Category: Speeches

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Simon Hughes

    Staff within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ HQ), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and Legal Aid Agency (LAA) can, but are not compelled to, declare their ethnicity. Consequently, definitive figures for the proportion of white British staff who have been dismissed or subject to formal disciplinary proceedings over the last five financial years cannot be provided.

    The MoJ Diversity report for 2012/2013 provides an overview of information on staff grievances, investigations, conduct and discipline. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279638/moj-diversity-data-report-2012-13.pdf

    This information has not been collated or published in respect of earlier financial years.

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on Russia’s actions in Crimea.

    Mr David Lidington

    In addition to ongoing dialogue at official level, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has discussed it with State Councillor Yang, and the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has raised the situation in Ukraine with President Xi Jinping and State Councillor Yang Jiechi.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many remote sites are available and in use by child victims and witnesses in (a) each region of England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

    Damian Green

    We must do everything we can to support child witnesses and help them give their best possible evidence to bring offenders to justice.

    The department does not hold data on the number of child victim and witnesses that use video links to give evidence (either a court building, or from a remote site).

    The list below sets out the number of courthouses in each of the seven HMCTS Regions in England & Wales; criminal justice is a devolved matter for Scotland and Northern Ireland. These facilities enable any victim or witness to appear by video link from a different court location to that of the trial court; it is also possible for third party users to access the court system through a secure bridge.

    HMCTS Region

    Number of courthouses enabled for remote video link.

    Wales

    22

    London

    32

    South East

    52

    South West

    35

    Midlands

    40

    North West

    31

    North East

    37

    Total

    249
  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons received how many detached duty staff of which grade in each month since December 2013.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

  • Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers have been deported from the United Kingdom over the last five years.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    It is not possible to provide information on the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers who have been deported from the UK, as sexual identity is not information that the Home Office centrally records.

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time for applicants for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in each region of the UK is between submission of the PIP2 form and the date of the face-to-face PIP assessment from each assessment provider.

    Mike Penning

    I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby, official report, 5 March, column 850W.

    In order to manage the gap between Personal Independence Payment go-live and the first release of Official Statistics in Spring 2014, we are assessing whether we can release some further information. If the quality assurance of this information shows that it is sufficiently robust and reliable then we will publish it via ad-hoc statistical releases.

  • Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to review electoral law in Northern Ireland in relation to postal voting; what are the major differences from the law in England; and whether they have any plans to enable those over 80 years of age, on application and verification, to have automatic permanent postal votes.

    Baroness Randerson

    The system of postal voting in Northern Ireland is kept under regular review, both by the Government and the Chief Electoral Officer and Electoral Commission. Legislative amendments will be brought forward shortly with the introduction of anonymous registration which will permit electors with an anonymous entry on the electoral register to vote by post. These provisions will come into force on 15 September 2014.

    Postal votes are issued to electors in Northern Ireland who are unable to vote in person at their polling station on Election Day as a result of certain specified conditions. These conditions relate to disability, work or study circumstances. This is different to Great Britain where postal voting is offered on demand and electors are not required to provide a reason for why they are unable to vote in person.

    There are no plans to enable those over 80 years of age to have automatic permanent postal votes. However, permanent postal votes are available to all electors who are unable to attend their polling station on a permanent or long-term basis on the grounds of disability; their (or their husband’s, wife’s or civil partner’s) work; or their (or their husband’s, wife’s or civil partner’s) studies.

  • Lord Pendry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Pendry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of British Cycling’s Time to Choose Cycling campaign, what progress has been made in promoting cycling as a safe and viable transport method around the United Kingdom.

    Baroness Kramer

    Cycling is normal and fun and we are committed to making it a safer travel choice so more people can appreciate the benefits of physical activity. Cycling can help tackle congestion, reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality.

    In August last year the Prime Minister set out his ambition for increasing cycling. This included £94 million for Cycling Ambition Grants which covered eight cities and four National Parks across England. These eight cities all have ambitious targets to increase cycling over the coming years.

    In addition, we have invested £15 million for cycling and walking links in communities and almost £15 million for cycling infrastructure at rail stations – our rail funding has been the major enabler in doubling the amount of cycle-rail facilities at stations since 2009. We also continue to support Bikeability training for children – we provide funding of up to £40 per training place – over a million children have been trained.

    Finally, to help realise the Prime Minister’s ambition for cycling, we are working with stakeholders and Government to produce a Cycling Delivery Plan for publication later this year.

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

    Lord Beecham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in how many cases since the passage of the Justice and Security Act 2013 the public interest immunity procedure has been invoked; and how much compensation has been paid as a result.

    Lord Faulks

    The Public Interest Immunity procedure may be used in a wide variety of court proceedings and as such no central record exists of its application.

  • The Duke of Montrose – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Duke of Montrose – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Duke of Montrose on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any countries have outstanding applications for membership of the European Union and which they are; how many countries having applied are pending recognition that they have reached the level of compliance required under Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union; and whether any precedence will be given to applicants based on the date when they are recognised as having reached the compliance criteria.

    Baroness Warsi

    Five countries currently have the status of a ‘candidate’ for membership of the EU. Of these, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are currently in accession negotiations. Iceland has suspended its accession negotiations. Macedonia is a candidate country but has not yet opened accession negotiations. Negotiations are opened on the basis that countries have achieved a high degree of compliance with the membership criteria, including respect for the values referred to in Article 2 Treaty on EU (TEU).

    Albania has also submitted an application for EU membership. It did this in 2009. The Council is considering Albania’s application in light of assessments prepared by the Commission.

    Each aspiring country’s progress towards the European Union depends on its individual efforts to comply fully with the Copenhagen criteria for accession and broader enlargement conditionality. No precedence is given to applicants based on the date they have been recognised as having reached the criteria for opening accession negotiations.

    The UK continues to be a strong supporter of enlargement based on firm-but-fair conditionality. Countries should proceed strictly on merit, with full adherence to the necessary conditionality before accession.