The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24706, how many improvised or self-made weapons were confiscated in prisons or young offenders institutes in each year since 2010.
Andrew Selous
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been paid in compensation to prisoners in the last 12 months.
Andrew Selous
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We robustly defend all cases and over the last three years have successfully defended two thirds of claims from prisoners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Hungarian government on the sale of residency bonds through off-shore companies.
Mr David Lidington
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has had no discussions with the Hungarian government on this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost was of the Youth Justice Board monitoring carried out at each secure training centre in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Andrew Selous
A total annual cost of the Youth Justice Board’s (YJB) monitoring of each Secure Training Centre provided by the YJB is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what total number of years sentencing was handed out to offenders brought back to the UK from Spain under a European Arrest Warrant as part of Operation Captura.
Dominic Raab
This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant and these can be found here: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics/wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics/608-wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics-2009-april-2015-1
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) female HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) staff that work part-time and (b) other HCMTS staff with caring responsibilities will not be negatively affected by planned court and tribunal closures.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Following the closure announcement HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) began a period of staff consultation which includes discussions between all those affected and their management teams. Management teams will support staff in identifying suitable redeployment options taking into account their individual needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of underwriting a national rent deposit scheme to help more homeless people access the private rented sector.
Mr Marcus Jones
One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to doing all we can to prevent homelessness. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. At Budget, we went one step further and announced £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.
We have also protected Homelessness Prevention Grant for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. In doing so, we expect them to provide quality advice and assistance to all those that approach them for help. The Homelessness Code of Guidance for local authorities, developed by my Department working with local authorities and the voluntary and community sector, already encourages them to use this grant to provide rent deposits, guarantees or rent in advance. Many local authorities, housing associations or charities in England have put such schemes in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents involving the use of drone technology have been recorded at each type of prison facility in each of the last three years.
Andrew Selous
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to PQ 20357.
Incidents involving drones are rare, but we remain constantly vigilant to all new threats to prison security. This Government has made it a criminal offence to throw, or otherwise project, any article of substance into prison without authorisation. Anyone using drones in an attempt to get contraband into prisons can be punished with a sentence of up to two years. We take a zero tolerance approach to illicit material in prisons and work closely with the police and CPS to ensure those responsible for a drone incident are caught and, if appropriate, prosecuted.
There were no reported drone incidents in 2013; 2 reported incidents in 2014; and 33 reported incidents in 2015.
These figures include drone finds and sightings of drones by prison staff in and around all types of public and private prisons in England and Wales.
These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Security at the Home Office in the sitting of the Investigatory Powers Bill of 26 April 2016, column 549, PBC (Bill 143) 2015-16, how many details of medical records the security and intelligence services hold; what the definition of medical records was for the purposes of that contribution; and whether the intelligence and security services attain medical records directly from those who hold them.
Mr John Hayes
The Investigatory Powers Bill significantly strengthens the safeguards in relation to the security and intelligence agencies’ retention and use of bulk personal datasets through the requirement for warrants subject to the ‘double-lock’ of Secretary of State and judicial approval.
The security and intelligence agencies do not hold medical records as part of their bulk personal datasets. Medical records are a collection of confidential medical information about the mental or physical health of individuals compiled by a medical professional and held by a medical institution.
The agencies may only acquire information where it is necessary for the proper discharge of their statutory functions and the retention of each bulk personal dataset is subject to strict handling arrangements to ensure that they are only retained where it is necessary and proportionate to do so.The Government cannot provide further details on the datasets that the agencies hold or how they are acquired as to do so would undermine the agencies’ ability to protect national security and prevent and disrupt serious crime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) children under 18 years of age and (b) young people aged 18 to 24(i) applied for legal aid through the Exceptional Case Funding Scheme (ECF) and (ii) were granted ECF in immigration cases in (A) 2013-14, (B) 2014-15 and (C) 2015-16.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The purpose of the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme is to provide funding where it is legally needed. It does not provide a general power to fund cases which fall outside the scope of legal aid. Legal aid is a vital part of our justice system, but we cannot escape the continuing need to reduce the deficit. We still have a very generous system – last year we spent £1.6bn on legal aid, around a quarter of the department’s expenditure. Every ECF application is carefully considered by the Legal Aid Agency on an individual basis.
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme, by age of applicant, April 2013 to December 2015
|
FY application received |
Under 18 |
18-24 |
Unknown |
|
Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 |
55 |
86 |
6982 |
|
Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 |
27 |
116 |
67 |
|
Apr 2015 – Dec 20151 |
31 |
82 |
78 |
1 Statistics for Jan-Mar 2016 are exempt for future publication on 30 June 2016
2 Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding were collected from October 2013 onwards, hence the greater proportion of unknowns in 2013-14 compared to the other years.
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme, which were granted3, by age of applicant, April 2013 to December 2015
|
FY application received |
Under 18 |
18-24 |
Unknown |
|
Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 |
1 |
4 |
132 |
|
Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 |
8 |
20 |
3 |
|
Apr 2015 – Dec 20151 |
12 |
40 |
23 |
1 Statistics for Jan-Mar 2016 are exempt for future publication on 30 June 2016
2 Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding were collected from October 2013 onwards, hence the greater proportion of unknowns in 2013-14 compared to the other years.
3 Granted by 29 February 2016
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme for immigration cases, by age of applicant, April 2013 to December 2015
|
FY application received |
Under 18 |
18-24 |
Unknown |
|
Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 |
– |
12 |
1332 |
|
Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 |
14 |
39 |
16 |
|
Apr 2015 – Dec 20151 |
11 |
33 |
25 |
1 Statistics for Jan-Mar 2016 are exempt for future publication on 30 June 2016
2 Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding were collected from October 2013 onwards, hence the greater proportion of unknowns in 2013-14 compared to the other years.
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme for immigration cases, which were granted3, by age of applicant, April 2013 to December 2015
|
FY application received |
Under 18 |
18-24 |
Unknown |
|
Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 |
– |
– |
12 |
|
Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
|
Apr 2015 – Dec 20151 |
10 |
22 |
12 |
1 Statistics for Jan-Mar 2016 are exempt for future publication on 30 June 2016
2 Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding were collected from October 2013 onwards, hence the greater proportion of unknowns in 2013-14 compared to the other years.
3 Granted by 29 February 2016