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  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the maximum amount of time his Department has determined as a reasonable time for court users to have to travel to their nearest court by public transport when making decisions on court closures.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Access to justice is not just about proximity to a court. To ensure that access to justice is maintained, we are committed to providing alternative ways for users to access our services, including the use of other civic buildings for video links or hearings.

  • 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 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that judges and other decision-makers have appropriate knowledge and training on issues relating to child arrangements orders made in the family court in cases in which there is a history of domestic abuse.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, responsibility for judicial training rests with the Lord Chief Justice and this responsibility is exercised through the Judicial College. Accordingly, the independence of the judiciary means that Government Ministers do not intervene with regard to the content of judicial training.

    The Judicial College has advised that judges, magistrates and their Legal Advisers have all received specific training on domestic violence issues and were trained in the new Child Arrangements Programme and Practice Direction 12J as part of the Family Justice Review reforms in 2014.

  • 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 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what special measures exist for survivors of domestic abuse in the family courts in child contact proceedings.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Family judges have a range of powers and training to ensure that vulnerable witnesses are handled sensitively in court. The Child Arrangements Programme and Practice Direction 12J set out a strong and clear framework where domestic violence is alleged. Judges can intervene to prevent inappropriate questions or have questions relayed. Practical protections, for example, protective screens, video links, separate waiting rooms and separate entrances are available where appropriate. It is for the judge involved, on the basis of the evidence, to determine how the framework will be applied in a particular case.

  • 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 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22665, which ministers visited Medway Secure Training Centre on which dates.

    Andrew Selous

    Available records show that Medway Secure Training Centre was visited by the current prisons Minister, Andrew Selous, on 18 September 2014 and by the previous prisons Minister, Jeremy Wright, on 5 November 2012. The former Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling also visited on 20 November 2012.

  • Graham Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Graham Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many enforcements under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System have been made as a result of category 1 hazards relating to (a) gas safety and (b) electrical safety in each local authority in each of the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    This information is not held centrally.

    Overall the quality of privately rented housing has improved rapidly over the past decade. Surveys show that 84% of private renters are satisfied with their accommodation. A small number of rogue or criminal landlords knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation. We have introduced measures in the Housing and Planning Bill to crack down on these landlords so that they either improve the service they provide or leave the sector. Proposals include a database of rogue landlords and property agents, introducing banning orders for serious or repeat offenders, a tougher fit and proper person test, extending Rent Repayment Orders and introducing civil penalties of up to £30,000.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders are in prison in England and Wales.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is published and the latest figures, from April to June 2015, can be be found using the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2015

    “

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much G4S was paid for (a) bedding, (b) children’s birthdays, (c) Christmas allowances, (d) children’s sports and PE costs, (e) educational materials, (f) electricity, (g) staff uniforms, (h) staff training materials and (i) stationery at Medway Secure Training Centre for Young People in each year since 2009.

    Andrew Selous

    The Youth Justice Board does not hold this information.

  • Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions his Department has been notified by external consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials in each of the last two years.

    Dominic Raab

    The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • 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 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff working in (a) young offender institutions, (b) secure training centres and (c) secure children’s homes have been (i) suspended following a child protection allegation (ii) disciplined following a child protection allegation, (iii) dismissed following a child protection allegation and (iv) convicted of sexual or violent offences against children in the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to InsuResilience, the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance, if she will make it her policy to (a) allocate additional funding of £100 million to that programme, (b) scale up by at least £50 million weather-indexed microinsurance that provides direct coverage for smallholder farmers pastoralists and other vulnerable groups and (c) increase her Department’s grant funding for the African Risk Capacity to £20 million in order to improve the capacity of that programme to meet its targets.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK supports the G7 Climate Risk Insurance Initiative and is committed to contributing to meeting the collective target set out in the Elmau declaration of helping up to an additional 400 million people in the most vulnerable developing countries to gain access to climate risk insurance by 2020. UK support under the Initiative includes a commitment of up to £100m to African Risk Capacity (ARC) and £15m for the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative. Of this, the UK has contributed £32m so far to ARC.

    On scaling up support to weather indexed microinsurance, the UK currently provides some support to livestock insurance in Kenya to improve the product offered to pastoralists and increase the role of the private sector. The UK also provides index-based insurance through the CGIAR climate change, agriculture and food security research programme (CGIAR-CCAFS). In September 2015, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would provide at least £5.8 billion of climate finance over the next five years. This is likely to include further support for climate risk insurance.