Tag: Parliamentary Question

Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the value was of assets (a) subject to restraint orders and (b) recovered using confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since 2009-10.

Mr John Hayes

The value of assets subject to restraint orders between 2009-10 and 2015-16 is shown in the tables below.

Orders are counted as fully paid where the outstanding balance, including any interest payable, is nil. There is no central record which would show how many people subject to unenforced orders were serving prison sentences.

Data is extracted from reports run on 4 May 2016 using the Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD). JARD is a central repository of information relating to the seizure of the proceeds of crime.

JARD is a live database which is continually updated. As such, the data provided may vary from reports run on earlier dates.

Restraint Orders issued in England & Wales	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-2015	2015-16
Values (in millions)	£648.68m	£873.40m	£500.78m	£463.75m	£393.70m	£368.18m	£448.10m

Gross confiscation receipts – includes compensation paid to victims and receiver’s fees	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-2015	2015-16
Values (in millions)	£110.39m	£113.55m	£124.58m	£134.85m	£139.20m	£155.67m	£206.30m

Year	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-2015	2015-16
Number of confiscation orders issued	5592	6425	6268	6401	6043	5926	5900

01/01/2023

Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who overstayed their visa have been identified leaving the UK in each month since 8 April 2015; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

The data requested is not currently available. My Department is considering the use of exit checks data for statistical reporting purposes. Any data published then will be subject to data assurance standards.

01/01/2023
Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is for considering whether to withhold sensitive material from courts to aid their consideration of (a) whether to impose Temporary Exclusion Orders (TEOs), (b) whether a TEO already imposed should be revoked and (c) whether the conditions imposed on those subject to TEOs are fair.

Mr Ben Wallace

The Court Rules for Temporary Exclusion Orders provide for the disclosure of open material, the use of private hearings, and the withholding of closed material (the disclosure of which would be contrary to the public interest). The Home Office cannot determine which information is closed and must submit an application to the court for permission not to disclose certain information. Under the closed material procedure, the TEO subject and his legal representatives would attend ‘open’ court proceedings but would not be present at ‘closed’ proceedings. Special advocates appointed by the Attorney General would represent the interests of the excluded party in relation to closed evidence. The use of closed material proceedings is designed to ensure that the court has sight of sensitive material whilst protecting it from wider disclosure.

01/01/2023
Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the reformed discretionary support scheme for people affected by contaminated blood will consider (a) housing benefit or (b) jobseeker’s allowance in calculating eligibility for financial support for (i) widows and widowers of people affected and (ii) other beneficiaries.

Nicola Blackwood

In 2017/18, as part of the wider reform of the Infected Blood Payments Scheme in England, a new discretionary scheme will replace the current three discretionary schemes. The new discretionary scheme is in design and the relationship between receipt of welfare support and eligibility for discretionary support from the new scheme has yet to be decided.

01/01/2023
Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans the Government has for the decommissioning of (a) HMS Torbay, (b) HMS Trenchant, (c) HMS Talent and (d) HMS Triumph.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is looking across the spectrum to assess what defence capabilities will address the threats we face. The conclusions of the SDSR are due to be published on 23 November.

01/01/2023
Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2015 to Question 6371, whether he plans to reform the planning process to improve the ability of mobile network operators to deploy taller infrastructure in areas where connectivity is needed; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Yes. Extensive and reliable mobile connectivity is vital for our modern economy, particularly in rural areas. The Government has undertaken a review of the planning system to assess what improvements should be made to support the deployment of mobile infrastructure. The outcome of that review will be announced shortly, I hope.

01/01/2023
Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the UK will be represented at the meeting of the World Health Organisation’s Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination in Geneva on 7 to 9 March 2016; and what the Government’s priorities for the meeting will be.

Mr Nick Hurd

We are currently in discussions with the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding who will represent the UK at the meeting of the World Health Organisation’s Consultative Expert Working Group in March 2016.

The UK Government priority is to see a Pooled Fund for Research and Development established with support from WHO Member States, especially those that have not provided funding for this type of work. The UK Government supports systems that separate the market incentives to produce a drug or vaccine from the Research & Development process, prioritise public health need over profit and work in partnership with a wide range of different organisations, covering the public, private and philanthropic sectors. The UK is the second largest government supporter of the development of new products through product development partnerships, which prioritise need over profit.

01/01/2023
Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015, HCWS128, on alleged serious and significant offences (diplomatic immunity): 2014, how many instances of alleged criminal conduct by foreign diplomats based in the UK have been brought to the attention of his Department by the police or other enforcement agencies in the last 12 months.

Mr Philip Hammond

In the last 12 months Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection of the Metropolitan Police has notified us of a total of 945 incidents where there was a link with a diplomatic mission or international organisation in the United Kingdom. These not only include instances of alleged criminal conduct by persons attached to diplomatic missions and international organisations in the UK (including their family members), but also offences allegedly committed against such persons and occasional non-criminal incidents involving such persons or their missions.

This figure also includes occasions when diplomats or family members are required as witnesses. Statistics for only those instances of alleged criminal conduct by foreign diplomats based in the UK are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Future Written Ministerial Statements on the failure of foreign missions to comply with UK law will however, contain details of serious and significant offences allegedly committed by people entitled to diplomatic immunity in the UK in 2015 and 2016.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve spousal employment for service personnel posted in Cyprus.

Mark Lancaster

There are a limited number of employment opportunities for family members of deployed personnel within British Forces Cyprus (BFC). Spousal employment is restricted by the 1960 Treaty of Establishment between the UK and the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), which states that service organisations shall, ‘so far as is practicable, employ only Cypriot staff’. To help mitigate this restriction, the Partner Employment Programme (PEP) under the New Employment Model (NEM) facilitates courses and training to assist with employability on return to the UK. BFC is also facilitating Business Start-up courses run by Wolverhampton University. There are no restrictions on spouses seeking employment in the RoC; by way of an example it is known that some spouses are employed locally in international schools.

01/01/2023
John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what average time the Housing Ombudsman has taken to complete a case in each year since 2009-10.

Brandon Lewis

The Housing Ombudsman is an independent body whose objective it is to resolve disputes involving tenants and leaseholders of social landlords and their voluntary members. The average times taken to complete a case, which are within the Housing Ombudsman’s formal remit are provided below.

2009-10: 23 weeks

2010-11: 15 weeks

2011-12: 17 weeks

2012-13: 23 weeks

2013-14: Not available

2014-15: Not available

2015-16: 41 weeks

The levels of complaints and enquiries have increased year on year since 2006 and there was a 64% increase between 2012-13 and 2014-15, which is partly due to an extension of The Housing Ombudsman’s remit to cover local housing authorities.

At a DCLG Select Committee hearing, in January 2016, the new Housing Ombudsman made a commitment to reduce the backlog of older cases within their formal remit dating back from previous years. Very substantial progress has been made and by 31 March there were only 9 cases outstanding over 12 months old.

01/01/2023