Tag: Lord Ramsbotham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-07-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Citizens Advice Bureau report Catching Up: improving council tax arrears collection published on 8 July, and of why that report does not refer to the guidance to local councils on good practice in the collection of council tax arrears in respect of vulnerable people published by the Department for Communities and Local Government in June 2013.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Government made its position clear in our ‘Guidance to Local Councils on Good Practice in the Collection of Council Tax Arrears’, June 2013. This highlights the importance of councils being sympathetic to those in genuine hardship and that they are proportionate in their enforcement action, as well as noting the support that should be provided to vulnerable people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they propose to publish the Short Term Holding Facility Rules and the statutory guidance governing such facilities following the most recent consultation on those rules, which ended on 14 April.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Having considered the very detailed responses received to the consultation exercise, we intend to make the statutory rules governing the regulation and management of immigration short term holding facilities in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-09-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the final report of the review of the youth justice system will be published.

Lord Keen of Elie

The estimated total cost of the review of the youth justice system is £350,000. This figure is subject to audit at the end of the 2016-17 financial year and may change.

Ministers are currently considering Charlie Taylor’s review of the youth justice system. The final report and the government’s plans for reform of the youth justice system will be published later in the autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-09-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total cost of the review of the youth justice system.

Lord Keen of Elie

The estimated total cost of the review of the youth justice system is £350,000. This figure is subject to audit at the end of the 2016-17 financial year and may change.

Ministers are currently considering Charlie Taylor’s review of the youth justice system. The final report and the government’s plans for reform of the youth justice system will be published later in the autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the discussions with the government of the US over the extension of the 1966 agreement concerning the British Indian Ocean Territory will be followed by discussions with Mauritius over the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is disappointed at recent action by Mauritius in seeking a UN General Assembly resolution requesting “an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965”. We believe this is an inappropriate use of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion mechanism and sets an unwelcome precedent for other bilateral disputes. Whilst we are disappointed that this item has been added to the UNGA agenda, we are pleased that discussions at UNGA will be deferred until at least June 2017 in order to allow for bilateral discussions with Mauritius. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreed way forward through such bilateral discussions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the research commissioned by the Department for Education in 2010 into the development of government guidance on governance arrangements in children’s services: Research governance in children’s services: the scope for new advice.

Lord Nash

This report highlighted the importance of governance and ethical consideration in children’s services research. The report suggested that at the time of the research, local practice was variable, but there were, and still are, a number of accepted research governance arrangements in place for local authorities and other research organisations to seek guidance and approval, including the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), the Social Research Association, the NSPCC, and university ethics boards. The Department for Education has concluded that these arrangements are the best route for local authorities and external research organisations to obtain external guidance on research governance and ethics.

Following publication of the report, the Department, in consultation with the ADCS Research Group, has developed ethics guidance and an ethics checklist for its own funded research and evaluation. This is based on the Government Social Research Professional Guidance, which sets out the principles that should be used when conducting social research for the Government. It states that those conducting, commissioning or managing Government social research have a responsibility to ensure that research is conducted using appropriate methods and that the rights and interests of all those involved in the research process are protected. Research should be conducted in a manner that:

• ensures valid, informed consent is obtained before individuals participate in research (for children under 16, parents/legal guardians as well as the children themselves must be approached for consent to participate);

• takes reasonable steps to identify and remove barriers to participation;

• avoids personal and social harm; and

• protects the confidentiality of information about research participants and their identities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the findings of the recent report Realising Aspirations for All by the charity Sense.

Lord Freud

We welcome the Sense report, Realising Aspirations for All and its findings. We want all disabled and people with a long term health condition to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations.

We will soon publish a Green Paper on work and health and conduct a consultation to understand how every individual can have the opportunity to work and share in the economic and health benefits that work brings, regardless of their health condition or disability. We will engage with Sense and other key stakeholders as part of the Green Paper consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that people who are deafblind, and those with complex needs, benefit from plans to halve the disability employment gap.

Lord Freud

The Government is committed to enabling all disabled people to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations. Work is an important part of this, which is why the Government has committed itself to halving the disability employment gap.

We will soon publish a Green Paper on work and health and conduct a consultation to understand how every individual can have the opportunity to work and share in the economic and health benefits that work brings, regardless of their health condition or disability. We will continue to engage with key stakeholders that support deaf blind people as part of the Green Paper consultation.

The feedback from the consultation and the work that we are doing to build and test the evidence base will help us to find out what really works to remove the barriers disabled people and people with health conditions face in getting and staying in work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish the Shaw review into the welfare of vulnerable persons in immigration detention.

Lord Bates

On 9 February, the Home Secretary announced an independent review into the policies and operating procedures that have an impact on detainee welfare. Stephen Shaw CBE, the former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales, has completed the review and has recently submitted his report. His findings are being carefully considered. The report will be published by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations. We want to ensure that this is before the Immigration Bill completes its passage through Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been made of the success of the current system of press regulation in preventing children being named before being charged, following the identification before charges were brought of the child convicted of stabbing Vincent Uzomah and the child accused of fatally stabbing Bailey Gwynne.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government is committed to a strong, independent and effective self-regulatory system for the press that commands the confidence of both the public and the industry.Following the Leveson Inquiry, and with cross-party agreement, Government has now delivered the framework for a new system of independent press self-regulation: the Royal Charter has been sealed and the Press Recognition Panel has been appointed, opening for business in September of this year. We must now give this new approach time to become established.