Tag: Lord Wigley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to require the Office for National Statistics to identify in the 2021 Census the number of people living in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland who (1) understand, and (2) are proficient in, the use of the Welsh language.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that the recommendation by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in its Thematic Review of the CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Units that all lawyers working at Rape and Serious Sexual Offences units undergo refresher training is implemented.

Lord Keen of Elie

Ensuring that staff have the tools and skills necessary to prosecute effectively is a CPS priority. A detailed CPS/Police Joint National Rape Action Plan was published in June 2014 which identified a programme of training activity to deliver improvements in investigation and prosecution outcomes. This extensive programme, consisting of a range of face to face specialist training, is currently underway. The programme includes refresher training for all specialist prosecutors undertaking rape and serious sexual offence casework which will be delivered during 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take in the light of the finding by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in its Thematic Review of the CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Units that there are inconsistencies in the level of care provided to rape and sexual assault victims by Rape and Serious Sexual Offences units.

Lord Keen of Elie

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is continually committed to improving the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences and the quality of the service the CPS provides to victims of these serious crimes. The Thematic Review acknowledges that the CPS has undertaken a considerable amount of work to prioritise the improvement of rape prosecutions and endorses the use of teams of specialist prosecutors to handle all rape and serious sexual offences cases. Ensuring the best possible service is provided to victims will continue to be at the heart of CPS improvement activity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on, or reciprocal measures that may be taken against, British nationals living in other EU member states arising from any steps taken to reduce the amount of child benefit paid by the UK to EU migrants in the UK that may be repatriated to the migrants’ home countries.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Details of the proposals for child benefit is subject to the ongoing negotiation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of holding a referendum in June on the UK’s membership of the EU on the elections to the National Assembly for Wales.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

As the Prime Minister has consistently said, what will determine the timing of the referendum is the outcome of the negotiation. The only deadline we have set is to hold the referendum by the end of 2017. The Government has made no decisions on the date, except to specifically rule out holding it on 5 May 2016 or 4 May 2017.

As the Foreign Secretary has said – ultimately, the decision will be made by the House, as the date will be decided by a statutory instrument brought before it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have undertaken into the number of legal practitioners who will still be able to provide criminal legal aid services in England and Wales in the light of the decision to abandon proposals to reduce significantly the number of duty solicitors in those countries.

Lord Keen of Elie

All organisations who bid for own client contracts in 2015 will have the opportunity to bid for criminal legal aid work when we invite applications for replacement contracts later in the year. As my colleague, Lord Faulks, told the House on 28 January, a process of natural consolidation is already taking place in the criminal legal aid market, following the reduction in crime and natural competition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the respective responsibilities of the home nations’ tourism organisations following restructuring of VisitBritain, in particular regarding the attraction of overseas visitors to each of the four nations.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Tourism is a devolved matter, so it is for each of the home nations to decide on the structure and activities of their national tourist boards.

The Government has decided that the British Tourist Authority should continue to trade as VisitBritain and VisitEngland – with VisitBritain focussed on the promotion of Britain overseas, and VisitEngland focussed on the development of English tourism product. VisitEngland will do this through a new £40m Discover England fund.

Funding for British tourism will now be ring-fenced and the Government is committed to setting challenging targets for VisitBritain to encourage more visitors to explore beyond London. We are actively engaging with the Scottish and Welsh Governments on these targets and operating principles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2016-07-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provisions are being made at HM Prison Berwyn to meet the reasonable requirements of Welsh-speaking prisoners.

Lord Keen of Elie

It is a requirement that all staff at HMP Berwyn must show an understanding of the importance of the Welsh language.

All prisoners at HMP Berwyn will have access to welsh speaking staff and all material will be bilingual. To help support this, we are currently arranging courses for our staff to ensure they have a good understanding of Wales and working in the Welsh context, which includes a section on language.