Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much money Citizens Advice Scotland is due to receive from his Department in the current financial year.
Answered by Jo Swinson
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provides funding to Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) – the umbrella organisation and membership body for the Citizens Advice Bureaux network in Scotland. Total funding to CAS in the current financial year is £7,239,700.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what resources his Department has allocated to local authorities to meet their obligations under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Local authorities share in our national commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant and should meet their obligations from own resources. Though we have set aside £200,000 in 2014/15 from the annual Disabled Facilities Grant funding for local authorities to fund home adaptations (eg ramps, walk-in showers, stairlifts) to meet the needs of disabled ex-Service personnel who wish to live independently in their homes.
We have provided grants (totalling over £1 million) with MOD, to a small number of local authorities in 2011 and 2012 to support the successful integration of retired Gurkha soldiers who wished to settle in the UK.
We have also introduced a number of measures over the last few years as a contribution towards meeting the objectives of the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure that the Armed Forces Community do not face disadvantage, particularly in housing. This includes:
Improved Access to Social Housing
We have introduced protection to ensure that former and current Service personnel are not disadvantaged in accessing social housing because of the disadvantages of military life. We have made sure that seriously injured personnel and former members of the Armed Forces with urgent housing needs are always given high priority for social housing, and that serving personnel and those who have recently been discharged do not lose their qualification rights because of the requirement to move from base to base.
We have also encouraged local authorities to in general give sympathetic consideration to the housing needs of family members of serving or former Service personnel.
Preventing Homelessness
We have introduced measures to provide support for specialist accommodation for veterans, and work with councils to prevent homelessness. We have also introduced initiatives such as Streetlink and No Second Night Out which ensure that when veterans end up sleeping rough they are offered care and support from local services.
Access to home ownership
Members of the Armed Forces have been given priority for Government-funded shared ownership schemes and are able to access Help to Buy: equity loan scheme. The priority status can also be transferred to bereaved spouses or civil partners.
We have also worked with MOD, credit reference agencies and Royal Mail to standardise Forces’ Post Office addresses so personnel are not disadvantaged when applying for mortgages.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many veterans have been referred for priority NHS treatment since May 2010.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Department and NHS England do not centrally collect on the number of veterans that have been referred for priority National Health Service treatment for service related issues but the hon. Member will be pleased to know that we have invested £22 million in a package of additional specialist resources to equip our NHS to provide better care for veterans, including:
- 9 specialist prosthetic centres for veterans;
- 10 Specialist veterans mental health teams;
- a 24 hour veterans mental health hotline; and
- an online mental health and wellbeing service for veterans.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many new claims for armed forces independence payment have been made since April 2013.
Answered by Julian Brazier
As at 18 July 2014, a total of 766 claims have been received and granted for the Armed Forces Independence Payment. Four claims are currently being considered.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people are currently in receipt of the armed forces independence payment.
Answered by Philip Dunne
There are currently 762 people in receipt of the Armed Forces Independence Payment.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the additional costs of restarting the recruitment process for the post of Service Complaints Commissioner.
Answered by Anna Soubry
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Statement by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 28 April 2014, Official Report, columns 537-55 and to the Answer of 12 May 2014 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence to the hon. Member for Corby, Official Report, column 416, when the Government received the request from the Ukranian government for non-lethal support.
Answered by Mark Francois
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the first Service Complaints Ombudsman to take up his or her duties.
Answered by Anna Soubry
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many allegations of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault were made within the chain of command against members of the armed forces in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013; and, of such cases, how many resulted in a prosecution by the Service Prosecution Authority.
Answered by Anna Soubry
All allegations of rape and sexual assault will be thoroughly investigated by either the civil or Service police, depending upon who has jurisdiction. The following table provides details of the number of allegations of rape and sexual assault made within the chain of command against members of the Armed Forces in each of the last four years as recorded by the Service Police. Reference to rape covers offences under section one and sexual assault covers offences under sections two and three of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Sexual Offence | Total Allegations in 2010 | Total Allegations in 2011 | Total Allegations in 2012 | Total Allegations in 2013 |
Rape | 23 | 20 | 22 | 25 |
Sexual Assault | 70 | 77 | 50 | 60 |
The following table provides details of the number of referrals to the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) in each of the last four years, the number directed for trial and the number of convictions in the Military Court Service.
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
Rape Case Referrals | 21 | 18 | 22 | 20 |
Directed for Trial | 9 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
Convictions | 6 | 3 | 4 | 01 |
Sexual Assault Case Referrals | 51 | 70 | 31 | 45 |
Directed for Trial | 27 | 35 | 18 | 23 |
Convictions | 23 | 31 | 9 | 72 |
1Seven further cases are currently on trial.
2 11 Trials ongoing
The SPA may receive referrals in one year and the cases are directed/not directed and/or tried in the following year, so there is no direct correlation to the number of cases brought in any one year.
I should also like to take the opportunity to clarify the relationship between the figures provided in this answer, and earlier answers. The figures for sexual assaults in this answer are different to those provided by the then Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Andrew Robathan) on 6 July 2012 (Official Report, column 822W) in response to a question from the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon), for sexual assault referrals in the years between 2010 and 2012 (although 2012 was only for part of the year). This is because the term sexual assault has been expanded to cover the offences of indecent assault and sexual activity with a child. In addition, the figures provided in a response given by my predecessor (Mark Francois) on 30 November 2012 (Official Report, column 555W) again to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon) referred only to the number of cases where the victim was a member of the Armed Forces. The figures in the tables above cover all cases handled by the SPA, whether or not the victim was a member of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Gemma Doyle (Labour (Co-op) - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many prosecutions of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault of members of the armed forces resulted in a conviction by the Military Courts Service in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013.
Answered by Anna Soubry
All allegations of rape and sexual assault will be thoroughly investigated by either the civil or Service police, depending upon who has jurisdiction. The following table provides details of the number of allegations of rape and sexual assault made within the chain of command against members of the Armed Forces in each of the last four years as recorded by the Service Police. Reference to rape covers offences under section one and sexual assault covers offences under sections two and three of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Sexual Offence | Total Allegations in 2010 | Total Allegations in 2011 | Total Allegations in 2012 | Total Allegations in 2013 |
Rape | 23 | 20 | 22 | 25 |
Sexual Assault | 70 | 77 | 50 | 60 |
The following table provides details of the number of referrals to the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) in each of the last four years, the number directed for trial and the number of convictions in the Military Court Service.
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
Rape Case Referrals | 21 | 18 | 22 | 20 |
Directed for Trial | 9 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
Convictions | 6 | 3 | 4 | 01 |
Sexual Assault Case Referrals | 51 | 70 | 31 | 45 |
Directed for Trial | 27 | 35 | 18 | 23 |
Convictions | 23 | 31 | 9 | 72 |
1Seven further cases are currently on trial.
2 11 Trials ongoing
The SPA may receive referrals in one year and the cases are directed/not directed and/or tried in the following year, so there is no direct correlation to the number of cases brought in any one year.
I should also like to take the opportunity to clarify the relationship between the figures provided in this answer, and earlier answers. The figures for sexual assaults in this answer are different to those provided by the then Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Andrew Robathan) on 6 July 2012 (Official Report, column 822W) in response to a question from the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon), for sexual assault referrals in the years between 2010 and 2012 (although 2012 was only for part of the year). This is because the term sexual assault has been expanded to cover the offences of indecent assault and sexual activity with a child. In addition, the figures provided in a response given by my predecessor (Mark Francois) on 30 November 2012 (Official Report, column 555W) again to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon) referred only to the number of cases where the victim was a member of the Armed Forces. The figures in the tables above cover all cases handled by the SPA, whether or not the victim was a member of the Armed Forces.