Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 April 2016, on immigration detention, HCWS679, how many pregnant women (a) are detained and (b) have been detained for immigration purposes at the border in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    Management information for 19 April showed that two pregnant women were held at the border and there was one pregnant woman held in an IRC. Information on those held at the border and in IRCs in each of the last five years is not held centrally and providing it would incur disproportionate cost.

  • FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by a delegation of British lawyers Children in Military Custody published in June 2012 and the recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture published on 4 May, whether they will call on Israel (1) to incorporate the crime of torture in its penal code, as defined in Article 1 of the UN Convention Against Torture, (2) to remove the defence of necessity” as a possible justification of torture in national legislation

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as compliance with international humanitarian law. We regularly discuss implementation of those obligations with the Israeli authorities. We are aware that Israel is in the process of incorporating the crime of torture into national legislation.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded and facilitated an independent report on Children in Military Custody by leading British lawyers in 2012. Ministers and our Ambassador in Tel Aviv have urged Israel to take action on the recommendations in this report. We remain concerned at the number of Palestinian minors held in Israeli detention and continue to push for further measures to ensure that international standards are upheld in regards to the treatment of those detained. We welcomed progress made in recent Israeli policy amendments, such as the increase of the age of majority from 16 to 18 years old, and the enactment of a special statute of limitations for minors. We continue to encourage Israel to introduce mandatory audio-visual equipment for all interrogations.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects the Brimstone 2 missile system for Typhoon aircraft to be in service.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The planned in service date for the integration of the Brimstone 2 missile system on the Typhoon aircraft is December 2018, as previously published in the Major Projects Report 2015.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many, and nobody should ever have to sleep rough. That is why the Government is clear that prevention must be at the heart of everything we do to reduce homelessness. We are investing £500 million to prevent, relieve and reduce homelessness in this Parliament, including protecting £315 million homelessness prevention funding for local authorities to help them continue to provide quality advice and assistance to everyone who approaches them for help.

    We have also increased central government investment to tackle homelessness to £139 million. This includes £10 million to help those new to the streets, or at imminent risk of sleeping rough, building on the success of projects such as No Second Night Out. Alongside this, we have £10 million of Social Impact Bond funding to support entrenched rough sleepers with the most complex needs, building on the success of the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond, run by the Greater London Authority.

    In addition, we committed £100 million at Budget to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to provide at least 2,000 places for people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis.

    I am also considering Bob Blackman MP’s Homelessness Reduction Bill and the role that further legislation might play in preventing homelessness.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide more funding to special educational needs schools in (a) Greater London and (b) Enfield.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We recognise that the distribution of high needs funding needs reform. There are currently wide variations in the funding provided for children with similar needs in different areas. Our aim is to make that distribution fairer. To help achieve this, we commissioned the Isos Partnership to undertake some research so that we could see where changes to the future funding of special educational needs might be needed.

    The research report, which we published in July 2015, contains a large number of proposals which we are considering and is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-for-young-people-with-special-educational-needs

    “

  • Khalid Mahmood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Khalid Mahmood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many arrests have been made in connection with gun crime in the West Midlands metropolitan area in (a) each of the last 10 years and (b) each quarter of 2015.

    Mike Penning

    The Government and police work nationally, and with international partners, to reduce the threat to the UK from the criminal use of firearms. In 2013/14, firearms were used in a small and diminishing proportion of total police recorded crime, 0.2%. We also support local areas to take action against gang violence to reduce offending and protect vulnerable people. Under the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme, Birmingham was subject to a peer review in 2012 and has implemented and integrated the recommendations from the review into their local strategic plans. The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of arrests made in connection with gun crime. The UK has some of the toughest gun laws in the world and the government and the police continue to work together to reduce the threat from the criminal use of firearms. We will be reviewing options to strengthen the current legislation to ensure it safeguards against abuse by criminals following representations made by the police (and other stakeholders) during the Law Commission’s scoping consultation on firearms legislation. The number of offences involving firearms (excluding air weapons) in the West Midlands has fallen by 40% since 2010, from 903 offences in 2009/10 to 540 in 2013/14.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 222936, when he plans to announce which of the 5,000 ships under consideration will be designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

    Mark Lancaster

    The consultation process as to which ships under consideration will be designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is at its later stages, and an announcement will be made in due course.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they propose to take, if any, to reduce the complexity of the admission arrangements employed by religiously selective schools, as highlighted in the report An Unholy Mess published by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year, and the 2014–15 annual report of the Chief Schools Adjudicator, so that all parents are better able to understand what is required to gain admission to their local school.

    Lord Nash

    The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    When constructing faith-based oversubscription criteria, including deciding how membership or practice of the faith will be determined, admission authorities must have regard to the guidance of their relevant religious authority, and their arrangements must comply with the statutory School Admissions Code. They must consult with their religious authority when proposing any changes to their admission arrangements.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what average amount of time a prisoner spends on education or work-related activities at each (a) young offender institution and (b) secure training centre.

    Andrew Selous

    Under-18 YOIs

    Since 16 August 2015, education providers in public sector under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have been required to provide 27 hours of education a week, supplemented by three hours of physical education. Whist the majority of education time is protected, young people will miss some lessons to attend appointments such as court appearances, medical appointments and legal visits and therefore the average hours of educations received will be less than the 27 provided.

    Although youth crime is down, reoffending rates are far too high and the care and supervision of young offenders in custody is not good enough. That is why the Justice Secretary has asked Charlie Taylor to conduct a review of youth justice.

    The following table provides the average number of classroom based education hours, alternative activities hours and physical education hours accessed by under-18 public sector YOIs since 16 August 2015.

    Table 1: Average hours of education or alternative activities and physical education at public sector under-18 Young Offenders Institutions since 16 August 2015

    Feltham

    Cookham Wood

    Werrington

    Wetherby

    Average hours accessed by young offenders

    23.15

    17.07

    24.78

    20.44

    Notes

    (1) Average hours includes alternative activities (interventions relating to offending behaviour, focus groups, release on temporary licence, unit cleaning and catering etc) and physical education.

    (2) Data are provided by the National Offender Management Service. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

    (3) This table does not include outreach education provision, which is provided to young people who are not able to engage with class room based education. The YJB currently commissions up to 15 hours of this type of provision for a set number of young people at each YOI.

    Under-18 YOI Parc

    YOI Parc is operated by G4S and is currently contracted to provide 25 hours of education and 5 hours of interventions each week. The average number of hours of education or vocational training delivered per young person per school week at Parc YOI in calendar year 2015 was 23.7 (see notes below).

    Secure training Centres (STCs)

    STCs are currently contracted to provide 25 hours of education and 5 hours of interventions each week. From 1 April 2016 at Medway STC and 5 May 2016 at Rainsbrook STC new contracts will require 30 hours education and interventions a week, of which 25 hours must be education.

    Table 3: Average number of hours of education or vocational training delivered per young person per school week in each Secure Training Centre in calendar year 2015

    Medway

    Oakhill

    Rainsbrook

    Average hours accessed by young people

    24.9

    24.8

    24.9

    Notes

    (4) Data for YOI Parc and Medway, Oakhill and Rainsbrook STCs is taken from YJMIS from the figures submitted by secure establishments.

    (5) These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 April 2016, on immigration detention, HCWS679, whether there will be independent oversight of decisions to detain pregnant women.

    James Brokenshire

    At present, detention is authorised by an officer of at least the rank of Chief Immigration Officer (CIO) or Higher Executive Officer (HEO). As stated in the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement of 14 January, the Government is developing a new approach to the case management of those detained. This is intended to replace the existing detention review process with a clear removal plan for all those in detention.

    It will ensure that all detainees, including pregnant women, spend the minimum possible time in detention. Under the new policy in order for detention to be extended beyond 72 hours ministerial authorisation will be required and the maximum detention period will be one week.

    Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards already provide independent oversight of detention facilities and conditions of detention. Individuals, including pregnant women, are given prior notification of their liability to removal from the UK by the Home Office and they would be detained only for the purposes of identification or removal.