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  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of victims who took part in the research used in the report Everyone’s business; Improving the police response to domestic abuse were (a) male and (b) female.

    Norman Baker

    As part of its inspection of the police response to domestic violence and
    abuse, which was the basis for the report "Everyone’s business: Improving the
    police response to domestic abuse", Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
    (HMIC) held focus groups and interviews with 80 victims, of which six were male.

    HMIC also circulated an electronic self-completion victim survey to inform its
    inspection. 532 victims of domestic abuse completed the survey, of which 483
    were female, 39 were male and ten preferred not to disclose their gender.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2014, Official Report, column 372W, on driving: licensing, how many drivers who received driving convictions within their two year probation period undertook speed awareness courses in each year since 2010.

    Karen Bradley

    The number of drivers that opted for a National Driver Offender Retraining
    Scheme (NDORS) speed awareness course rather than accept penalty points on
    their driving licence in 2010 is 447,833, in 2011 is 772,180, 2012 is 926,155 and in
    2013 is 953,464. These reflect the latest updated figures.
    The offer of a speed awareness course is at the discretion of the police. To be
    deemed eligible there must be no excessive speed or other offences committed at
    the same time. Information on previous motoring convictions is not taken into
    account.
    The Department for Transport and the police are in advanced stages of
    commissioning a long term study to assess the effectiveness of speed awareness
    courses.

  • 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 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had on provision for young women aged 16 to 18 years who have been victims of domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.

    Norman Baker

    The Coalition Government recognises that young people can be victims of
    domestic violence and abuse both within the home and in their relationships. That is why in March
    2013, we extended the definition of domestic violence and abuse to include 16
    and 17 year olds, and coercive control. Our aim in extending the definition is
    to increase awareness that young people experience domestic violence and abuse,
    encouraging more of them to come forward and access the support they need. In
    March 2013, the Home Office also published a guide to assist local areas to
    consider how the extension to the definition of domestic violence and abuse may
    impact on their services and identify potential gaps and opportunities for
    working with 16-17 year olds and how to respond to cases involving young
    people.

    The Coalition Government believes it is important to invite young people to
    express their views and preferences about policies that are developed for them which is why
    we have worked with the NSPCC to establish a Young People’s Panel. The Panel
    has met four times since its inception in 2012 and their discussions have fed
    into policy development around young people and domestic violence. This
    includes commenting on the guidance for local areas following the change in
    definition, and reviewing aspects of our media campaigns.

    The Home Office has also launched its Teenage Relationship Abuse and
    Teenage Rape Prevention campaigns. The aims of the campaigns are to prevent
    teenagers from becoming victims and perpetrators of abusive relationships. It
    will encourage teenagers to re-think their views of violence, abuse or
    controlling behaviour in relationships and direct them to places for help and
    advice. The campaign is aimed at 13 to 18 year old boys in particular.

  • 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 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of moves to gender-neutral services on support for women victims of domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.

    Norman Baker

    Decisions on how best to fund services for victims of domestic violence are
    most effectively addressed at a local level based on the needs of local
    communities. This includes an assessment of the need for gender-specific
    services.

    The Home Office has received representations from voluntary sector
    organisations raising concerns about local commissioning of generic and
    gender-neutral services for victims of domestic violence. The updated Violence
    Against Women and Girls Action Plan, published on 8 March 2014, accordingly
    makes supporting effective local approaches a priority area. The Plan sets out
    clear commitments to:
    • deliver a programme of regional engagement to support all local commissioners;
    • establish a cross-Government task and finish group to drive good practice in
    the commissioning of local services; and,
    • part-fund a series of dedicated commissioning masterclasses to support the
    women’s sector to engage with the new commissioning landscape.

    Progress on supporting effective local approaches to commissioning of services
    will be monitored by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Violence Against Women and
    Girls, chaired by the Home Secretary.

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many drivers who received driving convictions undertook (a) one, (b ) two, (c) three and (d) four or more speed awareness courses in (i) 2010 to 2014 and (ii) 2005 to 2009.

    Karen Bradley

    This information is not held centrally. A motorist is prohibited from taking
    more than one speed awareness course under the national scheme within a 3 years
    period from the date of the offence.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under what endorsement codes new drivers have had their licence revoked by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency during their two year probationary period in each of the last five years.

    Stephen Hammond

    The information requested is available only from 2010 onwards because details of driving offences and/or convictions prior to this will have been removed from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) record on expiry of the endorsement – normally four years from the date of offence.

    A table has been placed in the Libraries of the House which provides a breakdown of the offence codes that resulted in the driver accumulating six penalty points or more and the driving licence being revoked under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 from 1 January 2010 to 29 March 2014.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of speed awareness courses; and what information her Department collects on speeding and driving offences committed by drivers who have undertaken such a course.

    Karen Bradley

    The number of drivers that opted for a National Driver Offender Retraining
    Scheme (NDORS) speed awareness course rather than accept penalty points on
    their driving licence in 2010 is 447,833, in 2011 is 772,180, 2012 is 926,155 and in
    2013 is 953,464. These reflect the latest updated figures.
    The offer of a speed awareness course is at the discretion of the police. To be
    deemed eligible there must be no excessive speed or other offences committed at
    the same time. Information on previous motoring convictions is not taken into
    account.
    The Department for Transport and the police are in advanced stages of
    commissioning a long term study to assess the effectiveness of speed awareness
    courses.

  • Steve Baker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve Baker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Baker on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on the deportation of Zimbabwean nationals to Zimbabwe who have no legal right to remain in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    We prefer people who have no legal basis of stay in the United Kingdom to leave voluntarily and we may offer an assistance package to help them re-integrate into their home country. For those who choose not to do so, and who have the appropriate travel documentation, we will seek to enforce their removal.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Pathologists on the effects on human and animal safety of reductions in the number of national pathology laboratories from 14 to 7; and if he will publish the impact assessment produced by his Department on such a plan.

    George Eustice

    Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) and Defra have met with the Royal College of Pathologists, to discuss the new Surveillance model, on four separate occasions between September 2012 and the introduction of changes to the Surveillance model on 1 April 2014.

    A formal impact assessment was not required for this work because it does not involve a change in regulation. Submission into the scanning surveillance system is a voluntary activity that has no regulatory aspect. However the ‘Changes to the delivery of Veterinary Scanning Surveillance in England and Wales, December 2013′ document published on the AHVLA website does consider the impact of the changes, recognises that there are negative impacts (e.g. some farms will be further from an AHVLA Post Mortem facility) but concludes that these are outweighed by the benefit of having stronger national centres of excellence and a better coordinated network of support from private practices.

  • 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 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many instances of Alabama Rot there have been in dogs in the UK.

    George Eustice

    Alabama Rot is the name commonly being given to the newly emerged condition in dogs, known by its clinical and pathological description as ‘Cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy’. Whilst this new condition, which appears seasonally, seems very similar to Alabama Rot, we do not know that they have the same cause.

    Investigation into this condition is being led by vets at a referral small animal veterinary practice and at the world renowned research organisation, the Animal Health Trust. These vets have expertise specifically in small animal medical cases. As such the veterinary practice, Anderson Moore, is best placed to update on the number of confirmed and suspect cases. The practice informed Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency on the 27th March that 14 cases have been confirmed between December 2013 and March 2014. This is in addition to 14 cases confirmed between December 2012 and March 2013.