Tag: Andy Slaughter

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, 25 February 2016, HCWS549, on offender management, what financial penalties were incurred by his Department as a result of terminating the contract to develop a bespoke tagging product with Steatite Limited; and how much his Department spent on that contract before its termination.

Dominic Raab

The relevant termination costs are subject to ongoing commercial discussions. We have spent approximately £21m on programme mobilisation to date. The majority of this was spent on investment in the telecommunications network, mapping software, monitoring service and other programme costs which the MoJ will be able to reuse for ongoing electronic monitoring work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of Lord Bridges of Headley, of 25 February 2016, Official Report, column 396, on public bodies: Israel, what the Government’s policy is on whether the Occupied Palestinian Territories are a territory of Israel under the definition of the World Trade Organisaiton.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The World Trade Organisation does not define the territory of its members. The UK does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. We therefore do not consider the Occupied Palestinian Territories to be part of Israel.

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 has taken to ensure that victims and witnesses are not subject to increased fear of intimidation from alleged perpetrators when travelling to court.

Mike Penning

We have a range of special measures in place to support vulnerable witnesses and victims when they are giving evidence. These include the option of giving evidence from a remote location away from the court via live link, which significantly limits the risk of a witness coming into contact with a defendant or their supporters. This will mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.

The Ministry of Justice also funds the delivery of the court-based Witness Service, delivered by Citizens Advice at all criminal courts in England and Wales. The Service has developed an enhanced package of support to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (including victims). This enhanced level of support includes both support at court and pre-trial support and an outreach service offering home visits or meetings, in advance of trial, at Citizens Advice offices or another neutral and appropriate location, and meeting the witness outside the court and accompanying them inside. This enhanced service is being rolled out nationally and will be available in all areas by end of April 2016.

The court can impose any bail condition necessary to ensure that a defendant does not interfere with a witness. If a bail condition is broken, this will have consequences for the offender, including the possibility of a remand into custody.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31078, on immigration officers, whether (a) her Department, (b) the Interception of Communications Commissioner and (c) any other body has reviewed the use of the power of immigration officers to carry out property interference since 2013.

James Brokenshire

The Office of Surveillance Commissioners (OSC) provides independent oversight of the use of property interference powers by law enforcement, including immigration officers. The Police Act 1997 was amended in 2013 to enable immigration officers to carry out property interference. The OSC regularly inspects law enforcement use of the power and scrutinises all individual property interference authorisations. A statutory code of practice for covert surveillance and property interference which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384975/Covert_Surveillance_Property_Interrefernce_web__2_.pdf

applies to all agencies with property interference powers.

The Investigatory Powers Bill will provide enhanced safeguards for the use of equipment interference, including the requirement that equipment interference warrants are subject to the double-lock authorisation safeguard. The Bill will also create a new and more powerful Investigatory Powers Commissioner who will keep the use of this important power under close and regular review. A new Equipment Interference Code of Practice was published in draft alongside the Investigatory Powers Bill. This Code will provide further guidance on the use of equipment interference powers to all relevant agencies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what financial penalties Capita is obliged to pay under its contract with his Department for leaving its contract to provide interpreting services.

Mike Penning

The MoJ’s contract with Capita Translation and Interpretation (TI) naturally expires on 30^th October 2016.

The Ministry does not anticipate an early withdrawal of services by Capita; no financial penalties are therefore currently applicable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which immigration removal centres were inspected by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners related to the use of property interference by immigration officers in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire

There has been no change in Immigration Rules in relation to the use of property interference by immigration officers. Part III Sections 55(1) and (2) of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 amended the Police Act 1997 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) in 2013 to empower officials within the Home Office exercising immigration functions to seek authority for property interference solely for the purpose of preventing and detecting serious crime. Immigration removal centres themselves cannot seek property interference authorisations.

The Office of Surveillance Commissioners (OSC) scrutinise every application for property interference made by immigration officers upon authorisation and also retrospectively oversee any use of the power to ensure compliance. The OSC publish an annual report, which refers to the overall use of these powers by public authorities including the Home Office.

The Home Office does not provide information on individual Immigration Removal Centres visited by the OSC, or investigations carried out within them.

The Investigatory Powers Bill will replace the current oversight regime with a powerful In-vestigatory Powers Commissioner who will have the support, powers, resources and tech-nical expertise to continue to ensure that these powers are being used fully in accordance with the law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects his Department’s Propriety and Ethics team’s investigation into the activity of civil servants to report.

Mike Penning

As I said to the House on 14 March, the rules around former civil servants taking up employment in the private sector are made very clear when they leave the Department. Under no circumstance should they exploit privileged access to government contracts or sensitive information which could be used to influence the outcome of commercial competitions. The investigation has now reported and found that it was unlikely any intellectual property belonging to, or confidential information relating to, the MoJ or NOMS was compromised as a result of former staff gaining employment with TDPi. Nevertheless, we have strengthened internal procedures and increased awareness of the Business Appointment Rules within the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) so as to make departing civil servants and their new employers aware of their obligations under the Rules. My officials have written to TDPi reminding them of their obligations under the Civil Service Code.

Over the last six months, we have improved our commercial capability, more than doubling the senior commercial experts monitoring work with the private sector. The investigation found no evidence of improper culture or general lack of professionalism in relation to how NOMS staff interact with suppliers or contractors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials in (a) her Department and (b) the College of Policing have travelled to Saudi Arabia to discuss the British police force training given to the Saudi Arabian police force in the last three years.

Mike Penning

We are rightly proud of the British model of policing by consent and of the high level of skill and expertise across policing in this country. The College of Policing, which is independent of Government, ensures that respect for human rights and dignity is integral to each programme it delivers.

Course developers and trainers are required to include a bespoke human rights and ethical decision-making element in each course. Before undertaking any international work, the College refers to the International Policing Assistance Board (IPAB), which assesses all requests against British values and interests. IPAB comprises policing representatives and those from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for International Development and devolved administrations.

The College always acts in accordance with HM Treasury’s guidelines on ‘Managing Public Money’, which includes guidance on commercial charging rates. The Home Office do not keep records on the travel of College of Policing officials.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sightings of unidentified flying objects have been reported in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning

The Ministry of Defence does not maintain a central record of the number of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings reported, following the closure of the UFO Desk in 2009.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children are born each year in England with Duchenne muscular dystrophy; how many people are living with this condition; and how many such people do receive Translarna.

David Mowat

Information on how many children are born each year in England with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is not collected. However, it is estimated that there are around 2,500 people living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the United Kingdom.

Following the recommendation made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in April 2016 and the announcement made by NHS England on 7 July, Translarna is now routinely commissioned for those individuals who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy and meet the relevant clinical criteria. Currently, there are approximately 50 patients receiving Translarna.