Tag: Andy Slaughter

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will issue a response to the Dying for Justice report published by the Institute of Race Relations in March 2015.

Dominic Raab

Every death in custody is a tragedy. Each one is investigated independently by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman or the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and is the subject of a coroner’s inquest. Every effort is made to learn lessons from these investigations, and the prevention of further deaths is a priority for police, prisons and immigration detention services. The very small number of cases in which criminal offences are believed to have been committed are referred for further investigation by the police and/or to the Crown Prosecution Service, and where appropriate charges are brought. The final outcome in such cases is a matter for the courts.

The Dying for Justice report by the Institute of Race Relations, published in March 2015, highlighted the particular issue of deaths of Black and Minority Ethnic people in custody The Government is not intending to issue a response to the report though has considered its findings.

The report acknowledges some of the improvements that have been made during that period. It also reminds us of the enduring nature of many of the issues related to deaths in custody, particularly that the families of the deceased and others in the Black and Minority Ethnic community continue to lack confidence that appropriate action is being taken in response to such deaths. The Government is working to address this, for example through more effective liaison with families, as well as improvements to restraint techniques and training.

The Prime Minister has asked David Lammy MP to lead a review of the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales to investigate evidence of possible bias against black defendants and other ethnic minorities. With significant overrepresentation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals in the criminal justice system, the review will consider their treatment and outcomes to identify and help tackle potential bias or prejudice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been paid in compensation to prison staff in relation to prisoner attacks in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous

From the data currently held by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) it is not possible to distinguish prison staff compensation claims for prisoner attacks from other similar claims such as other injuries at work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many miscellaneous items as recorded by the Incident Report System were confiscated in each prison in the last 12 months.

Andrew Selous

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many concerted indiscipline incidents of each type have occurred in each prison establishment in each month since May 2005.

Andrew Selous

Violence in prisons has increased in recent years. The nature of offenders currently in custody and the widespread availability of new psychoactive substances have both contributed to making prisons less safe. There is no single, simple solution to the problems we face but we are making progress.

We have launched a two year Violence Reduction project to help us to gain a better understanding of the causes and characteristics of violence. We are also trialling the use of body worn cameras in prisons, training sniffer dogs to detect new psychoactive substances and have made it an offence to smuggle new psychoactive substances into prison. However, ultimately the only way to reduce violence in our prisons is to give governors and those who work in prisons the tools necessary to more effectively reform and rehabilitate offenders.

Many Concerted indiscipline incidents vary widely in nature and duration and many of these incidents are relatively minor and of short duration and cause little disruption to the prison regime.

Note: The figures included in the table attached, have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. 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. Although the figures are shown to the last case the figures may not be accurate to that level.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Barnardo’s advocates are permitted to speak to children confidentially without G4S staff in attendance at Medway Secure Training Centre.

Andrew Selous

Yes. All young people have the opportunity to speak with a Barnardos advocate without a member of the Secure Training Centre staff being present. Both advocates and monitors can also speak to children confidentially without Secure Training Centre staff being present.

Young people can also contact an advocate directly by calling their helpline number, which is free and available to all children to call in privacy from their rooms.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he made of the potential effect on corporation tax receipts of changes to personal injury law and procedure prior to making his announcement of such changes in the 2015 Autumn Statement; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

The Ministry of Justice will launch a public consultation in due course on the details of the policy. This will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

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 members of HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff with protected characteristics will not be required to end their employment due to the closure of the court at which they work.

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 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31078, on immigration officers, what policy, guidance or code of practice is provided to immigration officers carrying out equipment interference.

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 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, who the Government’s representative was at the MaMa-COHAFA (Council Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid) meeting in Brussels on 11 April 2016.

Mr David Lidington

The UK was represented by officials from the Department for International Development and the UK Representation to the EU.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts on 3 May 2016, on confiscation orders: progress review, how many outages of the Semaphore computer system have occurred since 2010; and how long each such outage lasted.

James Brokenshire

For national security reasons, we do not comment on operational issues such as performance and functionality of border security systems.