Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the level of illegal use of cellular devices in UK prisons; and if he will make a statement.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue of mobile phones in prisons very seriously and is committed to addressing the risks they present to both the security of prisons and the safety of the public.

    NOMS has implemented a multi-layer approach: to minimise the number of mobile phones entering prisons, to find phones that do get in and to disrupt mobile phones that cannot be found. A range of technology has been rolled out to prisons to strengthen searching and security, including portable mobile phone signal detectors, Body Orifice Security Scanners (BOSS chairs), high sensitivity metal detecting wands and short range portable mobile phone blockers.

    In 2012 prisons reported 7,301 seizures* of mobile phones and/or SIM cards. All figures provided have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

    *One seizure may constitute a handset containing one SIM card or media card, a handset only, or a SIM card only.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department takes into account the differences in the positions of men and women in preparing for retirement when devising its policy on pensions.

    Steve Webb

    Yes. The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to fully meeting our legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, which is part of the Equality Act 2010. We have embedded equality analysis into the processes we use to develop, deliver and evaluate our policies, practices and services. This ensures that we continue to assess the likely and actual effects of what we do on people with protected characteristics to help inform our decision making processes.

  • 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 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many full time equivalent prison officers were employed and how many such staff were off sick at HM Prison Northumberland on Saturday 29 March 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    The information requested could not be obtained within the timescale. I will write to the Member in due course.

  • 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 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many acts of prisoner on prisoner violence there have been in HM Prison High Down in each month since September 2013.

    Jeremy Wright

    The number of assaults on staff and prisoner on prisoner assaults at HMP High Down between September 2013 and December 2013 can be found in Table 1. The monthly figures between September 2013 and December 2013 are broadly in line with the average number of assaults at HMP High Down over the last 5 years. Assault statistics by establishment are published annually in April with the latest statistics published covering up to 2013.

    There are many factors that can drive changes in the number of assaults at individual establishments from one month to the next, including changes in admissions rates and composition of the prison population. Short-term monthly figures do not give a good indication of trends, and a view over a long time period should be taken when considering trends.

    Table 1: Number of assaults, HMP High Down, September 2013 to December 2013

    September

    October

    November

    December

    Assaults on staff

    2

    3

    3

    5

    Prisoner on prisoner assaults (including fights)

    19

    11

    12

    8
  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has (a) discussed with and (b) received any representations from the Fire Brigades Union regarding the adoption of a firefighters’ pension scheme which would allow members to retire on the basis of length of service rather than age.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is reforming all public service pension schemes to ensure that they remain fair to workers and sustainable for taxpayers. The transitional protection arrangements for the firefighters’ pension schemes are set out in the Proposed Final Agreement which was published in May 2012. The transitional protections use age to calculate a member’s entitlement to protection. More firefighters are protected from changes than any other large public service workforce.

    There has been recent correspondence with the Fire Brigades Union on the scope and timing of discussions on this issue. Copies of this correspondence can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms.

    “

  • Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the proposal set out in Baroness Newlove’s report, Our Vision for Safe and Active Communities, for a Bling Back scheme where money made from selling local drug dealers’ assets is handed back to the neighbourhood.

    Karen Bradley

    There has been a scheme since 2004 whereby a proportion of the proceeds of
    crime recovered from drug dealers and other criminals are returned to law
    enforcement agencies. The money returned to law enforcement has been used to
    support a continued increase in the amounts recovered from criminals and can be
    invested in community projects.

  • Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what correspondence he has received relating to reductions in the number of podiatrists employed in each of the regions of England in each of the last three years.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified four items of correspondence about reductions in the number of podiatrists employed in England, three were received in 2012 and one was received in 2014. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.

    Following the Westminster Hall debate on 4 December 2013 about Podiatry services, secured by the hon. Member for Corby (Andy Sawford); the Chief Executive of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, wrote to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Jane Ellison) who responded to the debate, expressing concern about the reduction of podiatrists staffing levels in some areas.

    In that debate the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health explained that “in situations in which services need to be changed, the NHS commitment is to make sure decisions are made in a clear and transparent way, so that patients and the public can understand how services are planned and delivered. Through the mandate, NHS England is responsible for services and for working with local clinical commissioning groups to ensure that their services are based on the needs of the local population within the resources available and there has to be evidenced-based best practice”.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential implications of Scottish independence for the regions on either side of the English-Scottish border.

    Mr Alistair Carmichael

    I refer the Rt Hon Gentleman to the answer I gave to the Member for Penrith and The Border earlier today.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to ensure that public sector, in-house, social enterprise and not-for-profit provision are given full consideration before public services are contracted out to the private sector; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The Government believes that public service commissioners should consider all options when tendering contracts, securingbest quality service for users at the best value for taxpayers. This includes social enterprises, not-for-profit organisations and public sector mutuals.

    We have provided support through the £10 million Mutuals Support Programme, another £10 million through the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund, and also established a programme of ‘commercial masterclasses’ on the skills needed to win public sector contracts.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-04-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with banks about the closure of branches; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Treasury Ministers and officials meet with, and receive representations from, a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sector as part of the usual policymaking process. It is not Government practice to provide details of all such representations.