The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the immigration status is of Tareque Rahman, Vice Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
James Brokenshire
For reasons of confidentiality, the Home Office does not routinely
comment on individual cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to reply to the letters to him of 2 April and 9 May 2014 from the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse.
Mr Mark Francois
I replied to the hon. Member on 25 September 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to reform civil procedure rules to clarify courts’ powers to strike out cases due to exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.
No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.
The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 – worth £441m – as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration officers are deployed at each UK airport.
James Brokenshire
The requested information has not been released as it is Border Force policy not to release port-specific staff numbers on grounds of national security.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many insurance fraud cases were struck out due to exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.
No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.
The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 – worth £441m – as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the average waiting times at the UK border for the last three years at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted, (d) Manchester, (e) Birmingham and (f) Luton airports.
Karen Bradley
The yearly average queue times for passengers arriving at the Primary Checkpoint to be admitted into the UK are set out in the table below. All meet service level agreement targets, which are below 25 minutes for European Economic Area (EEA) passengers and below 45 Minutes for non-EEA passengers.
| Average Passenger Queue Times (hr:mm) | ||||||
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | ||||
| Port | EEA | NonEEA | EEA | NonEEA | EEA | NonEEA |
| Heathrow TN1 | 00:05 | 00:13 | 00:03 | 00:08 | 00:02 | 00:05 |
| Heathrow TN3 | 00:06 | 00:19 | 00:03 | 00:11 | 00:02 | 00:09 |
| Heathrow TN4 | 00:04 | 00:22 | 00:02 | 00:11 | 00:02 | 00:08 |
| Heathrow TN5 | 00:06 | 00:21 | 00:04 | 00:13 | 00:04 | 00:09 |
| Gatwick North | 00:03 | 00:05 | 00:03 | 00:05 | 00:02 | 00:04 |
| Gatwick South | 00:04 | 00:07 | 00:03 | 00:05 | 00:02 | 00:03 |
| Stansted | 00:13 | 00:20 | 00:07 | 00:10 | 00:06 | 00:09 |
| Manchester TN1 | 00:09 | 00:15 | 00:10 | 00:17 | 00:09 | 00:15 |
| Manchester TN2 | 00:10 | 00:19 | 00:09 | 00:16 | 00:08 | 00:15 |
| Manchester TN3 | 00:08 | 00:14 | 00:15 | 00:23 | 00:11 | 00:16 |
| Birmingham | 00:07 | 00:11 | 00:06 | 00:09 | 00:05 | 00:09 |
| Luton | 00:09 | 00:09 | 00:08 | 00:08 | 00:07 | 00:09 |
| The figures quoted above are management information subject to internal quality checks and may be subject to change. | ||||||
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the effect on insurance premiums of personal injury insurance fraud in the last year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.
No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.
The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 – worth £441m – as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to promote telematics in cars (a) for young drivers and (b) generally.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department is conducting focus groups with young people, parents and employers to gain a better understanding of their perspective on the safety of young drivers, including the use of telematics.
During a meeting with the insurance industry, the Department agreed to commission new research into how telematics can change the behaviour and attitudes of learner drivers. We are currently working with insurance companies to encourage participation before tendering the research.
We will publish the findings of both the focus groups and research in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to reform civil procedure rules in a similar manner to the Republic of Ireland’s Civil Liabilities and Court Act 2004 to tackle third party insurance fraud.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.
No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.
The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 – worth £441m – as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-05.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the Electoral Commission’s efforts to improve the conduct of elections in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Greg Clark
The integrity of our elections is central to our democracy.
I am aware that the Electoral Commission is investigating allegations of electoral misconduct in Tower Hamlets at the recent local elections and the Metropolitan Police are conducting a number of criminal investigations. I have written to the chair of the Electoral Commission, stressing the importance of ensuring public confidence in the electoral process.
Given the gravity of the allegations it is important that the Electoral Commission provides a robust assessment of what went on in Tower Hamlets and includes firm recommendations of how to ensure the integrity of future elections.