The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Attorney General, what targets the Law Officers’ Departments have for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.
Oliver Heald
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 16th June (Official Report, Col 434W).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of moves to gender-neutral services on support for women victims of domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.
Norman Baker
Decisions on how best to fund services for victims of domestic violence are
most effectively addressed at a local level based on the needs of local
communities. This includes an assessment of the need for gender-specific
services.
The Home Office has received representations from voluntary sector
organisations raising concerns about local commissioning of generic and
gender-neutral services for victims of domestic violence. The updated Violence
Against Women and Girls Action Plan, published on 8 March 2014, accordingly
makes supporting effective local approaches a priority area. The Plan sets out
clear commitments to:
• deliver a programme of regional engagement to support all local commissioners;
• establish a cross-Government task and finish group to drive good practice in
the commissioning of local services; and,
• part-fund a series of dedicated commissioning masterclasses to support the
women’s sector to engage with the new commissioning landscape.
Progress on supporting effective local approaches to commissioning of services
will be monitored by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Violence Against Women and
Girls, chaired by the Home Secretary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, 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.
Mr Francis Maude
The Prime Minister’s Office and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office are integral parts of the Cabinet Office.
Declaration of ethnicity for staff is voluntary and it is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many insurance fraud cases were struck out due to exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.
No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.
The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 – worth £441m – as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of staff within his Office who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
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 Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people of each gender were sentenced in the West Yorkshire Police Force area to immediate custody for a first offence in each year since 2008; and for which offences such people were sentenced.
Jeremy Wright
The sentencing framework and sentencing guidelines apply equally to all offenders. Sentencing is entirely a matter for the courts, taking account of all the circumstances of each case. This will include the seriousness of the offence, including all aggravating and mitigating factors, and a guilty plea.
Defendants are now more likely to be convicted for committing crime and sent to prison for longer than they were a decade ago. In addition criminals convicted since 2010 are more likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence, both overall and for a first time offence.
Table 1 shows the number of offenders given an immediate custodial sentence in the West Yorkshire Police Force Area for their first offence, by offence class and gender 2008 -2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 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.
Dan Rogerson
The data in the table relates to staff in core Defra only.
|
Financial Year |
Percentage of staff subject to formal disciplinary proceedings who have not declared their ethnicity |
Percentage of staff subject to formal disciplinary proceedings who have declared themselves to be white British |
|
2009-10 |
33% |
67% |
|
2010-11 |
75% |
25% |
|
2011-12 |
33% |
67% |
|
2012-13 |
17% |
67% |
|
2013-14 |
25% |
67% |
Employees declare their ethnicity and national identity on a voluntary basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she held with ministerial colleagues on the relocation of central Civil Service posts to Northern Ireland.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I have had no such discussions with ministerial colleagues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what proportion of staff within the House of Commons Commission who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
John Thurso
The breakdown of staff who classed themselves as white British and who were dismissed following formal disciplinary procedures addressing poor performance, unsatisfactory attendance or misconduct is as follows:
2009/10 – 0%
2010/11 – 100%
2011/12 – 80%
2012/13 – 0%
2013/14 – 25%
Over the five years as a whole there were 15 such dismissals of which eight described themselves as White and British. In a further four cases the ethnic background was unknown or not stated and the nationality was unknown or not stated in three cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Teather on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how much each local authority returned to his Department in unused discretionary housing payment funding in 2013-14.
Steve Webb
Local authorities are required to submit their claims for funding for Discretionary Housing Payments by 30 April following the end of the financial year.
Until the returns have been received from each authority, we are not in a position to say how much of this funding has been unused.
At the end of the 2012/13 year, of the £67,906,916 made available by central Government towards Discretionary Housing Payments, £12,453,471 (18.34%) was unspent.