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  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether introducing an elected mayor will be a requirement of all future devolution deals with combined authorities.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Development of devolution deals is a bottom up process, in which areas bring us their proposals for the powers and budgets they want devolved to them. The accompanying governance arrangements they propose to support those powers and budgets must be commensurate with the scale of devolution they are seeking.

    Elected mayors provide that strong, single point of accountability which is essential for any devolution deal of the scale and ambition of the deals we have announced for Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley and the North East.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with Vivarail, train operating companies, and Passenger Transport Executives on the potential use of D-trains (class 230), and for which areas or services.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The deployment of rolling stock is a matter for train operators.

    Department for Transport officials have met with Vivarail to understand their proposals for the refurbishment of D78-Stock. Along with other industry stakeholders, officials have visited Vivarail’s facilities at the Long Marston Depot.

    The Great Western Railway franchise includes a commitment for the operator to carry out initial feasibility studies in respect of a number of potential projects, and one of these is into the use of D-Class trains.

    Vivarail is a private sector company that has developed these proposals at its own risk.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of, and what conclusions they have drawn from, the report by JMP Consultants Ltd for the Passenger Transport Executive Group Destination Growth: the Case for Britain’s Regional Railways.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Passenger Transport Executive Group’s Destination Growth report is a useful contribution to the research that underpins the case for Britain’s Regional Railways.

    The Government is investing record amounts in building a world-class rail network across Great Britain, helping to create jobs, boost businesses, and secure long-term economic growth in every part of the country.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the fly-tipping statistics for England 2014–15, and what action they will take in response to them.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The 2014/15 fly-tipping statistics showed that there were 900,000 reported fly-tipping incidents in England.

    Tackling fly-tipping is a priority for the Government. As set out in our manifesto we will be giving councils the power to tackle small scale fly-tipping through penalty notices as an alternative to prosecutions in spring 2016.

    These steps will build on other action we have taken, including working with the Sentencing Council to strengthen its Guideline for sentencing for environmental offences, which came into force on 1 July last year; making it easier for vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime to be stopped, searched and seized; and continuing to work in partnership with others through the Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, to promote and disseminate good practice in the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipped waste.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new rules for English Votes for English Laws relating to votes on matters that have been returned from the House of Lords to the House of Commons during parliamentary ping-pong will allow for amendments to, and substitution of, Lords amendments, as well as the rejection of Lords amendments.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    Members of the House of Commons will continue to be able to table amendments to, and suggest the substitution or rejection of, Lords amendments, as they can now.

  • Lord Cashman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Cashman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Cashman on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific plans they have to ensure that plans to deliver the Global Goals for sustainable development agreed by the UN in September take account of the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

    Baroness Verma

    The Global Goals for Sustainable Development offer a historic opportunity to eradicate extreme poverty and ensure no one is left behind. To realise this opportunity we will prioritise the interests of the world’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged people including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

    The UK will listen and respond to the voices of those left furthest behind, such as LGBTI people; hold ourselves and each other accountable for designing policies and building inclusive institutions; take steps to enable all LGBTI people to have opportunity and reach their full potential; challenge the social barriers that deny people opportunity and limit their potential, including discrimination and exclusion based on sexual identity, and, support a data revolution to assess whether targets are being met by all LGBTI peoples.

    A note describing DFID’s specific approach to LGBTI rights, will be published on UK Government website by the end of 2015.

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many places in category D prisons in England and Wales were occupied by prisoners in each month since January 2013.

    Lord Faulks

    Progression to open prisons is never automatic, and prisoners must generally be within two years of release before they can be considered for allocation. Public protection is paramount, only those prisoners who are assessed as low risk of escape/abscond and low risk of causing harm to the public are transferred to an open prison.

    The following table shows the number of category D places that were available and occupied by prisoners in open prisons in England and Wales as at the last Friday in each month since January 2013. This information is published monthly on gov.uk

    The data above does not include the number of places available and in use in category D units in otherwise closed prisons.

    Breakdown of the population and capacity of the dedicated open estate from

    January 2013 to October 2015.

    Month

    Capacity

    Population

    Jan-13

    5,131

    4,933

    Feb-13

    5,131

    4,953

    Mar-13

    5,131

    4,982

    Apr-13

    5,131

    4,993

    May-13

    5,131

    4,988

    Jun-13

    5,131

    4,981

    Jul-13

    5,131

    4,988

    Aug-13

    5,131

    4,994

    Sep-13

    5,131

    4,990

    Oct-13

    5,131

    5,005

    Nov-13

    5,203

    5,048

    Dec-13

    5,217

    4,993

    Jan-14

    5,217

    4,932

    Feb-14

    5,217

    4,994

    Mar-14

    5,217

    5,037

    Apr-14

    5,339

    5,159

    May-14

    5,339

    5,122

    Jun-14

    5,339

    5,087

    Jul-14

    5,339

    5,082

    Aug-14

    5,374

    5,011

    Sep-14

    5,374

    4,943

    Oct-14

    5,397

    4,846

    Nov-14

    5,397

    4,814

    Dec-14

    5,397

    4,759

    Jan-15

    5,405

    4,666

    Feb-15

    5,329

    4,680

    Mar-15

    5,131

    4,691

    Apr-15

    5,453

    4,922

    May-15

    5,468

    4,876

    Jun-15

    5,544

    5,020

    Jul-15

    5,569

    5,019

    Aug-15

    5,569

    5,062

    Sep-15

    5,520

    5,076

    Oct-15

    5,550

    5,127

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many places in category D prisons were available in England and Wales in each month since January 2013.

    Lord Faulks

    Progression to open prisons is never automatic, and prisoners must generally be within two years of release before they can be considered for allocation. Public protection is paramount, only those prisoners who are assessed as low risk of escape/abscond and low risk of causing harm to the public are transferred to an open prison.

    The following table shows the number of category D places that were available and occupied by prisoners in open prisons in England and Wales as at the last Friday in each month since January 2013. This information is published monthly on gov.uk

    The data above does not include the number of places available and in use in category D units in otherwise closed prisons.

    Breakdown of the population and capacity of the dedicated open estate from

    January 2013 to October 2015.

    Month

    Capacity

    Population

    Jan-13

    5,131

    4,933

    Feb-13

    5,131

    4,953

    Mar-13

    5,131

    4,982

    Apr-13

    5,131

    4,993

    May-13

    5,131

    4,988

    Jun-13

    5,131

    4,981

    Jul-13

    5,131

    4,988

    Aug-13

    5,131

    4,994

    Sep-13

    5,131

    4,990

    Oct-13

    5,131

    5,005

    Nov-13

    5,203

    5,048

    Dec-13

    5,217

    4,993

    Jan-14

    5,217

    4,932

    Feb-14

    5,217

    4,994

    Mar-14

    5,217

    5,037

    Apr-14

    5,339

    5,159

    May-14

    5,339

    5,122

    Jun-14

    5,339

    5,087

    Jul-14

    5,339

    5,082

    Aug-14

    5,374

    5,011

    Sep-14

    5,374

    4,943

    Oct-14

    5,397

    4,846

    Nov-14

    5,397

    4,814

    Dec-14

    5,397

    4,759

    Jan-15

    5,405

    4,666

    Feb-15

    5,329

    4,680

    Mar-15

    5,131

    4,691

    Apr-15

    5,453

    4,922

    May-15

    5,468

    4,876

    Jun-15

    5,544

    5,020

    Jul-15

    5,569

    5,019

    Aug-15

    5,569

    5,062

    Sep-15

    5,520

    5,076

    Oct-15

    5,550

    5,127

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many people were granted release on temporary licence, and (2) what type of licence was granted in each prison establishment, in each month since January 2013.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice collates data on incidences of release on temporary licence (ROTL) rather than on decisions to grant ROTL. A decision to grant ROTL can relate to a single incidence of release, or to more than one incidence of release where, for example, an offender is regularly working in the community on day release. Annual statistics on the numbers of individuals granted ROTL is published on the gov.uk website.

    The attached tables provide the following information:

    Table 1: The number of individuals released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison;

    Table 2: Incidences of release on temporary licence per month between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison and by type of licence;

    Table 3: The number of individuals aged 50 to 59, and 60 and over released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015.

    The Ministry of Justice collates data relating to the number of individuals released on temporary licence on a quarterly basis: it would only be possible to provide monthly data at disproportionate cost.

    Following changes to ROTL in 2013, there has been a 39% reduction in recorded instances of ROTL failure. This is the lowest failure rate since 2002.

    ROTL can be an important tool to help rehabilitate prisoners. ROTL is not automatic, but is only granted following rigorous assessment and with public protection as a primary consideration. The Government supports prisoners using temporary release to take work, training and educational opportunities that cannot be provided in prison, as well as for maintaining ties with their families.

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many decisions to grant release on temporary licence were made, and (2) what type of licence was granted in each prison establishment, in each month since January 2013.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice collates data on incidences of release on temporary licence (ROTL) rather than on decisions to grant ROTL. A decision to grant ROTL can relate to a single incidence of release, or to more than one incidence of release where, for example, an offender is regularly working in the community on day release. Annual statistics on the numbers of individuals granted ROTL is published on the gov.uk website.

    The attached tables provide the following information:

    Table 1: The number of individuals released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison;

    Table 2: Incidences of release on temporary licence per month between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison and by type of licence;

    Table 3: The number of individuals aged 50 to 59, and 60 and over released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015.

    The Ministry of Justice collates data relating to the number of individuals released on temporary licence on a quarterly basis: it would only be possible to provide monthly data at disproportionate cost.

    Following changes to ROTL in 2013, there has been a 39% reduction in recorded instances of ROTL failure. This is the lowest failure rate since 2002.

    ROTL can be an important tool to help rehabilitate prisoners. ROTL is not automatic, but is only granted following rigorous assessment and with public protection as a primary consideration. The Government supports prisoners using temporary release to take work, training and educational opportunities that cannot be provided in prison, as well as for maintaining ties with their families.