The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications his Department has received for modifications and adapted housing in each year from 2000 to date; and whether data on such applications is available before 2000 and to what date.
Mark Lancaster
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 September 2016 to Questions 45414 and 45461.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance has been issued to police forces on monitoring and recording Gypsy and Traveller status as separate ethnic categories.
Mike Penning
The use of Census categories for ethnicity is assessed each year as part of the Home Office’s process of agreeing each year’s Annual Data Requirement (ADR) of mandatory collections of statistical data from the police. This process includes consideration of the need, use, burden and data quality issues for each data collection. The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) have previously advised against the transition to the new Census categories due to the significant burden that this would place on forces to change IT systems and processes.
The ADR collections currently use the Census 2001 ethnicity framework, and there are no plans at present to move to the Census 2011 framework, which would add a separate category of ‘Gypsy or Irish Traveller’.
The guidance given to police forces on providing data to the Home Office is based on the Census 2001 ethnicity framework. It is, however, a decision for individual forces as to how they monitor and record ethnicity data for their own purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will establish an independent inquiry into the cases of 792 miners in Wales who were arrested during the miners’ strike in 1984.
Mike Penning
There are no plans to establish an independent inquiry into the cases of 792 miners in Wales who were arrested during the miners’ strike in 1984.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-02-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken over the past five years to disrupt and intercept the supply of illicit drugs into UK prisons.
Lord Faulks
Prisons in England and Wales take a zero tolerance approach to illicit drugs. We have a comprehensive range of security measures and searching techniques in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons. We are about to pilot the use of body scanners to reveal drugs concealed within the body, we have introduced specific dog training to allow dogs to detect new psychoactive substances (NPS) and will introduce widespread drug testing of prisoners for NPS as part of the national mandatory drug testing programme in April 2016. We have also made it illegal to smuggle NPS into prisons. We are working with the Department of Health and others to improve our understanding of the risks NPS present for offenders and to provide appropriate information, guidance and support to offenders and those working with them in prison. Anyone caught with any drugs in prison will be severely dealt with. Punishments available include closed visits, loss of privileges and up to 42 days added to their time in custody. Where prisoners are caught with controlled drugs, we will work with the police to consider prosecution and a further sentence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the expected cost is of replacement of the Emergency Services Network in Greater Manchester; and how that project is to be funded.
Mike Penning
The Emergency Services Network (ESN) transition is being managed regionally. Greater Manchester is part of the North-West Region, incorporating North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Services, as well as Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbria Constabulary, Greater Manchester Police, Lancashire Constabulary and Merseyside Police. The Core costs of operating the network are initially borne by the Home Office, but shared by the Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health, Welsh and Scottish Governments. The Non-core costs of connecting to the network and utilising it will be borne by local Emergency Services organisations and exact costs in Greater Manchester will be dependent upon take up of device and connection numbers to meet local operational needs. Taken together, the Core and Non-core costs of ESN are projected to cost £5 billion over the 15 year operating life of the network, saving in the region of £3 billion on the costs of the current Airwave service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department monitors the performance of Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group’s patient transport services.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not have responsibility for monitoring the performance of Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCGs) patient transport services.
We are advised by NHS England that the Sussex non-emergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) is managed by Coperforma who sub-contract to a variety of specialist ambulance and transport providers. Coperforma is therefore held accountable for the actions of all service providers it subcontracts to, as the organisation responsible for the entirety of the PTS.
Sussex CCGs are responsible for monitoring Coperforma’s performance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the inclusion of the Northallerton to Teesport line in the rail electrification scheme.
Andrew Jones
The Transpennine Route Upgrade is an ambitious and challenging programme which is due to be delivered by December 2022. There are currently no plans within this scope to electrify the line between Northallerton and Teesport. However, this does not preclude the thinking of future electrification as a further phase following the delivery of the current scope in 2022.
I can confirm that the current assumption for services between Manchester and Middlesbrough is that these will operated by new bi-mode trains i.e. capable of diesel and electric operation. The new bi-mode will offer significant journey time savings for passengers on this route.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department consulted workers’ representatives and groups representing victims of labour exploitation during the appointment process for the Director of Labour Market Enforcement.
Margot James
The appointment of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement is being made through a formal recruitment process. A campaign was jointly launched by the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) and the Home Office in June after the Immigration Act received Royal Assent in May 2016. Shortlisting took place during the summer and interviews are scheduled for early October.
My Rt hon Friends the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Home Department plan to meet appointable candidates following interviews, and will have discussions before making a joint decision. The successful candidate will be announced as soon as practicably possible.
BEIS and the Home Office are working together to implement a Labour market Enforcement programme. This followed a formal consultation, Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market, to which groups representing workers and victims of labour market exploitation responded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment has he made of the ability of the Palestinian Authority to ensure that the human rights of all citizens are respected.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has made important progress on state-building, including the promotion and protection of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). Our Consul General in Jerusalem regularly engages with the PA and emphasises the importance of respecting human rights, particularly in regard to law and security. We encourage the PA to reflect their human rights obligations in domestic law and ensure they are fully adhered to. We are, however, concerned about the inability of the PA to access certain areas of the OPTs where Palestinians are subject to human rights violations, including through settler violence and the death penalty.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Government plans to commence its review of driving offences; when he plans that the public consultation on that review will take place; and what timetable he has set for the completion of that review.
Andrew Selous
Driving offences can have devastating consequences for victims and their loved ones, which is why tough sentences are available to the courts. It is our intention to consult on sentencing proposals, including driving, before the end of this year.