The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to which locations pending applications for hydraulic fraturing relate.
Michael Fallon
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 30 June 2014, Official Report, Column 426W:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many hydraulic fracturing licences are pending approval in (a) England, (b) Lancashire and (c) Hyndburn constituency.
Michael Fallon
There is no “hydraulic fracturing licence”. DECC issues Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDLs). However, PEDLs are not specific to shale gas and do not give permission for operations, but grant exclusivity to licensees in relation to hydrocarbons (including shale gas but also other forms) within a particular area. All operations, such as drilling, hydraulic fracturing or production, however require planning permission, and applications are subject to public consultation. They also require access agreement with relevant landowner(s), Environment Agency permits, HSE scrutiny, and DECC consent before operations can commence. DECC is not currently considering any applications for hydraulic fracturing in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with the English Premier League on increased investment in grassroots football, in response to the recent sale of broadcasting rights.
Mrs Helen Grant
I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to encourage the English Premier League to increase its investment in grassroots football in line with the increase in revenue arising from the recent sale of broadcast rights.
Mrs Helen Grant
I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what conversations he has held with (a) energy companies, (b) cavity wall insulation companies and (c) local authorities on the effect of the Government’s changes to the Energy Company Obligation on the UK’s ability to meet its carbon-saving obligations.
Amber Rudd
Ministers and officials have had meetings with many interested parties in recent months, including energy suppliers, insulation companies and local authorities, at which the Government’s proposed changes to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) were discussed.
These and other stakeholders, such as consumer organisations and Ofgem, are represented on the ECO Steering Group, which meets on a monthly basis. The terms of reference for the group, along with minutes of meetings and other papers, are made publicly available via Gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/energy-company-obligation-eco-steering-group
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who (a) were given a non-custodial sentence and (b) were given their first custodial sentence in each year from 2004 had previously had (i) no criminal convictions, (ii) one criminal conviction, (iii) two criminal convictions, (iv) three criminal convictions, (v) four criminal convictions, (vi) five to 10 criminal convictions, (vii) 11 to 20 criminal convictions, (viii) 21 to 30 criminal convictions, (ix) 31 to 40 criminal convictions, (x) 41 to 50 criminal convictions, (xi) 51 to 75, (xii) 76 to 100 criminal convictions and (xiii) more than 100 criminal convictions.
Jeremy Wright
Since 2010, crime has continued to fall and fewer individuals are entering the criminal justice system for the first time. But we have a persistent hardcore of offenders being recycled round and round the criminal justice system, as these figures bear out.
This Government is committed to tackling re-offending rates. We have reformed sentences, so that they combine both punishment and requirements that are effective at preventing further offending. We have legislated so that all community orders must now have a punitive element, and, from 2015, every offender leaving prison spends at least 12 months under supervision, where currently around 50,000 are released each year with no statutory support. We are transforming rehabilitation, by bringing together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors, and only rewarding them when they actually do reduce reoffending.
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of the circumstances of the case and the maximum penalty for the offence. A court may only impose a community order or a custodial sentence where the offence is imprisonable. The overwhelming majority of repeat offenders have previously received a number of custodial sentences but the large majority of previous convictions identified in the table below resulted in a fine as they were for summary non-motoring offences.
The number of offenders who were given a non-custodial sentence in each year since 2004, broken down by their number of previous convictions, is given in Table 1. It is important to note that these figures are based only on those offences recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force, including the British Transport Police, and include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders will therefore be represented several times in the figures.
Table 2 provides a similar breakdown for those offenders who received their first custodial sentence in each year. Again, the figures are drawn from the PNC and will include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. A large proportion of each offender’s criminal history is therefore likely to include some offences for which it is not possible to receive a custodial sentence. Of those offenders who had between 76 and 100 previous convictions between the 12 months ending September 2004 and the 12 months ending September 2013, 84% of the disposals for their previous convictions were fines. This increases to 96% when you look at the offenders who had over 100 previous convictions. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders could therefore be represented several times in the figures.
The number of offenders who have received at least one previous conviction, or indeed multiple previous convictions, before receiving their first custodial sentence has decreased under this Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the extension of the shared accommodation rate to people under the age of 35 years.
Steve Webb
The final research outputs from DWP’s independent evaluation of the changes to the Local Housing Allowance are due to be published this summer. The research will cover the impact of extending the age threshold for the Shared Accommodation Rate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department is giving to local authorities to implement changes to apprenticeship funding.
Matthew Hancock
We are giving employers control of the funding for the training and assessment of the apprenticeships that they design. This will enable them to work directly with education and training providers to secure the most effective training for their apprentices. We will be testing a new funding model via apprenticeship starts in the 2014-15 academic year based on standards developed by our Trailblazer groups of employers. We will develop a comprehensive communication programme for employers (including local authorities) to help them understand the changes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who (a) were given a non-custodial sentence and (b) were given their first custodial sentence in each year from 2004 had previously had (i) no criminal convictions, (ii) one criminal conviction, (iii) two criminal convictions, (iv) three criminal convictions, (v) four criminal convictions, (vi) five to 10 criminal convictions, (vii) 11 to 20 criminal convictions, (viii) 21 to 30 criminal convictions, (ix) 31 to 40 criminal convictions, (x) 41 to 50 criminal convictions, (xi) 51 to 75 criminal convictions, (xii) 76 to 100 criminal convictions and (xiii) more than 100 criminal convictions.
Jeremy Wright
It has not been possible to obtain this information. I will write to the Honourable member in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with training providers on changes to apprenticeship funding.
Matthew Hancock
Discussions have been held with a wide range of training providers as well with the Association of Training Providers and Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) about our apprenticeship funding reforms. I spoke about this issue at the AELP’s National Conference earlier this month.