Tag: Lord Beecham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many lay magistrates were recruited in the last year for which figures are available for each decile by age.

Lord Faulks

A total of 403 magistrates were appointed in England and Wales between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015. A breakdown of those appointments can be found in the tables below:

Gender

Male	Female
158 (39%)	245 (61%)

Ethnicity

White	Mixed	Black	Asian	Chinese	Other
333 (83%)	15 (4%)	24 (6%)	22 (5%)	3 (>1%)	6 (2%)

Age

18-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-65
24 (6%)	75 (19%)	97 (24%)	154 (38%)	53 (13%)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to divert part or all of the £160m JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to medium Enterprises) 2 fund, succeeding the Finance for Business North East fund, to other Northern areas described as part of the Northern Powerhouse; and if so, what proportion of funding will be diverted, and why they are taking such action.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government has no intention of imposing any arrangements for the next round of ERDF ‘JEREMIE’ style Access to Finance funds that do not carry local support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they instructed local authorities not to disclose the contents of their submissions for the Comprehensive Spending Review; and, if so, why.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Her Majesty’s Government has not instructed local authorities on the matter of disclosing the contents of their submissions for the Comprehensive Spending Review. Local authorities are free to publish the contents of their submissions and many have chosen to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to the decision to award MTCNovo the contract to run Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, what assessment they have made of the experience that company has in running residential establishments that care for vulnerable children; and whether MTCNovo, including its partners or significant subcontractors, has been found to have breached human rights or equality legislation in the last three years, either in the United Kingdom or abroad.

Lord Faulks

MTC and their main partner Amey were subject to robust and rigorous assessment at the pre-qualification stage of the competition. This included a thorough examination of health and safety, equalities, human rights and discrimination policies, and a requirement to demonstrate their experience of managing children and young people.

There were no findings of a breach in human rights or equality legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 September (HL2049) which committed to helping to protect taxpayers from the rising cost of subsidising rent, what steps they are taking to achieve this commitment.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We have included provisions in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill currently before Parliament to reduce social rents in England by one percent a year for four years from April 2016. We estimate that by 2020/21 there will be an in-year saving to the tax payer of some £1.4 billion, so helping to protect taxpayers from the rising cost of subsidising rents through housing benefit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2014-05-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, and within what timescales, to ensure that custody trials can be listed at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court, in the light of the closure of the court cells in December 2013 following safety concerns.

Lord Faulks

The cell accommodation at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court is housed within the interconnected Pilgrim Street Police Station which is due to close in summer 2014 and belongs to Northumbria Police.

The cells have not been in use since 7April, 2014 when a temporary arrangement was put in place to enable urgent fire safety works to be undertaken. Whilst five of the 13 cells are unlikely to be used again due to safety concerns, the remaining eight are now available for use as the fire safety work has been completed.

The current temporary closure has been extended until 30 May, 2014 to enable conclusion of discussions with the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner over future use and maintenance of the cells once the Police Station closes.

The temporary arrangement, comprising a daily remand court at North Tyneside and the listing of other custody work in available courtrooms across the court estate in Northumbria, is not wholly satisfactory and the impact is being assessed on a daily basis, in particular the impact on victims and witnesses. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is seeking to conclude the discussions with the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner as quickly as possible and currently intends to resume use of the cells on 2 June, 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2014-05-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of the court cells at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court since December 2013.

Lord Faulks

The cell accommodation at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court is housed within the interconnected Pilgrim Street Police Station which is due to close in summer 2014 and belongs to Northumbria Police.

The cells have not been in use since 7April, 2014 when a temporary arrangement was put in place to enable urgent fire safety works to be undertaken. Whilst five of the 13 cells are unlikely to be used again due to safety concerns, the remaining eight are now available for use as the fire safety work has been completed.

The current temporary closure has been extended until 30 May, 2014 to enable conclusion of discussions with the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner over future use and maintenance of the cells once the Police Station closes.

The temporary arrangement, comprising a daily remand court at North Tyneside and the listing of other custody work in available courtrooms across the court estate in Northumbria, is not wholly satisfactory and the impact is being assessed on a daily basis, in particular the impact on victims and witnesses. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is seeking to conclude the discussions with the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner as quickly as possible and currently intends to resume use of the cells on 2 June, 2014.