Tag: Andy Slaughter

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many settlements his Department estimates have been affected by errors on his Department’s Form E divorce form.

Mr Shailesh Vara

An investigation into this issue is taking place. Officials are taking steps to identify rapidly cases where the regrettable error caused by the embedded calculator at table 2.20 may have had an impact, and we will be writing to anyone affected as soon as possible. Anyone concerned about their own court proceedings should contact formE@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk. The form now online no longer contains the error.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he made of the potential effect on court fee income of the announcement in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 on changes to personal injury laws and procedure before making that announcement; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab

The Government will consult on the detail of the new reforms in due course. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the humanitarian effect of the Israeli government’s policy on demolition orders.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We believe these demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention is clear that the destruction of any real or personal property in Occupied Territory is not justified unless it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. This is why Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and officials regularly raise the matter with the Israeli Government, emphasising our concerns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Ministers in his Department have visited G4S Medway in the last five years.

Andrew Selous

In the last five years, available records show that three Ministers have visited Medway Secure Training Centre.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his oral evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee of 2 December 2015, Question 9, what progress he has made on determining his policy on whether to use a British Bill of Rights to make the Supreme Court a constitutional long stop.

Dominic Raab

We will announce proposals in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22284, how many members of (a) the National Tactical Response Group and (b) Tornado Teams have been injured during a callout at HM Prison Oakwood in each of the last three years.

Mr Shailesh Vara

There have been zero injuries to members of (a) the National Tactical Response Group and (b) Tornado Teams during a callout at HM Prison Oakwood in each of the last three years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what investigation his Department is making into the concerns recently raised by assistant coroner Christopher Wooley with regards to failures at HM Prison Parc.

Andrew Selous

I have received a report from the Coroner following the recent inquest into the tragic death from natural causes of a prisoner at HMP Parc in 2014. I have noted the matters of concern set out in it, which include issues of policy across the prison estate, as well as local practice at HMP Parc. The National Offender Management Service is working with the Director of the prison, and the other organisations to which the report has been sent, to ensure that the concerns are examined and appropriately addressed, and that the Coroner receives a response to his report within the statutory deadline.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2016 to Question 21315, how many specially-trained dogs are used by his Department to detect illicit alcohol.

Andrew Selous

We have trained more than 500 dogs to search prisoners, visitors, prison perimeters and suspicious packages for illicit items such as drugs, weapons, alcohol and mobile phones. As part of that, we have trained more than 300 sniffer dogs to detect new psychoactive substances. Many dogs are trained to detect a range of contraband. As at 31 December 2015, 44 dogs had been licensed to detect alcohol.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the National Offender Management Service’s budget was for its allocation of illicit alcohol-detecting dogs in each of the last five years; and how many finds have been made by those dogs in each of those years.

Andrew Selous

There are more than 500 specially trained dogs used within prisons to search prisoners, visitors, prison perimeters and suspicious packages for illicit items, such as drugs, weapons, alcohol and mobile phones. Many dogs are trained so that they can detect a range of contraband rather than one particular substance. The specific combination of capabilities is managed by regional search teams so that dogs can be used most effectively to tackle prevalent risks in that region.

For those reasons, it is not possible to allocate a specific budget to dogs who have been trained to detect alcohol. Data on the number of alcohol finds made by dogs is not recorded.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 23552, how many times police cells were used to hold prisoners overnight who were aged (a) 15 to 17, (b) 18 to 20 and (c) 21 and over in each month in 2014 and 2015.

Andrew Selous

We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and will do so in a way that gives taxpayers the best possible value for money.

There are no plans to re-activate police cells under Operation Safeguard. No police cells have been used under Operation Safeguard since October 2008. This means the number of prisoners held temporarily overnight in police cells has fallen from over 50,000 in 2008.

Tables 1 and 2 show the number of prisoners, by the requested age groups, who were temporarily held overnight in police cells in England and Wales each month in 2014 and 2015. No prisoners aged 15 to 17 were held overnight in police cells in 2014 and 2015.

Table 1: 18 year olds and above during 2014

Date	Total number of prisoners held in police cell	18 to 20 year olds	21 and over
Jan – 14	168	4	164
Feb – 14	372	13	359
Mar – 14	175	7	168
Apr – 14	64	6	58
May – 14	46	2	44
Jun – 14	112	9	103
Jul – 14	274	8	266
Aug – 14	116	9	107
Sept – 14	62	0	62
Oct – 14	96	6	90
Nov – 14	149	9	140
Dec – 14	111	5	106

Table 2: 18 year olds and above during 2015

Date	Total number of prisoners held in police cell	18 to 20 year olds	21 and Over
Jan – 15	89	2	87
Feb – 15	112	1	111
Mar – 15	74	3	71
Apr – 15	107	5	102
May – 15	47	0	47
Jun – 15	113	4	109
Jul – 15	180	7	173
Aug – 15	63	3	60
Sept – 15	137	7	130
Oct – 15	174	4	170
Nov – 15	195	6	189
Dec – 15	151	3	148