Tag: 2015

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions there have been for owning a dog banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each of the last two years.

    George Eustice

    The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for possession, without exemption, of a prohibited dog, in England and Wales from 2013 to 2014 (latest available), can be viewed in the table below.

    Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for possession, without exemption, of a prohibited dog (1), England and Wales, 2013 to 2014 (2)(3)

    2013

    2014

    232

    216

    (1) An offence under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
    (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
    (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

    Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services – Ministry of Justice.

    Ref: PQC 599-15 to PQ 16503

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her assessment is of the implications for the peace process of recent reports of an increasing number of threats being made against community workers in Belfast by the UDA and other loyalist groups.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    As set out in the Assessment of Paramilitary Groups published in October 2015, individual members of loyalist paramilitary groups continue to engage in criminality and seek to exercise community control through violence and intimidation. However, the overall assessment remains that these organisations as a whole remain committed to their ceasefires. I welcome the commitments contained within the Fresh Start Agreement aimed at achieving a Northern Ireland society free from the malign impact of paramilitarism.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of people who are earning below the lower earnings limit and have more than one employer and do not qualify for national insurance contribution deductions.

    Mr David Gauke

    Estimates of the number of individuals who work in more than one job but do not pay national insurance, even though their total earnings are above the lower earnings threshold, are available to view at the following internet address:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-coverage-lower-earnings-limit-and-multiple-jobs

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s most recent estimate is of the number of illegal firearms in the UK.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not maintain records of firearms seized by police forces in England and Wales.The National Ballistics Intelligence Service regularly assesses the volume and type of illegal firearms in use in the UK. The information is operationally sensitive and is not suitable for release.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) complaints and (b) investigations into complaints made by civil servants against special advisers in his Department there have been in each of the last five years; and how many such (i) complaints and (ii) investigations are outstanding.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no complaints or investigations into complaints made by civil servants against special advisers in the Department of Health in any of the last five years. None are outstanding.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of clinical commissioning group transformation plans do not mention services for (a) children who have experienced abuse and (b) looked after children; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    As part of improving transparency, all Local Transformation Plans must be published locally and made widely available.

    NHS England’s guidance Local Transformation Plans for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing – Guidance and support for local areas is explicit about the need to promote equality and address health inequalities, and states that plans should ‘address the full spectrum of need including children and young people who have particular vulnerability to mental health problems for e.g. those with learning disabilities, looked after children and care leavers, those at risk or in contact with the Youth Justice System, or who have been sexually abused and/or exploited’.

    The assurance process requires local areas to evidence how they are meeting the needs of vulnerable groups including looked after children and children who have experienced abuse.

    An analysis of Local Transformation Plans has been commissioned and will include a thematic review of how the mental health needs of children and young people in vulnerable groups have been addressed.

    As set out in the guidance for Local Transformation Plans an integral part of the locally developed Children and Young People’s Mental Health Transformation Plans includes a tracking template that sets out local progress milestones and financial spend. This tracker will be used as the basis for assurance assessment in 2015/16 and from 2016/17 onwards progress on local transformation will become part of the mainstream planning assurance process.

    Local Transformation Plansrequire all key partners in a local area to agree how best to meet the mental health needs of children and young people in their local populations. 122 Local Transformation Planshave been developed that cover all 209 clinical commissioning groups.

    The assurance process for Local Transformation Plans for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing was undertaken by NHS England regional teams and included assurance against each plan of standard self-assessment and tracker templates to enable a comparison of plans against objective success criteria.

    NHS England have commissioned a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Local Transformation Plans, in order to support policy makers, local commissioners and services to understand and use the data that is contained within the plans to drive further improvements. Local Transformation Plans will be reviewed from a narrative, analytical and financial perspective, with thematic reviews carried out in key focus areas that align with Future in mind principles.

  • William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to ensure that smart meters provide the maximum possible benefits for consumers.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Smart meters will bring and end to estimated bills, make switching faster, and give bill payers more control ovr their energy use. It is vital that all consumers in Britain can benefit, so we’re requiring energy suppliers to offer a smart meter to every home and small business by the end of 2020.

    Good progress is being made – over 1.7 million meters are already operating under the Programme.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many early service leavers received the basic settlement package in each year since 2010.

    Mark Lancaster

    We do not recognise the term basic settlement package, but have interpreted this as meaning the Early Service Leaver provision prior to October 2013. Data is not held as there was no requirement to collate this information prior to October 2013. However all Early Service Leavers prior to October 2013 were entitled to unit level support as part of standard Ministry of Defence policy.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on jobseekers of the requirement to search and apply for jobs within a 90-minute travel radius.

    Priti Patel

    Before requiring a JSA claimant to apply for a job within a 90 minute travel radius, a Work Coach will always take a claimant’s personal circumstances into account, including local travel arrangements and only require a claimant to apply for a job within a 90 minute radius if it is reasonable to do so. No recent assessment has been made of the effect on jobseekers of the requirement to search and apply for jobs within a 90 minute travel radius.

  • Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the number of lorries travelling through Calais to the UK were scanned by lorry body scanners in each month of 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border, Her Majesty’s Government cannot provide port specific statistics.

    Border Force operates a multi-layered search regime using a range of interventions to screen all freight vehicles entering the UK through the juxtaposed ports. This includes the use of specialist technologies such as Passive Millimetre Wave Imaging devices, heartbeat monitors and carbon dioxide detectors as well as physical searches by sniffer dogs, Border Force staff and specialist search contractors.