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  • Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of an increase in the need for court reports arising from his Transforming Rehabilitation agenda on the workload of court staff.

    Jeremy Wright

    We do not anticipate that Transforming Rehabilitation will have a substantial impact on the number of pre-sentence reports written. The National Probation Service (NPS) will continue to offer same-day reports where possible and to work closely with the Courts to minimise adjournments.

    By expanding post-release supervision for those sentenced to under 12-months, this cohort of offenders will now benefit from rehabilitative activity who were previously excluded, but this will not impact on pre-sentence Court activity.

    The new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the NPS and complements the pre-sentence report process. The RSR is straightforward to use and will support the identification of the likelihood of an offender committing serious re-offending in the future. We will ensure that CRCs work closely with the NPS so that cases are brought before the courts speedily and effectively.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the results were of the Metropolitan Police investigation into the death of an unnamed woman in Slough on 21 January 2012 following an abortion performed by Marie Stopes International.

    Damian Green

    The Government does not comment on the investigation of individual cases as
    these are the operational responsibility of the respective police force
    involved.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints about abortion clinics were made to the Care Quality Commission in the last 12 months.

    Jane Ellison

    This information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    Responsibility for investigating specific complaints about providers lies with other bodies; however the Care Quality Commission uses comments and correspondence from the public to inform its inspection and other regulatory functions.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on in vitro fertilisation, if he will provide specific references to the available evidence that no genomic DNA is found in the mitochondria but only in the cell nucleus; how their consideration that mitochondrial DNA is not part of the genome relates to the presentation of data on the human genome in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases; what precise genetic modifications are applied to the eggs or embryos that would prevent any nuclear DNA from the egg or embryo donors from being inherited by the resulting child; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    We have been advised by the Wellcome Trust that whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing has revealed no evidence of nuclear genomic DNA inside mitochondria and data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases confirms that there is no nuclear genomic DNA in the mitochondria.

    Inheritance of nuclear DNA from the donor egg is prevented in the Maternal Spindle Transfer technique through the removal of the spindle from the donor egg. Given that the nuclear DNA in the form of condensed chromosomes is attached to the spindle, nuclear genomic DNA from the donor will be removed and not inherited by the resulting child. Techniques that allow the visualisation of condensed chromosomes in eggs are used to ensure that all the chromosomes are removed.

    For embryos used in the Pronuclear Transfer technique, the nuclear genomic DNA is enclosed within the nuclear membrane of the maternal (egg-derived) and paternal (sperm-derived) pronuclei. The donor nuclear genomic DNA will be removed when the pronuclei are removed.

    There is no universally agreed definition of genetic modification in humans. The Government has adopted a working definition for the purpose of taking forward the draft mitochondrial donation regulations, that genetic modification involves the germ-line modification of nuclear DNA that can be passed on to future generations. Therefore, the Government does not accept that mitochondrial donation amounts to genetic modification.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 238W, on abortion and 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 31W, on abortion, if he will make it his policy that his Department collects data on the number of (a) neonatal deaths following a legal termination of pregnancy, (b) foetuses that show signs of life following an attempted termination and (c) such foetuses registered as live births; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department has no plans to collect this data.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women suffered health complications following abortion procedures in 2012.

    Jane Ellison

    Statistics for abortion, including complications arising from abortions, are published annually. A copy of the latest report Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2012 has already been placed in the Library.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in Brigg and Goole constituency that will be issued with staging dates for automatic enrolment between 1 April 2014 and 1 April 2015.

    Steve Webb

    I refer the hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave the hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon Julian Smith on 30 April, Official Report, Column 729W.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many police cautions were issued in Brigg and Goole constituency in each of the last five years.

    Damian Green

    Information on cautions is not held by parliamentary constituency

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of the 50 initial preferred bidders for probation services remain in the competition.

    Jeremy Wright

    We have a robust and diverse market. In mid December 2013, the bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to win the regional rehabilitation contracts were announced. That list included a mix of private and voluntary sector partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented. A list of the bidders who have been successful at this stage can be found at:

    https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition

    The process to award Community Rehabilitation Company contracts is ongoing and the details of which bidders remain in the competition is commercially sensitive information. The contract winners for each Community Rehabilitation Company will be announced by the end of 2014.

    “

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) his Department and (b) the Probation Service has experienced problems in accessing the Risk of Serious Recidivism Predictor Tool to date.

    Jeremy Wright

    We are carrying out extensive local testing of the key elements of the new Transforming Rehabilitation systems across a number of Probation Trusts. Findings are helping us to refine the associated tools and guidance. We have now completed testing of the new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool, which will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the National Probation Service (NPS). Our testing with operational staff in Trusts indicates that the tool is straightforward to use, in line with our commitment to minimising bureaucracy for frontline staff.

    We have begun the roll out of the current version of the tool to all Trusts.