Tag: Andy Slaughter

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents at height in respect of each method of access there have been in each prison in each month since May 2010.

Andrew Selous

I refer the Hon Member to the answer for PQ 20749. The table attached provides a further breakdown of the data provided in that PQ.

The vast majority of incidents at height are minor in nature and resolved quickly and professionally without injury, damage or disruption to the running of the prison. Many are short in duration, lasting less than 15 minutes and the majority occur when prisoners go onto netting on prison wings. Each incident is investigated fully to ensure lessons are learnt and best practice in managing incidents is shared across NOMS.

These figures show that the Prime Minister and Justice Secretary are right and our prisons badly need reform. We are making progress: we have made it illegal to smuggle new psychoactive substances (NPS) into prisons and have trained over 300 sniffer dogs to detect NPS and are trialling the use of body worn cameras with front-line staff. But the only way to reduce disorder and violence in our prisons is to give those who work in prisons the tools necessary to better reform and rehabilitate offenders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many responses to his Department’s consultation on the closure of Hammersmith Court were (a) in favour of and (b) against the closure.

Andrew Selous

The number of responses received on the proposal to close Hammersmith County Court (formally West London County Court) were (a) two in favour and (b) 14 against.

The consultation response is available online at www.gov.uk/moj.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 3.103 of the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015, what discussions he has had with the judiciary on the potential effect of removing legal costs by transferring personal injury claims of up to £5,000 to the small claims court; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab

Discussions relating to the new reforms have been held with the judiciary. The Government continues to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including the judiciary, in taking this work forward and will consult on the detail in due course. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the government of the United Arab Emirates on the continued imprisonment of David Haigh.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been providing consular assistance to Mr Haigh since his arrest, and has discussed his case with the Emirati authorities on a regular basis, most recently on Monday 21 March 2016. We are pleased that Mr Haigh has now been found not guilty and will soon be released.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Court of Appeal’s recent decision on domestic violence evidential requirements for legal aid, what interim steps his Department plans to make for victims of domestic violence whose evidence is more than 24 months old.

Mike Penning

We are carefully considering the judgment and will make a further announcement in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) written and (b) other contacts he or Ministers in his Department had with senior executives at (a) AXA UK, (b) Ageas UK, (c) General Insurance, (d) Direct Line Insurance and (e) Admiral Insurance between 1 September and 26 November 2015.

Dominic Raab

There was no written or other contact between any Ministry of Justice Minister and senior executives at (a) AXA UK, (b) Ageas UK, (c) General Insurance, (d) Direct Line Insurance and (e) Admiral Insurance between 1 September and 26 November 2015.

Details of all Ministerial meetings are included in transparency returns which are published quarterly on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/moj-data-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-returns-october-to-december-2015.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34838, under which clauses of the National Health Service Act 2006 he exercised the range of powers used in deciding to proceed to introduce a new contract.

Ben Gummer

The Secretary of State is exercising his powers under the National Health Service Act 2006 (in particular sections 1, 1A, 1B, 1F, 1G and 2), working with NHS employers who, as they are the employers of junior doctors, are using their employment powers.

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 received legal aid funding in each of the last seven years.

Mr Shailesh Vara

This information is due to be released as part of the pre-announced annual statistics bulletin for the LAA on the 30th June 2016.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38441, what average rate people serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection have served over their tariff.

Andrew Selous

The tariff period is the minimum amount of time that prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) must serve for the purposes of punishment and deterrence. Release is then a matter for the Independent Parole Board. The Parole Board will recommend release only once they are satisfied that prisoners’ risks have been reduced to a level that can be safely managed in the community.

For those IPP prisoners who are beyond their tariff date the average period served post-tariff, rounded to the nearest year, is 4 years. This figure excludes IPP prisoners who have been released and subsequently recalled to custody.