Tag: Baroness Smith of Basildon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-09-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cases under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 have been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service in each year from 2005 to date.

Lord Keen of Elie

While the Crown Prosecution Service and the police work with each other at an early stage on Female Genital Mutilation cases to ensure all avenues of enquiry can be pursued, the CPS only records data on the Case Management System following a positive decision to charge a case.

The Casework Management System records that one FGM case was charged in 2014 and resulted in an acquittal in 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the (1) Constitution Committee, (2) Procedure Committee, (3) Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, and (4) Delegated Powers Committee, of the House of Lords, and (5) the Joint Committee on Human Rights, will be consulted prior to Lord Strathclyde’s review of the powers of the House of Lords being published.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):

Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.

Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).

The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.

Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-09-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications have been made for legal aid that relate to female genital mutilation.

Baroness Mobarik

Up to 31 March 2016, 50 applications had been made for legal aid that can be identified as relating to female genital mutilation. This includes all applications for civil legal representation in proceedings concerning Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders. There may be other legally-aided cases involving issues related to female genital mutilation that cannot be identified from the information recorded by the Legal Aid Agency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2014-06-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the defence of the normal use of prescribed drugs in protecting innocent patients from prosecution for drug driving.

Baroness Kramer

The Government will not be able to make a full assessment of the effectiveness of the statutory medical defence for those patients legitimately taking medication until the new drug driving offence comes into force next year. We have though appointed a research company who will be evaluating the effectiveness of the new offence including the application of the medical defence and will report in 2016.

The Government set out the actions it proposes to take on minimising any inconvenience on patients in the summary of responses to the consultations on its proposed drugs and limits to be specified in regulations on 27 March 2014, which is available at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/drug-driving-proposed-regulations and in the libraries of the House. We do not expect the new drug driving legislation to change for patients from the current position.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2015-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been stopped by the police resulting in action being taken for road traffic offences in each year since 2010.

Lord Bates

Data on the number of people stopped by police for road traffic offences is not collected centrally.