Tag: Andy Slaughter

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funds the Government has provided for (a) humanitarian efforts and (b) security at the refugee camp in Calais in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire

As part of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK committed to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to facilitate the movement of migrants away from Calais by providing support and facilities elsewhere in France.

Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (or €750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

Security at the camps in Calais is the responsibility of the French Government, and the UK Government has not committed funds for this purpose.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the (a) title and (b) date is of each memorandum of understanding signed by a Government department with another country since 2010.

James Duddridge

I refer to the answer I gave on 11 January to Question 20196. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what trips to Saudi Arabia government ministers plan to make in 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

I have been clear that a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia matters. As such, Ministers will continue to engage with Saudi Arabia, and the wider region, throughout the year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2015 to Question 12035, what teaching agency G4S contacted; and what level of security clearance that member of staff was required to hold in order to enter the facility concerned.

Andrew Selous

The recruitment agency contacted by G4S was Randstad. The member of staff went through full G4S vetting and clearance before being employed on site. All STC staff, both temporary and permanent, must also undergo background checks and be reviewed and approved by the Youth Justice Board prior to appointment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of potential savings to the public purse arising from the proposed residence test for legal aid.

Mr Shailesh Vara

It is right that individuals should have a strong connection with the UK to benefit from taxpayer funded legal aid. The residence test proposed during the previous Parliament is a fair and appropriate way to demonstrate that connection.

The Government does not currently record the residence status of civil legal aid clients so cannot accurately estimate the annual savings that may be achieved by introducing a civil legal aid residence test. It is likely there will be a reduction in legal aid volumes and expenditure from imposing residence restrictions on civil legal aid, resulting in savings to the legal aid fund.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the National Offender Management Service decided not to impose financial penalties on private prisons on each occasion when such penalties were applicable in the last five years; and what the value of those fines so foregone was.

Andrew Selous

Performance points are accrued when a custodial service failure occurs. Charges are then applied when the total points exceeds the relevant performance baseline. A performance baseline is allowed in recognition of the complex operational nature of prisons where we know that there will be occasional incidents no matter how well the prison is run. This charge protocol is a longstanding practice in prison contracts.

The performance points, and subsequent calculated charges, are signed off by all parties at the Quarterly Contract Review Meeting. Following this meeting, charge payable will, without exception, be collected by NOMS.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2016 to Question 23060, what proportion of staff employed in each young offender institution are qualified social workers.

Andrew Selous

The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

The Youth Justice Board is responsible for commissioning and oversight of the secure youth estate. The Youth Justice Board funds dedicated social workers at each under-18 Young Offender Institution (YOI). All young people undergo a health and education assessment upon arrival into custody, whilst all staff undergo training in child and adolescent development and safeguarding.

Under-18 YOI providers should ensure that they meet the needs of all detained persons including those with Special Education and Needs (SEN) requirements, and that all staff are suitably qualified to support young people and make referrals to other specialist support where this is appropriate.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the most commonly recorded item in the Incident Report System was in each prison; and how many times each such item was recorded in the prison concerned in the 12 months for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous

Other than for a few specific items such as firearms, finds of illicit items within prisons are recorded under the miscellaneous category on the NOMS Incident Reporting System. To extract the information requested could only be achieved at disproportionate cost by examining some 10,000 individual records in this category.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many weapons of which type have been confiscated from visitors to prisons 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 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18874, when his Department plans to write to clarify the date captured in the other category; and if he will place a copy of that letter in the Libraries of both Houses.

Mr Shailesh Vara

My Department takes the issue of security within courts extremely seriously. Working with our security suppliers, officials continue to analyse the data within the other category to ensure the data provided answers question 18874 and provides detail on “other weapons” as requested.

I will write a letter to honourable member soon and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.