Tag: Andy Slaughter

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

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which services have been sold for profit by (a) her Department and (b) the College of Policing to the Saudi criminal justice system in the last five 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 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to protect birds of prey.

Rory Stewart

All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which provides a powerful framework for the conservation of wild birds, their eggs, nests and habitats. The Government is committed to ensuring the protection afforded to wild birds of prey is effectively enforced. There are strong penalties for offenders, including imprisonment.

Raptor persecution is one of six national wildlife crime priorities and is subject to a prevention, intelligence and enforcement plan.

The National Wildlife Crime Unit, which is part funded by Defra, monitors and gathers intelligence on illegal activities affecting birds of prey and provides assistance to police forces when required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on preventing the execution of UK nationals sentenced to death abroad.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

​The UK Government is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. Whenever there is a case of a British national on death row, provided that individual wants assistance from the UK Government, we make political representations at many levels to the government of the country in question. There is no one-size-fits-all approach; we will tailor our interventions on a case-by-case basis in a way that we judge to be most effective to prevent executions being carried out. Beyond political representations by Her Majesty’s Government, other interventions might include: engaging local and UK-based Non-Governmental Organisations to provide support to British nationals facing the death penalty; liaising closely with the British national’s legal team to ensure any lobbying actions we take complement their ongoing legal activity; and working closely with international partners to encourage wider lobbying.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will direct the College of Policing to disclose the content of each of the training courses it has provided to Saudi police officers.

Mike Penning

The College of Policing in common with other organisations, does not routinely publish details of commercial agreements and has no plans to do so. The Home Secretary has no plans to direct the College of Policing to disclose this information.