Tag: Lord Falconer of Thoroton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many offenders who are foreign nationals are currently serving a sentence for murder or manslaughter in prisons in England and Wales.

Lord Faulks

Foreign criminals who break our laws should be properly punished but not at the expense of the British taxpayer.

In the last year we have returned more than 5,000 foreign prisoners to their home country. Prisoner transfer agreements are just one way the Government can remove these criminals from the United Kingdom.

As at 30 September 2015, there were 732 foreign nationals serving a sentence for murder or manslaughter in prisons in England and Wales.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British nationals (1) were murdered abroad, and (2) died as a result of terrorism abroad, in each year since 2010.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold information on the total number of UK nationals who are victims of murder and manslaughter overseas, because we can only capture information about those cases of which we are notified. However, we have provided assistance in the following number of cases, recorded as murder or manslaughter, from 2010 to 2016:

2010 (68), 2011 (78), 2012 (53), 2013 (78), 2014 (84), 2015 (88).

The number of British nationals killed as a result of terrorism are not captured separately and are included in the figures above. In January 2015, the FCO established a new dedicated team to lead on murder and manslaughter cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the total cost to the public purse of their appeal against the High Court’s ruling in R v The Secretary of State for Justice [2014] EWHC 2365 (Admin).

Lord Faulks

As a matter of principle this Government believes that individuals should have a strong connection with the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme. We believe that the residence test we have proposed is a fair and appropriate way to demonstrate that strong connection. We have therefore pursued an appeal against the High Court’s judgment in this case.

The total costs to the public purse of pursuing this appeal can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners recorded as taking car driving lessons or tests in the last five years absconded or attempted to abscond during a lesson or test.

Lord Faulks

There is no record of any offender failing to return to prison from temporary release which was authorised to allow them to take driving lessons or tests in the past five years.

Release on temporary licence is designed to prepare prisoners for their eventual release. Public protection is our priority and all offenders considered for temporary release are fully risk assessed.

Prisoners are only permitted to take a driving lesson or test if this is required to help their rehabilitation, for example, by improving their employment prospects, thus reducing their likelihood of reoffending.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether relatives of British nationals murdered abroad are entitled to financial compensation from them, and if so, how much compensation they have paid since 2010.

Lord Faulks

The Government provides two compensation schemes for victims of crime, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) 2012 and the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme (VOTCS) 2012. Both schemes are administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

The Scheme is designed to compensate blameless victims of violent crime where the incident took place in Great Britain or a “relevant place” as outlined in Annex C of the scheme. Close relatives of a British citizen may also be eligible for compensation under the scheme. Under the Scheme compensation is only available to those who can demonstrate they are ordinarily resident in the UK at the time of the incident or have another defined connection to the UK.

In fatal cases, compensation may be awarded to qualifying relatives who also satisfy the Scheme’s residency criteria. The meaning of qualifying relative is outlined in paragraph 59 of the Scheme. The CICA does not keep information on the nationality of the deceased in fatal applications, so we cannot identify the amount of compensation paid.

Compensation for relatives of British nationals murdered abroad is not available under the two schemes provided by the Government. UK residents injured as a result of a crime of violence in another country within the European Union (EU) or outside the EU may be able to apply for compensation from that country. The CICA can assist with applications to other EU countries.

The VOTCS was introduced to compensate victims of terrorism injured in incidents outside the UK on or after 27 November 2012. A person may be eligible for an award under VOTCS if they sustain a qualifying injury, which is directly attributable to their being a direct victim of a designated terrorist act. Close relatives bereaved as a result of a designated act may also be eligible for an award. The VOTCS applies to the whole of the United Kingdom.

Claims under the VOTCS can be made by those who have a clear and sufficient connection to the UK, as evidenced by their residence and citizenship. British, European Union, European Economic Area and Swiss citizens who have been resident in the UK for three years immediately before the designated act may be eligible for an award. Data on the value of awards made under VOTCS from 2013 to 2016 are set in the table below.

Year	Amount of awards
2013	£206,607
2014	£11,200
2015	£309,541
2016	£11,000
Total	£538,348

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to amend section 3(5A) of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to remove the requirement on the Secretary of State to lay the draft of an Order in Council for giving effect to the recommendations contained in the Boundary Commissions’ reports.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government will outline its plans for constituency boundaries when it responds to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s report, What next on the redrawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries?, in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many prison staff, and (2) what proportion of prison staff, have received Prevent awareness training for each (a) prison, and (b) young offender institution.

Lord Faulks

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has a range of Prevent awareness training and briefing packages available for staff. Since April 2015 data has been collated recording the amount of training provided to staff in prisons and probation on extremism awareness.

Between April 2015 and September 2015, 4,100 hours of training were delivered to over 4,900 staff in prisons directly managed by NOMS. The training is targeted at staff in prisoner facing roles. A further 650 staff from contracted establishments have also received training during this period. There figures do not include any staff trained before April 2015.

Since April 2015 new Prison Officers receive Extremism Awareness Training as part of their entry level training, a total of 1,566 since this date.

Some of the training sessions described above were delivered to staff from more than one prison and therefore to provide information on proportions of staff trained from each establishment would involve disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether relatives of British nationals who have died as a result of terrorism abroad are entitled to financial compensation from them, and if so, how much compensation they have paid since 2010.

Lord Faulks

The Government provides two compensation schemes for victims of crime, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) 2012 and the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme (VOTCS) 2012. Both schemes are administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

The Scheme is designed to compensate blameless victims of violent crime where the incident took place in Great Britain or a “relevant place” as outlined in Annex C of the scheme. Close relatives of a British citizen may also be eligible for compensation under the scheme. Under the Scheme compensation is only available to those who can demonstrate they are ordinarily resident in the UK at the time of the incident or have another defined connection to the UK.

In fatal cases, compensation may be awarded to qualifying relatives who also satisfy the Scheme’s residency criteria. The meaning of qualifying relative is outlined in paragraph 59 of the Scheme. The CICA does not keep information on the nationality of the deceased in fatal applications, so we cannot identify the amount of compensation paid.

Compensation for relatives of British nationals murdered abroad is not available under the two schemes provided by the Government. UK residents injured as a result of a crime of violence in another country within the European Union (EU) or outside the EU may be able to apply for compensation from that country. The CICA can assist with applications to other EU countries.

The VOTCS was introduced to compensate victims of terrorism injured in incidents outside the UK on or after 27 November 2012. A person may be eligible for an award under VOTCS if they sustain a qualifying injury, which is directly attributable to their being a direct victim of a designated terrorist act. Close relatives bereaved as a result of a designated act may also be eligible for an award. The VOTCS applies to the whole of the United Kingdom.

Claims under the VOTCS can be made by those who have a clear and sufficient connection to the UK, as evidenced by their residence and citizenship. British, European Union, European Economic Area and Swiss citizens who have been resident in the UK for three years immediately before the designated act may be eligible for an award. Data on the value of awards made under VOTCS from 2013 to 2016 are set in the table below.

Year	Amount of awards
2013	£206,607
2014	£11,200
2015	£309,541
2016	£11,000
Total	£538,348

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the removal of the reference in the Ministerial Code to having to comply with international law and treaty obligations alters the legal obligations of ministers.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Ministerial Code is normally updated and reissued after a General Election. The updated Code makes clear that Ministers must abide by the law. The obligations of Ministers under the law including international law remain unchanged.

Information relating to internal discussions and advice is not disclosed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much revenue has been raised from call charging associated with the legal aid telephone gateway.

Lord Faulks

Between March 2014 and January 2015 the LAA phased out the use of 0845 access numbers for CLA and replaced them with 0345 numbers.

This means there is a single national point of contact for CLA without callers having to pay extra to call them.Calls to 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to a 01 or 02 number and count towards inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls. This applies to calls from any type of line including mobile, fixed line or payphone.

The LAA provides clear information about the costs of making a call. Individuals can also check whether they may qualify for legal aid via a free digital service on gov.uk before requesting a call back. They also have the option of asking CLA staff to make a return call.