The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2014, Official Report, column 793W, on disclosure of information, when he expects the Government’s response to the Whistleblowing Framework call for evidence will be published.
Jenny Willott
The Government response is currently being finalised and will be published soon.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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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.
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 staff of each grade were employed at HM Prison Northumberland on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
Jeremy Wright
The information requested could not be obtained within the timescale. I will write to the Member in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases in Bradford are awaiting mandatory reconsideration of employment and support allowance decisions.
Esther McVey
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made in re-basing those elements of the armed forces based in Germany; and what recent discussions he has had with German federal and regional authorities on the practical logistics involved in such a withdrawal.
Dr Andrew Murrison
Significant progress has been made on the withdrawal of British troops from Germany. Having closed Celle Station in 2012, the closures of the Rheindahlen Military Complex and Münster Station were completed in 2013, and Hameln Station will close by December 2014. The programme remains on track to deliver, enabling us to close and release Elmpt and Herford Stations by December 2015, followed by the closure of Hohne and Fallingbostel Stations before March 2016.
We have already reduced our military numbers in Germany by 33% through the programme of preliminary moves and unit disbandments, and the first tranche of major unit moves and re-roling from Germany will occur in 2015. These moves will result in a reduction of up to 70% of troops by the end of 2015, exceeding the Strategic Defence and Security Review target of bringing back half of those personnel based in Germany by 2015. The remaining troops will relocate by 2019, as part of our intent to base the three high readiness Reaction Force Brigades on Salisbury Plain.
The Secretary of State for Defence met with the German Defence Minister, Frau Dr Ursula von der Leyen, on 13 January to discuss a number of issues, including the withdrawal of our troops from Germany. More widely, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to liaise with the German authorities at a number of levels: through Ministers and officials in the UK: the Defence Attaché in the British Embassy in Berlin; and the General Officer Commanding British Forces Germany, other regional British Commanders and a network of in-country liaison officers. MOD officials are also liaising with their German counterparts to assist in finding alternative uses for the facilities that will be vacated by the British Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Watson of Wyre Forest on Culture, Media and Sport.
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Mrs Helen Grant
Planning for the commemoration, in 2015, of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo is being carried out by Waterloo 200, an umbrella organisation which is overseeing the anniversary. More information can be found on its website at the following link: www.waterloo200.org. In the June 2013 budget, the Chancellor announced funding circa £1m will be allocated to restore the site of the battle.
The previous Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Maria Miller, was also pleased to announce in October 2013 that at least £10m will be made available by the Heritage Lottery Fund over the next four years to fund projects marking some of the UK’s most important anniversaries and commemorative events, including the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo.