Tag: Lord Condon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by Sir Stephen Bubb The Challenge Ahead and his proposal for a Commissioner to protect and promote the rights of people with learning difficulties.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government welcomes Sir Stephen Bubb’s report Time for Change – the Challenge Ahead which focuses on improving the experience of care and outcomes for people with learning disabilities. Sir Stephen’s report acknowledges the real progress that has been made in the last year.

The Department will consider the recommendations in Time for Change – the Challenge Ahead in our development of a Learning Disability Action Plan. However, new statutory roles and legislation are not necessarily the answer to achieving the changes envisaged by the Steering Group. We believe that we can make more rapid and meaningful progress by ensuring that the rights that exist under current laws and statutes are properly understood, implemented and exercised by those with learning disabilities and/or autism.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the current Police and Crime Commissioners are standing for re-election in May.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Twenty seven of forty current police and crime commissioners (PCCs) for police force areas where ordinary PCC elections are taking place this May are standing for re-election.

This excludes Greater London, where the elected mayor exercises PCC functions in respect of the Metropolitan Police, and Greater Manchester, where the ordinary PCC election has been cancelled to pave the way for the transfer of PCC functions to an elected mayor in May 2017, with the term of the current PCC extended to that point.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in response to the recent news that one in eight cases at Crown Court are not proceeded with by the Crown Prosecution Service, even though the defendants have been formally charged.

Lord Keen of Elie

All cases are kept under constant review as they progress through the criminal justice system. If new evidence comes to light, a witness decides to no longer support a prosecution or a co-defendant pleads guilty to the offence, the CPS will then review the case. If there is no longer sufficient evidence or if it is no longer in the public interest, the CPS will stop a prosecution.

The Transforming Summary Justice (TSJ) and Better Case Management (BCM) initiatives, introduced nationally, are recent programmes which will have a material and positive impact on both levels and timing of discontinuance. These include earlier, pre-first magistrates’ hearing case review by prosecutors; an emphasis on early defence engagement; listing periods that support the time required to prepare the case; and improved processes to gather and serve evidential material and disclosure prior to court hearings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 10 most recently appointed Chief Constables in the UK were not internal candidates from the appointing police force, and over what period of time those appointments have taken place.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Three of the ten most recently appointed chief constables in England and Wales were not internal candidates from the appointing police force, although eight of the chief constables have served as a chief officer outside of the force.

These appointments have taken place over the period from June 2015 to March 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the disruption to rail passengers in Kent on 6 June, what action they are taking to ensure a more reliable service for rail passengers travelling between Kent and London terminals.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

My Hon Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Claire Perry MP, as Rail Minister, chairs a monthly meeting with Network Rail, train operators in the South East, Transport Focus, and Department for Transport officials. This group monitors performance and passenger experience and it is absolutely committed to identifying improvements and ensuring rail passengers see the benefits of these improvements being delivered. Network Rail and Southeastern both need to show much greater improvement in their ability to fix faults quickly and communicate with their passengers more effectively. The Department will ensure that lessons are learned from the disruption in Kent that day.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which police forces in areas with North Sea coastlines or English Channel coastlines from Norfolk south and west to Devon and Cornwall have marine or boat units capable of patrolling estuaries or inshore sea waters; and what is the maximum range in which those police forces’ units are licensed to operate.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Home Office does not collect this information. Decisions on the local deployment of assets and resources, including marine units, are for individual chief constables working with their police and crime commissioner.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to assist in the resolution of the industrial dispute between Southern Rail and some of its staff and their unions.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

This, like any other industrial dispute between a Train Operating Company and a trades union, is a matter for the union and operator to resolve. The Government condemns any industrial action that disrupts the travelling public. RMT has advised its members to accept the new On-Board Supervisor roles on offer. The Government’s strong opinion is there are no grounds at all for any further industrial action and these strikes must stop now.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage the provision and wearing of body cameras by operational police officers to improve police and public confidence in cases of disputed incidents.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Home Office fully supports the police exploiting technology to help cut crime wherever possible. Body worn video can be a powerful tool to help the police be more effective, efficient and accountable. The decision to procure and deploy it is an operational one for chief officers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in 2015 towards ensuring that people with mental health issues are not detained in police cells because no hospital bed is available for them.

Lord Prior of Brampton

According to data from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the number of people detained in police custody as a place of safety under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 fell by 34% in England between 2013-14 and 2014-15. This corresponds to an increase in the use of hospital-based places of safety of 14%, according to the Health & Social Care Information Centre. The figure amounts to a 54% reduction in the use of police custody since 2011-12, surpassing the ambition of a 50% reduction set out in the Government’s Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, which was published in February 2014 and is attached. Existing guidance in the Concordat and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice makes it clear that police custody should only be used as a place of safety in exceptional circumstances.

The Concordat – signed by over 25 national organisations – has led to the establishment of 96 local groups covering the entirety of England, consisting of health, policing and local authority partners who have pledged to work together to improve mental health crisis care and set out detailed, publicly available plans, including to reduce the use of police custody for those detained under the Act.

However, although significant progress has been made, the Government has signalled its intention to go further by amending legislation through the forthcoming Police and Criminal Justice Bill, so that, among other measures, police custody can never be used as a place of safety for under-18s and so custody can only be used for adults in the most exceptional circumstances.

Moreover, in May this year the Home Secretary announced that the Government would invest up to an additional £15 million in 2016-17 to reduce the use of police custody as a place of safety. Further announcements around this will be made shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2015-12-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage the full-time employment of adults with special learning needs, and what assessment they have made of how successful those measures have been in 2015.

Baroness Altmann

Increasing disability employment is a key part of the government’s aim to achieve full employment. That is why this Government has an ambition to halve the disability employment gap by creating the opportunity for a million more disabled people to work.

The Government has a variety of initiatives and programmes in place to support and encourage people with special learning needs to find and retain work. Performance statistics are published for a number of these.

For example:

• Access to Work provides on-going personalised in-work support for disabled people who are in work or about to start work on a full or part-time basis. Access to Work has had a Hidden Impairments Specialist Advisory team since September. We are also considering whether the Mental Health Support Service model of support could benefit those with hidden impairments other than mental health conditions. Last year Access to Work supported record numbers of people with a Learning Disability or Dyslexia recorded as their Primary Health Condition (6,580 people supported – 520 more people than in 2013/14).

• The most recent Access to Work statistics are attached at Annex A.

• Work Choice is a specialist disability employment programme which provides tailored support for disabled people who face the most complex employment barriers to find and stay in work. DWP has improved the referral process for Work Choice to ensure that information about candidates’ hidden impairments is shared with Work Choice providers. In 2014/15, 5,670 people with a Mild or Moderate to Severe Learning Disability recorded as their Primary Disability were referred to Work Choice. Since 2010, 19,410 people with a Mild or Moderate to Severe Learning Disability recorded as their Primary Disability have started Work Choice, of whom 8,600 have started work – giving a job outcome rate of around 44% for this group.

• The most recent Work Choice statistics are attached at Annex B.

• The Government’s Disability Confident campaign works with employers at a national and local level to help them to understand the benefits of employing disabled people, and promote good practice in recruitment and employment of disabled people, including people with special learning needs.

• DWP also works in close partnership with the Hidden Impairment National Group (HING), a national network of disabled people, medical professionals/ academics and disability specific organisations. This collaboration has produced an ‘Uncovering Hidden Impairments’ toolkit, which supports organisations in both the private and public sectors to confidently recruit and retain talented individuals with hidden impairment conditions, such as special learning needs.

• Jobcentre Plus continues to offer a range of support, including a free helpline for claimants who have difficulty making claims for benefit online because of dyslexia or similar conditions. DWP is working in partnership with Autism Alliance UK to build an autism network across Jobcentre Plus by training nominated autism leads, including Work Coaches and DEAs.

• We have worked with Community Service Volunteers to introduce the Job-Shadowing Work Placement Initiative for young disabled people, including those with special learning needs. The first tranche had a 65% participation rate for young people having autistic spectrum conditions