Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances Ministers may order the release of prisoners serving indefinite sentences for public protection without reference to the Parole Board; and how many prisoners have been so released during the last two years.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences, including those serving a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP), may be considered for release on compassionate grounds, in exceptional circumstances, specifically where the prisoner is terminally ill, or bedbound or similarly incapacitated. Public protection is the priority, and a prisoner will not be released on compassionate grounds unless the risk of re-offending is minimal.
One prisoner, serving an IPP sentence, has been released on compassionate grounds during the last two years.
This figure has been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment he has made of the progress of works being carried out on Elizabeth Tower, including Big Ben; and when he expects those works to be completed.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
The Elizabeth Tower refurbishment project, with a budget of £61 million jointly funded by the two Houses, is intended to conserve and prevent further deterioration of the Elizabeth Tower, including the Great Clock; ensure its fire safety compliance; improve the health and safety of the Elizabeth Tower for Members, staff and the public; improve the security and the efficiency of emergency evacuations; and improve the efficiency of the tours in the Elizabeth Tower. No works are required to be undertaken on the Great Bell (“Big Ben”) itself. The project is due for completion in 2021.
Work on the project is progressing well. For instance, all elements of the Great Clock, and all cast iron roof components, have been removed from the Tower for conservation work and glazing, gilding and paint stripping work are continuing. Work on restoring the original colour scheme for the clock dials is well advanced. Arrangements have been made to ensure the Great Bell is sounded to mark Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, and to ring in the New Year on New Year’s Eve.
The Finance Committee receives regular updates on the progress of the project.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their General Aviation Strategy, published in March 2015, what steps they have taken to achieve general aviation use of military airfields; and whether they consider their commitments to general aviation in this regard to have been met.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The commitments set out in the 2015 General Aviation Strategy have been met. Ministry of Defence policy remains to encourage General Aviation to have access to military airfields wherever possible. In addition, the RAF Flying Clubs Association provide General Aviation training and scholarships for RAF personnel at fourteen flying clubs based on RAF Stations.
In the Strategy we undertook to update the guidance and increase publicity around General Aviation access to military airfields. Consequently, the RAF website has been updated and now contains consistency of published contact details and Defence Aerodrome Manuals for each Station.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish their aviation strategy Green Paper.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government is intending to publish the Aviation Strategy Green Paper before the end of this year. The green paper publication will begin a 16 week period of consultation.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection and who continue to protest their innocence are denied access to rehabilitative courses which may lead to their release.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Maintaining innocence is not a barrier to progression, and there are a number of offending behaviour programmes available to prisoners who maintain their innocence, including those serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection.
It is not mandatory for prisoners to complete offending behaviour programmes in order to achieve release. It should also be borne in mind that completion of a programme is no guarantee that risk has been reduced.
The independent Parole Board consider all the available evidence when assessing prisoners’ risks and their suitability for release.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the numerical strength of (1) the Royal Air Force, and (2) the Royal Air Force Reserve.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The following table contains the numerical strength of the Regular and Reserve Forces at July 2018.
| Full Time Trained and Trade Trained Strength | Trained Future Reserves 2020 |
Royal Navy/Royal Marines | 29,154 | 2,774 |
Army | 76,877 | 26,789 |
RAF | 30,276 | 2,557 |
Full Time Trained and Trade Trained includes UK Regulars, Gurkhas and elements of Full Time Reserve Service Personnel.
The figures are published in the Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics at the following link:
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the numerical strength of (1) the British Army, and (2) the Army Reserve.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The following table contains the numerical strength of the Regular and Reserve Forces at July 2018.
| Full Time Trained and Trade Trained Strength | Trained Future Reserves 2020 |
Royal Navy/Royal Marines | 29,154 | 2,774 |
Army | 76,877 | 26,789 |
RAF | 30,276 | 2,557 |
Full Time Trained and Trade Trained includes UK Regulars, Gurkhas and elements of Full Time Reserve Service Personnel.
The figures are published in the Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics at the following link:
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the numerical strength of (1) the Royal Navy, (2) the Royal Naval Reserve, and (3) the Royal Marines.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The following table contains the numerical strength of the Regular and Reserve Forces at July 2018.
| Full Time Trained and Trade Trained Strength | Trained Future Reserves 2020 |
Royal Navy/Royal Marines | 29,154 | 2,774 |
Army | 76,877 | 26,789 |
RAF | 30,276 | 2,557 |
Full Time Trained and Trade Trained includes UK Regulars, Gurkhas and elements of Full Time Reserve Service Personnel.
The figures are published in the Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics at the following link:
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many persons serving indeterminate prison sentences for public protection they estimate continue to protest their innocence; and whether such persons are denied access to the necessary courses which could lead to their release.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost as central records are not kept on the number of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who maintain their innocence.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) must operate on the basis that individuals have been lawfully convicted of crimes, no matter if they maintain their innocence. Whilst requirements differ by programme, an individual does not need to admit to the offence(s) for which they have been convicted, but must be willing to address and work on the issues and factors in their life that constitute risk factors for them.
When considering whether to direct the release of IPP prisoners, the independent Parole Board considers evidence from a range of sources and not just completed programmes. Where the Parole Board does not direct the release of an IPP prisoner, it is concluding that the prisoner’s risk to the public is too great for him to be safely managed in the community.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the present retirement age for police officers; and what is their estimate of how many officers (1) reached that age, and (2) retired during the last 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The retirement age for police officers depends on their pension scheme. Members of the 1987 Police Pension Scheme can take their pension after thirty years of service. This means that someone joining the scheme at 18 can retire at age 48. The 2006 scheme members’ pension age is 55. And for the 2015 scheme it is 60 years with the option to take it from 55 with actuarial reduction.
The Home Office publishes information on the number of police officers who retire, by Police Force Area, in the annual “Police workforce, England and Wales” statistical bulletin. The latest release was published on 19th July, and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2018
Table JL4 of the accompanying data tables (see attached) shows the number of police officers who retired in 2017/18.
The Home Office also publishes information on the age of officers, which is grouped into the following categories: Under 26, 26 to 40 years old, 41 to 55 years old, and Over 55 years old. The exact age of the officer is not collected.
Table D5 of the accompanying data tables at the link above shows the number of officers in each of the four age groups, by rank.
Table D5 Age of police officers1, by rank, as at 31 March 2018 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
England and Wales |
|
|
|
| Headcount |
Rank | Age group | Total | |||
Under 26 | 26 to 40 | 41 to 55 | Over 55 | ||
Constable | 7,207 | 50,968 | 38,330 | 1,267 | 97,772 |
Sergeant | 16 | 6,805 | 11,575 | 297 | 18,693 |
Inspector | 3 | 1,209 | 4,311 | 105 | 5,628 |
Chief Inspector | 0 | 234 | 1,348 | 21 | 1,603 |
Superintendent | 0 | 98 | 785 | 10 | 893 |
Chief Superintendent | 0 | 15 | 269 | 5 | 289 |
Chief Officer | 0 | 1 | 206 | 8 | 215 |
All Officers | 7,226 | 59,330 | 56,824 | 1,713 | 125,093 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
.