Tag: Cathy Jamieson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people ordinarily resident in Scotland have been accommodated in secure units in England in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

The following table shows the number of male and female prisoners held in prisons or young offender institutions, who have a reported home address in Scotland in each September since 2010.

Number of male and female prisoners who have a reported home address in Scotland, in each September since 2010.

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
95	108	98	112	111

Information on offenders is provided by them on reception in prison and recorded on a central IT system. Reported addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or the address of their next of kin. No address has been reported and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders and therefore these figures are excluded from the answer.

Note: secure units are defined here as prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales. Information on individuals held in secure training centres, secure children’s homes and in secure mental health units are not included in this answer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which secure units young people ordinarily resident in Scotland have been accommodated in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) are responsible for placing young people under 18 years of age in custody in England and Wales, and make every effort to place them as close to home as possible. The appropriate placement of young people into the secure estate is undertaken on a case-by-case basis and is based upon a combination of factors unique to each young person entering custody.

According to the most recent snapshot of data held by the National Offenders Management Service (NOMS), taken in September 2014, there was one young person ordinarily resident in Scotland being accommodated in an under-18 Young Offender Institution in England and Wales. Information about where this young person was held cannot be disclosed as this could possibly result in the identification of the offender, which could lead to a potential breach of the Data Protection Act.

In snapshots taken each September between 2010 and 2013, there were no young people ordinarily resident in Scotland being accommodated in under-18s Young Offender Institutions in England and Wales. There is no data held for Secure Children’s Homes and Secure Training Centres.

There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State and the Scottish Government on the accommodation of young people from Scotland in the youth secure estate in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-04-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason his Department will no longer participate in the Debt Management Plan Protocol guidance group; and if he will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is committed to improving standards in the debt management industry to deliver a better deal for consumers and greater transparency for creditors. The Debt Management Plan Protocol played a crucial role in meeting this objective, working in complement with the OFT regulatory framework, and paved the way for more robust regulation of the sector by the FCA.

From 1 April, responsibility for regulating debt management firms, along with all other consumer credit firms, transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Consumers will be better protected under the new regime – the FCA will:

· police the gateway to the market more thoroughly;

· proactively identify risks to consumers;

· focus its supervisory resources on areas most likely to cause consumer harm;

· approve individuals in influential roles in firms;

· operate a flexible and responsive regime;

· use its wide enforcement toolkit;

· and ensure consumers have access to redress.

The FCA will thoroughly assess every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process – debt management firms will be amongst the first to require authorisation.

The FCA has also introduced new requirements for debt management firms, including:

· Prudential requirements: Debt management firms often hold consumers’ money – the FCA is requiring large debt management firms to hold capital to ensure that consumers don’t risk losing their money if things go wrong.

· Guidance added that debt management firms should not allocate more than half the money received from customers in debt management plans to meeting their fees and charges.

With the new FCA regulatory regime in place which will greatly improve consumer protection in the debt management market, the Government decided following discussions with a range of stakeholders that it was the right time to step away from an active role in the Protocol.

The Government hopes that the stakeholders involved in the Protocol will continue to work together to help the FCA monitor the market and drive best practice in the sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with (a) electricity generators and (b) representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises and consumer groups on proposals to assist small business energy consumers.

Michael Fallon

DECC Ministers and officials meet industry representatives and consumer groups on a regular basis to discuss market issues.

In July last year, No.10 and DECC set up a joint working group with industry and consumer groups to look at ways for improving the transparency and fairness of the energy market for small businesses. At the end of 2013, the working group published the Small Business Energy Communique, an agreement with industry to make it easier for small businesses to get a better deal in the energy market.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-business-energy-working-group-communique

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which charitable projects in Scotland have received funding from the Armed Forces Covenant (LIBOR) Fund to date.

Anna Soubry

The allocation of some £35 million in LIBOR fines to the Ministry Of Defence to support the Armed Forces community is just one example of the importance this Government places on the Armed Forces covenant.

We have provided £5.5 million of funding for 12 Scottish projects. In addition, the Armed Forces community in Scotland will benefit from a number of UK-wide projects which have been allocated over £16 million of LIBOR funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-04-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the future implementation of the Debt Management Plan Protocol.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is committed to improving standards in the debt management industry to deliver a better deal for consumers and greater transparency for creditors. The Debt Management Plan Protocol played a crucial role in meeting this objective, working in complement with the OFT regulatory framework, and paved the way for more robust regulation of the sector by the FCA.

From 1 April, responsibility for regulating debt management firms, along with all other consumer credit firms, transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Consumers will be better protected under the new regime – the FCA will:

· police the gateway to the market more thoroughly;

· proactively identify risks to consumers;

· focus its supervisory resources on areas most likely to cause consumer harm;

· approve individuals in influential roles in firms;

· operate a flexible and responsive regime;

· use its wide enforcement toolkit;

· and ensure consumers have access to redress.

The FCA will thoroughly assess every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process – debt management firms will be amongst the first to require authorisation.

The FCA has also introduced new requirements for debt management firms, including:

· Prudential requirements: Debt management firms often hold consumers’ money – the FCA is requiring large debt management firms to hold capital to ensure that consumers don’t risk losing their money if things go wrong.

· Guidance added that debt management firms should not allocate more than half the money received from customers in debt management plans to meeting their fees and charges.

With the new FCA regulatory regime in place which will greatly improve consumer protection in the debt management market, the Government decided following discussions with a range of stakeholders that it was the right time to step away from an active role in the Protocol.

The Government hopes that the stakeholders involved in the Protocol will continue to work together to help the FCA monitor the market and drive best practice in the sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he has received on allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by the Moroccan Security Forces.

Hugh Robertson

We are aware of the allegations against the Moroccan Security Forces, particularly when policing demonstrations. We regularly emphasise to Morocco the importance of respect for human rights in Western Sahara, including when policing demonstrations. I raised this during my visit to Rabat in March this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government regarding environmental and economic effects of the restoration of former open cast sites in East Ayrshire.

Michael Fallon

I last discussed this matter with my Scottish counterpart in May 2014.