Parliamentary Question – Page 3888

Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to reduce racist hate crimes since the EU referendum.

Sarah Newton

The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.

The scenes and behaviour we saw over the summer, including offensive graffiti and abuse hurled at people because they are members of ethnic minorities or because of their nationality, are despicable and shameful. We must stand together against such hate crime and ensure that it is stamped out.

We already have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation. We also have stronger sentences for hate crime.

The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime. This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.

The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.

On 26 July, the Home Office published a comprehensive new hate crime action plan which builds on the work already done, and sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:

● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;

● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;

● a new fund for protective security measures at places of worship, which is currently open for applications; and

● additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime, including racist hate crime.

The increased levels of hate crime reporting seen over the summer have now reduced and we have observed three consecutive weeks of reporting levels that fall within the expected levels that we have observed in previous years. Police will continue to monitor the signs of tension and will react swiftly if they identify any future raised levels.

Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.

01/01/2023

Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the findings in the Report from the charity Sense, Realising Aspirations for All; and what steps he is taking to ensure that people who are deafblind and those with complex needs benefit from plans to halve the disability employment gap.

Penny Mordaunt

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

Everyone has an important part to play in making the transformative changes required for long-term reform on supporting disabled people into work and contributing to halving the disability employment gap.

We will soon publish a Green Paper that will explore a range of options for long-term reform across different sectors enabling everyone to realise their aspirations, regardless of their health condition or disability. We are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including organisations that represent the needs of deafblind people, through our preparatory work and detailed consultation plans that will follow.

01/01/2023

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to avoid bed shortages due to delayed discharges from hospital.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Since April, local projects across the country have been using the Government’s £5.3 billion Better Care Fund in an effort to reduce non-elective admissions and move people out of hospital more quickly, as part of on-going work to bring health and social care services together.

In addition, the Government has made £400 million available to the National Health Service specifically to help with winter pressures in 2015/16. This money has been made available from the start of the financial year, enabling the health and care system to prepare more effectively than in previous years.

The Department of Health is also working closely with NHS England and local government to develop a package of support to help local areas reduce delays in hospital discharge. This includes tailored support from the new Emergency Care Improvement Programme to help make improvement in the systems under the most pressure, and local government’s Sector Led Improvement Plan to drive improvement in social care.

01/01/2023

Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18370, on criminal proceedings, how many (a) men and (b) women make up the 9,578 figure; and what the sex of the lead defendant was in each case.

Mike Penning

Of the 9,578 cases where there were one or more defendants, there were 24,619 defendants in total. Of these, 20,877 were male and 3,603 were female. The remaining defendants were recorded as companies or unknown. To identify the lead defendant would not be possible without incurring disproportionate costs.

01/01/2023

Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that best practice is shared with each of the devolved institutions on development among employers of agri-tech and skills strategies.

George Freeman

We are supporting the efforts of the agri-tech sector to ensure that it has the skills it needs for the future. In agriculture this is led by the Agri-Skills Forum, comprising bodies such as Lantra, Landex, National Farmers Union, and the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, which takes a UK wide perspective of skills needs in agriculture and horticulture, and provides a direct link to employers. The Biological and Biosciences Research Council has provided £13 million of funding through its Advanced Training Programmes to support high level skills in food and farming throughout the UK.

01/01/2023

Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on the options circulated by the President of the European Council on the UK’s relationship with the EU.

Mr Philip Hammond

As The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) made clear in his statement to the House yesterday, the renegotiation deal delivers on the Government’s commitment to fix the problems with the EU that have frustrated people in the UK. It is legally binding, irreversible and delivers for the UK. The deal gives the UK the best of both worlds: in to the parts of Europe that work for us and out of those parts which don’t.

01/01/2023

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jowell on 2016-03-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been deported by the UK to each EU country under the terms of Dublin III per year since that Regulation came into force.

Lord Bates

The Dublin III Regulation came into force on 1 January 2014. The table below indicates the number of removals per EU country in that time.

Dublin Convention III returns to EU countries (2010 to 2015)

The number of removals under Dublin Convention III regulation for 2010-2015 as indicated by our records are shown in the table below.

Destination of Return	2014	2015
Austria	20	35
Belgium	35	35
Bulgaria	*	15
Croatia	5	*
Cyprus	*	*
Czech Republic	*	*
Denmark	*	10
Estonia	0	0
Finland	*	*
France	20	40
Germany	20	45
Greece	0	0
Hungary	10	30
Ireland	40	40
Italy	80	150
Latvia	0	0
Lithuania	*	*
Luxembourg	0	0
Malta	5	*
Netherlands	10	15
Norway	10	10
Poland	*	*
Portugal	0	*
Romania	*	*
Slovakia	*	5
Slovenia	*	0
Spain	5	5
Sweden	10	15
Switzerland	15	5

Totals 285 455

NOTE “*” represents figures below 3.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Indian government on the release from prisons of the five Britons working for the AdvanFort Security Company.

Mr Philip Hammond

We continue to make representations on behalf of the six British men in this case. On 1 April the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), raised this case for the fourth time with the Indian Prime Minister at a summit in Washington. During April it has been raised again with both the Indian Minister of External Affairs and the Indian Foreign Secretary and with the State Government during the 27-28 April visit to Chennai of the new High Commissioner.

01/01/2023

Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 15 April 2016 to Question 33132, when he plans to publish details of NHS support funding for community pharmacies under the Pharmacy Access Scheme.

Alistair Burt

We expect to publish further details on the Pharmacy Access Scheme at the beginning of July.

01/01/2023

Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Government plans to issue a commencement order for section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 on sexual communication with a child.

Sir Oliver Heald

The Government remains committed to commencing section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 and will do so in due course.

01/01/2023

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