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Tag: 2014

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which police station cells were used to keep prisoners in overnight in February and March 2014; and on how many occasions.

    Jeremy Wright

    The number of prisoners held overnight in a police cell has come down to below 1,200 in 2013-14, after reaching a peak of over 50,000 in 2007-08.

    Prison numbers fluctuate throughout the year and we have sufficient accommodation for the current and expected population. We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts. There will be more adult male prison capacity in May 2015 than there was at the start of this Parliament.

    Police cells, under Operation Safeguard, have not been used since 22 September 2008 and no police cells under Operation Safeguard have been on stand by since the end of October 2008. Court cells have not been used since 28 February 2008 and have been stood down since March 2008.

    As part of standard logistical arrangements, there are occasions where prisoners may be temporarily held overnight in police cells. These largely consist of situations where escort contractors are unable to transport the prisoner to a suitable prison following a court appearance, where it would be impossible to transfer a prisoner to a prison in the time available. This is solely for overnight accommodation by the police before collection and onward transmission to the prison establishment the following working day. This is not the same as using Operation Safeguard.

    The following table shows the number of prisoners who were temporarily held overnight in police cells in February and March 2014. The totals include adults, young adults (18 to 20-year-olds) and young people (15 to 17-year-olds). In order to identify individual police station locations it would require a manual check of each record in February and March and this could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

    February 2014

    March 2014

    372

    175
  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what estimate he has made of the number of electoral registration officers who have not fulfilled their statutory responsibilities in each of the last 10 years.

    Greg Clark

    The Government has made no such estimate.

    Since 2008, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have been subject to performance standards set and monitored by the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission publishes its annual reports on ERO performance on its website.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish in full the economic analysis on price and illicit trade analysis conducted as part of the Standardised Packaging for Tobacco Independent Review.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department understands that Section 5 and Annex C of Sir Cyril’s report constitute the full and final economic analysis on price and illicit trade analysis conducted as part of the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Independent Review.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Gerald Kaufman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 24 March 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Sherratt.

    Jeremy Wright

    The letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) to the Secretary of State for Justice was transferred to the Department for Education for a response.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many times the offence of possession of mobile telephones within a prison has been proceeded upon; and how many days were added to the offender’s sentence in each case.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue of mobile phones in prisons very seriously and is committed to addressing the risks they present to both the security of prisons and the safety of the public.

    NOMS has implemented a multi-layered approach: to minimise the number of mobile phones entering prisons, to find phones that do get in and to disrupt mobile phones that cannot be found. A range of technology has been rolled out to prisons to strengthen searching and security, including portable mobile phone signal detectors, Body Orifice Security Scanners (BOSS chairs), high sensitivity metal detecting wands and short range portable mobile phone blockers.

    The adjudication process exists to allow prison governors to deal with breaches of prison discipline, including possession of unauthorised items such as mobile telephones.

    From centrally held data, it is not possible to identify those offenders who breached prison discipline by possessing a mobile phone, were proceeded against and given the punishment of additional days. The prison adjudication offence details held centrally are not of sufficient detail to identify the specific breach item – mobile phone possession offences are grouped with other prohibited items.

    Determining if the requested information is held would require a manual search through all individual prison records where a breach of prison discipline led to adjudication in respect of possession of a prohibited item to see if any information is recorded on the type of item. Inspecting each record to ascertain if there was an adjudication for possession of a mobile phone and how many additional days were given as a punishment could only be done at disproportionate cost.

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    Whilst noting the many virtues of Brighton, as recognised by the conferring of City status to the towns of Brighton and Hove by Her Majesty in 2000, I am afraid I have to disappoint my hon. Friend. My Department has no current plans to dig out our bucket and spade and move to the seaside.

    Since May 2010, my Department’s priority has been to rationalise our wider estate to reduce costs. This has seen the Department surrender six leasehold office properties through a combination of lease breaks and expiries generating net savings in the period of around £7 million per annum. The Department has also successfully sub-let surplus space across its leasehold office estate during the same period, reducing the overall property costs by around £11.1 million.

    The Department has also negotiated the early surrender of Eland House and is shortly scheduled to relocate to 2 Marsham Street to share premises with the Home Office. This move will reduce our Department’s running costs by a further £9 million a year and generate savings for the taxpayer of £220 million over the lifetime of the building’s lease. This illustrates the scope for Government and, indeed, the public sector as a whole to make sensible savings through better property management.

    However, I commend the hon. Member for his cheerleading of the City as a place to do business.

  • Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are working on the transition to a new system following the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012; and what the cost was of employing such officials in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    The Health and Social Care Transition Programme (HSCTP) was set up to implement the changes introduced under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The programme was led by the Department and closed on 31 March 2013. All of the organisations in the new health and care system assumed full responsibilities and powers as set out in the Act from 1 April 2013.

    Any enduring responsibilities that transferred to the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), or NHS England from 1 April 2013 are being discharged as part of business as usual arrangements in each organisation. As the HSCTP has closed and the new organisations are in place, there are no longer any officials working on the transition to a new system.

    Further information on the overall cost of transition is available in the National Audit Office report ‘Managing the transition to the reformed health system’ available at the following link:

    www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/10175-001-Managing-the-transition-to-the-reformed-health-system.pdf

  • Jim Sheridan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Jim Sheridan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Sheridan on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries on 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 95WH, when the consultation on modernising the Electronic Programme Guide regime will be launched.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Pursuant to my contribution on 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 95WH, DCMS will make an announcement on the publication date of the consultation in due course.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will review the effect of the operation of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on services available to assist victims in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Responsibility for victims in Northern Ireland was devolved in 2007. All public bodies in Northern Ireland have a duty to promote equality of opportunity, having regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is responsible for the enforcement of this duty.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the results were of the Metropolitan Police investigation into the death of an unnamed woman in Slough on 21 January 2012 following an abortion performed by Marie Stopes International.

    Damian Green

    The Government does not comment on the investigation of individual cases as
    these are the operational responsibility of the respective police force
    involved.