Tag: Graham Allen

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on establishing a new national centre of expertise on tackling child sexual abuse; and when that centre is expected to open.

Karen Bradley

Tackling child sexual abuse is a top priority for this Government and good progress is being made on delivering the commitments made in “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” – the Government’s response to address on a national scale the failures that had been seen in Rotherham and elsewhere. We are working collaboratively across Whitehall to deliver on our commitments and will publish an update to the “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” report later this year. This will set out our progress to date on what we have achieved in tackling offending, reducing vulnerability and supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. It will also set out what future steps the government plans to take.

As part of this work, we have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat, providing a clear mandate for police forces to safeguard children and to share intelligence and best practice. We have also rolled out to all UK police forces Child abuse image database (CAID) which provides law enforcement with effective tools to search seized devices. We have delivered a £7 million uplift in funding over the financial years 2014 – 15 and 2015 – 16 for non statutory organisations which support victims and survivors of sexual abuse and have announced that the same amount will be available in 2016 – 17.

In January this year we launched a new national whistle-blowing helpline, operated by the NSPCC, for any employee who wants to raise a concern about how their organisation is dealing with a concern about a child. The establishment of the Centre of Expertise has formed part of discussions held at the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, and we are currently working towards its procurement. In terms of the Centre working with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Inquiry is independent of Government, but the Government is, and will, continue to fully co-operate with it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of (a) 18 and (b) 19 year-olds in Northern Ireland were registered to vote on 30 June 2014; what the average number was of 18 and 19 year-olds in Northern Ireland so registered as a proportion of the mid-year population estimate made by the Office for National Statistics for 2014; and how that figure differs from (i) Electoral Commission and (ii) Cabinet Office estimates of the number of registered 18 and 19 year-olds in (A) Northern Ireland and (B) Great Britain in 2014.

Mr Ben Wallace

On 30 June 2014, the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland had (a) 19,361 18 year olds and (b) 20,746 19 year olds registered to vote. Drawing on the mid-year population estimate for 2014 published by the Office for National Statistics, this would represent 82.8% of 18-19 year olds in Northern Ireland.

The Electoral Commission last assessed the completeness of the Northern Ireland electoral register in 2012 when survey sampling estimated that 51% of 18-19 year olds were registered to vote. An Electoral Commission report on the quality of the 2014 electoral registers in Great Britain assessed that 76% of 18-19 year olds were registered to vote.

The Cabinet Office has not made a separate assessment of the number of 18 and 19 year olds registered in either Great Britain or Northern Ireland in this period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues in (a) her Department and (b) other Departments on establishing a new national centre of expertise on tackling child sexual abuse.

Karen Bradley

Tackling child sexual abuse is a top priority for this Government and good progress is being made on delivering the commitments made in “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” – the Government’s response to address on a national scale the failures that had been seen in Rotherham and elsewhere. We are working collaboratively across Whitehall to deliver on our commitments and will publish an update to the “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” report later this year. This will set out our progress to date on what we have achieved in tackling offending, reducing vulnerability and supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. It will also set out what future steps the government plans to take.

As part of this work, we have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat, providing a clear mandate for police forces to safeguard children and to share intelligence and best practice. We have also rolled out to all UK police forces Child abuse image database (CAID) which provides law enforcement with effective tools to search seized devices. We have delivered a £7 million uplift in funding over the financial years 2014 – 15 and 2015 – 16 for non statutory organisations which support victims and survivors of sexual abuse and have announced that the same amount will be available in 2016 – 17.

In January this year we launched a new national whistle-blowing helpline, operated by the NSPCC, for any employee who wants to raise a concern about how their organisation is dealing with a concern about a child. The establishment of the Centre of Expertise has formed part of discussions held at the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, and we are currently working towards its procurement. In terms of the Centre working with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Inquiry is independent of Government, but the Government is, and will, continue to fully co-operate with it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on income tax assignment to Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace

Building a Prosperous and United Community, the ‘Economic Pact’ signed by the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive in 2013, recognised the need to examine the potential to devolve additional fiscal powers to Northern Ireland.

As a result, the Executive is examining the treatment of a range of taxes. The Government will consider any proposals put forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which dental practices are trialling the new dental contract.

Alistair Burt

The attached list provides details of the current 79 dental practices that have signed a prototype agreement. These practices will test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease which includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice on diets and good oral hygiene.

The two practices marked with an asterisk (*) are located in Nottingham.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current waiting time is for a PCV driving examination at Watnall test centre; what steps his Department is taking to reduce that waiting time; and when he expects that waiting time to be reduced.

Andrew Jones

The current waiting time for a vocational, LGV or PCV test at Watnall test centre is 11 weeks.

The Driver and Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) is working hard to reduce waiting times. It is recruiting for driving examiners across the UK and has specifically targeted high-wait areas. Watnall was targeted in a recent recruitment campaign DVSA launched. Once new examiners are in place in Watnall, DVSA is confident waiting times will reduce. In the meantime, DVSA is continuing to monitor waiting times closely, deploying examiners from low-wait centres and offering weekend testing wherever possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any of the dental practices trialling the new dental contract are located in (a) Nottingham North constituency, (b) Nottingham City or (c) local dental networks in that area.

Alistair Burt

The attached list provides details of the current 79 dental practices that have signed a prototype agreement. These practices will test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease which includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice on diets and good oral hygiene.

The two practices marked with an asterisk (*) are located in Nottingham.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the comments made by a spokesperson of his Department in an article published in The Herald newspaper on 10 January 2016, and pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1118, if he will issue guidance to independent monitoring groups on how to contact his Department on, and how to submit evidence relating to, possible civilian casualties from air strikes in Syria and Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

Independent monitoring groups are free to contact the Ministry of Defence through the normal means of correspondence and any credible reports of civilian casualties will be investigated.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34224, when the next meeting of the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse will be; and when procurement for the Centre of Expertise on Sexual Abuse is expected to (a) start and (b) conclude.

Karen Bradley

The Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by the Home Secretary, meets every two months. The next meeting is due to take place on 17 May. We are working to commence the procurement of the centre of expertise on child sexual abuse as soon as possible. We expect the centre to be launched later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the comments made by a spokesperson of his Department made in an article published in the Herald newspaper on 10 January 2016, and pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1118, if his Department will retrospectively re-examine reports of civilian casualties received from September 2014 to January 2016 to see whether any credible reports of potential civilian casualties from UK strikes were overlooked.

Penny Mordaunt

There has been no change in Ministry of Defence (MOD) policy with regard to considering external reports when making an assessment of possible civilian casualties resulting from air strikes.

The MOD takes allegations of civilian casualties very seriously and we do an assessment after every British strike of the damage that has been caused, and check very carefully whether there are likely to have been civilian casualties. As has always been the case, we continue to consider all available credible evidence to support such assessments.