The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of all government departments adopting the same practice of informal monthly performance reviews which has been implemented by the Valuation Office Agency.
Ben Gummer
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on Wednesday 7 September 2016 to UIN: 44500.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the UN Human Rights Council on the persecution of Christians.
Mr David Lidington
The UK has a strong record of supporting freedom of religion or belief, including christianity, at the Human Rights Council. We supported the resolution on freedom of religion or belief in both the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in 2015, and will look to do so again in March 2016. The UK also supported the appointment of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, who is tasked with monitoring and reporting these issues worldwide.
In addition, we regularly support language in country specific resolutions about the importance of protecting religious minorities, as evidenced in the Syria resolution of September 2015. We also regularly work with EU partners to ensure a strong EU position on freedom of religion or belief at the Human Rights Council.
When raising persecution faced by one faith group, we endeavour to frame our remarks in the wider context of the rule of law and freedom – making the point that when one faith community is persecuted, the liberty of all is jeopardised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on the use of the Mental Health Act 1983 are of the Care Quality Commission’s sixth annual report, HC483, published on 14 October 2015.
Alistair Burt
The Mental Health Act 1983: Code of Practice, which came into force in April 2015, provides statutory guidance on how functions under the Mental Health Act 1983 (the Act) should be carried out. All providers of mental health services under the Act have a duty to abide by both the provisions of the Act and the detailed guidance on how implement those provisions contained in the Code of Practice. That includes the duty of all such mental health providers to ensure their staff know and understand their responsibilities under the Act.
Empowerment and the involvement of patients are key principles underpinning the Act, and the Code of Practice is clear that detained patients must be informed of their rights; that it is the responsibility of those treating them to ensure that patients understand their rights; and that patients are aware that they are entitled to ask for the assistance of an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) to help them understand this information.
The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) annual report Monitoring the Mental Health Act 2014/15 indicates that CQC have already taken action where providers are failing to effectively monitor the Act, train staff and support patients and recommends that services use the findings of that report to make sure staff have the right skills and knowledge and decide what action needs to be taken to improve the care and support available for patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Greenwood on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what formula his Department used to allocated funding to local authorities from the transitional grant of £150 million per year for two years to mitigate the effects of reductions in revenue support grant.
Mr Marcus Jones
I refer the hon. member to the response I gave to the hon. member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) on the 22 February, PQ 26616.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Carmichael on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to change the (a) role of, (b) responsibilities of and (c) funding allocated to strategic health authorities.
George Freeman
Strategic health authorities were abolished in 2013 by the National Health Service Act 2006 (as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012). Since then NHS England and clinical commissioning groups have taken on responsibility for NHS planning and delivery.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government is supporting the current UN-sponsored peace talks in Yemen; and what steps his Department is taking to bring an end to the conflict.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
A political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and end the conflict. We fully support the UN facilitated talks which began on 21 April in Kuwait. We are working closely with the UN to encourage parties to engage in good faith, without preconditions, and to respect the ceasefire which started on 10 April. The UK strongly supports the work of UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and commends his efforts to getting both sides to where we are now.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) that all Government services are available through the gov.uk website and (b) that that website remains operational at all times.
Matthew Hancock
Since its launch in October 2012, GOV.UK has handled over 2.6 billion visits. The site needs to continue operating during major events such as the annual Self Assessment peak and a national emergency. The GOV.UK website has been designed to handle issues and failures in a way which would not impact the public. We have robust incident management processes in place and regularly run disaster recovery simulations to test our response to any outages.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2016 to Question 43759, how the Propriety and Ethics Team performed on handling correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in 2015.
Ben Gummer
I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him of 5 September 2016 to UIN: 43759.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines G4S has paid under any contract with his Department in each of the last five years; and for what reasons each such fine was imposed.
Andrew Selous
The Ministry of Justice holds a number of centrally and locally managed contracts with G4S and information on the total financial remedies imposed could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. However, the total for G4S run prisons, Young Offender’s Institutes (YOIs) and secure training centres (STC) were as follows:
As I stated in the answer to PQ 22664, there have been two incidents in the last five years in which financial remedies were applied at Medway STC. In both cases, G4S failed to comply with operating procedures. In the same time period, there was one incident for which financial remedies were applied at Rainsbrook STC, for failing to comply with operating procedures.
Financial remedies applied to private prisons, including HMP/YOI Parc since 2010 are set out in the attached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will make an assessment of the effect of the application of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 on the payment of compensation relating to cases in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 requires the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland or, in relation to most criminal offences in Northern Ireland, the Department of Justice, to pay compensation where a person’s conviction for a criminal offence has been reversed or he has been pardoned on the grounds that a new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriage of justice. The amount of compensation awarded in these cases is assessed by an independent assessor.
Section 175 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 inserted subsection (1ZA) into section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, providing a statutory definition of “miscarriage of justice”. In accordance with this new provision, the Secretary of State will only pay compensation for a “miscarriage of justice” where the new or newly discovered fact (on the basis of which the conviction was reversed) shows beyond reasonable doubt that the person did not commit the offence of which they were convicted. In Northern Ireland this new definition applies in relation to applications for compensation in cases involving sensitive national security information, which applications are determined by the Secretary of State rather than the Northern Ireland Department of Justice.
I believe that this clear definition enshrined in statute makes decisions on eligibility more transparent and less likely to be the subject of legal challenge and ensures (in those cases in Northern Ireland to which it applies) that compensation will only be paid where it is clear the person did not commit the offence of which they were convicted.