Tag: Charlotte Leslie

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27389, what assessment her Department has made of the ability of failed asylum seekers to fund travel to their country of origin.

James Brokenshire

Migrants in the UK without permission, including those who have failed in a claim for asylum, are expected to leave the UK promptly and voluntarily. Those who need help purchasing a ticket or organising their travel can contact the Voluntary Return Service that came into effect on 1 January, who can provide assistance as appropriate. Subject to the bespoke needs of the individual or family, reintegration support in the country of origin may also be provided. Those individuals who do not leave voluntarily will be forcibly removed.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the (a) reduction in the number of gliders available for Air Cadet forces, (b) reduction in the number of gliding induction courses and (c) closure of 14 volunteer gliding squadrons on the operations and activities of air cadet squadrons across the UK.

Mr Julian Brazier

When the in-depth audit of glider engineering found that both the Vigilant and Viking aircraft fleets failed to meet the airworthiness standards required and all Air Cadet gliding had to be suspended as safety is paramount in all flying activity, it was essential that the RAF explored options for the future of glider experience flights, together with future fleet size and location. As a result of this work, and after substantial operational, technical and commercial negotiations with a range of leading aerospace companies, it became apparent that repair of all the existing Viking and Vigilant fleets was not economically sustainable. In particular, there was no reliable contractor able to take on a large scale refurbishment of the Vigilant fleet.

The reduced glider fleet will operate at fewer, but larger, regional Volunteer Gliding Squadrons. Where Cadets have to travel longer distances investment is being increased to provide good quality residential accommodation. There will also be an uplift in Tutor aircraft, for powered flying from 45 to 70, and the formation of two additional Air Experience Flights, as well as the provision of 25 part task trainers.

The Air Cadet Organisation are developing their courses, which centre on a common syllabus focusing every single flight on training rather than providing a passenger experience, be that in the air with gliding and powered flight or through synthetic training on part-task trainers funded by the RAF Charitable Trust. The redesigned courses provide a Cadet flying training structure like that used by our future RAF Typhoon and Lightning II pilots. Cadets will learn basic flying skills from an early point in their Air Cadet careers starting with ground school lessons and realistic synthetic training on part task trainers, building flying experience. This smart use and integration of synthetic flying during the early stages alongside powered and glider flying means that the Air Cadet of the future will once more have aviation opportunities unmatched by any other National Cadet Force worldwide.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what advice her Department provides to people living in Approved Premises who have (a) an addiction, (b) a mental health condition and (c) other health conditions.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Offenders required to reside in Approved Premises are entitled to the same health provision as ordinary members of the public.

Approved Premises staff are not medically qualified and so cannot give clinical advice. They do have a general duty of care and Approved Premises staff are trained in identifying and working with people with addictions or mental health problems. All residents are obliged to be registered with a GP, and many Approved Premises have arranged provision such as on-site GP attendance and run healthy living programmes.

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 integrated health and social care system in Northern Ireland in formulating policy on how to better integrate health and social care.

Alistair Burt

The Department regularly reviews international evidence in relation to integrated health and social care services. While Northern Ireland has had a structurally integrated health and social care system since 1973, and in more recent years has undergone a restructure in an effort to deliver more coordinated and integrated care, academic evaluation of integration in Northern Ireland has been relatively limited to date. Nonetheless, officials continue to monitor new publications on this subject.

It is important to note that while there is a growing body of evidence from around the world about what works with regard to integration, no country has successfully delivered integration on a universal scale. Moreover, due to fundamental differences in the design of different health and care systems it is not straightforward to apply lessons learnt elsewhere to the English system.

More generally, the Government recently reemphasised its ambition to integrate health and social care across England by 2020, and will continue to monitor international evidence as policy is formulated with respect to this programme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provision is made for victims of crimes committed by foreign prisoners to access information about the progress of their deportation.

James Brokenshire

A victim may contact the Home Office directly or make a request via their Victim Liaison Officer (VLO) for information on the progress of a foreign prisoner’s deportation. The Home Office will inform the victim or their VLO on whether deportation is being pursued or has been enforced.

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 had been refused but who could not be legally deported because their destination country was deemed unsafe were admitted to prison in each year between 2006-07 and 2009-10.

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 2016-03-01.

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.