Tag: Paula Sherriff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27209, on British Transport Police: finance, what assessment he has made of the operational implications of the planned reduction in the British Transport Police budget in 2016-17.

Claire Perry

Setting the budget of the British Transport Police (BTP) is a matter for the British Transport Police Authority. However, during the course of discussions on the spending review, the Department made clear to the BTP that it considered that any efficiencies that could be achieved should not materially impact on the operational policing capability of the BTP. I also understand that the reduction in the BTP’s budget in 2016-17 relates to the non-core policing budget, which is policing provided by the BTP at railway operators’ request on a commercial contract basis, rather than the core police budget which is set by the Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff 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, in what ways the policy to end the routine detention of pregnant women differs from the current policy that pregnant women should be detained only in exceptional circumstances.

James Brokenshire

Current policy is set out in paragraph 10 of Chapter 55 of the Home Office Enforcement Instructions and Guidance, which states that certain groups of individuals, including pregnant women, are normally considered suitable for detention in only very exceptional circumstances.

The Government announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 14 January that it was introducing a new “adult at risk” concept into decision making on immigration detention, with a clear presumption that people who are at risk should not be detained, building on the existing legal framework. The Government has made a commitment to publish its “adult at risk” policy in May.

The new process announced in the Written Ministerial Statement on 18 April, will, if agreed by Parliament, provide an additional safeguard. It will provide absolute clarity that no woman who is known to be pregnant can be detained for longer than 72 hours, or, with Ministerial authorisation a maximum of a week. This puts in place the same safeguards as introduced in 2014 when the government put in place its policy to end the routine detention of children for immigration purposes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to increase the number of healthcare professionals in (a) primary and (b) community care trained to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.

Jane Ellison

No specific discussions have been held about the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception. The continuing professional development of doctors and nurses is the responsibility of individual employers. Health Education England has a role in ensuring employers remain committed to continuing professional development and in developing the overall strategy for workforce skills and development in their areas.

Funding and commissioning of contraceptive services outside of the GP Contract is the responsibility of local authorities though the ring-fenced public health grant. Local authorities are mandated to ensure the provision of open access contraception services that enable reasonable access to a broad range of contraceptive substances and appliances (including intra-uterine methods) and advice on preventing unintended pregnancy. While not directly comparable because of changes in data collection, intra-uterine contraception fitted in sexual and reproductive health services increased from 65,300 in 2004/05 to 121,900 in 2014/15.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle hate crime through education in schools.

Edward Timpson

Our vision is to ensure that pupils develop the knowledge, skills and understanding to succeed academically; protect themselves from harm; and play a full and active part in society. Schools play an important role in preventing hate crime by empowering young people to question and tackle the underlying beliefs of prejudice and intolerance that can lead to hatred and bigotry.

Schools are required to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. This includes challenging prejudice and promoting tolerance. Schools are also subject to the Equality Act and to the Public Sector Equality Duty which require schools to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between communities. There are a variety of approaches that schools can adopt in meeting these duties and in raising issues relating to hate crime, including:

• using teaching materials which help pupils to understand and build knowledge of the diverse cultures and faiths in modern Britain.
• encouraging classroom debate, and giving pupils the opportunity to discuss topical issues, to challenge each other and themselves, and to build the resilience and critical thinking skills they need to challenge views which are unacceptable.
• teaching in Citizenship to include preparing pupils to take their place in society as responsible citizens.
• ensuring pupils are taught about safeguarding through teaching and learning opportunities as part of a broad and balanced curriculum – this may include covering relevant issues through personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE).

In equipping pupils for life in modern, multi-cultural Britain, the Department wants to ensure that schools have access to good quality resources to support them. In January 2016, we launched the Educate Against Hate[1] website to provide practical advice to parents, teachers and school leaders on how to protect children from extremism and promote fundamental British values. The website includes resources to assist teachers to explore hatred and its consequences with their pupils and to develop their respect for diversity in their own cultural and religious traditions and in others. It also includes the Crown Prosecution Service’s resource packs for schools on hate crime.

[1] http://educateagainsthate.com/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to ensure that the National Infrastructure Commission gives priority to energy efficiency programmes in its investment decisions.

Andrea Leadsom

The Commission is already working with the Department on its study called ‘Delivering future-proof energy infrastructure’ and the Government intends to shortly launch a public consultation on how the Commission will work with different departments in the future.

The Commission has been set up to look at long term policy and the first energy topics it will consider are interconnectors and storage.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many British Transport Police officers will be deployed in 2016-17.

Claire Perry

3,064 British Transport Police officers will be deployed in 2016-17, an increase of 6.5% from the 2,878 officers who were deployed in 2009-10.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25985, whether he plans to publish his response to his Department’s consultation on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges before the period of purdah for the EU membership referendum begins.

Nick Boles

The Government is analysing the responses to the Call for Evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges and will publish a response in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.

Jane Ellison

All civil servants employed by the core Department are paid via its payroll system.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with (a) local education and training boards, (b) Public Health England and (c) Health Education England on the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.

Jane Ellison

No specific discussions have been held about the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception. The continuing professional development of doctors and nurses is the responsibility of individual employers. Health Education England has a role in ensuring employers remain committed to continuing professional development and in developing the overall strategy for workforce skills and development in their areas.

Funding and commissioning of contraceptive services outside of the GP Contract is the responsibility of local authorities though the ring-fenced public health grant. Local authorities are mandated to ensure the provision of open access contraception services that enable reasonable access to a broad range of contraceptive substances and appliances (including intra-uterine methods) and advice on preventing unintended pregnancy. While not directly comparable because of changes in data collection, intra-uterine contraception fitted in sexual and reproductive health services increased from 65,300 in 2004/05 to 121,900 in 2014/15.

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.