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  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women have been charged with child sex offences but not convicted in each of the last three years.

    Simon Hughes

    The proportion of offenders given custody for sexual offences has increased since 2003.

    The number of female defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and found guilty or not guilty at all courts for sexual offences against children, in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 (the latest data available), can be viewed in the table.

    Court Proceedings data for calendar year 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014

    Charging data is not held by the Ministry of Justice.

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many bids to the Legal Services Commission for a contract to provide publicly-funded immigration services were rejected as incomplete in the 2010 tender round.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    These questions relate to ongoing litigation against the Lord Chancellor and in the circumstances it would be inappropriate to respond at the current time.

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of changes to the number of fast delivery reports to magistrates’ courts in England and Wales after the introduction of the Transforming Rehabilitation Agenda.

    Jeremy Wright

    Pre-Sentence Reports currently fall into three categories; Standard Delivery (SDR), Fast Delivery (FDR), and Same Day (or Oral) reports. This process allows Courts the flexibility to deliver sentencing decisions in the appropriate timeframe, depending on each individual case, reducing the number of adjournments and expediting the criminal justice process.

    The Transforming Rehabilitation reforms will introduce a 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) and complements the pre-sentence report process. Our testing with operational staff in Trusts of the RSR tool indicates that it is straightforward to use, in line with our commitment to minimising bureaucracy for frontline staff.

    The new National Probation Service (NPS) will be responsible for advice to courts and, prior to sentence, the NPS will advise courts on sentencing options for cases as part of a pre-sentence report (in accordance with the reserved function of advice to court under section 4 of the Offender Management Act 2007).

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the Legal Aid Agency first informed Aman Solicitors that its bid was successful for a contract to provide publicly-funded immigration services in Luton in the 2010 tender round.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    These questions relate to ongoing litigation against the Lord Chancellor and in the circumstances it would be inappropriate to respond at the current time.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time spent in prison awaiting deportation for those foreign national prisoners beyond the end of their sentence was in the latest period for which figures are available.

    James Brokenshire

    The average length of time Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) were held in
    prison beyond the end of their sentence pending deportation, as of 31 December
    2013 is 234 calendar days. This is the mean average, calculated using the table
    shown below which was provided in response to PQ 195817.

    It should be noted that the small number of FNOs who fall in the 24-60 and 60+
    months categories (45 individuals out of 850) heavily skew the mean. By way of
    context, the modal average length of time in prison for the same cases is 32
    days.

    [INSERT PQ TABLE HERE]

    1. All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are
    therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been
    quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
    2. Figures relate to main applicants only.
    3. Figures relate to FNO cases who met the criteria for deportation only.
    4. Figures rounded to the nearest 5 ( – = 0, * = 1 or 2) and may not sum to the
    totals shown because of independent rounding.
    5. Data is a snapshot of individuals detained in prison on 31 December 2013.

    We make every effort to ensure that a person’s removal by deportation
    coincides, as far as possible, with his/her release from prison on completion
    of sentence. Where a detainee refuses to cooperate with the removal or
    deportation process, detention may be prolonged.

    The Immigration Bill will have a significant impact on the ability of FNOs to
    delay removal by mounting legal challenges whilst in the UK. The current
    appeals system means that 17 different types of decision can be appealed. The
    Immigration Bill will simplify the appeals system and mean that appeals can
    only be brought where the Home Office has refused a protection (asylum or
    humanitarian protection) claim, a human rights claim or a claim based on EU
    free movement rights. It will also give us the power to certify that where
    deportation will not cause serious irreversible harm, the appeal will be heard
    after the FNO has left the country.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to increase or lower the level of fees in the employment tribunal system.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Lord Chancellor is committed to reviewing the impact of the introduction of fees in the employment tribunals system. The Ministry of Justice is currently finalising arrangements for the timing and scope of this review, to enable the impacts to be properly assessed, and we will be making an announcement in due course.

  • Ann Coffey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ann Coffey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been with offence code (a) 21, (b) 22, (c) 23, (d) 71, (e) 72, (f) 73, (g) 74, (h) 17Z, (i) 17B, (j) 19C, (k) 19D, (l) 19E, (m) 19F, (n) 19H, (o) 20A, (p) 20B, (q) 22B and (r) 88A under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (i) in each of the Crown courts in Greater Manchester and (ii) at the lowest available level.

    Jeremy Wright

    The proportion of offenders given custody for sexual offences has increased since 2003.

    The Government takes very seriously all matters relating to the sexual abuse of children and adults. Our laws in these areas are rightly robust and clear. The 2003 Act, which came into effect in May 2004, significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales. We have already introduced automatic life sentences for a second serious sexual or violent offence, and we have announced plans to end automatic early release for child rapists, terrorists and all dangerous offenders.

    The number of offenders found guilty at the Crown Court in Greater Manchester police force area, for sexual offences with the offence codes specified from 2008 to 2012 (latest data available), can be viewed in the table.

    Court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice in May 2014.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much of the £32 million for the creation of a new catalytic fund, announced at the Nutrition for Growth summit, has been disbursed.

    Lynne Featherstone

    The new catalytic financing mechanism will aim to provide incentives to attract new private funds alongside increased domestic budgets for high impact nutrition interventions. The scope and governance of the fund is being developed with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. No funds have been disbursed. DFID will consider its own contribution once the mechanism and governance have been agreed.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of out-of-school street children in Tanzania.

    Lynne Featherstone

    DFID is the largest financier of the Global Partnership for Education and in Tanzania has supported the award of a £57m grant to implement the “Literacy and Numeracy Education Support (LANES)” programme. LANES targets the acquisition of reading, writing and numeracy skills among children in and out of school, targeting especially the marginalised.

    DFID’s programme in Tanzania provides major support to basic education. In 2013/14 £24m of education sector budget support was provided directly to the Tanzanian government. In addition a £49m programme of support commenced, to improve the overall quality of primary education in seven disadvantaged regions.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress she has made on the creation of the catalytic fund announced at the Nutrition for Growth summit.

    Lynne Featherstone

    The new catalytic financing mechanism will aim to provide incentives to attract new private funds alongside increased domestic budgets for high impact nutrition interventions. The scope and governance of the fund is being developed with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. No funds have been disbursed. DFID will consider its own contribution once the mechanism and governance have been agreed.