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Tag: Sarah Champion

  • Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Egyptian government on the prosecution of Azza Soliman, a women’s right lawyer; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the case of Azza Soliman and concerned at the circumstances under which Ms Soliman became a defendant. We have raised Ms Soliman’s case with the Egyptian Ambassador in London, most recently on 23 April 2015. In September 2015, FCO officials held meetings in both London and Cairo with Ms Soliman, to discuss her case. We have also discussed this case with our partners in Cairo and have been represented at the trial hearings through the EU. We will continue to raise our concerns with Egyptian Government.

  • Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Egypt.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office published its annual Human Rights and Democracy Report on 12 March 2015, which provides an assessment of the situation in Egypt, and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/country-case-study-egypt

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of the 50 initial preferred bidders for probation services remain in the competition.

    Jeremy Wright

    We have a robust and diverse market. In mid December 2013, the bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to win the regional rehabilitation contracts were announced. That list included a mix of private and voluntary sector partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented. A list of the bidders who have been successful at this stage can be found at:

    https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition

    The process to award Community Rehabilitation Company contracts is ongoing and the details of which bidders remain in the competition is commercially sensitive information. The contract winners for each Community Rehabilitation Company will be announced by the end of 2014.

    “

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to enable vulnerable witnesses to be able to give evidence remotely.

    Damian Green

    The Crown courts and Magistrate Courts provide the facility to allow vulnerable victims and witnesses to give evidence to the trial court by secure video link from a different court.

    In addition, a number of police stations also have video facilities that link into the court. As part of the action plan to increase video usage across the Criminal Justice System, we intend to examine how best to extend use of remote links for vulnerable, intimidated and other ‘priority’ victims, as defined by the Victims’ Code.

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sites for giving remote evidence are operational in England and Wales.

    Damian Green

    Facilities for remote video links are now available in 84 Crown Court centres and 165 Magistrates Courts. These facilities enable the victim or witness to appear by video link from a different court location to that of the trial court.

    As part of the action plan to increase video usage across the Criminal Justice System, we intend to examine how to best extend use of remote links for vulnerable, intimidated and other priority victims, as defined by the Victims’ Code.

    The department does not hold a breakdown of child and vulnerable adult usage of remote links for giving evidence.

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) children and (b) vulnerable adult witnesses gave evidence remotely in 2013.

    Damian Green

    Facilities for remote video links are now available in 84 Crown Court centres and 165 Magistrates Courts. These facilities enable the victim or witness to appear by video link from a different court location to that of the trial court.

    As part of the action plan to increase video usage across the Criminal Justice System, we intend to examine how to best extend use of remote links for vulnerable, intimidated and other priority victims, as defined by the Victims’ Code.

    The department does not hold a breakdown of child and vulnerable adult usage of remote links for giving evidence.

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to ensure that the probation contracts in England and Wales are let without risk to the public or waste of public money.

    Jeremy Wright

    Under our reforms the market will be opened up to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, so that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. Protecting the public must remain our top priority,and the new National Probation Service will manage all offenders who pose a high risk of harm to the public or have committed the most serious offences. The Secretary of State will continue to issue national standards for the management of offenders, and the Government will place contractual requirements on Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to ensure that the risk of harm posed by offenders is effectively managed. Providers bidding to run CRCs will need to demonstrate in their bids how they would deliver high quality rehabilitative support to offenders, and they will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts. Bidders will also need to demonstrate how they will maintain a workforce with appropriate levels of competence and training to deliver these services.

    Our proposals will be affordable within the context of the MoJ commitment to deliver annual savings of over £2 billion by 2014/15. We plan to make efficiency savings through the use of competition, the introduction of private and voluntary sector providers, and by consolidating back-office functions within the public sector. Releasing these efficiency savings will enable us to invest in rehabilitation and extend provision to support supervision to a wider group of offenders.

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children in (a) Rotherham constituency and (b) South Yorkshire living in fuel poverty.

    Gregory Barker

    Fuel poverty is measured at the household level rather than the individual level and detailed data on the age of household occupants is not available at the sub-regional level.

    The number of households in fuel poverty in England, which contain at least one child under the age of 16, was 898,000 in 2011. This is equivalent to about 38 per cent of all fuel poor households.

    The total numbers of households in fuel poverty, for the areas in 2011 were estimated as:

    • Rotherham constituency – about 3,960 fuel poor households

    (around 11 per cent of all households in the constituency)

    • South Yorkshire – about 62,750 fuel poor households

    (around 11 per cent of all households in the county)

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the contracting-out of the Probation Service during 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    Under our reforms the market will be opened up to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, so that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. A more diverse market of rehabilitation providers will bring innovation in rehabilitative services, helping to deliver a real reduction in reoffending rates. The process to establish the owners of the 21 new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) with responsibility for the provision of rehabilitation services is well underway. We will assess the bids we receive over the summer, and expect to sign contracts with new CRC owners later this year. We remain committed to seeing Payment by Results rolled out across the system by 2015.

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the levels of poverty among Tamils living in Sri Lanka.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    Sri Lanka has met Millennium Development Goal No 1 which calls for the halving of extreme poverty, and is on track to meet most other MDGs. Poverty remains in areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka where large numbers of Tamils live. We do not have a breakdown by ethnic group.