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  • Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission work to compare the cost and success of hard shoulder running on smart motorways with the Siemens eHighway.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Highways Agency is not considering undertaking work to compare the cost and success of hard-shoulder running on smart motorways with the Siemens eHighway. Smart motorways provide primarily congestion management for all vehicles whereas the Siemens eHighway focuses on freight traffic and the associated environmental benefits in terms of Nitrous Oxide and Carbon Dioxide reduction. Whilst costs could be compared the two approaches have significantly different objectives and outcomes.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which secure units young people ordinarily resident in Scotland have been accommodated in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    The Youth Justice Board (YJB) are responsible for placing young people under 18 years of age in custody in England and Wales, and make every effort to place them as close to home as possible. The appropriate placement of young people into the secure estate is undertaken on a case-by-case basis and is based upon a combination of factors unique to each young person entering custody.

    According to the most recent snapshot of data held by the National Offenders Management Service (NOMS), taken in September 2014, there was one young person ordinarily resident in Scotland being accommodated in an under-18 Young Offender Institution in England and Wales. Information about where this young person was held cannot be disclosed as this could possibly result in the identification of the offender, which could lead to a potential breach of the Data Protection Act.

    In snapshots taken each September between 2010 and 2013, there were no young people ordinarily resident in Scotland being accommodated in under-18s Young Offender Institutions in England and Wales. There is no data held for Secure Children’s Homes and Secure Training Centres.

    There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State and the Scottish Government on the accommodation of young people from Scotland in the youth secure estate in England.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people ordinarily resident in Scotland have been accommodated in secure units in England in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    The following table shows the number of male and female prisoners held in prisons or young offender institutions, who have a reported home address in Scotland in each September since 2010.

    Number of male and female prisoners who have a reported home address in Scotland, in each September since 2010.

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    95

    108

    98

    112

    111

    Information on offenders is provided by them on reception in prison and recorded on a central IT system. Reported addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or the address of their next of kin. No address has been reported and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders and therefore these figures are excluded from the answer.

    Note: secure units are defined here as prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales. Information on individuals held in secure training centres, secure children’s homes and in secure mental health units are not included in this answer.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the accommodation of young people from Scotland in secure units in England.

    Andrew Selous

    The Youth Justice Board (YJB) are responsible for placing young people under 18 years of age in custody in England and Wales, and make every effort to place them as close to home as possible. The appropriate placement of young people into the secure estate is undertaken on a case-by-case basis and is based upon a combination of factors unique to each young person entering custody.

    According to the most recent snapshot of data held by the National Offenders Management Service (NOMS), taken in September 2014, there was one young person ordinarily resident in Scotland being accommodated in an under-18 Young Offender Institution in England and Wales. Information about where this young person was held cannot be disclosed as this could possibly result in the identification of the offender, which could lead to a potential breach of the Data Protection Act.

    In snapshots taken each September between 2010 and 2013, there were no young people ordinarily resident in Scotland being accommodated in under-18s Young Offender Institutions in England and Wales. There is no data held for Secure Children’s Homes and Secure Training Centres.

    There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State and the Scottish Government on the accommodation of young people from Scotland in the youth secure estate in England.

  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will include Kincora Boys’ Home in the independent inquiry into historical child sex abuse, established by the Home Office, in order to allow potential witnesses not to be constrained by the Official Secrets Act.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    It remains my view that the inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Hart is the best forum to consider the allegations surrounding Kincora.

    As you may be aware the Attorney General for England and Wales has written to the Chairman of the Inquiry and provided an undertaking in the usual format about the admissibility and use of evidence given by a witness who co-operates with the Inquiry. This undertaking covers any offences arising under the Official Secrets Act.

  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether it remains her policy that the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Hart is the most appropriate place where all allegations surrounding Kincora should be examined.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    It remains my view that the Inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Hart is the best forum to consider the allegations surrounding Kincora.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect the four per cent year-in-year efficiency savings requirement has had on (a) staffing levels, (b) patient care and (c) waiting times in NHS trusts.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The 2010 Spending Review protected health funding in real terms. However, in order to continue to meet rising demands from an ageing population while improving services, NHS Leaders estimated that up to £20 billion of efficiency savings would be required over the four years from 2011-12 to 2014-15.

    The NHS is on track to deliver these efficiency savings, having reported around £15 billion of efficiencies in the first three years, all of which are being reinvested into frontline care and have enabled the NHS to continue to meet rapidly rising demands whilst improving the quality of care.

    There are now over 17,200 more professionally qualified clinical staff since May 2010 including:

    – over 9,000 more doctors;

    – over 3,300 more nurses, midwives and health visitors.

    In contrast, the number of central administrative staff has fallen by over 20,200.

    The NHS is experiencing high demand for many services from a growing, ageing population with complex health needs. Performance against quality measures remains high. We have put in place robust year-round operational resilience planning and performance management, backed by additional funding, to help the NHS continue to perform against the access standards.

  • Dame Tessa Jowell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dame Tessa Jowell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Tessa Jowell on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many vacant A&E consultant posts there are in (a) London and (b) England; and how many such vacant posts there are in each category in each of the last six years.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information on vacancies is not collected by the Department. The last annual National Health Service vacancy survey in England was undertaken by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2010. The survey was suspended in 2011 and then discontinued in 2013 following the publication of the Fundamental Review of Data Returns, which aimed to reduce the burden of the collection of data from NHS organisations.

    The attached table provides vacancy data for 2009 and 2010, the only two years within the last six years for which data is available.

  • Dame Tessa Jowell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dame Tessa Jowell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Tessa Jowell on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many vacant A&E consultant posts there were in the NHS excluding London (a) on the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) in each of the previous six years.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information on vacancies is not collected by the Department. The last annual National Health Service vacancy survey in England was undertaken by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2010. The survey was suspended in 2011 and then discontinued in 2013 following the publication of the Fundamental Review of Data Returns, which aimed to reduce the burden of the collection of data from NHS organisations.

    The attached table provides vacancy data for 2009 and 2010, the only two years within the last six years for which data is available.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the political situation in Bangladesh.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Government is deeply concerned about the escalating violence and disruption in Bangladesh, which affects the daily lives of its citizens. All political parties must urge restraint, an end to violence and respect for the rule of law. We have called on Bangladesh’s political parties to work together through dialogue to find a long-term solution that breaks the cycle of violence and disruption.

    The British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, along with other EU Ambassadors, met Bangladesh Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali on 14 January to express collective concerns at the ongoing violence in Bangladesh, in particular the shooting of former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Reaz Rahman and an attack on a bus in Rangpur which killed four people, including a child. They asked that the Bangladesh government investigate these crimes promptly and in accordance with the law. Our High Commissioner echoed these concerns in his statement on 14 January. I also raised these issues with the Bangladesh Minster for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in our meeting on Tuesday 20 January.