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  • 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 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, what recent amendments have been made to Crown Prosecution Service guidance on (a) when to disclose the defence medical records and counselling notes of victims and (b) what action to take if victims do not consent to disclosure.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revised its Rape and Sexual Offence legal guidance in relation to disclosure of medical records and counselling notes on 12 December 2013. The revised guidance included guidance on both a) when to disclose to the defence medical records and counselling notes of victims and (b) what action to take if victims do not consent to disclosure. The revised legal guidance is published on the CPS website at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/rape_and_sexual_offences/disclosure_and_third_party_material/

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  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of current tools available to enforcement officers to take swift action in tackling food fraud.

    Jane Ellison

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) works with local authority enforcement officers to ensure that food law is applied across the entire food chain. Direction and guidance on the approach that local authority food law regulatory services should take is given in the statutory Food Law Code of Practice (the Code). The FSA regularly assesses the effectiveness of tools available to these enforcement officers through undertaking audit of local authorities’ enforcement services, reviewing the Code and ensuring lessons are learnt from major incidents.

    The Code sets out instructions and criteria to which the authorities must have regard and is periodically reviewed to ensure that it reflects current enforcement practices and supports local authorities’ delivery of their official control obligations and that enforcement is consistent, effective and proportionate.

    The FSA provides specific tools to support local authorities with investigations relating to potential food fraud. The FSA operates the Food Fraud Database, which utilises specialist intelligence management software to record intelligence reports and identify links, and uses this to assist local investigations. The FSA also provides local authorities with financial support through its Fighting Fund, expert advice through its Food Fraud Advisory Unit and holds dedicated training courses for enforcement officers.

    In addition, the FSA is building an enhanced intelligence gathering network to increase the opportunity to capture and act on intelligence which may be indicative of future risks relating to food fraud, as well as producing strategic and tactical assessments to share with relevant enforcement agencies.

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

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received from train operating companies on the performance of the Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Services system.

    Stephen Hammond

    We have received no recent representations from train operating companies on the performance of the Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Services system.

  • Karen Lumley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karen Lumley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many middle schools there are in England; and how many of those schools are academies.

    Mr David Laws

    There are 190 schools in England that are recorded on Edubase, the Department’s database of education providers, as being middle schools. Of these, 59 are converter academies and three are sponsored academies.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the potential effect on levels of passenger ticket revenue of London Midland’s proposal to reduce the number of revenue protection staff.

    Stephen Hammond

    London Midland is not currently in receipt of revenue support. Unless revenue was to fall to such an extent that they were to be eligible for such payments, the revenue during this franchise term is entirely its risk. London Midland has assured us that their staff restructuring plans will not prevent them fulfilling their obligations in meeting the requirements of the Franchise Agreement. Therefore, unless revenue was to fall to the extent that London Midland were eligible for revenue support payments, no further assessment is planned.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to ensure that there is no excessive delay in issuing passports.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    As My Rt. Hon. Friend the Home Secretary explained in the House on 12 June, we have agreed a range of measures to deal with the current high levels of demand for passports. I refer the noble Lord to the answer given on 12 June 2014, Official Report, columns 693 and 694.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 13 May (WA 467), whether the annual gross income of charities included contributions from central government; and, if so, what was their total contribution.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Central government does contribute to the total income of registered charities, but the Charity Commission does not keep figures on this. According to the 2014 UK Voluntary Sector Almanac, published by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, in 2011/12 voluntary sector organisations received over £5.9 billion of central government and NHS funding.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to make legal aid-funded immigration representation available to migrants detained in HMP The Verne.

    Lord Faulks

    Currently, advice on immigration matters within the scope of Legal Aid can be given to detainees in HMP The Verne by any provider that holds an Immigration & Asylum contract with the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).

    Earlier this year the LAA conducted an expression of interest exercise among existing contract holders providing immigration surgeries at other Immigration Removal Centres, with four providers confirmed as interested in operating surgeries in HMP The Verne. Communications will be issued shortly regarding when these services are likely to commence.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering the award of a United Kingdom national defence medal for Her Majesty’s armed forces personnel who have served since the end of the Second World War; and, if not, why not.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Sir John Holmes was invited to undertake further work to implement the recommendations set out in his Military Medals Review, published on 17 July 2012. This included a review of the case for some form of National Defence Medal, to recognise all military service. Work on this has begun, but – as Sir John noted in his report of July 2012 – the National Defence Medal is an issue of broad national significance which would require a broad political and public consensus and consideration by the government as a whole, in consultation with other political parties and concerned organisations.

  • Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Steel of Aikwood on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the conduct of the recent census in Burma.

    Baroness Warsi

    The UK (through the Department for International Development) joined an international effort to provide funding to the census in 2014 because it will be a critical step in the country’s development process, underpinning better planning and delivery of vital services and infrastructure, such as schools, roads and hospitals.

    The UK, UN and other international donors argued strongly for the right of all people to be enumerated fairly and to be able, where necessary, to self-identify their ethnicity in the census. In most areas where the census was conducted, self-identification was permitted. We were deeply disappointed that, in the case of the Rohingya, the Burmese government contravened its long-standing assurance that all individuals would have the right to self-identify their ethnic origin. We have been clear that this decision is contrary to international norms and standards on census conduct. The Minister of State, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), summoned the Burmese Ambassador on 7 April to make these concerns clear.

    Reports from independent international observers of the census suggest that, with the exception of Rakhine and parts of Kachin state, the enumeration process appears to have been largely carried out effectively. We continue to closely monitor the process.