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  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of specialist refuge places for women from black and minority ethnic communities.

    Kris Hopkins

    I have been asked to reply.

    This Department does not hold the information requested. Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities: we expect local authorities to build services based on the needs of their communities, taking account of locally available data sources.

    The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why the homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and for vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.

    There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.

    This Department funds UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.

    This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of stable funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference coordinators and 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisors. We have piloted and rolled out Clare’s Law and Domestic Violence Protection Orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will redraft the code governing detention of teenagers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to ensure that 17 year olds in custody are treated as teenagers by the police.

    Damian Green

    Following the High Court ruling in the judicial review HC vs (1) Secretary of
    State for the Home Department and (2) Commissioner of Police for the
    Metropolis, the Government made changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act
    1984 Codes of Practice C & H, which govern the treatment of detained persons in
    police custody. The changes, which came into effect on 21st October 2013, have
    the effect of requiring the police to treat 17 year olds in police custody as
    children by providing, as a matter of course, Appropriate Adults and to inform
    a person responsible for the welfare of the 17 year old of their detention.
    These changes are mandatory.

    I refer the Hon. Member to a statement made by my Rt. Hon. Friend (Damian Green) on 21st October 2013, Official Report, columns 4-6WS explaining these changes.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of which countries in Africa (a) have the highest incidence of illegal killing of wildlife and (b) have the largest illegal trade in wildlife with China.

    George Eustice

    As a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the UK supports work to monitor the illegal killing of wildlife. My Department has provided £270,000 since 2009 to support the CITES Secretariat to undertake such work, including the MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) project and ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System).

    In response to assessments made of illegal killing, the CITES Secretariat has identified the following African counties as primary source countries for ivory: Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Republic of Tanzania. Assessments have also shown that illegal killing poses a significant threat to rhinoceros populations, particularly in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

    These countries are taking action under CITES, such as producing National Ivory Action Plans, but many are going beyond this. For example,Botswana, Chad, Ethiopia, Gabon and Tanzania announced the Elephant Protection Initiative at the London Conference in February. This initiative aims to secure new funding from private and public sources for the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan. Other recent developments include Gabon announcing plans to impose new penalties for poachers and traffickers, and Ethiopia committing to destroying its ivory stockpiles.

    Further knowledge is needed about the trafficking of the products of poaching of wildlife from source countries to consumer countries, particularly in Asia. The Declaration adopted at the recent London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade took an important step forward in relation to this, with over 40 countries agreeing to undertake further assessment, initially over the next twelve months, of the markets and dynamics of the illegal wildlife trade, and the progress made in combatting it.

  • Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of employees in his Department of what (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.

    Dan Rogerson

    Information for core Defra staff is as follows.

    Grade

    Gender

    Compressed Hours

    Term Time Working

    Part Time

    AA

    Male

    Female

    0%

    0%

    0%

    0%

    0%

    60%

    AO

    Male

    Female

    0%

    0%

    2%

    1%

    2%

    14%

    EO

    Male

    Female

    1%

    2%

    0%

    1%

    2%

    18%

    HEO

    Male

    Female

    1%

    1%

    0%

    0%

    4%

    20%

    SEO

    Male

    Female

    2%

    4%

    0%

    1%

    5%

    21%

    Grade 7

    Male

    Female

    2%

    5%

    0%

    0%

    5%

    28%

    Grade 6

    Male

    Female

    5%

    5%

    0%

    0%

    10%

    21%

    SCS

    Male

    Female

    2%

    0%

    0%

    0%

    5%

    23%

    Notes:

    The term “reduced hours” has been interpreted as meaning part-time working.

    Other information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only by incurring disproportionate costs.

  • Mike Freer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mike Freer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Freer on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will commission a study on measures to accurately record incidences of mis-stunning in abattoirs.

    George Eustice

    The Food Standards Agency already records instances of mis-stunning in slaughterhouses, so a study in this area is unnecessary. Details were given by the Minister for Public Health on 24 March 2014 : Column 132W – 134W.

    http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm140324/text/140324w0005.htm#14032581000879

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in African countries about numbers of (a) elephants, (b) rhinoceroses and (c) lions in those countries.

    George Eustice

    The London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, which the Government hosted on 12-13 February, brought together 42 countries, including four Presidents of African states, to discuss the decline in numbers of elephants, rhino and other species affected by the scourge of the illegal trade in wildlife. Conference participants agreed an ambitious political declaration, containing 25 practical commitments to action that will help to eradicate the demand for wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement and support the development of sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by wildlife crime.

    Prior to the Conference, my colleague Lord de Mauley represented the UK Government at the African Elephant Summit in Botswana on 2 to 4 December 2014. This was attended by numerous government ministers from across Africa and the status of the African elephant at a continental level was discussed. During the summit, Lord de Mauley held bilateral discussions on illegal wildlife trade issues with the President of Botswana. Separately, he met with the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, to discuss the crisis facing African wildlife affected by poaching and illegal trade. The Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, also had discussions about the effects of the illegal wildlife trade on numbers of key species with the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, Professor Judy Wakhungu, during a visit to Kenya in November 2013.

  • Nigel Adams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nigel Adams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many properties built after January 2009 were flooded in winter 2013-14; and what guidance his Department issues to homeowners who are declined insurance by their provider because of risk of flooding. [R]

    Dan Rogerson

    We do not collect information on the number of properties built after January 2009 which were flooded in the winter of 2013-14. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published a “Guide to obtaining flood insurance in high risk areas” on the GOV.UK website, which sets out steps for households in flood risk areas to access appropriate insurance.

  • Iain McKenzie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Iain McKenzie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain McKenzie on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the average time it takes for householders who have installed energy efficient products in their property to recover their costs; and if he will make a statement.

    Gregory Barker

    The Department’s latest estimates for households installing energy efficient products in their property do not assume a single payback period. The time required to recover installation costs will depend on a large number of factors, specific to the household. Some of the main influencing factors are: the property’s type and size; the measures installed and their cost; the household’s pattern of energy use before the installation; the energy efficiency of the property before the installation; and whether or not there was a subsidy to contribute to the measure’s cost.

    All the Department’s take-up projections for energy efficiency measures assume that the households installing measures will recover all the installation costs, with payback ranging from 0 to 25 years.

  • Iain McKenzie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Iain McKenzie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain McKenzie on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the number of houses in the UK that have solar panels.

    Gregory Barker

    The latest published statistics show that as at the end of December 2013, there were 427,897 solar panel installations on domestic properties, representing 97 per cent of the total number of solar panels installed in GB (442,102).

    Statistics to the end of March 2014 will be published at 09:30am on Wednesday 23rd April 2014 on the DECC Statistics webpage:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics.

    “

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the number of properties in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber which do not have mains gas access and which use domestic heating oil.

    Gregory Barker

    Estimates for the number of households which do not have mains gas and which use domestic heating oil are not available. However, the number of households that did not have access to a mains gas supply in the Brigg and Goole constituency can be estimated bycombining figures for the lower layer super output areas that most closely match this area.

    In 2012, there were approximately 4,400 households (12 per cent) which had no access to mains gas.The number of households that did not have access to mains gas in Yorkshire and the Humber is estimated to be127,000 (six per cent of households within Yorkshire and the Humber).

    These data are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lsoa-estimates-of-households-not-connected-to-the-gas-network.

    “