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The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many private and third sector bidders for privatised probation work employ ex-offenders; and of these how many employ ex-prisoners.

Jeremy Wright

In mid December, the bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to win the regional rehabilitation contracts were announced. The list includes a diverse mix of private and voluntary sector partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented – from charities experienced in tackling a range of issues affecting offenders, to small and large British businesses and experienced multinationals. All of these Tier One bidders have experience in working with offenders or across the wider Criminal Justice System.

The successful delivery of this competition does not depend on or require the Programme to hold information on how many private and third sector organisations bidding for Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) contracts employ ex-offenders or ex-prisoners. Such information would be included in bidder’s submissions if it was deemed relevant by that bidder. We have a strong and diverse market and anticipate that the bids we receive to run CRCs will be of a high standard. Providers will need to demonstrate in their bids how they would deliver high quality rehabilitative support to offenders, and they will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport renewals have been completed within the advertised three week turnaround time from receipt in the last period for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire

Straightforward passport applications from applicants in the UK have a published expected turnaround of three weeks. For the financial year 2013-14,
99.58 percent of customers received their passports within that period.

Achievement of turnaround times is a national objective and specific targets are not focused on individual offices. This approach allows HM Passport Office
to channel resources and distribute applications to meet capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what performance indicators for the renewal of existing passports have been met by each passport office administrative centre.

James Brokenshire

Straightforward passport applications from applicants in the UK have a published expected turnaround of three weeks. For the financial year 2013-14,
99.58 percent of customers received their passports within that period.

Achievement of turnaround times is a national objective and specific targets are not focused on individual offices. This approach allows HM Passport Office
to channel resources and distribute applications to meet capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, of how many local authority plans arising from which authorities he has rejected the proposed local development framework and required additional housing supply in excess of that specified in the regional spatial strategy.

Nick Boles

[Holding Reply: Monday 9 June 2014]

The Secretary of State has not rejected any Local Plan.

The Coalition Government has put Local Plans and local councils at the heart of planning. We have abolished the unpopular and ineffective top-down targets in Regional Strategies, shifting power and responsibility for housing and planning to local councils and local communities. Regional Strategies are no longer relevant for Local Plans coming forward for examination.

The Localism Act 2011 removed planning inspectors’ powers to impose changes on local authorities’ draft Local Plans. Instead, independent planning inspectors now report to the local authority and identify any conflicts between a draft Local Plan and national policy and regulatory process. They are able to recommend modifications to overcome these issues if they are asked to do so by the council itself. The local authority is free to choose to accept the inspector’s modifications and adopt the draft plan, or resubmit a new plan. This approach is aimed at encouraging a more collaborative process as the public examination proceeds.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new houses have been built in Bassetlaw district in each of the last five years.

Kris Hopkins

Statistics on house building completions in Bassetlaw District are published in the Department’s live table 253, which is available at the following link:

http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new houses are under construction in Bassetlaw district.

Kris Hopkins

The Department does not hold data centrally on the number of homes currently under construction. Data is recorded when a building is started, defined as the laying of the foundations and when the residence is completed, defined as when ready for occupation or supplied with a completion certificate. The length of time between these two points will vary and therefore we cannot know how many are currently under construction.

Statistics on house building starts in Bassetlaw District are published in the Department’s live tables 253 (annually) and 253a (quarterly), which are available at the following link:

http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

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