Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Chloe Smith

Tuesday 23rd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith (Norwich North) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to increase the recruitment of prison officers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Andrew Selous)]

I believe that prison officers are among the unsung heroes of the public sector. Day in day out, they do amazing work in protecting the public. I am pleased to report that we more than met our target of 1,700 new prison officers by March 2015, and we intend to recruit a further 1,700 by March 2016.

[Chloe Smith]

I welcome that update. As the Minister knows, prison officers serving in HMP Norwich in my constituency, which he visited recently, and at nearby prisons such as Bure, work incredibly hard in difficult circumstances. Will he do everything possible to support them in relation to their work and conditions?

[Andrew Selous]

Of course I will. Both Norwich and Bure prisons are well resourced with prison officers and have a full complement of staff, but the National Offender Management Service will continue to monitor the resources that are available to both governors. I was very impressed with the work that was being done in Norwich prison, and also by the work being done in Café Britannia, outside the prison gates.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Chloe Smith

Tuesday 4th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Miss Chloe Smith)]

I would be happy to have further discussions with the hon. Gentleman on those matters. I can confirm that the electoral registration transformation programme seeks to work with all appropriate bodies throughout the system to combat fraud. He makes an important point on the integrity of the electoral system. We are committed to combating fraud and the perception of fraud wherever it arises.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Will the Minister agree to consider the huge fees, often of up to £20,000, paid to returning officers, who are generally highly paid chief executives of councils? That is a huge amount of money and the Government are looking to save money. I believe that that should be part of political reform.

[Miss Smith]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question—I know he has probed that issue many times before. Returning officers are entitled by statute to recover expenses incurred, as set out in the order made for each poll. As my hon. Friend will know, through the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, we have put in place a facility whereby some or all of the fee payable can be withheld in the event of unsatisfactory performance. I am sure he, like the Government, will want to see that new system bed in, after which we ought to return to the issue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Chloe Smith

Wednesday 5th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

7. How many non-departmental public bodies his Department has abolished to date.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Miss Chloe Smith)]

This Government have undertaken the biggest programme of quango reforms in a generation to increase accountability, cut duplication and reduce costs. We have already reduced the number of public bodies by about 200, and by 2015 the overall number will be down by a third.

[Miss Smith]

That is a very appropriate question, because Government spending on quangos doubled under Labour, and by 2015 this Government will save the taxpayer a total of more than £2.6 billion, which is more than £150 per working household. It tells us all we need to know about Labour that it voted against those measures.

[Andrew Selous]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the growth of the quango state under the last Government significantly reduced accountability to the taxpayer, and that many of these organisations had overpaid chief executives and overly smart offices, greatly increasing the cost to the public purse?