Tag: Parliamentary Question

Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many arrests in the UK have resulted from Operation Rescue; how many charges were brought following those arrests; how many open investigations remain from those identified; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green

Operation Rescue was an investigation into a website that promoted the distribution of Indecent Images of Children. From 2007 to 2011, 240 intelligence packages were disseminated by the SOCA affiliated Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to Police Forces across the UK.

At the end of the intelligence dissemination phase of the operation in 2011 CEOP had been notified of 121 arrests; of these 33 individuals were convicted and 7 cautioned.

Further information regarding charges, convictions and open investigations is handled at a local level by the relevant police force and is not recorded centrally.

November 1, 2022
Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-16.

To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive will be subject to security vetting if he or she is appointed from outside the House service or Civil Service; and whether he or she will be subject to a confirmation hearing before a select committee.

John Thurso

Three organisations specialising in executive search services were invited to tender to provide support for the recruitment of the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive. Saxton Bampfylde was selected through this process.

The selection panel comprises Mr Speaker, Rt Hon Andrew Lansley MP, Angela Eagle MP, John Thurso MP, Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP and Dame Julie Mellor (Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman). No confirmation hearing is envisaged. The composition of the panel for the recruitment of the present postholder was Mr Speaker, Rt Hon Sir George Young MP, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, John Thurso MP, Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP, Rt Hon Lindsay Hoyle MP and Sheila Drew Smith.

Knowledge of procedural and constitutional issues will be tested as part of the formal interview process. The Clerk of the House is appointed by the Crown by Letters Patent, on the recommendation of the Speaker to the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister to the Crown. As part of normal pre-appointment checks it will be a requirement for the next Clerk of the House to be subject to security vetting. The terms of the recruitment brief were agreed by the Commission by correspondence, and the advertisement, finalised by the Speaker and the Director General of HR and Change, was based on the agreed brief.

November 1, 2022
David Ruffley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ruffley on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are being held in police cells; what the daily cost is of holding such prisoners; and how many prisoners were held in police cells in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright

The number of prisoners held overnight in a police cell has come down to around 1,400 in 2013-14, after reaching a peak of over 50,000 in 2007-08.

Prison numbers fluctuate throughout the year and we have sufficient accommodation for the current and expected population. We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts. There will be more adult male prison capacity in May 2015 than there was at the start of this Parliament.

Police cells, under Operation Safeguard, have not been used since 22 September 2008 and no police cells under Operation Safeguard have been on stand by since the end of October 2008.

We are not using police cells due to a lack of space but because it is not always possible to transfer prisoners from courts to prisons in the time available at the end of court sittings – we have over half a million prisoner transfers a year so it is unsurprising that occasionally we cannot get prisoners back to their prison for one night.

As part of standard logistical arrangements, there are occasions where prisoners may be temporarily held overnight in police cells.. This is solely for overnight accommodation by the police before collection and onward transmission to the prison establishment the following working day. This is not the same as using Operation Safeguard, as in 2007-08.

For the above occasions, under the existing National Offender Management Service /Association of Chief Police Officers National Framework Agreement, it costs £55 for a prisoner to stay in a police cell overnight

The following table shows i) the total number of prisoners who were temporarily held overnight in police cells in England and Walesin each year since 2005-06 and ii) of which, the numbers held in police cells in the Suffolk Police Force area (identified by the number in brackets), in each year since 2009-10. The totals include adults, young adults (18 to 20-year-olds) and young people (15 to 17-year-olds). In order to identify individual police station locations to identify those in the Bury St Edmunds constituency would require a manual check of each record and this could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

286

16,719

52,879

4,769

182 (1)

191 (6)

1,474 (1)

686 (1)

1,412 (4)

November 1, 2022
Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to promote Northern Ireland’s natural beauty to boost its tourism.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

Northern Ireland is one of the most beautiful parts of the United Kingdom and the televising around the world of the G8 summit in Fermanagh last year and the recent Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza will doubtless result in new tourist visits.

The promotion of tourism is a devolved matter, however I take every opportunity to invite those whom I meet to come and visit and enjoy Northern Ireland for themselves.

November 1, 2022
Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings he has had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

Stephen Hammond

As was the case under previous administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

November 1, 2022
Glyn Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Glyn Davies on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the UK’s security of energy supply.

Mr Edward Davey

The UK enjoys a stable and secure energy supply, and we are working hard to ensure that it continues. As a Government, we are actively managing a number of risks to our current and future energy supplies, including the current challenges from Iraq, Russia and Ukraine. Our recent national gas risk assessment demonstrated that our gas infrastructure is robust. The measures recently announced by National Grid respond to the energy crunch that, owing to the legacy of under-investment and neglect, was predicted for this winter, but which will not now happen.

November 1, 2022
Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much funding his Department has allocated to (a) solid wall insulation, (b) other energy efficiency and insulation measures from his Department’s approved list and (c) refunds for Green Deal assessments under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund in (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16, (iii) 2016-17 and (iv) over the lifetime of the fund.

Gregory Barker

Up to £120 million has been allocated to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund in 2014-15. DECC has not allocated specific levels of funding to (a) solid wall insulation, (b) other energy efficiency and insulation measures from his Department’s approved list and (c) refunds for Green Deal assessments under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund in (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16, (iii) 2016-17 or (iv) over the lifetime of the fund.

November 1, 2022
Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with HM Treasury on additional financial support to implement the draft proposals put forward in the Haass agreement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

No estimate has been made of the cost. I continue to support and encourage the Northern Ireland parties as they pursue an agreement on flags, parading and the past, but as these are mainly devolved matters funding for new structures would principally come out of the Block Grant that is paid to the Northern Ireland Executive. Requests for additional funding will be considered in the context of the current UK Government deficit that we inherited from our predecessors and would require Treasury approval.

November 1, 2022
Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department takes to ensure that TPContact achieves and maintains high standards of customer service.

James Brokenshire

Any failure against the contractual critical service levels may result in
deductions against their submitted invoices. In the event of continuous and
unacceptable failures the Department has the ability to terminate the contract.

The performance of Teleperformance as with all of our contracts is subject to
close Home Office scrutiny. The governance processes include regular meetings
at all levels, from local operational teams up to senior official levels, to
allow in-depth reviews of performance against the service standards set out in
the contract, and to provide an escalation route to resolve any issues that may
arise. We also expect suppliers to provide continuous improvement in delivery
of customer services over the course of the contract, which is also monitored
through these processes.

The Department withheld payment of the contractual transitional payment until
transition was complete in each country where Teleperformance operates. This
has now been has now been approved for payment in countries where visa
application centres (VACs) are operational but withheld in locations still to
be transitioned. Ongoing contractual payments will be subject to the service
credit process outlined above.

The data required to judge performance against contractual service standards is
not yet available. We are not aware of any withdrawn applications linked to
delays in processing at the identified visa application centres since they took
over this service. The Home Office is currently collating data on complaints
for the period since Teleperformance commenced operations and it is not
available for publication.

UK Visas & Immigration has worked closely with Teleperformance from the point
at which contracts were awarded to prepare for live operations, including the
summer peak. Annual and monthly application volumes and forecast figures for
2014 were provided to Teleperformance as part of the tender process and local
discussions have taken place to determine the number of appointment slots
available. Opening hours have been extended and appointment availability has
been increased in a number of locations to prepare for the summer period. Where
VACs are open every day, the availability of appointment slots is continually
monitored, with further measures being taken if appointments are consistently
fully booked.

November 1, 2022
Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

Stephen Hammond

The Department has undertaken a review into the removal of check off arrangements and is considering the next steps following this review.

November 1, 2022