Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Brooks Newmark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Brooks Newmark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brooks Newmark on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to bring forward proposals to criminalise coercive control and psychological abuse for the purpose of protection of victims of domestic violence.

    Norman Baker

    Last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
    Constabulary to conduct a review of the response to domestic abuse
    across all police forces. HMIC published its findings in March 2014,
    emphasising that the key priority is a culture change in the police so that
    domestic violence and abuse is treated as the crime that it is and that the
    police use the full range of tools already available to them.

    In response to the Review, the Home Secretary has established a new national
    oversight group, which she is chairing, and on which I sit, to oversee delivery
    against each of HMIC’s recommendations. Their first meeting was held
    on 10 June. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear
    that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014.

    There are a number of offences that make domestic abuse illegal, including
    actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and assault. Assault can extend to
    non-physical harm. This Government has introduced stalking and harassment
    legislation which can apply to coercive control and psychological abuse.
    However, the Government will continue to consider what measures will drive
    culture change in the police in response to the findings of the HMIC review.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many full time equivalent teaching staff there were in total in young offender institutions and secure training centres in each of the last four years.

    Jeremy Wright

    We are committed under the Transforming Youth Custody programme to improving education outcomes for young people in custody. Our proposals for Secure Colleges, and to radically improve the education provided in Young Offenders Institutions, will place education at the heart of youth custody and provide young offenders with skills, qualifications and self-discipline they require to build a life free from crime.

    The amount of education delivered to young people in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres is clearly defined and monitored through contractual arrangements with providers. We believe that these expert educational providers are best placed to determine how – at a local level – to secure education outcomes for the young people they are working with. As such we do not collect data centrally on the staff they employ.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to support the adoption of a target to introduce instruments and incentives for investments in low-carbon solutions in infrastructure, industry and other sectors in Open Working Group negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Justine Greening

    We have already been clear that we agree with the importance of instruments and incentives for investments in low-carbon solutions in infrastructure and industry, and welcome consideration of these in the Open Working Group discussions on the SDGs.

    The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will however be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were subjected to levies under the Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 in each of the last four years.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Prisoners’ Earnings Act (PEA) commenced on 26 September 2011. Information for October 2011 to March 2012 was published in the NOMS Annual Report 2011-12: Management Information Addendum in July 2012, which can be accessed via the following link to the Gov.uk website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/218333/noms-annual-report-2011-12-addendum.pdf

    Figures for the full financial year 2012-13 were published in the 2012-13 edition of the Addendum at the following location: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225225/mi-addendum.pdf

    Figures for 2013-14 will be published on 31 July.

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which places of detention on the prison estate have (a) a member of staff assigned to the role of foreign national co-ordinator and (b) more than one foreign national co-ordinator; how many such co-ordinators there are across the prison estate; and at what salary grade they are paid.

    Jeremy Wright

    While prisons are required to ensure that systems are in place to both facilitate the identification of foreign national prisoners and to meet their distinct needs, there is no mandatory requirement for prisons to have a designated foreign national co-ordinator. It is for Governors and Directors to decide how best to allocate their staffing resources, dependent upon the make-up and needs of their population and their staffing resource. While some will choose to assign dedicated staff to a foreign national co-ordinator role, in either a full or part-time capacity, others will have in place an arrangement that spreads responsibility for this work amongst a number of staff. Information on the arrangements in place at each prison is not recorded centrally.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 406W, on prisons: postal services, how many incidents of (a) drug-related or (b) miscellaneous contraband were found in post received by prisoners in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013.

    Jeremy Wright

    All finds of contraband, whether found in post or otherwise, are recorded on a central incident reporting system under the drug-related or the miscellaneous incident categories. In order to establish the number of occasions, in each of the last four years, where contraband had been found in post sent to prisoners, would require the examination of over 62,000 individual electronic incident files. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

  • David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional resources his Department is making available to reduce the time taken to process requests for mandatory reconsideration of employment and support allowance decisions in West Yorkshire.

    Esther McVey

    We have targeted the resource we use nationally so that requests are processed as quickly as possible to minimise any undue delays, without compromising good quality decision-making.

    In addition we are currently reviewing the customer journey to understand where the pinch points are in the decision making process in order to reduce the end to end journey time.

  • Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the future acquisition requirements for intelligence surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance systems.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department assesses potential future acquisition requirements for intelligence surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) systems as part of the annual Capability Audit process, which considers current and future capability gaps, and the options to fill them. On recent operations the Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) mechanism has also been used to expedite the delivery of ISTAR equipment to fill such capability gaps in the short-term (such as the REAPER Remotely-Piloted Aerial System). As the MOD reorganises itself for broader contingent operations, the annual Capability Audit process will continue to assess which of these UOR equipments have broad utility and should continue to receive funding. In parallel, separate capability investigations are underway, predominantly in support of prospective consideration during the next Defence Review. This analysis includes the ongoing Air ISTAR Optimisation Review.

  • Biography information for Mike Thornton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Biography information for Mike Thornton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Mike Thornton on Home Office.

    1

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office regularly reviews the guidance issued to the helpline
    provider, and updates it to reflect any changes in processes or customer
    requirements.

    Information on the progress of applications can be provided from information
    that is either live or updated daily, dependent on the nature of the enquiry.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 998, when his Department expects work to begin on the New Climate Economy report; and when he expects that report to be published.

    Gregory Barker

    The New Climate Economy study was launched last September and is due to be published in September 2014, ahead of the UN Climate Summit in New York that month.