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  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases of alleged (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence where the alleged offending took place in the UK were referred to the Services Prosecuting Authority for a charging decision in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

    Anna Soubry

    The information requested is shown in the tables below:

    Referrals to the Service Prosecuting Authority 2010 2011 2012
    Rape (Including attempted rape) 1 6 9
    Sexual Assault 25 30 12
    Domestic Violence 8 7 5

    Prosecutions (directions) by the Service Prosecuting Authority

    		 2010 2011 2012
    Rape (Including attempted rape) 1 3 2
    Sexual Assault 13 15 9
    Domestic Violence 2 4 4

    In any given year the Service Prosecuting Authority will receive referrals which are then directed, disposed of, or tried in the following year, meaning there is no direct correlation between the numbers of cases referred and directed in any one year.

  • 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 assessment he has made of the merits of strengthening penalties for breaches of food law in reducing food fraud.

    Jane Ellison

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the competent authority for the Food Hygiene Regulations. The FSA Board has, on a number of occasions, highlighted its concern that the level of sanction imposed by the courts for food hygiene offences has not been sufficient to deter offending. The sentences imposed are often small when set against the potential profits to be accrued from non–compliance with the Regulations. The FSA would welcome the strengthening of penalties for breaches of the Food Hygiene Regulations.

    The FSA is also keen to ensure that there is consistency in sentencing for food hygiene offences. They have approached the Office of the Sentencing Council and requested that they consider producing sentencing guidelines for food hygiene offences. They are currently working with officials from the Council, who are hoping to produce draft guidelines that can be put before the full Sentencing Council.

  • Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of police staff in each police area in England and Wales have received training in sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harrassment Act 1997.

    Damian Green

    The College of Policing sets standards and provides relevant training products and services to police forces. The College of Policing training package on
    stalking has been completed 52,176 times between October 2012 and 31 May 2014 by police officers and staff in England and Wales.

    The Home Office does not hold information on the proportion of police staff in each police area in England and Wales who have received training.

  • 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 applications his Department has received from academies seeking to change their admissions policies; and how many such applications his Department accepted.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Academies can only change their admission arrangements following the procedures set out in the School Admissions Code.

    During the 2013/14 academic year the Education Funding Agency has received requests to change admissions arrangements for 8 academies. Of these, 7 were approved and 1 was withdrawn by the academy trust.

    These figures do not include applications to change admissions arrangements that form part of a request for a wider change to an academy’s funding agreement, for example extending the age range, as this data is not recorded centrally.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of prospects for successful negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme.

    Hugh Robertson

    The current negotiations with Iran are the best opportunity in years to resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme. Negotiations so far, which have built on the Geneva interim deal, have been constructive, but challenging: any deal will require Iran to take significant steps to address comprehensively our proliferation concerns. However, there remains commitment on all sides of the table to reach a deal.

  • in each case – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    in each case – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by in each case on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proposal to introduce contracts for difference auctioning has been reassessed following the European Commission’s adoption of the final state aid guidelines for environmental protection and energy for 2014–2020; if so whether they specifically considered (1) the risk of the proposal failing to conform with the Commission’s guidance that competitive bidding should be non-discriminatory due to the distinction the proposal makes between established” and “less established” technologies

    Baroness Verma

    The move to competitive allocation of CfDs has been a long-standing feature of Electricity Market Reform. In early 2014, the Government consulted on proposals to move straight to competitive allocation for some technologies. EU ‘Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020′ were adopted in principle on 9 April 2014. Prior to that adoption, the European Commission worked with member states on the development of the guidelines, including through draft versions and receiving comments.

    Implementation of key EMR policies is subject to State Aid approval, and the Government has been in discussion with the European Commission for some time to ensure our policies comply. These conversations remain constructive and we are making the strongest possible case for our policies which we believe are consistent with the new guidelines. To maintain effective working relationships with the Commission, we do not comment publicly on the specifics of cases.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any estimate of the likely financial consequences for taxpayers over the official retirement age of any merger of income tax and national insurance contributions into a single tax; and, if so, what was that estimate.

    Lord Deighton

    As set out by the Chancellor at Autumn Statement 2012, the Government will wait for further progress on planned operational changes to the tax system before formally consulting on the operational integration of income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs).

    The scope for the consultation was originally set out by the Chancellor at Budget 2011, and made it clear that the Government will not extend NICs to individuals above State Pension Age nor to other forms of income such as pensions, savings and dividends.

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

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that, following the handover of responsibility for Hillsborough Castle to Historic Royal Palaces, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will have adequate facilities to fulfil her public duties; and which areas of Hillsborough Castle will be devoted to her needs.

    Baroness Randerson

    Following the transfer of responsibility for Hillsborough Castle to Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) on 1 April 2014, a dedicated area of accommodation has been retained for occupancy by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO). HRP provides the NIO with a number of services, including the continued readiness of this area for use as a residence by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and by the Minister of State for Northern Ireland.

    The changes to the NIO’s accommodation will not impact on the ability of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to fulfil her public duties.

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

    Lord Sharkey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Ministers formally petitioned Her Majesty for the pardons granted in the 16 Northern Ireland terrorist-related cases in the years immediately after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

    Baroness Randerson

    The 16 uses of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy for Northern Ireland terrorist-related cases after the Belfast Agreement were granted between 2000 and 2002. The Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland over this period were Peter Mandelson and John Reid.

  • Lord Ashcroft – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ashcroft – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ashcroft on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 25 April 2013 (WA 447– 48), with regard to the use of Diego Garcia for rendition flights, what is the latest situation in relation to such flights.

    Baroness Warsi

    Aside from the two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory) in 2002, there have been no other instances in which US intelligence flights landed in the UK, our overseas Territories, or the Crown Dependencies, with a detainee on board since 11 September 2001.