Tag: Greg Mulholland

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to recognise child trafficking as a separate offence to adult trafficking.

Karen Bradley

The most effective way to protect child victims of trafficking is to have a
general offence, which applies to both adults and children. The Modern
Slavery Bill contains a general human trafficking offence, which does not
require prosecutors to prove the age of the child, as this can lead to practical
problems during prosecutions. Targeting a child will, however, be an
aggravating factor for sentencing purposes, and the human trafficking
offence in the Modern Slavery Bill will carry a maximum sentence of life
imprisonment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion of 25 November 2013, Official Report, column 20W, on bovine tuberculosis, whether his Department has since commissioned any research about the safety, humaneness and effectiveness of gassing badgers.

George Eustice

In August 2013, we commissioned new research into alternative methods of culling badgers.

The first step involved reviewing and updating the ‘Review of effectiveness, environmental impact, humaneness and feasibility of lethal methods for badger control’ published in 2005. The review was completed in September 2013.

Following research carried out as a result of Lord Zuckerman’s review in the 1980s, we would not support the use of hydrogen cyanide gas due to humaneness concerns. However, we are considering potential humane alternatives.

In October and November 2013 we carried out initial trials of nitrogen-filled foam to analyse its dispersal in an artificial sett-like environment. These trials did not involve the use of active setts or tests on live animals.

Further research is now planned into the use of carbon monoxide as a potential sett-based means of humane culling.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-01-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses were ordered by the Financial Services Ombudsman to award consumers fair compensation up to the £100,000 limit in each year from 2001 to 2011.

Andrea Leadsom

The issues raised are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who are operationally independent from Government.

These questions have been passed on to the FOS. The FOS will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to extend the powers of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to consider complaints from primary producers.

Jo Swinson

The jurisdiction of the Groceries Code Adjudicator is defined by the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. The Code governs the commercial relationships between the ten largest UK supermarkets and their direct suppliers, and reflects the findings of the Competition Commission’s market investigation into the supermarket sector conducted between 2006 and 2008.

There will be a statutory review of the performance of the Adjudicator next year in accordance with section 15 of the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure policy coherence between trade policy and international poverty reduction with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Matthew Hancock

Trade openness is a key driver of economic growth, which is essential for poverty reduction. Trade will therefore play a central role in the Means of Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are working with colleagues across Whitehall to develop an ambitious proposal for trade commitments in the Post-2015 agenda. These commitments range from securing increased market access for low income countries to ensuring that they can make the most of this access through tackling ‘behind the border’ obstacles to trade.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the report from HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary entitled Joint Inspection of the Investigation and Prosecution of Fatal Road Traffic Incidents, published in February 2015.

Jeremy Wright

It is clear from the joint HMIC and HMCPSI report that there must be improvements in the way offences arising out of fatal road traffic incidents are investigated and prosecuted. It is therefore vital that police forces give due regard to the recommendations made in the report. However, it is rightly a matter for chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to ascertain how best to respond to the recommendations locally. Under Section 55 (5) of the Police Act 1996, all PCCs have a statutory requirement to publish their response to joint inspection reports that relate to their force.

The CPS must provide the best possible service to the bereaved families in these cases. Whilst many of the recommended improvements have been achieved through more general development of CPS casework and guidance, there is clearly more which needs to be done. In order to make the improvements necessary to the prosecution of offences arising out of fatal road traffic accidents, the CPS is taking or has committed to take the following steps:

• The introduction of accredited specialist prosecutors in each of the CPS Areas to prosecute these cases.
• New mandatory training on the prosecution of fatal road traffic incidents to include case analysis and strategy, and how the CPS communicates with bereaved families.
• CPS Area Coordinators to ensure that these sensitive and difficult cases receive the specialist attention they deserve and attract good quality, consistent decision making.
• Amending guidance to remind prosecutors of the circumstances in which it is appropriate to charge assaults that arise from driving a motor vehicle.
• Amending guidance to add a reference to the Criminal Practice Direction on acceptance of pleas in its Guidance on Charging Driving Offences.
• A review of the flagging process of these cases to increase the accuracy of figures.
• Consideration of better CPS Area access to appeals unit case reviews.
• Consideration of existing protocols with police forces with the intention of drafting a model protocol for CPS Areas to agree with local forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients deemed to have critical need are not affected by the time taken by NHS England to draft a new commissioning policy for ultra-rare treatments.

Jane Ellison

NHS England has responsibility for the commissioning of specialised services and is currently consulting on changes to the principles and processes by which it makes decisions on prioritising investment in specialised services.

NHS England has provided assurance that any prioritisation which is urgent on clinical grounds will continue to be dealt with quickly through their existing procedures. The route for individual funding requests remains in place.

The consultation can be found at:

www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/investing-in-specialised-commissioning

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will estimate the number of asylum seeker applicants in the UK who were living in poverty in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire

If asylum seekers are destitute they are provided with support by the UK taxpayer. The support usually consists of accommodation and a cash allowance to cover essential living needs.

The cash allowance is also provided if the asylum seeker is living with friends or relatives but needs assistance to meet their essential living needs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of asylum seeker applications made by Syrian nationals in each of the last five years received a decision in (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months.

Mr John Hayes

The tables below shows the proportion of asylum claims from Syrian nationals which received an initial decision within 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from 2010 to 2013. This data is based on main asylum claimants who made a claim for asylum from 1 October 2010 to 31 December 2014. We aim to decide all straightforward asylum claims within six months. We recognise that asylum cases are often complex and require our full and thorough consideration, meaning that some decisions will take longer than six months. Those cases that do take longer than six months are actively managed to ensure they are concluded as promptly as possible.

Year Application made	Time from Application to Date of Decision
Decision made within 3 Months	Within 6 Months	Within 1 Year	More than 1 Year	No Decision made
2010	117	5	5	1	0
Grand Total	117	5	5	1	0
2011	273	36	20	23	0
Grand Total	273	36	20	23	0
2012	819	77	64	21	1
Grand Total	819	77	64	21	1
2013	1130	157	203	97	29
Grand Total	1130	157	203	97	29
2014	603	1036	177	34	143
Grand Total	603	1036	177	34	143

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made by his Department’s Justice for Vulnerable Road Users Working Group.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Justice for Vulnerable Road Users group is a sub-group of the Cycling Stakeholder Forum. It includes representatives from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Metropolitan Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Sentencing Council, CTC, British Cycling and RoadPeace. The next meeting is scheduled for later this month.

The remit of the group is set out in a terms of reference agreed by the membership. The group has recently looked into whether it would be possible to link data to see how many fatal road traffic accidents have resulted into convictions and this will most likely be discussed at the forthcoming meeting. Many of the other concerns of the Group should be covered in the forthcoming Ministry of Justice Review of Motoring Offences.