Tag: Kate Green

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prisoners were released without accommodation from each private prison in England and Wales in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous

We are fully committed to the rehabilitation of offenders so as to turn their lives around and reduce the risk of their re-offending in future. Dealing with their accommodation needs on release from prison is an integral part of that.

The table below shows the number and percentage of offenders by recorded type of accommodation on discharge from contracted-out prisons 2013-14.

Contracted Prisons: Accommodation on Release

	Settled Accommodation on Release	% Settled Accommodation on Release	Not in Settled Accommodation on Release	% Not in settled Accommodation on release	Total Offender Releases
2011/12	13,775	90.5%	1,445	9.5%	15,220
2012/13	14,297	84.9%	2,537	15.1%	16,834
2012/13 excluding HMP Thameside	13,892	90.2%	1,506	9.8%	15,398
2013/14	16,076	91.6%	1,472	8.4%	17,548

Notes

Settled accommodation covers the following categories: permanent housing, supported housing, approved premises, other hostels and BASS accommodation.

Not in settled accommodation means: transient/short term accommodation, No Fixed Address, or No Information.

Figures for 2012/13 are shown both including and excluding HMP Thameside, whose low outcomes in their first year of operation impacted on the overall outcomes.

The figures show that less than 5% of prisoners were recorded as being of no fixed abode upon release from contracted-out prisons in 2013-14.

The figures in the above table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

It should also be noted that recorded accommodation type is based on prisoner self-reporting. We are aware of the inherent limitations in relying on self-reporting and are developing alternative measures aimed at ensuring that prisons and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) managing low and medium risk offenders fulfil their respective roles in preparing prisoners for release and helping them to find suitable accommodation.

Under the Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation reforms, all prisoners will benefit from a universal resettlement service and genuine continuity of provision ‘Through the Gate’ from custody to the community. We have established a network of Resettlement Prisons to facilitate the smooth transition from custody to community to enable the new CRCs to work with those prisoners returning to their local area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department plans to monitor the effect of changes in the Independent Living Fund on individual recipients; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Penning

As stated in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March, the Department will be developing plans for evaluating the impact of the closure on former users of the Independent Living Fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many punishments of removal from wing were given to prisoners in each private prison in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous

A total of 17 prisoners were removed from the wing or living unit as a punishment, following a guilty finding under the internal disciplinary system, in private prisons from 2010 to 2013. Figures for 2014 are not yet available.

If a punishment of removal from the wing or living unit is given, the prisoner or young offender (including people under 18) will be relocated to other accommodation within the establishment, but otherwise continues to participate, as far as possible, in normal regime activities, in association with other prisoners or young offenders.

The breakdown for each prison in each year is:

2010

HMP Parc – 2

HMP Peterborough – 1

2011

HMP Doncaster – 7

HMP Parc – 2

HMP Peterborough – 1

2012

HMP Dovegate – 2

HMP Thameside – 1

2013

HMP Thameside – 1

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department is gathering from local authorities on the number of disabled people who are currently supported to live in their own homes who will move into residential care as a result of changes to the Independent Living Fund; and what support his Department is providing to those people affected.

Mike Penning

The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March alongside the written Ministerial Statement announcing the closure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his Department expects to consult on the future of the Warm Home Discount.

Gregory Barker

Last year, we announced a new £320m spending commitment for the Warm Home Discount in 2014/15. We intend to consult on the future operation of the scheme in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many children in poverty lived in a household that did not receive a Warm Home Discount in 2013-14.

Gregory Barker

Under the “broader group” schemes offered by suppliers participating within the Warm Home Discount, considerable assistance is offered to vulnerable groups such as low-income families and those with long-term illnesses and disabilities. In scheme year 3 (2013/14) all seven participating suppliers (British Gas, EDF, E.On, First Utility, N Power, Scottish Power and SSE) made broader group support open to low-income families with children aged under five years.

We expect around 600,000 broader group rebates worth £135 to have been provided in 2013/14. However, final figures for the number of such payments will be published in Ofgem’s annual scheme report in the autumn.

Participating energy suppliers are not required to provide the Government with a breakdown of the payments made to different groups of customers. As a result, we cannot calculate how many low income families received the Warm Home Discount, nor how many did not.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, columns 171-2W, on children: maintenance, how much of the amount is written off in child maintenance arrears since November 2012; how much is attributable to (a) a request from the parent with care to write off the arrears, (b) the death of a non-resident parent, (c) the death of a parent with care, (d) an interim maintenance assessment between 1993 and 1995 and (e) a debt where the non-resident parent had been told that no further action would ever be taken.

Steve Webb

The amounts written off since November 2012 in the circumstances requested are as follows.

Reason	Year to March 13	Year to March 14
Parent with care request	£365,269	£9,922,726
Non-resident parent death	£683,378	£4,617,325
Parent with care death	£8,121	£24,240
Interim maintenance assessments 1993 – 1995	£35,796	£126,340
NRP advised debt will not be pursued	£11,648	£355,956
Total	£1,104,212	£15,046,587

Note:

The total does not equal that quoted in response to PQ/14/201287 because there are amounts recorded under categories which are not included in this response.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, columns 171W, on children: maintenance, on how many occasions where contingency measures had to be employed by the Department’s Child Maintenance Group (CMG) to support the work of the Child Maintenance Options Service it was the case that call demands exceeded forecasted volumes; how many CMG staff were deployed on each such occasion; and in which office or offices of the CMG these trained contingency staff were located.

Steve Webb

Child Maintenance Group (CMG) staff, based at Barnsley, were used on three, limited duration, occasions (November 2013, January 2014 and February 2014) when call demand exceeded forecasted volumes.

The number of CMG staff engaged in this activity, at any one time, varied between 5 and 20 colleagues for periods ranging from minutes to hours. Most of this activity took place in the CMG Barnsley office. Although, there was a short period, before telephony lines could be transferred, when CMG staff travelled to the Child Maintenance Options office.

CMG staff have been used as contingency only where demand is above the agreed contracted level. This planned approach ensures value for money as we are not paying for long term resource where the forecast shows a short term increase in demand.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to address the current geographical imbalance in Independent Living Fund (ILF) use by local authorities in the allocation of transitional funding as the ILF comes to an end.

Mike Penning

The funding that will be transferred to local authorities and to the devolved administrations when the Independent living Fund closes will be distributed in a way that reflects the patterns of expenditure at that time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many challenges to benefits sanctions have been overturned as a result of tribunal interventions where his Department has not made reasonable adjustments under disability equality law; how his Department takes into account information from social services or health service staff before imposing such sanctions; and what processes ensure that adjustments are made before such sanctions are imposed on disabled claimants.

Esther McVey

The exact information you request on tribunal Interventions is not available.

However, Decision Makers ensure that all relevant claimant circumstances are carefully considered before imposing any sanction. This may include information from social services and health service staff if it was relevant to the case. We do not sanction vulnerable claimants without making every effort to contact them or their carer/healthcare professional first. Clear and detailed guidance is used by Decision Makers to ensure that the necessary processes are followed in a consistent manner.