Tag: Parliamentary Question

Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which circumstances magistrates are required to send cases to the Crown Court in cases in which their sentencing powers would be sufficient to deal with the cases in their court.

Mr Shailesh Vara

There are a range of circumstances which would require magistrates to send cases within their sentencing powers to the Crown Court for trial including those involving indictable-only offences; or where the offence concerned is linked to one or more other offences which must be tried in the Crown Court; or where the defendant elects for a jury trial; or, in youth cases, where the offence involves an adult co-defendant who must be tried in the Crown Court.

In accordance with the Allocation Guideline issued by the independent Sentencing Council, magistrates should take account of any potential mitigation and guilty plea, which would bring a case within their jurisdiction. Where they are uncertain about the adequacy of their powers, they should retain a case and commit for sentence if they later take the view that it falls outside their sentencing powers.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of UK firms based in the East of England that trade with other EU member states; and how many people are employed by each such firm.

Anna Soubry

HMRC Regional Trade Statistics on the number of firms trading with the EU are publically available through the UKTradeInfo website.

HM Treasury has published estimates of the number of UK jobs linked to EU exports broken down by region. These are available through the GOV.UK website.

01/01/2023
Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the employment rights of staff members seconded to or working within international organisations are protected.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) supports outward secondments that develop the skills and experience of our staff. Our staff are encouraged to take up opportunities where the work is in line with the FCO’s strategic priorities.

The terms and conditions of employees working for international organisations are set by the organisation they work for during the secondment. The host organisation also takes responsibility for ensuring the duty of care to our secondees is properly discharged and that their working conditions are satisfactory. This would include having proper grievance procedures in place. The FCO takes this into account when agreeing to a secondment, and individual volunteers are expected to satisfy themselves that they are aware of any differences between the two organisations terms and conditions before agreeing any contract. Secondees remain our employees during their secondments and continue to enjoy the protection of their employment rights with the FCO.

01/01/2023
The Lord Bishop of Rochester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Rochester on 2016-06-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with prison chaplains, including those of Muslim and Christian faith, to address concerns about radicalisation and extremism in prisons.

Lord Faulks

Prison staff regularly discuss issues relating to radicalisation and extremism with prison chaplains of all faiths, both at a local and regional level. Prisoners who are identified as holding extremist views or being vulnerable to radicalisation are managed through a range of interventions to tackle and disrupt extremist behaviour.

Last year the Justice Secretary commissioned A review of extremism in prisons

As we have made clear, the report has been received and a summary document will be published in due course.

01/01/2023
Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many full-time equivalent staff of her Department, at what grades, have been seconded to the Department for International Trade.

Rory Stewart

Two DFID staff will soon be moving to the Department for International Trade on loan for a period of 2 years taking up Senior Civil Service roles. We expect that several DFID staff will be strong candidates for other roles in the new Department currently being advertised.

01/01/2023
Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of increasing reliance on district judges, what role they envisage for lay magistrates.

Lord Keen of Elie

We are committed to giving magistrates the strongest possible role in a more proportionate courts system, now and in the future.

Magistrates and District Judges bring different but valuable skills to our justice system. We are working with magistrates to review their role to make sure that the justice system is making full use of their skills, and that they are dealing with more of the crimes that affect and matter most to their communities.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on and what the timescale is for implementation of a Horserace Betting Right as a replacement for the Horserace Betting Levy.

Tracey Crouch

Work is continuing on the detailed policy design of the Horserace Betting Right.

01/01/2023
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the scientific evidence regarding the incidence of cancer in those living near nuclear reactors and large spikes in radioactive gaseous emissions during the refuelling of those reactors.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) are reviewing the scientific evidence of certain cancer incidences around specific nuclear sites based on the recommendations from the 4th and 11th COMARE reports. This report will review all recent evidence that has been published since the previous reports, as judged relevant by COMARE. COMARE is a Departmental expert advisory committee that provides independent advice to government on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation.

01/01/2023
Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many letters his Department received from hon. Members and Peers in each month in 2015; and how many such letters received a substantive response within 10 working days.

Brandon Lewis

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 December 2015, PQ 19650.

The reporting of performance of Government Departments in handling correspondence from hon. Members is co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office and published annually.

01/01/2023

Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children aged up to three years old were taken into care in the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the reasons why those children were taken into care.

Edward Timpson

The number of children aged 0-3 years, that started to be looked after in the last five years ending 31 March, and the main reason why they entered care, is shown in the table below. This information is for England only.

Category of need	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Abuse or neglect	6,880	7,350	7,430	7,380	7,270
Child’s disability	50	50	60	50	50
Parents illness or disability	520	550	480	500	460
Family in acute stress	690	710	740	740	670
Family dysfunction	1,460	1,560	1,710	1,840	1,730
Socially unacceptable behaviour	50	40	70	70	60
Low income	20	20	10	20	20
Absent parenting	260	210	190	150	160
Total number of looked after children aged 0-3 years, in England	9,910	10,500	10,690	10,740	10,420

Source: SSDA903

Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Only the first occasion on which a child was taken into care in the year has been counted.

01/01/2023