Category: Speeches

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) males and (b) females of what age group and in which police force area found guilty of an offence under section 14(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 opted to attend a driving safety course paid for by the offender that includes instruction on the benefits of wearing seat belts in lieu of a fine in the last 12 months for which information is available.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, not all offences are individually reported within the centrally held data. Data for offences under Section 14 (3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 are reported as part of a miscellaneous group of offences, and it is not possible to separately identify prosecutions for these specific offences from other offences under the Act. Nor does centrally held data indicate the number of offenders who opted to attend a driving safety course. This information may be held by the individual courts in England and Wales and as such it can only be obtained at disproportionate cost

  • Lord Fellowes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Fellowes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Fellowes on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Lord Chancellor considers that the rehabilitation and behaviour of prisoners will be encouraged by preventing them receiving books by post.

    Lord Faulks

    Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time. Prisoners may have additional books stored locally at the prison. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access.

    Ministers have not made any policy changes specifically about the availability of books in prisons. The changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework we introduced last year in relation to parcels were introduced to ensure consistency across the estate and to make sure that security can be maintained. There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.

    The National Offender Management Service works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as ‘Toe by Toe’, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 637W, on sixth form education: student numbers, what these costs were per student.

    Matthew Hancock

    The net cost of unfilled places referred to in my previous answer was based on the funding per student for each individual institution and the number of students recruited in that institution above or below the allocated number as appropriate. This figure was then adjusted to take into the account the sixth form element of funds recovered by the Education Funding Agency from those academies which are funded on the basis of estimated pupil numbers but which educated fewer pupils than had been provided for in those estimates.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will make it his policy to introduce the option of anonymity for victims of female genital mutilation in court trials.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service recognises that more needs to be done to encourage victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) to come forward. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has said that the introduction of anonymity for victims of FGM should be considered to encourage more victims to come forward as, given the very personal nature of the offence, very few do so. However, any change of law on anonymity is a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has procured any contracts for life cycle maintenance of the Reaper fleet; and for what periods.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No contracts for life cycle maintenance have been procured. Through Life maintenance and support of the UK Reaper fleet is provided through the Foreign Military Sales agreement at the time the Reaper system was procured,under the previous administration.

  • Mr Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Adrian Sanders on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the capital costs incurred by schools as a result of the implementation of universal infant free school meals; and whether the capital funding provided by his Department to schools to date covers such costs.

    Mr David Laws

    The Department for Education consulted with a number of local authorities and schools in the autumn, in order to assess the potential capital needs to meet the new universal infant free school meal (UIFSM) entitlement. Circumstances differ between schools, and between authorities, but those discussions gave us an assessment of the range of likely costs.

    Based on those discussions, we believe the £150 million of capital funding announced last December is an appropriate figure to support schools and authorities in meeting the new UIFSM entitlement. We know that many schools and authorities are still in the process of considering the best way of delivering this. That is why we are supplementing this capital support with the package of implementation support measures announced on 6 March, in order to offer advice and guidance to schools and local authorities that need assistance in implementing the policy.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the costs to date has been of the preparation work for the connection of High Speed 2 to High Speed 1.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In response to the HS2 Plus report by Sir David Higgins, the Secretary of State has decided to remove the HS1-HS2 link from the Phase One Hybrid Bill. The proposed link required too many compromises in terms of impacts on freight, passengers and the community in Camden.

    We believe there is a good strategic case for links to the continent but we need to select the right long term answer. The Secretary of State has therefore asked HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to consider how to improve connections from HS2 and the existing rail network to the Continent. We are currently developing the scope of the proposed study, which will explore options that will stand the test of time. As a result, at this stage no significant costs have been incurred in relation to the study.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

    Dan Rogerson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Mr Francis Maude, on 26 March 2014, Official Report, Column 300W.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Susan Elan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that Natwest and other subsidiaries of RBS remain as competitive as possible in the banking sector.

    Andrea Leadsom

    On 1 November 2013, RBS committed to a new direction, focussing on its core British business, supporting British families and companies. RBS’s new direction is supported wholeheartedly by the Bank of England, UKFI and the Government.

    RBS and its subsidiaries retain their own independent boards and management teams for strategic and operational decision-making.

    The Government’s shareholding in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is managed on a commercial and arm’s length basis by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI).

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested for breach of a forced marriage protection order in each year since such orders came into force.

    Norman Baker

    The information requested is not collected centrally by the Home Office.

    Powers of arrest for breach of a forced marriage protection order are currently
    issued by the civil courts. Arrests for civil offences are not covered by the
    Home Office arrest collection.

    Breach of a forced marriage protection order will become an offence when
    section 120 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 comes
    into force in summer 2014.