Tag: Andy Slaughter

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on funding for the UK’s life sciences sector.

Mr Robin Walker

The Government recognises the importance of our research base, which is why we have protected the science budget in real terms from its current level of £4.7 bn for the rest of the parliament.

The referendum result has no immediate effect on the right of researchers to apply to or participate in EU research programmes. We remain a part of the EU until negotiations are concluded. While the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU arrangements continue unchanged. UK participants, including those researching mental health issues, can continue to apply to programmes in the usual way. The future of UK access to these programmes is one of many issues to be addressed in our EU negotiations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what new treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy have been notified to the Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centre in the last 12 months.

Nicola Blackwood

In the last 12 months, the National Institute for Health Research Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centre has identified and added to its database the following technologies for which Duchenne muscular dystrophy is an indication:

– ezutromid;

– FG-3019;

– follistatin;

– halofuginone hydrobromide;

– SRP-4045;

– SRP-4053; and

– vamorolone.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of changes to his Department’s policies on (a) the provision of secure colleges, (b) prohibiting prisoners from receiving books, (c) the sale of HM Courts and Tribunal Service, (d) Saudi prison contracts and (e) the timetable for the tender for criminal defence work.

Andrew Selous

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 13074 on 7th December 2015. There was never any plan to sell HM Courts and Tribunals Service. There is no cost to the public purse from the delay to implementation of new criminal legal aid contracts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times he has met (a) insurance companies and (b) personal injury law firms in the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin

Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.

As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates there were on 1 April (a) 1989, (b) 1994, (c) 2000, (d) 2005, (e) 2010, (f) 2014 and (g) 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The requested information that is recorded is provided in the table below. Data for 1989 is not recorded. The reduction in the number of magistrates reflects the reduction in the workload in the adult criminal court. The role of a magistrate remains a sought after one and competition for vacancies tends to be strong.

1994	30,054
2000	30,308
2005	28,253
2010	28,607
2014	21,626
2015	19,634

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18873, which companies provided the agency workers to cover operational uniformed staff in each month; and how much was paid to those companies.

Andrew Selous

We only use temporary staff to fill business critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house. We continue to examine our use of consultants and agency staff to find savings where possible. We have committed to reducing our back office and administrative budget by 50% by 2020.

The company which provided the agency workers to cover operational uniformed costs in each month was Hays. £46,424,119 was paid to thembetween January 2014 and October 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Questions 19129, prisons: locks and keys, which prisons had to be relocked; and what the cost was of each such incident.

Andrew Selous

When a key/lock incident is reported an immediate investigation is undertaken to assess the risk and unless it is clear that security has not been compromised, locking mechanisms and keys will be replaced and/or other necessary remedial action will be taken.

In the five years from May 2005 to May 2010 there were 16 relocks at a cost of £1,280,234 to the taxpayer. Since May 2010 this has fallen to 8 relocks at a total cost of £529,973 to the taxpayer. Further to my answer of 14 December, the table below shows the location of the 8 relocks since May 2010.

The cost of a re-lock will depend the size of the prison establishment and on which keys have been lost or compromised. If a complete set of keys are lost, a full re-lock of the prison will be undertaken, whereas if a single key is lost only a partial re-lock will be needed, incurring a lower cost.

Time Frame	Location/Date	Total Cost (excluding VAT)
1 May 2010 – 1 May 2011	HMP Swaleside; HMYOI Glen Parva; HMP Warren Hill	£79,526; £173,608; £84,419
2 May 2011 – 1 May 2012	HMP Birmingham	£415,277 1
2 May 2012 – 1 May 2013	None	0
2 May 2013 – 1 May 2014	HMP Lindholme	£28,812
2 May 2014 – 1 May 2015	HMP Haverigg; HMP Highpoint	£30,540; £15,856
2 May 2015 – 9 December	HMYOI Portland	£117,212

Notes:

1.The cost of the re-lock at HMP Birmingham was met by the private contractor operating the prison.

2.Prisons are also responsible for re-locks of crown court cells. Figures exclude re-lock of cells in two crown courts during the period.

3.The figures quoted have been drawn from live administrative databases and may subsequently be amended. Due care is taken during processing and analysis, but the detail is subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19495, what the (a) names, (b) job titles and (c) salary bands were of the staff who worked on Just Solutions International.

Andrew Selous

As was stated in the Answer to questions HL2604 and 19495, 3.5 full time equivalent staff (FTE) worked under the Just Solutions International (JSi) brand. These staff also worked on other, core business within the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). As none of these staff were members of the Senior Civil Service, it would not be appropriate to name them in a Parliamentary answer.