Tag: Paula Sherriff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to identify areas that have higher than average levels of hate crime; and if she will provide additional resources for those areas.

Sarah Newton

The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.

We have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.

We also have stronger sentences for hate crime. We continue to carefully consider the recommendations from the Law Commission review into hate crime legislation. The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime.

This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.

The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.

Hate crime statistics show number of crimes recorded by the police by force area. The decision as to how hate crime is resourced in individual forces is an operational matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner for that area. The latest police funding settlement represents a fair deal for the police and reinforces this Government’s commitment to protect the public. No Police and Crime Commissioner who maximised precept income is facing a reduction in cash funding this year.

Police and Crime Commissioners are also responsible for commissioning local support services for victims of crime. The Ministry of Justice provides the Commissioner with a grant to enable services which best meet the needs of local victims of crime to be funded.

The Home Office published a new hate crime action plan on 26 July 2016, which sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:

● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;

● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;

● a new £2.4 million fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable places of worship;

● and additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime.

Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to protect community pharmacies in areas of social deprivation.

Alistair Burt

Section 126 of the 2006 Act places an obligation on NHS England to put arrangements in place so that drugs, medicines and listed appliances ordered via National Health Service prescriptions can be supplied to persons. Each local authority Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) must in accordance with regulations assess needs for pharmaceutical services in its area (a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA)). When developing the PNA, HWBs must consider the demography of its area, including whether there are areas of social deprivation as well as the pharmaceutical services provided within its area and the area of any other neighbouring HWB. It then publishes the assessment, which outlines the adequacy of provision in such areas and, where relevant, gaps in provision. NHS England uses the PNA to plan pharmaceutical services and to assess applications from persons for inclusion on a pharmaceutical list.

In an open letter to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) on 17 December 2015, the Government invited the PSNC to enter discussions with the Department, supported by NHS England, on changes to the community pharmacy contractual framework for 2016/17 and beyond, linked to the Spending Review. As part of the consultation, the Department is consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 9 February 2016 to Question 25766 and 11 January 2016 to Question 20570 on British Transport Police: finance, if he will provide a breakdown of the budget by areas of expenditure for (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Claire Perry

The following table provides a breakdown of the British Transport Police’s budget, by areas of expenditure, in 2015-16 and 2016-17:

	2015/16	2016/17
	£000s	£000s
Staff Costs:
Police Officer Pay + overtime	165,969	165,451
PCSO Pay + overtime	10,560	11,014
Police Staff Pay + overtime	60,572	60,905
Total Staff Costs	237,101	237,370
Non Staff Costs:
Premises	18,763	17,481
Communications & Computers	11,939	11,394
Transport	2,989	2,465
Travel & Hotels	1,892	1,845
Supplies & Services	14,021	12,105
Capital Charges	9,364	10,475
Total Non Staff Costs	58,968	55,765
BTP Authority Budget	2,009	2,009
Total Expenditure	298,078	295,144

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made to date on negotiating with the European institutions for permission to apply a zero-rate of VAT on women’s sanitary products.

Mr David Gauke

I have written to the European Commission and other Member States setting out our strong view that Member States should have full discretion over what rate of VAT they can apply to these products, and that this should be considered in the context of the Commission’s Action Plan on VAT.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the payment of senior NHS staff through limited companies; and what estimate he has made of the number of senior NHS staff paid off-payroll.

Alistair Burt

Our policy is to comply with the guidance from HM Treasury on senior staff engaged on an off-payroll basis. Engaging staff off-payroll can be a useful flexibility for employers but the guidance is clear that the most senior staff should be on the payroll of the organisation they lead, except in exceptional circumstances and then for no more than six months. The latest figure for staff in National Health Service trusts within the scope of the Treasury guidance indicate there were 1,193 off-payroll staff in 2014/15. The latest figure for NHS foundation trusts was 1,109 in 2013/14. These figures may include staff engaged off-payroll other than through limited companies. Figures for staff in clinical commissioning groups are not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36231, when he expects the liver disease framework to be published.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England (PHE) is producing a liver disease framework which will outline PHE’s wide range of work contributing to the prevention of liver disease and the improved wellbeing of patients with liver disease. The PHE Liver Disease Framework is expected to be published in autumn 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that police officers are trained to deal with hate crime.

Sarah Newton

The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.

We have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.

We also have stronger sentences for hate crime. We continue to carefully consider the recommendations from the Law Commission review into hate crime legislation. The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime.

This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.

The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.

Hate crime statistics show number of crimes recorded by the police by force area. The decision as to how hate crime is resourced in individual forces is an operational matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner for that area. The latest police funding settlement represents a fair deal for the police and reinforces this Government’s commitment to protect the public. No Police and Crime Commissioner who maximised precept income is facing a reduction in cash funding this year.

Police and Crime Commissioners are also responsible for commissioning local support services for victims of crime. The Ministry of Justice provides the Commissioner with a grant to enable services which best meet the needs of local victims of crime to be funded.

The Home Office published a new hate crime action plan on 26 July 2016, which sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:

● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;

● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;

● a new £2.4 million fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable places of worship;

● and additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime.

Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the unallocated financial reserves level was of Kirklees Council in the most recent local authority data outtrun held by his Department.

Mr Marcus Jones

The most recent local authority data outturn held by the Department for Communities and Local Government show the position as at 31 March 2015; Kirklees Council reported unallocated reserves of £38.0 million (this excludes other reserve balances for schools, public health and other earmarked reserves).

The usual measure of reserves used is non-ringfenced revenue reserves, which comprises the sum of unallocated and other earmarked reserves: in Kirklees case £114.2 million.

Full details can be found on the Department’s webpage at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2014-to-2015-individual-local-authority-data-outturn

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 3 February 2016 to Question 24232 and 11 January 2016 to Question 20570 on British Transport Police: finance, how much income from (a) Transport for London, (b) train operating companies, (c) Network Rail and (d) other funding sources is included in the budget for 2016-17; and how much income by funding source (i) is in the budget for and (ii) has been received in 2015-16.

Claire Perry

The following table sets out the British Transport Police’s income by funding source in 2015-16:

	2015-16
	£000s
Core funding (including train operators and Network Rail)	209,262
Transport for London	63,883
Non-core funding	11,559
Other income	13,334
Total	298,038

The split of income between the train operators and Network Rail is commercially sensitive information.

Although the total budget for 2016-17 is £295.1 million, the individual components are still to be determined.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans there are to sell property of the British Transport Police.

Claire Perry

The British Transport Police does not own any of its properties, hence it has no plans to sell any of them.