The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
Andrea Leadsom
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 433W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
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 Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what consideration his Office gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.
Mr Nick Clegg
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults there were against prison officers in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013.
Jeremy Wright
NOMS takes the issue of assaults on prison staff very seriously. It currently has systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious incidents referred to the police for prosecution. It is working with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that prisoners who assault staff are charged and punished appropriately.
NOMS is committed to exploring options to continue to improve how violence is tackled in prisons to keep both staff and prisoners safe. It is currently reviewing the policy and practice of the management of violence.
The number of prisoner on prison officers assault incidents in each year are provided in table 3.8 of the supplementary tables on assaults that accompany each Safety in Custody statistics bulletin. The latest publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-in-custody.
Figures for the number of these incidents that are reported on the centralised administrative system as being referred to the police in each year are provided in table 1. These figures do not represent individuals as there may be multiple assailants in some incidents. How many of these resulted in charges or conviction can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Table 1: Number of prisoner on officer assault incidents referred to the police
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
|
Prisoner on officer assaults referred to police |
374 |
393 |
543 |
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.
Hugh Robertson
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 434W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-01.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authorities have failed performance standard 3 on house-to-house enquiries; how many times they have failed; and how many times a Cabinet Office regional delivery manager has intervened.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that in 2013 five Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) reported that they did not meet performance standard 3: Mid Devon; Taunton Deane; Torridge; West Devon; and West Somerset. The table below shows the number of times these EROs have not met this standard.
Table: Number of times those EROS not meeting standard 3 in 2013 have not met this standard.
|
ERO |
Number of times not met |
Years in which not met |
|
Mid Devon |
4 |
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
|
Taunton Deane |
3 |
2011, 2012, 2013 |
|
Torridge |
2 |
2012, 2013 |
|
West Devon |
4 |
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
|
West Somerset |
4 |
2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
The Commission is in the process of conducting a detailed analysis of EROs’ electoral registration data from the 2013 canvass, following which it will publish its final assessment of EROs’ performance in 2013.
The Cabinet Office has established a network of Regional Delivery Managers to monitor EROs’ readiness for the transition to individual electoral registration in 2014. However, the Commission does not have specific details of the activities undertaken by these all of these officials.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of staff within her Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
Mr Alan Duncan
Declaration of ethnicity for staff at DFID is voluntary and it is therefore not possible to confirm the ethnicity of any staff who have been subject to disciplinary proceedings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to prevent private sector companies providing incentives for their employees to switch from defined benefit to defined contribution pension arrangements.
Steve Webb
We already have powers in place to legislate to ban cash incentive transfers. The incentive exercises code of good practice was created in 2012, and set out seven key principles that pension providers and their advisers must adhere to if they wish to offer their members incentives, including ensuring that members are given sufficient information to enable them to make an informed decision.
A large number of providers and independent financial advisers have signed up to the code, delivering a prompt solution to address this issue. The Government would encourage all providers to comply with the code.
Following the Budget announcement HM Treasury are currently running a consultation, “Freedom of Choice in Pensions” where it is considering whether people with a defined benefit pension should be allowed to transfer their accrued benefits into a defined contribution scheme. The outcome of this consultation will inform our thinking on what additional action, if any, the Government should take to restrict or ban pension providers from offering incentives
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials have acted as Senior Responsible Officer for the Universal Credit project since 2010.
Esther McVey
Five officials have acted as Senior Responsible Officer for the Universal Credit project since 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-04-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to place the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit during its operation in a publicly available archive.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
No. Evidence gathered in investigations by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit concerning war crimes is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and, where files were submitted for prosecution, the Crown Prosecution Service.