Tag: 2015

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) financial implications for her Department and (b) potential risks to Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and the public of proposals to give PCSOs powers of arrest.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office has no plans to give powers of arrest to police community support officers (PCSOs); we have therefore made no assessment of the consequences of making such a change.

    On Wednesday 9 Septemer 2015, my Right Honourable friend the Home Secretary launched a consultation on reforming the powers of police staff and volunteers. The proposals set out in the consultation document seek to make police staff and volunteers more flexible in their roles by enabling Chief Constables to designate them with a wider range of powers, ensuring that they have the police powers necessary to do their job. The consultation also proposes a list of core powers that will be exclusively available to Constables, including Special Constables, and this list includes the power of arrest.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what procedures are in place in his Department to consider the implications of a decision by the Court of Appeal that a sentence has been unduly lenient; and what steps his Department takes in relation to the judge in the case concerned as a result of such a ruling.

    Mike Penning

    Whether or not a judge has correctly applied the law is a matter for the Court of Appeal alone. It is the responsibility of the Government to uphold the independence of the judiciary and that includes the judicial decision making process.

    The unduly lenient scheme currently allows anyone to ask for a Government Law Officer to consider referring a sentence to the Court of Appeal for consideration that it was unduly lenient. The scheme applies to all indictable-only offences and a specified selection of either-way offences sentenced at the Crown Court.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to amend the Blue Badge scheme to allow badges to be awarded to those with severe cognitive disabilities.

    Andrew Jones

    The Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 allow badges to be awarded to people with any permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking, which may include those with cognitive disabilities. The Government has no plans to amend the eligibility rules for Blue Badges.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 10 February (HL4677), in the light of the change in franchisee and the expectation of more changes, what steps they are taking to ensure that there are sufficient luggage space and catering facilities for the anticipated use of those trains.

    Baroness Kramer

    The interior of the Intercity Express Programme is designed flexibly so that it can be adapted to meet different traffic conditions in the future. Operators have been fully engaged in this process. We continue to work very closely with them on the train, including catering provision.

  • Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in relation to the arrest and reported incommunicado detention of Christopher Ngoyi and other activists in the wake of protests in January against the amendment of electoral law in that country.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    During the recent period of unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officials at our Embassy in Kinshasa were in regular contact with the DRC authorities, and urged all parties to exercise calm and restraint. Officials also highlighted the importance of allowing those who wished to protest peacefully against the proposed electoral reform bill to be allowed to do so. This was echoed in a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) press statement issued on 19 January. On 25 January a revised electoral law was passed, and on 26 January a FCO press statement welcomed the revised electoral law, which sought to address some of the protestors’ concerns. We are pleased that calls for an end to violence were heeded but are concerned that – according to UN reports – as many as 300 people remain in detention following the demonstrations, including some who have not had access to a lawyer. Of those currently being held, the UN estimates that at least 11 are believed to be in ‘incommunicado’ detention, including Christopher Ngoyi. Officials continue to raise the ongoing detention of protestors at the highest level. On 11 February, EU Heads of Mission in Kinshasa issued a joint statement expressing concern at arrests and arbitrary detention of political activists by the security services. Those imprisoned for peacefully exercising their right to free speech must be released without delay.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many new HIV diagnoses were made among prisoners in 2014 in England and Wales.

    Earl Howe

    Data for 2014 is not available until October 2015.

    Latest data from the national human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) surveillance system shows that in 2013, of 5,594 adults (aged 15 years old or above) newly diagnosed with HIV in England and Wales, nine were newly diagnosed with HIV at a prison service. An additional 210 patients living with a diagnosed HIV infection (diagnosed before 2013) were resident in prison.

    Notes:

    The numbers are likely to be under-reported because prison status is not routinely collected. Prisoners were identified if the residential information provided related to a prison setting. Therefore the completeness and accuracy of the numbers depends on the clinicians’ reports. Furthermore, most prisoners have short custodial sentences and consequently may not be included in the national HIV surveillance system which collects information relating to a patients’ most recent attendance at an HIV service.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2014 to Question 215333, what the estimated cost to the Exchequer in the calendar year 2015 will be of raising Transport for London bus fares in line with the retail price index.

    Danny Alexander

    The estimated cost to the taxpayer in 2015 of raising Transport for London (TFL) bus fares is 1% of TFL’s bus fare income for 2015.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much Bradford Metropolitan District Council received from central government in grants in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

    Kris Hopkins

    In 2014-15, Bradford Metropolitan District Council is forecast to receive £655 million in government grants, excluding mandatory housing benefits, equivalent to £3,112 per dwelling. Per dwelling, this is in the top 20 highest in England. Including mandatory housing benefits, the forecast is £838 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns).

    In addition to this, Bradford Metropolitan District residents will also benefit from government grant funding to the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, to the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority and to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

    We do not hold detailed information on all the individual grants paid out across government departments over the time period.

    However, leaving aside schools spending which has changed due to the funding shift from local authorities to academies, in 2014-15, Bradford Metropoliton District Council’s net current expenditure excluding education is forecast to be £596 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns). This compares with £548 million in 2009-10 (source: Revenue Outturn returns), and is thus an increase in cash terms.

    Of course, every bit of the public sector needs to do its bit to pay off the deficit left by the last Administration, including local government which accounts for a quarter of all public spending. Yet these figures illustrate how claims in some parts of the local government sector about “cuts” are over-stated and mislead the public.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded to his Department in the last five years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Our records show that in the last five years no employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

  • Charles Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charles Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of treating alcohol-related illnesses in each of the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    Estimates have been made of the cost to the National Health Service of alcohol related harm at around £2.7 billion per year in 2006-07 and £3.5 billion per year in 2009-10.

    Work is under way in the Department to produce estimates for more recent years.