Tag: Lord Browne of Belmont

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of young people considered not to be in education, employment or training (1) have a disability, or (2) are carers, broken down by region.

Lord Nash

Official data covering young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England is regularly published by the Department for Education. This data cannot, however, be broken down by individual characteristics.

Local authorities collect data on the proportion of 16-18 year olds known by their local authority to be NEET, and who have a learning difficulty or disability, or who are carers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what programmes are currently in place to help homeless veterans sleeping rough in the United Kingdom; and what plans they have (1) to help such individuals into permanent housing, and (2) to prevent veterans becoming homeless in the first instance.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

This Government is committed to preventing and tackling homelessness and protecting the most vulnerable in society, including veterans.

We have changed the law so that former service men and women with urgent housing needs are always given high priority for social housing, and cannot be disqualified from social housing because of a local connection requirement.

Since 2010, we have invested over £500 million to prevent homelessness among the most vulnerable. Our £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund has supported the roll-out of No Second Night Out across England ensuring more rough sleepers, including veterans, are found and helped quickly so that they do not spend more than one night on the street.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what opportunities are available through the European Social Fund for young people who are not in education, employment or training to study for additional qualifications.

Lord Freud

Young people who are not in education, employment or training are a priority in the 2014-20 European Social Fund programme in England. This programme was agreed by the European Commission in September, and sets aside €340m specifically to help this group. The most disadvantaged young people will also be helped through the €650m provided for activities to address social exclusion.

The Managing Authority, based in DWP, launched calls for applications in March 2015 and expects operations to begin in 2016. Final bids are currently being appraised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance is provided to magistrates and judges about when it is appropriate to apply the maximum tariff available in cases of animal cruelty.

Lord Faulks

Animal cruelty is a summary offence with a maximum penalty of a level 5 (unlimited) fine and/or 6 months’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty for any offence is set by Parliament to deal with the most serious possible cases. Guidance on sentencing for this offence is contained in the Magistrates’ Courts Sentencing Guidelines, which are published by the independent Sentencing Council.

These are the sentencing starting points from the guidelines for animal cruelty, based on a first time offender pleading not guilty:

Examples of nature of activity	Starting point Range	Range
One impulsive act causing little or no injury;	short term neglect	Band C fine Band B fine to medium level community
Several incidents of deliberate ill-treatment/frightening	High level community order	Medium level community order to 12 weeks custody
Attempt to kill/torture; animal baiting/conducting or permitting cock-fighting etc.; prolonged neglect	18 weeks custody	12 to 26 weeks custody

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 3 February on the National Crime Agency, when they expect that Agency to be fully operational in Northern Ireland.

Lord Bates

The National Crime Agency (NCA) operates UK-wide, including in Northern Ireland, and provides support to its partner agencies there in relation to customs and immigration matters whilst continuing to exchange information with the PSNI. The NCA has, to date, been unable fully to target serious and organised crime groups in Northern Ireland involved in activities which require policing powers to tackle them.

The draft Crime and Courts Act 2013 (National Crime Agency and Proceeds of Crime) (Northern Ireland) Order 2015, was laid before Parliament on 29 January 2015. It makes provision for the NCA to operate in Northern Ireland with full powers including the ability to recover criminal assets in relation to offences that are devolved, together with the ability to request the recovery of assets overseas in civil recovery cases.

This will make Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK a safer place and means the most serious criminals can be pursued wherever they are. The Order details commencement of the provisions, some of which will come into force the day after it is made, including the extension to Northern Ireland of all of the relevant civil recovery provisions relating to freezing and recovery orders. The related civil recovery investigation powers will require further secondary legislation relating to a Code of Practice.

A number of provisions that relate to the NCA’s operational use of constable powers and covert techniques, which will be subject to a Memorandum of Understanding, will come into force at the end of two months beginning with the day on which the Order is made. The Order may not be made until it has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been apprehended when illegally entering the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland at the border with the Republic of Ireland in each of the last three years.

Lord Bates

I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 26th January 2015, to Question 221443 given by my hon. Friend the Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the ease of opening bank accounts for small businesses.

Lord Deighton

The Government has not made a formal assessment of the ease of opening bank accounts for small businesses. However, more information than ever is available for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

The British Bankers’ Association has a ‘Business Account Finder’ that provides information on a range of financial services available to businesses, including current accounts. This presents a list of the most competitive current accounts available with separate sections for sole traders, limited companies, charities and other types of business.

In addition, the Business Banking Insight survey (BBI) provides detailed information on what UK SMEs think about every aspect of their bank and includes a ranking of banks against key indicators. It is a powerful tool for SMEs, helping them understand their options, making decisions about who to bank with and planning how they will grow.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have taken any steps to reduce the time taken to process applications for student loans.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Student Loans Company is currently undergoing a business-wide Transformation programme intended to make it a digital centre of excellence, in line with the Government Digital Strategy. This includes an overhaul of its online assessment and application portals, in order to make them more efficient, customer-focussed and digital in design. All of these changes will enable significant improvements in the processing time of student loan applications. Recent improvements, for example, have increased immediate income-verification rates for sponsors from 75% last year to 81% in 2014-15.

Moreover, the Government plans to modify the Student Support Regulations to allow the use of electronic signatures for student loan applications. This means that students will no longer need to print, sign and return the completed loan contract by post, or wait for confirmation of its receipt. In the future, many applicants will be able to complete the entire application process and have an approved loan in a single sitting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual cost to the public purse of maintaining disused court buildings; and how many disused court buildings are currently lying empty because they have not been sold.

Lord Faulks

The Court Estate Reform Programme (CERP) was introduced in 2010 to improve efficiency through the closure of poor quality and underused court buildings. The total cumulative gross benefits expected from CERP is an estimated £152m over the SR10 period. At the end of June 2014, approximately £140m had been realised through resource savings of approximately £98m and gross capital proceeds of £42m.

There are 32 closed courts currently not in use. Of these, 27 were closed between May 2010 and March 2013 as part of CERP and business as usual closures. The full year cost of maintaining these courts in 2013/14 was £942,162. A further five courts were closed since then. The cost of maintaining these courts since their closure to date has been £122,444. All closed courts are being prepared for or undergoing sale processes.

The cost of maintaining courts following closure includes costs on rent and rates, maintenance, labour costs on facilities management, fuel and utilities and other property costs. One court, Stourbridge County Court, was closed but is being used for administrative purposes.

The Department is committed to disposing of surplus property assets expeditiously and reducing holding costs. The sale of former courts is dependent on a number of factors e.g. market, potential future use, location and the fact that some are occupied in part by the police and local authorities which also make disposal difficult. We have improved efficiency through the closure of poor quality and underused court buildings.