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  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Stephen Crabb

    The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. As the Ministry of Justice is the main employer of staff at the Wales Office, we would follow any changes implemented by the MoJ.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Department for Transport is undertaking a review.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    David Mundell

    The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly, all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies who remain responsible for all employment matters including payroll deductions for union subscriptions.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether her Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Department’s payroll services are provided by the Ministry of Justice. We would therefore inherit any changes to the contract with the payroll provider made by the MoJ in relation to this issue. My understanding is that currently the MoJ has no plans to amend provisions relating to the check-off union subscription although options for change are being kept under review.

  • Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy granted in respect of members of the IRA was not announced in the London Gazette or the Belfast Gazette.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    There have been no instances in which the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) has been issued in respect of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland since the current Government came to power in May 2010.

    I am not aware of any legal requirement to publish in the media information relating to the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). In England and Wales, RPMs signed by HM the Queen, on the advice of the Secretary of State, are then passed to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for sealing, who by convention subsequently places the notice in the London Gazette. By convention in Northern Ireland, RPMs signed by HM the Queen are not subsequently placed in the Belfast Gazette.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 which (a) corresponds to an offence contrary to any provision specified in part 1 of the table in paragraph 1 of the Schedule to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Prescribed Criteria and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2009 and was committed in circumstances specified in the entry in the second column of that part of that table which corresponds to the relevant entry in the first column of that part of that table or (b) corresponds to an offence contrary to a provision specified in part 2 of that table in each of the last four years.

    Anna Soubry

    The information will take time to collate, I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of an offence under sections 1, 2 or 3 of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 where the offence was committed against a child in each of the last four years.

    Damian Green

    No-one has been convicted of an offence under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 in England and Wales since the Act came into force. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions announced the first prosecutions for female genital mutilation on 21 March.

    The Government is committed to tackling and preventing the harmful and unacceptable practice of female genital mutilation. As part of this cross-government work, the Ministry of Justice is already considering suggestions made by the Director for strengthening the criminal law on female genital mutilation to make successful prosecutions more likely.

    We welcome the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into this area and will give careful consideration to any additional recommendations for legislative change that may be made by the Committee when it reports in due course.

  • Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who took the decision not to announce the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy in respect of members of the IRA in the London Gazette or the Belfast Gazette.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    There have been no instances in which the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) has been issued in respect of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland since the current Government came to power in May 2010.

    I am not aware of any legal requirement to publish in the media information relating to the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). In England and Wales, RPMs signed by HM the Queen, on the advice of the Secretary of State, are then passed to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for sealing, who by convention subsequently places the notice in the London Gazette. By convention in Northern Ireland, RPMs signed by HM the Queen are not subsequently placed in the Belfast Gazette.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, where the offence committed corresponds to an offence which would lead to automatic inclusion in the adults’ barred list, with the right to make representations, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, in each of the last four years.

    Damian Green

    Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is not possible to separately identify findings of guilt for sexual offences committed outside England and Wales from those committed within England and Wales. This information could only be obtained from the individual courts at disproportionate cost.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of an offence under section 128 of the Mental Health Act 1959 where the offence was committed against a child in each of the last four years.

    Damian Green

    Section 128 of the Mental Health Act 1959 was repealed in 2004. There have been no convictions in any of the last four years. Prosecutions are now brought under modernised legislation contained in the Sex Offenders Act 2003.