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  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Local Government Boundary Commission is under an obligation to ensure that proposals for boundary changes reflect representations it has received from people in the areas affected.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Local Government Boundary Commission for England informs me that the procedure for electoral reviews is set out in the Local Democracy, Economic Democracy and Construction Act 2009. The Act requires the Commission to publish recommendations and consider representations made on them.

    In drawing up new ward or electoral division boundaries, Section 58 of the Act requires the Commission to take into consideration any representations made to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England within its consultation periods.

    In practice, the Commission always conducts at least two phases of public consultation for every electoral review. First, in advance of drawing up draft recommendations, the Commission will invite local proposals for new ward or electoral division boundaries.

    Following the initial consultation, the Commission publishes draft recommendations and consults on them before finalising ward boundaries and the wider electoral arrangements for a local authority.

    After each phase of consultation, the Commission will consider all local representations against the statutory criteria which are set out in Schedule 2 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. The criteria oblige the Commission to have regard to delivering electoral equality for voters, to build electoral arrangements that reflect community interests and identities as well as ensuring that wards or divisions promote effective and convenient local government.

    The Commission analyses all local representations to assess the extent to which they meet the statutory criteria. If submissions present a fair reflection of the criteria and can be accommodated within an authority-wide scheme, it will usually adopt them. In the event that multiple (but conflicting) submissions meet the statutory criteria, the Commission will choose the option which it believes most strongly reflects them. If no local representations provide a satisfactory reflection of the statutory criteria, the Commission will substitute its judgement and draw up its own pattern of wards or divisions for the area in question.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on what date he last visited a food bank in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    I have not visited a food bank in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Prime Minister, which hon. and Right hon. Members have been appointed by him to which countries as a trade envoy.

    Mr David Cameron

    Information regarding trade envoys can be found on the gov.uk website.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children and women were seriously injured by a perpetrator of domestic violence after a Family Court decision to allow child access for a perpetrator of that crime in each of the last five years.

    Mike Penning

    Every family court has a system to support vulnerable court users. Protective measures are put in place whenever a court is aware that an individual involved in a case may be violent. These can include separate waiting areas, additional security and the use of separate entrances where appropriate.

    Information on the number of children or women injured by a perpetrator of domestic violence after a Family Court decision relating to child contact is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by manually checking case files in criminal and family courts and matching records.

    The family court takes the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. Where domestic violence or abuse is admitted or proven, any child arrangements order put in place must protect the safety and wellbeing of the child and the parent with whom the child is living, and not expose them to the risk of further harm. In particular, the court must be satisfied that any contact ordered with a parent who has perpetrated violence or abuse is safe and in the best interests of the child.

    Where the court does conclude that direct contact is safe and beneficial for the child, it can impose conditions such as supervised contact to protect the child.

  • Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish proposals to introduce a victims’ law.

    Mike Penning

    In the Queen’s Speech we made a commitment to bring forward measures to increase the rights of victims of crime. Further detail on our plans will be published in due course.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of penalties for motorists causing death by car dooring.

    Andrew Selous

    A death caused by a collision with a car door can, depending on the circumstances, be classified as one of a number of offences carrying different maximum penalties. While there is a specific offence, under regulation 105 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, to

    “open, or cause or permit to be opened, any door of a vehicle on a road so as to injure or endanger any person” which has the maximum penalty of a level 4 fine (£2,500), other possible charges include offences against the person which carry maximum penalties of up to life imprisonment.

    The Government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and intends to start a consultation on sentencing before the end of the calendar year. This would include driving offences and penalties.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18874, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of knives confiscated in Crown courts between 2012-13 and 2014-15.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    My Department takes the issue of security within courts extremely seriously and has robust security and safety systems in place to protect all court users and judiciary. These systems include mandatory bag searches, modern detection equipment, X-ray machines and surveillance cameras, as well as court security officers with the legal powers to seize items where required. Security procedures, including the detection technology used, are continuously reviewed to ensure that security is as effective as possible.

    The increase in the number of knives taken from people as they enter Crown Courts between 2012/13 and 2014/15 may be due to the implementation of more robust training for Court Security Officers; improved rates of recording for the taking of such items and improved searching of people entering Crown Courts.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18874, on offensive weapons: confiscation orders, how many such confiscations took place in each Crown and magistrates’ court in each of those years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will commission an assessment of the effect on victims of domestic abuse and their families of the use of common entrances at family courts for both the perpetrators and victims of that crime.

    Mike Penning

    Every family court has a system to support vulnerable court users. Protective measures are put in place whenever a court is aware that an individual involved in a case may be violent. These can include separate waiting areas, additional security and the use of separate entrances where appropriate.

    Information on the number of children or women injured by a perpetrator of domestic violence after a Family Court decision relating to child contact is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by manually checking case files in criminal and family courts and matching records.

    The family court takes the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. Where domestic violence or abuse is admitted or proven, any child arrangements order put in place must protect the safety and wellbeing of the child and the parent with whom the child is living, and not expose them to the risk of further harm. In particular, the court must be satisfied that any contact ordered with a parent who has perpetrated violence or abuse is safe and in the best interests of the child.

    Where the court does conclude that direct contact is safe and beneficial for the child, it can impose conditions such as supervised contact to protect the child.

  • Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24107 on tribunals: Scotland, how many of those people whose data was breached were not made aware that that breach had occurred.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service takes its responsibility for data incidents very seriously and treats each case on its individual merits. Notifying individuals of data breaches or incidents is considered, but is not a mandatory action in every instance.

    Informing people and organisations about a breach is not an end in itself. Notification should have a clear purpose, whether this is to enable individuals who may have been affected to take steps to protect themselves or to allow the appropriate regulatory bodies to perform their functions, provide advice and deal with complaints.

    The above criteria is considered when deciding whether or not to inform individuals or organisations of a data breach. In relation to the incidents referred to in this PQ it is unclear, as no statistical information has been retained, as to whether or not individuals were notified.

    Guidance on data breach notification is set out by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in the link below:

    https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-7-security/

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