is in the attached table.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many instances of Alabama Rot there have been in dogs in the UK.

    George Eustice

    Alabama Rot is the name commonly being given to the newly emerged condition in dogs, known by its clinical and pathological description as ‘Cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy’. Whilst this new condition, which appears seasonally, seems very similar to Alabama Rot, we do not know that they have the same cause.

    Investigation into this condition is being led by vets at a referral small animal veterinary practice and at the world renowned research organisation, the Animal Health Trust. These vets have expertise specifically in small animal medical cases. As such the veterinary practice, Anderson Moore, is best placed to update on the number of confirmed and suspect cases. The practice informed Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency on the 27th March that 14 cases have been confirmed between December 2013 and March 2014. This is in addition to 14 cases confirmed between December 2012 and March 2013.

  • David Mowat – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Mowat – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of applicants from the Borough of Warrington passed their driving test in each year since 2007.

    Stephen Hammond

    The information requested is in the table below.

    Year

    Candidates

    Passed

    % Passed

    2007

    15,799

    7,734

    49%

    2008

    15,530

    7,727

    50%

    2009

    13,359

    6,675

    50%

    2010

    13,340

    6,584

    49%

    2011

    13,130

    6,533

    50%

    2012

    12,125

    6,332

    52%

    2013

    12,200

    6,433

    53%

    Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency systems do not hold specific data for the Borough of Warrington. The data in the table above reflects the number of practical test candidates who registered a WA postcode at the time of booking the test.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with the Ethiopian government on her Department’s aid funding; and what recent reports she has received of the violent expulsion of Ethiopian farmers from their land.

    Lynne Featherstone

    DFID ministers and senior officials continue to engage with the Government of Ethiopia on resettlement, including meetings with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, in May 2013, November 2013 and December 2013. These discussions have included encouraging the Government of Ethiopia to follow international good practice on resettlement, implementation of a Grievance Response Mechanism, and monitoring and investigation of and action in relation to allegations of abuse.

    A summary of the findings and recommendations of multi-donor visits, including DFID, to monitor resettlement in Ethiopia will be made available in due course on the Development Assistance Group’s website at:www.dagethiopia.org

    “

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on Tibetan independence.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our position on Tibet is clear and unchanged. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney
    (Mr Cameron) outlined in Parliament on 8 May 2013, we regard Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China. We believe that long-term stability in Tibet will best be achieved through respect for universal human rights and genuine autonomy for Tibet within the framework of the Chinese constitution.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which rape support centres and helplines (a) nationally and (b) in each region will receive funding from the Rape Support Fund in 2014-15; and how much funding has been allocated in each case.

    Damian Green

    The Ministry of Justice remains committed to supporting organisations that deliver specialist support to female victims of rape and sexual violence and has committed £4.4m per year over 2014-2016 through the Rape Support Fund.

    Detail regarding all organisations funded through the Victim and Witness Fund, which includes the Rape Support Funds 2011-2014 and 2014-2016 can be found at gov.uk the information provided includes the amount of funding awarded to each organisation. The documents are located in the transparency data section of the Publications tab; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/victims-and-witnesses-funding-awards

    The document for the 2014-2016 Rape Support Fund is divided into Police and Crime Commissioning Areas and includes the funding amounts awarded for both 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. The document was published on the 8 April 2014.

    “

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Wollaston – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions have taken place under the Cancer Act 1939 in each of the last 30 years.

    Jeremy Wright

    The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for offences under the Cancer Act 1939, in England and Wales, from 1984 to 2013, can be viewed in the table attached.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make resources available for a project by the Law Commission investigating the question of fraud by victims of personal injury.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.

    No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.

    The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 – worth £441m – as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.

    As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.