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  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the number of counter-terrorism officials in the West Midlands; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr John Hayes

    The level and distribution of counter-terrorism resources across the country is informed by advice from the police and security and intelligence agencies on assessments of what is needed to counter the threat. This is regularly kept under review. For security reasons we do not publish a breakdown of counter-terrorism resources by region.

    In the Spending Round 2013, specific funding for counter-terrorism policing was protected at £564.3 million for each of the years 2014-15 and 2015-16. We are also providing an additional £14.9 million in 2015-16 to the police to strengthen capabilities in response to the increased threat from terrorism.

    In the Summer Budget on 8 July, we committed to protecting overall counter-terrorism spending across the course of the next Spending Review Period. On 16 November we said we would go further. Through the Strategic Defence and Security Review, we will make new funding available for the security and intelligence agencies to provide for an additional 1,900 officers – an increase of 15% – to better respond to the threat we face from international terrorism, cyber-attacks and other global risks.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the National Group on Sexual Violence Against Children and Vulnerable People has made on establishing a Child Sexual Exploitation Response Unit; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The actions which stemmed from the National Group’s work have been incorporated into a cross-Whitehall CSA Programme which includes the actions from the “Tackling CSE” report published in March 2015, and the WeProtect Summit in December 2014.

    Good progress is being made across the range of commitments in the CSA Programme, including that to establish a new national response unit to help local areas when child sexual exploitation is a particular concern. The Government will publish a progress report on all actions within the Programme one year on from the publication of “Tackling CSE”.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from (a) EU and (b) non-EU countries who have been classified as homeless have been returned to their home countries in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not record information in relation to homelessness. We do encounter rough sleepers during enforcement operations and, depending on the individual circumstances, non-UK rough sleepers can be removed or deported. In these situations, the Immigration Enforcement teams will ensure that vulnerable individuals are also connected to support services in their home countries.

    For vulnerable individuals who are sleeping rough on the streets, there are locally funded reconnection services they can approach voluntarily to help them return to their home countries voluntarily and connect into support services there. We do not hold data on those who are returned using this service.

    Therefore, any information we hold does not provide a complete and accurate picture of those who have returned home.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provisions are in place to safeguard the welfare of pregnant women in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre.

    James Brokenshire

    Pregnant women are not normally detained. The only exceptions to this general rule are where removal is imminent and medical advice does not suggest the woman’s baby is due before the expected removal date.

    Fitness to travel by air is assessed on a case by case basis using guidance from the International Air Transportation Association (IATA). The guidance states that for a single, uncomplicated pregnancy, travel could be appropriate without a medical certificate up to 37 weeks.

    Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre has a dedicated Care Suite that offers enhanced care to vulnerable and pregnant women, staffed by a dedicated female member of staff. Midwives from NHS Bedford Hospital Trust visit the centre once a week and the centre’s GP or nurses can be accessed 7 days a week and can refer any specific concerns to the ante natal clinic, Early Pregnancy Unit in hospital or other appropriate service if necessary. The centre also has a Pregnancy Liaison Officer who provides a range of support and welfare services to pregnant detainees.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ratify the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

    Karen Bradley

    The previous Government signed the Istanbul Convention in June 2012 and this Government remains committed to its ratification.

    The UK already complies with the vast majority of the articles through our comprehensive work to protect women and girls from violence, including criminalising forced marriage as required by the Convention. However, primary legislation will be required to comply with the extra-territorial jurisdiction provisions in Article 44 of the Convention before ratification. The Government is liaising with the devolved administrations about ratification, including any further legislative steps necessary.

    The Government takes its international commitments very seriously and will only commit to such ratification when we are absolutely satisfied that we comply with all articles. We will continue to lead efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, end Female Genital Mutilation and combat early and forced marriage, both at home and abroad.

  • Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department plans to allocate to domestic and sexual violence support services after April 2016; and for how long she plans for that funding to be available.

    Karen Bradley

    Tackling violence against women and girls remains a priority for this Government. Allocation of funding for domestic and sexual violence support services is dependent on the outcome of the Spending Review.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of compliance by doctors with the four-week recommended maximum prescribing period for benzodiazepines and z drugs since 2011.

    George Freeman

    No assessment has been made of compliance by doctors with the four-week recommended maximum prescribing period for benzodiazepines and z drugs since 2011. Guidance on the prescribing of benzodiazepines and “z” drugs can be found in the British National Formulary.

  • Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has considered referring the junior doctors’ contract dispute to ACAS.

    Ben Gummer

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is not ruling out conciliation – however, we believe it is still possible to have meaningful talks. We have already sought independent views on contract reform – having asked the independent Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists Remuneration (DDRB) for recommendations which formed the basis of our offer, an offer which the British Medical Association have so far refused to talk about. Both the BMA and the Government gave evidence to the DDRB. We continue to urge the BMA to come back round the table, and there are no preconditions to any talks, though of course the Government reserves the right to make changes to contracts if no progress is made on the issues preventing a truly 7 day NHS. That was promised in the manifesto and endorsed by the British people at the last election.

    The DDRB made 23 recommendations and proposed that these should be the basis for national level negotiations between the BMA and NHS Employers, which the Government accepted. The DDRB’s report was published in July this year.

    The BMA has refused to accept these independent recommendations as the basis for negotiations. The Government continues to urge the BMA to return to talks and to work in partnership with NHS Employers to agree a new contract that works for junior doctors and patients.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to extend the remit of the Care Quality Commission to include the regulation of all day centres; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 all providers of regulated activities, have to register with CQC and meet a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall.

    The Department is responsible for setting in legislation both the scope of registration and the fundamental standards that registered providers must meet. These are set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

    The scope of registration is proportionate to risk and based on the activity being carried out rather than the setting. Day centres that carry on a regulated activity are required to register with CQC and to meet the fundamental standards. In most instances they will be registered to provide the regulated activity of personal care.

    The Department keeps the regulated activities under review to ensure that regulation by CQC is focused on those areas where the risks to service users are greatest. The Department has no current plans to require all providers of day centres to register with CQC.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of adults with learning disabilities using day centres which are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not collect information about the number of complaints received or the number of adults with learning disabilities using day centres. Day centres are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission.