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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 20104. Official Report, columns 130-1W, on prisons: disciplinary proceedings, what the sex was of each of the 11 employees dismissed for conducting an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner; and how many employees were disciplined but not dismissed for the same misconduct in the same period, broken down by sex.

Jeremy Wright

The vast majority of Prison Service staff are honest, hard-working professionals. When a member of staff has an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner or ex prisoner, their actions fail to meet the professional standards expected of them in the course of their duty.

Corruption is taken very seriously and there is no place for it within the Prison Service. Anyone who fails to meet these standards will be dealt with swiftly and robustly."

Of the 11 employees dismissed for conducting an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner 6 were male and 5 were female.

From 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 there were a total of 6 NOMS employees disciplined for having an ‘Inappropriate Relationship with a prisoner / ex prisoner’. Of these, were 3 were male and 3 were female.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2014, Official Report, columns 244-6W, on fraud: social security benefits, how many of the convictions listed were dealt with at (a) magistrates’ courts and (b) Crown courts.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Pursuant to the answer of 9 April 2014, the number of men and women found guilty for offences relating to benefit fraud by court type in England and Wales from 2008 to2012 (latest data available) in the attached

Please note that court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice on 15th May 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 406W, on remand in custody, what proportion of the total number of defendants charged with the relevant offences the figures represent.

Jeremy Wright

The table below shows the total number of defendants proceeded against for the specified offence groups and the number of defendants who were remanded in custody, broken down by sex. It also shows the percentage of defendants remanded in custody out of the total number of defendants proceeded against for the specified offence categories.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made implementing the recommendations of Getting It Right for Victims and Witnesses, Cm 8288, published in January 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green

We have made great progress in implementing all recommendations from the ‘Getting it right for victims and witnesses’ consultation.

• From 1^st October this year the majority of support services for victims of crime will be commissioned locally by PCCs, who are best placed to understand the needs of victims in their community. MoJ are nationally commissioning a number of services for victims and witnesses, specifically the Homicide Service, the court based witness service and the rape support fund, as well as some national helplines for victims.

• Support services, whether commissioned locally or nationally, will for the first time be focused on outcomes, supporting victims to cope with the immediate impacts of crime, and as far as is possible, help them to recover.

• The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime came into force on 10 December 2013. The Code gives victims of crime clearer entitlements from the criminal justice system and tailors services to individual need so they get the right support at the right time. It also includes a section dedicated to people under 18, their parents and guardians and a separate chapter for businesses.

• We wanted to give victims a stronger voice in the criminal justice system. That is why the new Victims’ Code entitles victims to make a Victim Personal Statement to leave the in no doubt about the impact of their crime on the victim. The Code now includes an improved complaints process.

• The Government has also published the Witness Charter alongside the Victims’ Code, which demonstrates our commitment to improving all witnesses’ experience of the criminal justice system.

• We are currently piloting pre-trial cross-examination in Leeds, Liverpool and Kingston–upon–Thames Crown Courts, allowing vulnerable witnesses to give evidence in advance and sparing them from facing questioning during the trial.

• We reformed the Victim Surcharge in October 2012 to increase fines and extend it to a wider range of cases to ensure more offenders pay towards the cost of victims’ services. Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) were increased from 1 July 2013 for the same aim. A clause included in the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014 will prevent offenders sentenced in the magistrates’ courts from discharging the Surcharge as additional days in custody.

• We implemented a revised Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in November 2012 that focuses on seriously injured victims of serious crime.

• More money than ever before will be available for services to support victims of crime, with a potential total budget of up to £100m, double MOJ’s current spending of around £50m.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the level of public satisfaction in relation to the police when dealing with reports of (a) burglaries, (b) theft, (c) fraud, (d) non-domestic violence and (e) sexual offences.

Mr Nick Hurd

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are taken so that immigration officers ensure the removal of any face coverings before authorising an individual’s entry to the UK.

James Brokenshire

All passengers wearing a veil or face covering on arrival in the United Kingdom
will be asked to remove their veil so that their appearance can be compared
with the photograph in their passport. If a passenger refuses to remove their
veil they will be detained until they do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the (a) male and (b) female population who have experienced (i) all partner abuse and (ii) violent partner abuse aged (A) 16 to 19, (B) 20 to 24, (C) 25 to 34, (D) 35 to 44, (E) 45 to 54, (F) 55 to 59 and (G) over 59 years old.

Mr Nick Hurd

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who came to the UK to (a) participate in and (b) spectate at the 2012 Olympic Games who remain in the country illegally.

James Brokenshire

Close to 70,000 records of individuals who were accredited by LOCOG (London
Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) have been investigated. These
individuals were subject to immigration control. This would include athletes,
coaches, sponsors, etc. but the records do not include those who came merely to
watch the Games.

At the time of the investigations, 82 individuals had claimed asylum and 50 had
not returned but were in possession of another form of legitimate leave.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 576W, on Equality and Human Rights Commission, if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance referred to in the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Equality and Diversity Workforce Report 2010-11 which has been provided to all managers on how to manage a diverse workforce through organisational change.

Mrs Helen Grant

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and is responsible for its own staff management, including diversity training. The guidance papers requested are internal documents that were not intended for wider publication. However, I have asked the EHRC to send copies to the Hon Member.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) men and (b) women have been (i) investigated, (ii) given an administrative penalty, (iii) given a caution and (iv) convicted in court for benefit fraud since the prosecution of such cases was transferred to the Law Officers’ Department.

Oliver Heald

Allegations of benefit fraud are investigated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Administrative penalties are financial penalties, which can be offered as an alternative to prosecution, where there has been no previous fraud penalty of any form. These are issued by the DWP and Local Authorities. Cautions are issued by the Police.

The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and, reached a first hearing in magistrates’ courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted or their gender.

No central records of the prosecution outcomes of offences are held by the CPS. To obtain details of the number of people prosecuted for and convicted of offences of benefit fraud, which can be charged under various sections of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, Section 35 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 or the Fraud Act 2006, including their gender, would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.

Furthermore, cases of benefit fraud are also prosecuted by Local Authorities so any data the CPS can glean from a manual exercise would not provide a complete record.