Ministerial Corrections

Monday 1st September 2014 Ministerial Corrections

Monday 1 September 2014

Army: Recruitment

Monday 1st September 2014 Ministerial Corrections

[Angus Robertson]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the (a) monthly and (b) total additional cost to date for paying Capita as if it was meeting quantity and quality standards for recruitments in the Recruiting Partnering Project.

[Official Report, 23 June 2014, Vol. 583, c. 86W.]

Letter of correction from Anna Soubry:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson) on 23 June 2014.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Anna Soubry]

Between its launch in March 2012 to 31 March 2014, the Army has paid Capita £100.380 million for the Recruiting Partnering Project. The Recruiting Partnering Project remains within the overall agreed cost of £1.360 million.

The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), set out on 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 716, the cost of Capita providing a new Information Technology platform as part of the Recruiting Partnering Project. At the time, these costs were expected to be around £47.7 million directly linked to the change of hosting provision. Since this statement, these costs have reduced to around £42.9 million.

As previously stated by the Secretary of State on 14 January, there has been an additional cost of around £1 million per month to run the Capita system. This includes costs for additional manpower.

The correct answer should have been:

[Anna Soubry]

Between its launch in March 2012 to 31 March 2014, the Army has paid Capita £100.380 million for the Recruiting Partnering Project. The Recruiting Partnering Project remains within the overall agreed cost of £1.360 billion.

The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), set out on 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 716, the cost of Capita providing a new Information Technology platform as part of the Recruiting Partnering Project. At the time, these costs were expected to be around £47.7 million directly linked to the change of hosting provision. Since this statement, these costs have reduced to around £42.9 million.

As previously stated by the Secretary of State on 14 January, there has been an additional cost of around £1 million per month to run the Capita system. This includes costs for additional manpower.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Labelling

Monday 1st September 2014 Ministerial Corrections

[Huw Irranca-Davies]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's position is in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations on labelling of products containing GM in the UK food chain; and if she will make a statement.

[Official Report, 22 July 2014, Vol. 584, c. 1063W.]

Letter of correction from George Eustice:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) on 22 July 2014.

The full answer given was as follows:

[George Eustice]

This issue has yet to be discussed in detail within the framework of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. The Government will consider its negotiation position based on a range of factors including the environmental impact and public health benefit of such anti-microbial treatments that can reduce potential for foodborne illness.

The correct answer should have been:

[George Eustice]

The existing EU rules which require GM-derived food to be labelled are not expected to be discussed or reviewed as part of the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Police Cautions

Monday 1st September 2014 Ministerial Corrections

[Jenny Chapman]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cautions have been issued for offences of (a) murder, (b) rape, (c) sexual assault, (d) robbery and (e) burglary in (i) each year between 2010 and 2013 and (ii) each month since January 2013.

[Official Report, 9 July 2014, Vol. 584, c. 321-24W.]

Letter of correction from Damian Green:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Darlington (Jenny Chapman) on 9 July 2014.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Damian Green]

The number of offenders (including young people) cautioned, for offences of rape, sexual assault, robbery and burglary, by months in England and Wales from 2010 to 2013 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. There were no cautions administered for murder.

Simple cautions (previously police cautions) are a non-statutory disposal available to the police to dispose of any offence committed by an adult and designed for dealing with low level, mainly first time offending. The Government does not believe that cautions are appropriate for serious offences. We issued new guidelines on 14 November 2014 following a detailed review of how cautions were being used by police forces, and are strengthening the law to prevent cautions being used for serious offences.

The Ministry of Justice issues guidance on the process to be followed by the police and the CPS when they are administering simple cautions for adult offenders. This guidance states that the use of a simple caution for indictable only offences, such as rape, should only be given following authorisation by the CPS. These will be cases where there were exceptional circumstances which would mean that it was not in the public interest to prosecute.

The overall number of simple cautions issued has halved since 2007. The cautioning rate, that is, the number of offenders cautioned as a percentage of offenders who were either cautioned or convicted, in 2013 was 20%; this has declined from a peak of 31% in 2007.

The Government is clear that serious offences should always be brought to court and to ensure that there is increased public confidence in the justice system last year announced limits on the use of simple cautions. These changes restrict the use of cautions for indictable only offences and certain serious either way offences unless there are exceptional circumstances and a senior police officer, as well as the CPS for certain cases, has agreed that a caution should be administered.

The MOJ guidance on Adult Simple Cautions was amended in November last year to reflect these changes, and we are currently legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to place statutory restrictions around their use.

[Damian Green]

The number of offenders (including young people) cautioned, for offences of rape, sexual assault, robbery and burglary, by months in England and Wales from 2010 to 2013 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. There were no cautions administered for murder.

The Ministry of Justice issues guidance on the process to be followed by the police and the CPS when they are administering simple cautions for adult offenders. This guidance states that the use of a simple caution for indictable only offences, such as rape, should only be given following authorisation by the CPS. These will be cases where there were exceptional circumstances which would mean that it was not in the public interest to prosecute.

The overall number of simple cautions issued has halved since 2007. The cautioning rate, that is, the number of offenders cautioned as a percentage of offenders who were either cautioned or convicted, in 2013 was 20%; this has declined from a peak of 31% in 2007.

The Government is clear that serious offences should always be brought to court and to ensure that there is increased public confidence in the justice system last year announced limits on the use of simple cautions. These changes restrict the use of cautions for indictable only offences and certain serious either way offences unless there are exceptional circumstances and a senior police officer, as well as the CPS for certain cases, has agreed that a caution should be administered.

The MOJ guidance on Adult Simple Cautions was amended in November last year to reflect these changes, and we are currently legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to place statutory restrictions around their use.

Passports

Monday 1st September 2014 Ministerial Corrections

[Ian Austin]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for (a) new passports and (b) passport renewals there have been in the last year; and what the annual change in such figures has been.

[Official Report, 8 July 2014, Vol. 584, c. 200W.]

Letter of correction from James Brokenshire:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Dudley North (Ian Austin) on 8 July 2014.

The full answer given was as follows:

[James Brokenshire]

During the period between 1 June 2013 and 31 May 2014, Her Majesty's Passport Office received 1,446,983 first time passport applications and 4,528,751 passport renewal applications.

This compares with 1,346,246 first time applications and 4,036,267 passport renewal applications during the period between 1 June 2012 and 31 May 2013.

The correct answer should have been:

[James Brokenshire]

During the period between 1 June 2013 and 31 May 2014, Her Majesty's Passport Office received 1,425,885 first time passport applications and 4,461,343 passport renewal applications.

This compares with 1,346,246 first time applications and 4,036,267 passport renewal applications during the period between 1 June 2012 and 31 May 2013.

DNA: Databases

Monday 1st September 2014 Ministerial Corrections

[Mr Ruffley]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for information held on the National DNA Database were received by her Department from other countries in each of the last five years.

[Official Report, 15 July 2014, Vol. 584, c. 636-37W.]

Letter of correction from Karen Bradley:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds (Mr Ruffley) on 15 July 2014.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Karen Bradley]

The first category relates to searches carried out against the National DNA Database (NDNAD) of DNA profiles from outstanding serious crimes or for the identification of an unknown deceased person believed to be a UK national. The following figures are for requested searches undertaken on the basis of a direct request from the National Crime Agency (NCA) formerly Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), with the report as to the outcome of each profile search being issued directly to the United Kingdom National Central Bureau for Interpol (UK NCB).

[Karen Bradley]

The first category relates to searches carried out against the National DNA Database (NDNAD) of DNA profiles from outstanding serious crimes or for the identification of an unknown deceased person believed to be a UK national. The following figures are for requested searches undertaken on the basis of a direct request from the National Crime Agency (NCA) formerly Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), with the report as to the outcome of each profile search being issued directly to the United Kingdom National Central Bureau for Interpol (UK NCB).

Passports

Monday 1st September 2014 Ministerial Corrections

[Katy Clark]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport (a) applications and (b) renewal applications were received by the Passport Office in each (i) month and (ii) year of the last five years.

[Official Report, 30 June 2014, Vol. 583, c. 378W.]

Letter of correction from James Brokenshire:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Katy Clark) on 30 June 2014.

The full answer given was as follows:

[James Brokenshire]

The following table provides the requested information.

[James Brokenshire]

The following table provides the requested information.