The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what occasions prisons have relied on detached duty staff from other establishments since 1 September 2013.
Jeremy Wright
The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what books in (a) foreign languages and (b) Welsh prison libraries have.
Jeremy Wright
Prison library providers ensure that the range of reading and reference material available in each library reflects the needs and diverse nature of the prisoners held.
Prisons holding a high proportion of foreign national prisoners who are speakers of other languages offer a range of relevant texts within their libraries.
Alternatively, Prisoners can order newspapers for personal use. Prisoners cover the cost of any newspaper they personally order, Newspapers based on the needs of the population, will be available for general use in the library.
Prison libraries will facilitate a range of cultural activities such as reading and creative writing groups, special interest clubs, outreach work to families as well as exhibiting art, hosting writers, artists and speakers on subjects of interest. Additional support may be brought in from local community groups and charities.
Information about what particular foreign language and Welsh books are held within each prison library, which newspapers are stocked, and what cultural events have been organised, is not collected centrally and could only be obtained through local enquiries at each prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what cultural events have been organised in prison libraries in the last year.
Jeremy Wright
Prison library providers ensure that the range of reading and reference material available in each library reflects the needs and diverse nature of the prisoners held.
Prisons holding a high proportion of foreign national prisoners who are speakers of other languages offer a range of relevant texts within their libraries.
Alternatively, Prisoners can order newspapers for personal use. Prisoners cover the cost of any newspaper they personally order, Newspapers based on the needs of the population, will be available for general use in the library.
Prison libraries will facilitate a range of cultural activities such as reading and creative writing groups, special interest clubs, outreach work to families as well as exhibiting art, hosting writers, artists and speakers on subjects of interest. Additional support may be brought in from local community groups and charities.
Information about what particular foreign language and Welsh books are held within each prison library, which newspapers are stocked, and what cultural events have been organised, is not collected centrally and could only be obtained through local enquiries at each prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much prisoners have to pay to order a book through the inter-library loan system.
Jeremy Wright
The NOMS policy on prisoner retail allows prisoners (via prison staff) to order books from approved mail order providers. This is at the discretion of the Governor.
An inter-library loan request service, facilitated by the librarian or library assistant, enables prisoners to request books in the same way as library users in the community.
No charge is made for prisoners using the inter-library loan service. Where a special request is necessary, for example to the British Library, a charge will be made. This is consistent with the policy applied to service users in the community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria were used to determine the funding allocation for rape crisis centres for the 2014-16 period; and on what grounds the funding for Hull Rape Crisis Centre was cut.
Damian Green
This Government has committed to increasing available funding for services for victims of crime by potentially raising up to an additional £50m per year from offenders, almost doubling current funding if realised. Therefore more money than ever before will be available for services to support victims of crime, with a potential total budget of up to £100m with offenders paying a much greater share.
The 2014-2016 Female Rape Support Fund provides funding to organisations that successfully met the funds showstopper and quality criteria. The 2014-2016 Rape Support Fund has awarded funding to 80 organisations.
The Rape Support Funding is designed to be leveraged funding to cover part of each centre’s funding needs based on the annual income of each centre.
On this basis Hull Rape Crisis Centre have been awarded £20,000 for both 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what newspapers are provided in prison libraries.
Jeremy Wright
Prison library providers ensure that the range of reading and reference material available in each library reflects the needs and diverse nature of the prisoners held.
Prisons holding a high proportion of foreign national prisoners who are speakers of other languages offer a range of relevant texts within their libraries.
Alternatively, Prisoners can order newspapers for personal use. Prisoners cover the cost of any newspaper they personally order, Newspapers based on the needs of the population, will be available for general use in the library.
Prison libraries will facilitate a range of cultural activities such as reading and creative writing groups, special interest clubs, outreach work to families as well as exhibiting art, hosting writers, artists and speakers on subjects of interest. Additional support may be brought in from local community groups and charities.
Information about what particular foreign language and Welsh books are held within each prison library, which newspapers are stocked, and what cultural events have been organised, is not collected centrally and could only be obtained through local enquiries at each prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what facilities prison libraries have to help prisoners order books through the internet.
Jeremy Wright
The NOMS policy on prisoner retail allows prisoners (via prison staff) to order books from approved mail order providers. This is at the discretion of the Governor.
An inter-library loan request service, facilitated by the librarian or library assistant, enables prisoners to request books in the same way as library users in the community.
No charge is made for prisoners using the inter-library loan service. Where a special request is necessary, for example to the British Library, a charge will be made. This is consistent with the policy applied to service users in the community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many insurance fraud cases were struck out due to exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.
No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.
The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 – worth £441m – as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to reform civil procedure rules to clarify courts’ powers to strike out cases due to exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.
No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.
The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 – worth £441m – as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with agencies working within Syria on the work of the Syrian Recovery Trust Fund; and how the £3 million funding announced on 31 March will be spent.
Justine Greening
DFID and FCO officials have held discussions with a range of donors to the Trust Fund as well as the trustee, implementing partners and the National Coalition.