The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times a prisoner from each prison has been airlifted to receive medical attention in each of the last five years.
Ben Gummer
This information is not collected centrally.
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.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total number of years is that offenders brought back to the UK under a European Arrest Warrant have been sentenced to in the last five years.
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 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the steps that would be needed to give effect to the legal agreement signed by the EU member states based on the revised terms of EU membership negotiated by the Prime Minister; and what the role of the Council of Ministers, the Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice will be in giving legal effect to that agreement.
Mr David Lidington
No further steps are needed to give legal effect to the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016. The Decision will come into effect on the same date as the UK informs the Secretary-General of the Council of its decision in the referendum to remain in the EU. It will then be for the member States and the EU institutions to implement the Decision. The steps required of the institutions and the Member States to do so are set out in the Decision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that defendants do not break bail conditions due to contact with people that those conditions do not allow 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 Justice, how many prisoners at each establishment have risk indicators which have been identified after completion of a cell sharing risk assessment.
Andrew Selous
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 30955, what the financial and other practical implications are of the UK joining the EU Consortium to support the construction of small-scale infrastructure in Area C.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK has allocated £900,000 for the development of basic social infrastructure in areas which have an outline plan in the approval process, through an EU multi-donor programme. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to develop improved mechanisms for zoning, planning and permitting in Area C for the benefit of the Palestinian population, including by facilitating local Palestinian participation in such processes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether changes have been made to the immigration rules in the last four years in relation to the use of property interference powers by immigration officers.
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 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of women in prison.
Caroline Dinenage
As the Prime Minister has made clear, this government is committed to improving the treatment of female offenders. We are looking into options including tagging, problem solving courts and alternative resettlement units to improve our care for female offenders. This is particularly important if they are pregnant or have young children.
We are working with local areas to encourage a more effective joined-up multi-agency approach to address the often complex needs of female offenders. We have awarded £200k in grant funding to pilot the development of these partnership models. It is hoped that this early intervention will allow the diversion of some offenders and the use of robust alternatives to custody, where appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on VAT receipts of changes to personal injury law and procedure announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 before making that announcement; and if he will make a statement.
Dominic Raab
The Ministry of Justice received and analysed data from numerous sources when formulating the announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. It will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders including other Government Departments, solicitors and insurers in taking forward the new reforms. The Government will consult on the detail of these measures in due course. The consultation will be accompanied by a detailed impact assessment.