Tag: Charlotte Leslie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions (a) she and (b) officials of her Department have had with the trustees of the College of Teaching.

Nick Gibb

Officials from the Department for Education have met regularly with representatives of the trustees, and also with the ‘Claim Your College’ consortium of education organisations that led plans to establish the new professional body. The Department is continuing to hold discussions with trustees on what Government support would be helpful for the College.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what regulations govern parental consent for the recording of interviews with lone children in cases involving Cafcass.

Caroline Dinenage

There are no regulations governing parental consent for the recording of interviews with lone children in cases involving the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). The extent of the role and responsibilities of Cafcass officers is set out in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Practice Direction 16a, and this refers to the duty to “make such investigations as may be necessary”. Cafcass practitioners are aware that they must consider the best interests of the child in all aspects of their casework, including dealing with a request from a parent to record an interview.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of people removed from the UK under (a) the assisted voluntary return scheme and (b) enforced removals.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office works across government and beyond to reduce the size of the illegal population by ensuring that there is a consequence for every individual and organisation that is benefiting from immigration abuse. That includes ensuring that people who have no right to be here leave the UK, voluntarily or through an enforced return.

The support available under the assisted voluntary return scheme is now integrated into the Home Office Voluntary Returns Service where a range of help and support is available to those here illegally who are seeking to return.

Creating the single service as a clear point of contact for those seeking to return, working with key voluntary sector stakeholders, local authorities, increasing the work we do directly with community and faith groups and improving our understanding of the best ways to reach out to those here illegally – are all key parts of the work the Home Office is doing to help people return home.

Encouraging voluntary returns allows us to focus our detention and enforcement resource on criminal cases and those that represent the biggest threat. Where someone refuses to leave the UK voluntarily we will take steps to enforce their swift removal and prevent them returning for up to 10 years.

In terms of enforced removals the 2014 Immigration Act reformed the deportation process. More than 3,200 foreign national offenders have been removed under the new deport first, appeal later powers since they came into force in July 2014, with many more going through the system.

We are also using biometrics to match identities and speed up the process of gaining emergency travel documents.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England received NHS treatment as a result of road traffic accidents in each year since 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne

These data are not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of NHS hospitals in coordinating with private or third sector care providers to optimise results for patients.

Ben Gummer

We would encourage working between all providers of health and care, to maximise safe and effective care for all patients.

Decisions about whether to use non-NHS capacity are generally made at local level, as part of the operational management of capacity and demand.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what process there is for updating victims on the progress of a prisoner’s appeal.

Mike Penning

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 19160 on 15 December 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claimants whose asylum claim has been refused but who cannot be legally deported because their destination country is deemed unsafe have been admitted to prison in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire

We carefully consider all asylum claims on their individual merits and provide protection for those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations. No one who is at risk of serious harm in their country is expected to return there, but we do expect those who do not need our protection to return home voluntarily. Neither the Home Office nor the Ministry of Justice holds data on the number of failed asylum seekers who are admitted to prison as the information is not captured in that way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Cafcass in (a) domestic abuse cases and (b) other private law cases.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government has made no specific assessment of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service’s (Cafcass) performance in cases where domestic violence or abuse is alleged or admitted. However, in 2014, Ofsted inspected Cafcass as a national organisation. It judged that as a minimum all children, young people and families receive a service where the quality and effectiveness of Cafcass private law practice is ‘good’. The protective measures of a non-molestation order or occupation order available from the family court for an adult party in cases of domestic violence or abuse do not involve Cafcass.

In relation to other private law cases involving children, Cafcass is most often involved in proceedings for a child arrangements order where parents are in dispute. In every case where a child arrangements order is sought, Cafcass undertakes safeguarding checks with the police and local authority. Relevant matters are communicated to the court prior to the first hearing via a safeguarding letter. In this way, Cafcass provides judges with the information they need to ensure that any decisions made are safe for the child and adult parties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on jobseeker’s allowance claimants taking up volunteer work of the requirement for them to spend 35 hours each week searching for work; and whether that assessment was conducted prior to implementation of that policy.

Priti Patel

There is no requirement for Jobseekers Allowance claimants to undertake 35 hours of job search a week. Claimants must however be actively seeking work in each week of their claim. This means they are expected to do all that they reasonably can to give them the best prospects of securing employment.

We recognise the benefits that volunteering can offer in enhancing a claimant’s prospects of finding suitable employment. Time spent volunteering may therefore be taken into account when considering whether a person has taken all appropriate steps to actively seek work each week.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provision exists for the Syrian spouses of British nationals to come to the UK to join their families.

James Brokenshire

There are several refugee schemes in operation under which a Syrian national may be able to qualify to come to the UK, including the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and Mandate – which resettles those recognised as refugees and judged to be in need of resettlement by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and who have a close family member in the UK who is willing to support them.

In addition, a Syrian national can apply to join their British citizen spouse or partner in the UK under the Family Immigration Rules. If the requirements of the rules are not met, the entry clearance officer will consider whether there are exceptional or compassionate circumstances which may warrant a grant of entry clearance outside the rules.