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  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who (a) were given a non-custodial sentence and (b) were given their first custodial sentence in each year from 2004 had previously had (i) no criminal convictions, (ii) one criminal conviction, (iii) two criminal convictions, (iv) three criminal convictions, (v) four criminal convictions, (vi) five to 10 criminal convictions, (vii) 11 to 20 criminal convictions, (viii) 21 to 30 criminal convictions, (ix) 31 to 40 criminal convictions, (x) 41 to 50 criminal convictions, (xi) 51 to 75, (xii) 76 to 100 criminal convictions and (xiii) more than 100 criminal convictions.

    Jeremy Wright

    Since 2010, crime has continued to fall and fewer individuals are entering the criminal justice system for the first time. But we have a persistent hardcore of offenders being recycled round and round the criminal justice system, as these figures bear out.

    This Government is committed to tackling re-offending rates. We have reformed sentences, so that they combine both punishment and requirements that are effective at preventing further offending. We have legislated so that all community orders must now have a punitive element, and, from 2015, every offender leaving prison spends at least 12 months under supervision, where currently around 50,000 are released each year with no statutory support. We are transforming rehabilitation, by bringing together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors, and only rewarding them when they actually do reduce reoffending.

    Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of the circumstances of the case and the maximum penalty for the offence. A court may only impose a community order or a custodial sentence where the offence is imprisonable. The overwhelming majority of repeat offenders have previously received a number of custodial sentences but the large majority of previous convictions identified in the table below resulted in a fine as they were for summary non-motoring offences.

    The number of offenders who were given a non-custodial sentence in each year since 2004, broken down by their number of previous convictions, is given in Table 1. It is important to note that these figures are based only on those offences recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force, including the British Transport Police, and include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders will therefore be represented several times in the figures.

    Table 2 provides a similar breakdown for those offenders who received their first custodial sentence in each year. Again, the figures are drawn from the PNC and will include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. A large proportion of each offender’s criminal history is therefore likely to include some offences for which it is not possible to receive a custodial sentence. Of those offenders who had between 76 and 100 previous convictions between the 12 months ending September 2004 and the 12 months ending September 2013, 84% of the disposals for their previous convictions were fines. This increases to 96% when you look at the offenders who had over 100 previous convictions. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders could therefore be represented several times in the figures.

    The number of offenders who have received at least one previous conviction, or indeed multiple previous convictions, before receiving their first custodial sentence has decreased under this Government.

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) cats, (b) dogs and (c) horses were retired and rehomed under European Union Directive 2010/63/EU in 2013.

    Norman Baker

    The Home Office does not hold the information requested.

    Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, authority may be given to
    re-home animals where those animals were bred or held for supply for use in
    regulated procedures, or were intended for use in regulated procedures, or have
    been used in regulated procedures. This may also apply to animals which are
    being kept under the care of the Named Veterinary Surgeon after completing
    procedures and is always contingent on our acceptance of certain reassurances
    relating to Section 17A of the Act. Records of each animal re-homed would be
    kept locally at the licensed establishment so that they can be available to
    Home Office Inspectors on request.

    European Directive 2010/63/EU, which was implemented in the UK and other Member
    States on 1 January 2013, does not provide legal grounds on which the UK can
    impose a mandatory obligation of re-homing under the Animals (Scientific
    Procedures) Act 1986. Nevertheless, we have provided guidance on re-homing
    animals in our Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures)
    Act 1983, section 5.21.

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many black and minority ethnic personnel have served in each regiment of the Army in each of the last 10 years.

    Anna Soubry

    The number of black and minority ethnic personnel serving in each Regiment of the Army in each of the last 10 years is detailed in the tables below:

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) cats, (b) dogs and (c) horses were rehomed after their release from laboratories following research in 2012.

    Norman Baker

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

    The Home Office does not hold the information requested.

    Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, authority may be given to

    re-home animals where those animals were bred or held for supply for use in

    regulated procedures, or were intended for use in regulated procedures, or have

    been used in regulated procedures. This may also apply to animals which are

    being kept under the care of the Named Veterinary Surgeon after completing

    procedures, and is always contingent on our acceptance of certain reassurances

    relating to Section 17A of the Act. Records of each animal re-homed would be

    kept locally at the licensed establishment so that they can be available to

    Home Office Inspectors on request.

    European Directive 2010/63/EU, which was implemented in the UK and other

    Member States on 1 January 2013, does not provide legal grounds on which the UK

    can impose a mandatory obligation of re-homing under the Animals (Scientific

    Procedures) Act 1986. Nevertheless, we have provided guidance on re-homing

    animals in our Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures)

    Act 1983, section 5.21.

  • Michael Meacher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Michael Meacher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Meacher on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants died in each month of the last three years (a) after attending a work capability assessment and (b) having been assessed as fit for work and then appealed, but died before that appeal was heard.

    Mike Penning

    The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Roger Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Roger Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Williams on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the Help to Buy Scheme to housing built with local affordable conditions attached.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme offers lenders the option to purchase a guarantee on mortgages where the borrower has a deposit of between 5 per cent and 20 per cent of the value of the property. A mortgage supported by the mortgage guarantee scheme works in exactly the same way as any other mortgage, but has to comply with the requirements set out in the scheme rules. In particular, the scheme rules exclude the use of the mortgage guarantee alongside other government schemes or shared ownership schemes.

    The Help to Buy: equity loan scheme is managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government and is available to all those who aspire to own a new build home, but struggle to access or afford the repayments on a low deposit mortgage. The scheme is open to first time buyers and to those looking to move up the housing ladder.

    Whilst the Government keeps all schemes, including Help to Buy, under review, the Government currently has no plans to extend the Help to Buy scheme.

    Further information about both parts of the Help to Buy scheme can be found at: http://www.helptobuy.org.uk/home.

    “

  • Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what annual percentage increases in starting rates of pay (a) lieutenant colonels, (b) majors, (c) captains, (d) lieutenants, (e) sergeants, (f) corporals and (g) privates in the Army have received since 1982.

    Anna Soubry

    The annual percentage increases awarded by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body for the starting rates of pay of the specified ranks are shown in the table below. There was no annual percentage increase in 2011 and 2012 but all privates were awarded a £250 rise.

  • Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tessa Munt on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 132W, on radiotherapy, and with reference to section 3 of the guidance issued by Monitor on the Commissioning of Radiosurgery Services on 4 April 2014, for what reasons NHS England is not funding patients to be treated with the gamma knife at University College Hospital London.

    Jane Ellison

    Section 3 of Monitor’s substantive guidance on The National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013 provides guidance to commissioners on publishing new contract opportunities for National Health Service health care services.

    On page 42 of the guidance, it states that "a commissioner may decide to carry out a detailed review of the provision of particular services (for example, A&E services) in its local area in order to understand how those services can be improved in the interests of patients. The review may involve extensive public consultation and engagement with existing and potential providers and other stakeholders. Reviewing available services and providers in this way is good commissioning practice and something that commissioners should consider doing as a matter of course."

    In its role as commissioner, NHS England is currently undertaking such a review of stereotactic radiosurgery services. This will inform procurement decisions for these services.

    University College London Hospitals is not contracted by NHS England, nor was it contracted by former primary care trusts, to provide Gamma Knife services. It is for this reason that NHS patients cannot normally be treated at this facility. Instead, NHS patients requiring Gamma Knife treatment should be treated by the Gamma Knife services commissioned by the NHS, that have been shown to meet NHS England service specifications. These can be accessed by patients in London without a waiting time, fully maintaining the continuity of their care and normally with the same consultant and clinical team.

    Until the capacity requirements are made clear as part of the review being undertaken, NHS England has said that it would be inappropriate to encourage new market entrants to provide this service as it cannot be clear what the potential consequential impacts on service quality, sustainability (financial and clinical) and potential unintended changes to patient pathways will be. Until the review is complete NHS England has said no substantive changes will be made to the current provision.

  • Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tessa Munt on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 132W, on radiotherapy and with reference to section 3 of the guidance issued by Monitor on the Commissioning of Radiosurgery Services on 4 April 2014, which primary care trusts in the south west of England commissioned treatment with the gamma knife at University College Hospital London for patients before 1 April 2013.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has advised that no primary care trusts in the south west of England commissioned gamma knife treatment for patients at University College Hospital London before 1 April 2013.

  • Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tessa Munt on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to section 3 of the guidance issued by Monitor on the Commissioning of Radiosurgery Services on 4 April 2014, if he will require NHS England to publish the evidence on which it based its decision not to allow patients to be treated with the gamma knife at University College Hospital London.

    Jane Ellison

    Section 3 of Monitor’s substantive guidance on The National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013 provides guidance to commissioners on publishing new contract opportunities for National Health Service health care services.

    On page 42 of the guidance, it states that "a commissioner may decide to carry out a detailed review of the provision of particular services (for example, A&E services) in its local area in order to understand how those services can be improved in the interests of patients. The review may involve extensive public consultation and engagement with existing and potential providers and other stakeholders. Reviewing available services and providers in this way is good commissioning practice and something that commissioners should consider doing as a matter of course."

    In its role as commissioner, NHS England is currently undertaking such a review of stereotactic radiosurgery services. This will inform procurement decisions for these services.

    University College London Hospitals is not contracted by NHS England, nor was it contracted by former primary care trusts, to provide Gamma Knife services. It is for this reason that NHS patients cannot normally be treated at this facility. Instead, NHS patients requiring Gamma Knife treatment should be treated by the Gamma Knife services commissioned by the NHS, that have been shown to meet NHS England service specifications. These can be accessed by patients in London without a waiting time, fully maintaining the continuity of their care and normally with the same consultant and clinical team.

    Until the capacity requirements are made clear as part of the review being undertaken, NHS England has said that it would be inappropriate to encourage new market entrants to provide this service as it cannot be clear what the potential consequential impacts on service quality, sustainability (financial and clinical) and potential unintended changes to patient pathways will be. Until the review is complete NHS England has said no substantive changes will be made to the current provision.