Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Graham P Jones, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Graham P Jones has not been granted any Urgent Questions
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to allow local authorities to apply selective licensing conditions to improve housing standards.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to give local authorities the power to apply selective licensing conditions to private landlords in exempted areas with social housing stock
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to introduce a licensing scheme for scrap metal dealers; to enable magistrates’ courts to add restrictions to licences to deal in scrap metal; to require that financial transactions in trade in scrap metals be restricted to cashless payments; to give police officers powers to search properties owned by scrap metal dealerships; to provide that scrap metal proven to have been obtained through theft may be classified as criminal assets; to introduce criminal charges for theft of scrap metal which take into account aspects of the crime other than the value of the scrap metal stolen; and for connected purposes
Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 - Private Members' Bill (Ballot Bill)
Sponsor - Greg Knight (CON)
National Living Wage (Extension to Young People) Bill 2017-19 - Private Members' Bill (Ballot Bill)
Sponsor - Holly Lynch (LAB)
The House of Commons provides a range of British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation services for visitors to the Palace of Westminster and currently holds the Action on Hearing Loss ‘Louder than Words’ charter mark, which is re-accredited every three years.
Visitors on a commercial, ticketed tour can choose a BSL self-guided option which has been tested and approved by a range of deaf groups.
Visitors on a democratic access tour can also choose a BSL self-guided option, although in most cases a BSL signer would be booked and made available. The bicameral Visitor Services team has booked 35 BSL interpreters for visitors attending tours or watching parliamentary business, such as select committees, since the start of 2018. BSL interpretation can also be provided for visiting schools, although in most cases the schools themselves will bring their own interpreter.
The House is investigating the provision of a basic level of BSL training across the Visitor Services team. Training staff to a sufficiently high level of expertise to lead or interpret tours or other visiting activities has to date proved difficult due to the level and duration of training required combined with the frequency of staff turnover. The Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster is expected to provide an opportunity for wider improvements in relation to accessibility and inclusion, including interpretation.
The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015 were made in March this year following a full public consultation, and establish an EPC minimum of E for domestic and non-domestic private rented sector properties from April 2018.
Officials in the Department liaise regularly with the insulation industry, local authorities, and other stakeholders on a range of energy efficiency issues including the minimum EPC standards for the private rented sector. Discussions have also been held recently with French officials about domestic energy efficiency issues including minimum standards.
The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015 were made in March this year following a full public consultation, and establish an EPC minimum of E for domestic and non-domestic private rented sector properties from April 2018.
Officials in the Department liaise regularly with the insulation industry, local authorities, and other stakeholders on a range of energy efficiency issues including the minimum EPC standards for the private rented sector. Discussions have also been held recently with French officials about domestic energy efficiency issues including minimum standards.
The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015 were made in March this year following a full public consultation, and establish an EPC minimum of E for domestic and non-domestic private rented sector properties from April 2018.
Officials in the Department liaise regularly with the insulation industry, local authorities, and other stakeholders on a range of energy efficiency issues including the minimum EPC standards for the private rented sector. Discussions have also been held recently with French officials about domestic energy efficiency issues including minimum standards.
The funding available for Adult Skills in 2015/16 is outlined in the Skills Funding Letter. The letter sets out the Government’s priorities for the budget and it is for providers to decide how they use their adult skills funding to reflect those priorities and meet the needs of learners and employers in their local area.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-letter-april-2015-to-march-2016
The Government does not routinely carry out assessments of performance of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). As partnerships of business and civic leaders, LEPs are first and foremost accountable to their local community and local businesses.
The Government has a target of improving the energy efficiency of 1 million homes by March 2015 and as of June we have improved over 750,000 homes through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Green Deal and other home energy efficiency incentives. We are also consulting on regulations to require more minimum energy performance standards in the private rented sector.
In addition, we have laid draft Regulations to create a new fuel poverty target that seeks to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency standard of Band C by 2030. We are also proposing that interim milestones of as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable reach Band E by 2020 and Band D by 2025 be laid out in the forthcoming Fuel Poverty Strategy.
The Government has a target of improving the energy efficiency of 1 million homes by March 2015 and as of June we have improved over 750,000 homes through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Green Deal and other home energy efficiency incentives. We are also consulting on regulations to require more minimum energy performance standards in the private rented sector.
In addition, we have laid draft Regulations to create a new fuel poverty target that seeks to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency standard of Band C by 2030. We are also proposing that interim milestones of as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable reach Band E by 2020 and Band D by 2025 be laid out in the forthcoming Fuel Poverty Strategy.
The Government has a target of improving the energy efficiency of 1 million homes by March 2015 and as of June we have improved over 750,000 homes through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Green Deal and other home energy efficiency incentives. We are also consulting on regulations to require more minimum energy performance standards in the private rented sector.
In addition, we have laid draft Regulations to create a new fuel poverty target that seeks to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency standard of Band C by 2030. We are also proposing that interim milestones of as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable reach Band E by 2020 and Band D by 2025 be laid out in the forthcoming Fuel Poverty Strategy.
The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) is applied for by householders on a non means tested basis across England and Wales.
Currently the department has not published any geographic breakdowns on GDHIF, as these would form part of the more detailed quarterly series of statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics#quarterly-statistics).
The Department published the number of Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) active applications, vouchers issued and payments made up to the end of July 2014, in the latest monthly Official Statistics:
Currently, the Department has not published any geographic breakdowns on the GDHIF, as these would form part of the more detailed quarterly series:
Therefore, the Department will consider publishing geographic breakdowns relating to GDHIF in the following quarterly release planned for publication on 18 December, covering the period up to the end of September 2014.
The Department published the number of Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) active applications, vouchers issued and payments made up to the end of July 2014, in the latest monthly Official Statistics:
Currently, the Department has not published any geographic breakdowns on the GDHIF, as these would form part of the more detailed quarterly series:
Therefore, the Department will consider publishing geographic breakdowns relating to GDHIF in the following quarterly release planned for publication on 18 December, covering the period up to the end of September 2014.
The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) shut to new applications on July 24th. A contribution towards the cost of a Green Deal Assessment Report was only available to customers who made a successful application to the Fund, and who went on to install measures as a result.
Assessments are the most popular part of Green Deal – by the end of July 2014 over 300,000 Green Deal Assessments were undertaken. Assessments provide a tailored picture of the first steps people can take to be more energy efficiency and potentially reduce their bills – they are not just for GDHIF.
A contribution towards the cost of a Green Deal Assessment Report cost was only available to customers who made a successful application to the Fund, and who went on to install measures as a result.
Assessments are the most popular part of Green Deal – by the end of July 2014 over 300,000 Green Deal Assessments were undertaken. Assessments provide a tailored picture of the first steps people can take to be more energy efficiency and potentially reduce their bills – they are not just for GDHIF.
Ministers and officials have had meetings with many interested parties in recent months, including energy suppliers, insulation companies and local authorities, at which the Government’s proposed changes to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) were discussed.
These and other stakeholders, such as consumer organisations and Ofgem, are represented on the ECO Steering Group, which meets on a monthly basis. The terms of reference for the group, along with minutes of meetings and other papers, are made publicly available via Gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/energy-company-obligation-eco-steering-group
The Government will publish its response to the consultation on the future of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) shortly.
The Apprenticeships Funding Reform Technical Consultation sought evidence on the practical implications for employers of two new systems for routing apprenticeship funding: the PAYE model and the Apprenticeship Credit. The practical implications of the current system are already well understood, therefore we did not include this in the technical consultation. We are giving careful consideration to all feedback received, before announcing our next steps in the autumn.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 30 June 2014, Official Report, Column 426W:
There is no “hydraulic fracturing licence”. DECC issues Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDLs). However, PEDLs are not specific to shale gas and do not give permission for operations, but grant exclusivity to licensees in relation to hydrocarbons (including shale gas but also other forms) within a particular area. All operations, such as drilling, hydraulic fracturing or production, however require planning permission, and applications are subject to public consultation. They also require access agreement with relevant landowner(s), Environment Agency permits, HSE scrutiny, and DECC consent before operations can commence. DECC is not currently considering any applications for hydraulic fracturing in the UK.
The 2013 consultation on Apprenticeship funding reform sought evidence on the feasibility and impact of three different mechanisms for giving employers more control over the funding. Following consideration of the responses to this consultation, the pure provider payment model was ruled out on the basis that it was the least likely to deliver the intended aim of giving employers true purchasing power.
The subsequent Technical Consultation published in March 2014 sought views on two models - a PAYE model and an apprenticeship credit model which are consistent with an employer-led Apprenticeships system. We are currently evaluating the responses to this consultation and will announce which payment mechanism we plan to pursue in the autumn.
We have established a ministerial advisory panel on Apprenticeship standards, made up of experts to advise the Secretary of State on the approval or rejection of employer designed Apprenticeship standards and assessment approaches.
We will refresh the Skills Funding Agency register of approved Apprenticeship training providers to ensure that only reputable providers are able to offer Apprenticeship training and organisations doing so will be subject to Ofsted inspection.
The 2013 consultation on Apprenticeship funding reform sought evidence on the feasibility and impact of three different mechanisms for giving employers more control over the funding. Following consideration of the responses to this consultation, the pure provider payment model was ruled out on the basis that it was the least likely to deliver the intended aim of giving employers true purchasing power.
The subsequent Technical Consultation published in March 2014 sought views on two models - a PAYE model and an apprenticeship credit model which are consistent with an employer-led Apprenticeships system. We are currently evaluating the responses to this consultation and will announce which payment mechanism we plan to pursue in the autumn.
We have established a ministerial advisory panel on Apprenticeship standards, made up of experts to advise the Secretary of State on the approval or rejection of employer designed Apprenticeship standards and assessment approaches.
We will refresh the Skills Funding Agency register of approved Apprenticeship training providers to ensure that only reputable providers are able to offer Apprenticeship training and organisations doing so will be subject to Ofsted inspection.
The Government is taking a number of steps in this area:
- A measure in the Deregulation Bill will introduce the option for an insolvency practitioner to specialise in either corporate or individual insolvency. This will encourage new entrants into the profession, which will benefit creditors without lowering standards;
- There are a number of red tape challenge measures in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill which will reduce costs and remove unnecessary processes in insolvency cases;
- Also in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill are measures which will strengthen the regulatory framework for insolvency practitioners to boost confidence in the regime;
- The Government has also been consulting on measures to improve the transparency and accountability of how fees are charged by insolvency practitioners.
Teresa Graham's review of pre-pack administration identified how existing practice in pre-pack administration did not in all cases deliver the best result for creditors and the wider economy, in particular where sales are made to a connected party.
The Government hopes that the voluntary measures recommended in Ms Graham's report – all of which were accepted by Government – will be put into effect by those concerned as envisaged by Ms Graham.
After they have had time to have effect, the Government will evaluate whether they have indeed addressed the concerns evidenced by Ms Graham and the resulting outcomes. This will include for example whether the measures have increased transparency, returns to creditors, and more generally strengthened business confidence in the pre-pack process.
As recommended by Ms Graham, the government will be taking a backstop power in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill so we will be able to legislate in future if necessary.
Officials in the Insolvency Service regularly advise me on the full range of insolvency policy matters, including on pre-pack administration when required.
There are no onshore petroleum exploration and development licence applications pending approval in the UK.
We are giving employers control of the funding for the training and assessment of the apprenticeships that they design. This will enable them to work directly with education and training providers to secure the most effective training for their apprentices. We will be testing a new funding model via apprenticeship starts in the 2014-15 academic year based on standards developed by our Trailblazer groups of employers. We will develop a comprehensive communication programme for employers (including local authorities) to help them understand the changes.
Discussions have been held with a wide range of training providers as well with the Association of Training Providers and Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) about our apprenticeship funding reforms. I spoke about this issue at the AELP's National Conference earlier this month.
The 2013 consultation on apprenticeship funding reforms sought evidence on the feasibility and impact of three different models for reforming apprenticeship funding. Following consideration of the responses to these, the second consultation sought views on two models—a PAYE model and an apprenticeship credit—that are consistent with an employer-driven apprenticeships system. A pure provider payment model was ruled out, as evidence from the first consultation indicated that this model was the least likely to deliver the intended aim of giving employers true purchasing power.
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, authority may be given to
re-home animals where those animals were bred or held for supply for use in
regulated procedures, or were intended for use in regulated procedures, or have
been used in regulated procedures. This may also apply to animals which are
being kept under the care of the Named Veterinary Surgeon after completing
procedures, and is always contingent on our acceptance of certain reassurances
relating to Section 17A of the Act. Records of each animal re-homed would be
kept locally at the licensed establishment so that they can be available to
Home Office Inspectors on request.
European Directive 2010/63/EU, which was implemented in the UK and other
Member States on 1 January 2013, does not provide legal grounds on which the UK
can impose a mandatory obligation of re-homing under the Animals (Scientific
Procedures) Act 1986. Nevertheless, we have provided guidance on re-homing
animals in our Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures)
Act 1983, section 5.21.
The impact of the proposed changes to the Energy Company Obligation was estimated in the Assessment of Impacts published alongside the consultation document on 5th March:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-of-the-energy-company-obligation
No specific estimate was made for those fuel poor families specifically living areas of flood risk.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change intends to complete a full Impact Assessment as part of the Government's response to the consultation later in the year.
Homes at risk of flooding are not automatically defined as having hard-to-treat cavity walls, however flood-risk homes with hard-to-treat cavity walls are eligible for funding under the Energy Company Obligation. Proposed changes to the scheme will enable more homes to receive funding for energy efficiency measures, including those homes that are at risk of flooding.
DECC does not hold information on how many of homes that are considered to have hard to treat cavity walls are situated in flood risk areas.
The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
It is not possible to provide results for the divisions used by Lancashire County Council area as the matching was carried out using the district councils' electoral wards. However, the table for all the wards within the district authorities in the Lancashire County Council area and the table for Hyndburn constituency have been deposited in the House of Commons' Library.
Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of handling stolen goods offences prosecuted as a result of the theft or resale of library books. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
While the CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of prosecutions arising out of the theft of local authority library books, records are held showing the number of offences of handling stolen goods in which a prosecution commenced.
The table below shows the number of these offences in each of the last five available years.
- | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
Theft Act 1968 { 22 } | 13,923 | 12,819 | 11,325 | 9,792 | 8,401 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System |
There is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. It is often the case that defendants will be prosecuted for more than one offence in the same set of proceedings.
This information is not held centrally. Section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 sets out Ministers’ entitlement to severance payments. Payments to individuals are processed by the relevant departments. Any such payments are published in each department’s audited annual accounts, and these accounts can be found on GOV.UK.
Exit compensation terms for Civil Servants are set according to the rules of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme in place at the time of exit.
The following tables show the number of full applications for a) Air Source Heat Pumps and b) Ground Source Heat Pumps and Water Source Heat Pumps under the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. The latest application data the department has is up to the end of October 2016; as such 2016 does not represent a full year of applications.
Air source heat pumps | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
Full applications | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 158 | 118 |
Actuals and accruals | - | - | - | £4,033 | £105,918 | £193,233 |
Ground source heat pumps | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
Full applications | 7 | 54 | 92 | 126 | 276 | 198 |
Actuals and accruals | £1,236 | £116,154 | £409,475 | £1,173,057 | £5,756,337 | £5,246,909 |
The number of applications approved for accreditation under the renewables obligation (RO) for onshore and offshore wind projects in the UK between the financial years 2010/11 to 2015/16 were:
Technology | Total number of applications for accreditation between 2010/11 and 2015/16 |
Micro onshore wind projects up to and including 50kW capacity | 142 |
Onshore wind projects above 50kW capacity | 590 |
Offshore wind projects | 17 |
Source: Ofgem:
RO accredited stations list (downloaded 24 November 2016): https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0
The costs of the RO are reclaimed from electricity consumers, not from general taxation. The annual costs of supporting onshore and offshore wind through the RO from 2010/11 to 2015/16, in £ million nominal prices were:
RO costs £/million | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
Onshore wind | £397.8 | £482.6 | £557.1 | £755.6 | £786.8 | £803.0 |
Offshore wind | £253.9 | £371.1 | £698.5 | £988.7 | £1,108.0 | £1,429.7 |
Source: Ofgem:
Renewables Obligation library: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/ro/contacts-publications-and-data/publications-library-renewables-obligation-ro
Renewables Obligation Annual Report 2014-15: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/renewables-obligation-ro-annual-report-2014-15
Renewables Obligation register and compliance certificates report: https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0
The following tables show the number of total applications for air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps under the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. The latest application data the department has is up to the end of October 2016; as such 2016 does not represent a full year of applications.
Air source heat pumps | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
Total applications (new and legacy) | 7,689 | 13,714 | 4,783 |
Actuals and Accruals | £1,873,300 | £11,027,489 | £13,317,544 |
Ground source heat pumps | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
Total applications (new and legacy) | 3,127 | 3,727 | 1,131 |
Actuals and Accruals | £3,073,978 | £16,554,779 | £19,054,131 |
The Government is aware of the cyber attack on Pitney Bowes and urges all organisations to ensure they have appropriate cyber security controls in place to protect themselves.
The Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy (2016-2021) is backed with £1.9 billion investment to transform the nation’s cyber security and make the UK the safest place to live and do business online. As part of the strategy we have opened the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which provides guidance and support to help businesses be more resilient to cyber attacks. This includes the Small Business Guide and an online staff training module, plus the Board Toolkit and '10 Steps to Cyber Security' guidance for larger organisations, as well as a programme of business engagement activity. The NCSC is the lead Government organisation for managing cyber incidents and has led on 658 incidents in the last year, providing support to almost 900 victim organisations, handling almost 1,800 incidents since commencing operations.
In addition, the Government is currently undertaking a Review of Cyber Security Incentives and Regulations to help understand the effectiveness of Government support to date and what more can be done to ensure businesses of all sizes are effectively managing their cyber risks.
DCMS Ministers have regular discussions with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on a range of cyber security topics, including in relation to the UK’s telecommunications networks.
Widespread deployment of 5G and full fibre networks is a primary objective of Government policy. The Government published the Telecoms Supply Chain Review in July, which recommended the introduction of a new framework for telecoms security based on evidence and a hard-headed assessment of the risks. The Government has not yet made a final decision on individual high risk vendors and the additional controls that will be applied to them.
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has regular meetings with Ofcom as part of normal government business. The Government recognises the value and importance of high quality public service content and the need for this to be widely accessible to viewers. That is why under the Digital Economy Act 2017, the government required Ofcom to publish a report which looks at the ease of finding PSB content across all platforms. Ofcom’s consultation on proposed changes to the linear EPG Code and the future of the prominence regime closed in October and the government looks forward to the publication of its findings.
Details about such meetings, including discussion and schedules, are kept confidential - to allow full and frank discussions between Ministers and agencies.
Since that date, the Minister for Sport and Civil Society spoke to Martin Glenn, the Chief Executive of the Football Association. The Government has been clear all along that any proposed sale of the stadium was a commercial matter between The FA and Mr Khan and we respect Mr Khan's decision to withdraw his bid. I am confident Wembley will continue to thrive with the FA as its custodians.
Since the launch of the first local television service in Grimsby in November 2013, a total of 34 local TV stations have launched across the UK. Ofcom collects information annually on the performance of local television services and has included analysis of the sector's performance in its annual Communication Market Report published since 2016. The Communications Market Reports for 2016 and 2017 are available from the Ofcom website.
Since the launch of the first local television service in Grimsby in November 2013, a total of 34 local TV stations have launched across the UK. Ofcom collects information annually on the performance of local television services and has included analysis of the sector's performance in its annual Communication Market Report published since 2016. The Communications Market Reports for 2016 and 2017 are available from the Ofcom website.
The Department does not collect information about the number of books from local authority run libraries that are stolen and sold each year. Local library authorities are responsible for providing public library services including managing book stock available for library lending.
A review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures was launched in October 2016, which included a look at the Fix Odds Betting terminals. Purdah interrupted the final stages of our consideration of the evidence received and the subsequent internal, cross government process of approval and sign off. I'm afraid, therefore, that we are back at the start of the process and that as a consequence of it taking at least 12 weeks I would not expect any further announcement until October at the earliest.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not commission specific information relating to the closure of public libraries, but does monitor closely proposed changes to library service provision throughout England. Based on desk research undertaken by the Department, we estimate that from January 2010 to January 2016 approximately 110 static public libraries in England closed completely.
Annual statistics on public libraries are collected and published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and this includes details of the net number of libraries open as at 31 March of each year, but specific details of library closures since 2010 are not available from these statistics. Changes in these net figures will reflect a combination of library closures, new libraries opening, as well as libraries that are no longer part of the local authority statutory library service but remain open as community-run libraries.
I meet with the betting industry, Gambling Commission, and other interested organisations regularly. I am aware of the concerns around single-staffing of high street betting shops but expect bookmakers to adhere to their statutory requirements and minimum voluntary standards to protect staff from risk.
New legislation came into force to improve player protections on FOBTs in April, and the law was also changed to require planning applications to be submitted to local authorities for new betting shops. Government measures on FOBTs are very new, but we are working with the Gambling Commission and industry to ensure they are effectively evaluated.
We are also pushing the industry to do more on social responsibility, including self-exclusion pilots that are currently underway in Chatham and Medway. This is the first multi-operator scheme of its kind.
I will be meeting with the Gambling Commission, Association for British Bookmakers and the Campaign for Fairer Gambling next week to discuss FOBTs and related issues.
I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.
I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.
The government is committed to following an evidence based approach towards gambling legislation. The Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) has recently carried out a significant programme of research into gaming machine usage, which was published on Monday 1st December. We now want to consider carefully the depth of findings and are taking advice from key organisations such as the Gambling Commission before thinking about next steps. I look forward to seeing the industry taking full advantage of the information provided by this research to bear down hard on the harm that gambling can cause. |
Under the 2008 Education and Skills Act, local authorities have a statutory duty to identify and track participation of 16 and 17-year-olds in education or employment with training, to support those who are not participating to do so, and to make sure there is sufficient, suitable education and training provision to meet their needs. Local authorities also have a duty to work with schools to identify those young people who need targeted support or who are at risk of not participating post-16. Alongside this, they must lead the September Guarantee process which guarantees all young people a suitable place in further education at the end of years 11 and 12.
In line with these duties, where a young person is identified as ‘Not in Education, Employment and Training’ (NEET), the local authority has a responsibility to work with them. Similarly, where a young person’s destination is identified as ‘not known’, the local authority must continue to try to locate and contact the young person through various routes.
Local authorities may choose to organise their tracking of young people in a variety of ways; however, all local authorities have a duty to submit monthly data to the Department for Education’s ‘National Client Caseload Information System’ (NCCIS). This data is then published by the department, throughout the year in various publications, for transparency purposes.
The department publishes the NEET scorecard annually, which pulls together all of the NCCIS data published throughout the previous year and other relevant data. The scorecard ranks local authorities into 5 groups based on their performance on the percentage of 16 and 17-year-olds NEET and whose activity is not known. The department actively performance manages those local authorities in the bottom group. These actions can vary from engagement at official level, meetings and ministerial letters.
As this year’s scorecard has yet to be published, it will not be possible to confirm at this time exactly what action will be taken with individual local authorities. However, as local authority groups will be based on the NCCIS NEET and participation data, published on 20 June 2019[1], which shows that Lancashire County Council’s NEET and not known percentage is 10%, of which 8% were not known, which is above the North West average of 3.2% and the England average of 2.9%, it is likely that performance management action will be taken in relation to Lancashire local authority.
The department’s performance management approach has worked well in the past, with the majority of the local authorities contacted achieving improvements in their submitted data. Where improvements are not achieved, in a reasonable timeframe, the department follows up at official level with formal meetings to agree action plans and deadlines for improvement.
[1] NEET and Participation Local Authority Figures: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-and-participation-local-authority-figures.
Our ambitions for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are exactly the same as for every other child and young person. As part of this, we are pleased to announce that we will be providing an additional £700 million, 10% in high needs funding next year alone, which will help local authorities to ensure that they can continue to offer the right support for children and young people with the most complex SEND.
In July the Department announced that it was accepting the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) recommendation in full for a 2.75% uplift to the minima and maxima of all pay ranges and allowances.
In recognition of the difference between this award and the 2% the Department has assessed schools can afford on average nationally, it is providing an additional £105 million of funding for schools this year. This is on top of the £321 million the Department is already providing this year through the Teachers’ Pay Grant to cover the ongoing cost of the 2018 pay award.
The latest estimates for young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England and the English regions, based on 2018 quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, will be published on 28 February 2019 by the department as part of the series and can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-neet.
However, due to sample size limitations in the LFS data, it is not possible to produce reliable estimates for local authority level geographies.
For young people aged 16 to 17, local authorities are required to monitor the extent to which young people are meeting their duty to participate in education or training through the department’s National Client Caseload Information System (NCCIS). Local authority level NEET estimates for England are published annually as transparency data from NCCIS and can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-and-participation-local-authority-figures. However, these estimates should be used with caution as the headline NEET measure includes people whose activities are not known in order to incentivise local authorities to track all young people.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State decided that accepting the Commission’s main proposals would be incompatible with his commitment to make no changes to the curriculum, other than those already announced, during the remaining lifetime of this Parliament.
He did however announce improvements to bursaries for initial teacher training and new funding for religious education subject knowledge enhancement courses. His full response to the Commission is set out in a letter of 6 December 2018 which can be found at: www.religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk/news/government-response-to-the-commission-on-re/.
Our new criteria for free school meals eligibility will increase the number of children eligible by around 50,000 children by 2022. Due to the generous protections we will provide, all children receiving free school meals at the point the threshold is introduced, and all those who gain eligibility during the rollout of Universal Credit, will continue to receive free school meals until the end of Universal Credit rollout. After this point, those children who were protected – should they still be in school – will continue to be protected until the end of their current phase of education. Our protection arrangements will also cover pupils in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, as well as those in Year 3 and above.
The government’s independent review into foster care and the Education Select Committee inquiry considered the status of foster parents, including whether foster parents should be considered as professionals or employees. The department is carefully considering the recommendations of both reports and the government response will be published in spring this year. The Education Select Committee report is available here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/education-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/inquiry1/.
The independent review of foster care is available here: https://www.gov.uk/
government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/%0b679320/Foster_Care_in_England_Review.pdf.
The number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants employed in state-funded schools in England is published each year in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical series available online at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-workforce
Statistics on the number of new teaching assistants employed each year in England, Lancashire and Hyndburn are not available in the requested format.
The latest available figures on the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants in state-funded schools are from November 2013 and are published online at:
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2013
The available information is given in the table below:
Referrals to children’s social care, children in need and children looked after in Lancashire local authority in the year ending 31 March 2014.
Number | |
Referrals1,2 to children’s social care throughout the year | 19,460 |
Children in need1 as of 31 March 2014 | 9,035 |
Children looked after as of 31 March 2014 | 1,590 |
Source: Children in Need census, SSDA903
1. Lancashire used two reporting systems to produce their Children in Need return in 2014 so we highlighted in the publication that we had some concerns over the quality of the data.
2. If a child has more than one referral in the year then each will be counted.
This data is only available at local authority and national level. Figures on referrals and children in need are published annually within the ‘Characteristics of children in need’ statistical first release:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2013-to-2014
Figures on the number of children looked after are published annually within the ‘Children looked after in England, including adoption’ statistical first release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2
The available information for Lancashire local authority is shown in the table below. Figures at district authority level within Lancashire are not available.
Income and expenditure statistics on children and young people's services for Lancashire local authority (1) | ||||
Year: 2013-14 | ||||
Total expenditure (£000) | Income (£000) | Net current expenditure (£000) | ||
Sure Start children's centres and early years | 28,077 | 775 | 27,302 | |
Children looked after | 71,390 | 48 | 71,342 | |
Other children's and families services | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Safeguarding children and young people's services | 25,978 | 267 | 25,711 | |
Family support services | 29,370 | 69 | 29,300 | |
Services for young people | 13,868 | 52 | 13,816 | |
Youth justice | 6,561 | 2,783 | 3,779 | |
Capital Expenditure from Revenue (CERA) (Children's and young people's services) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
TOTAL CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S SERVICES EXPENDITURE (including CERA) | 175,245 | 3,995 | 171,250 | |
TOTAL CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S SERVICES EXPENDITURE (excluding CERA) | 175,245 | 3,995 | 171,250 | |
1. An explanation of each expenditure category within the Section 251 outturn can be found in the guidance documentation at the following link: | ||||
Totals may not be the sum of the constituent parts due to rounding. |
The Department for Education ran a public consultation this summer, from 23 June to 29 August, on proposed changes to the Child Performance Regulations. We first announced our intention to do so last December, during the passage of the Children and Families Bill (now Act) 2014.
The consultation was open to all those with an interest, including the amateur sector. A full consultation report will be published later this year.
The child performance licensing system is designed to provide a check that suitable arrangements are made to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children when they take part in performances, and that their education does not suffer when they do. This principle applies regardless of whether the performances are put on by amateur or professional organisations.
We therefore have no plans to introduce differential licensing arrangements for different types or sizes of organisation. We are, however, planning to remove some unnecessary and outdated restrictions and have recently consulted on other options to improve flexibility, but without reducing any of the important safeguards. We expect the resulting changes to benefit all types of organisation involved in child performances and, of course, the children themselves.
The Department for Education has made no assessment of the effect of local authority fees for licensing of matrons (otherwise referred to as chaperones) on participation in theatre and arts groups.
The Department for Education does not hold pupil premium allocations broken down by borough. Pupil premium allocations are published each year at top tier local authority, constituency and school level. The allocations for each year are available online at:
2014-15
www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-illustrative-allocation-tables.
The pupil premium allocations for Lancashire for each year going back to its introduction in 2011-12 are: £45.9 million in 2014-15 (provisional based on illustrative pupil numbers), £37.1 million in 2013-14, £21.7 million in 2012-13, and £12.4 million in 2011-12.
Our apprenticeship reforms will improve quality by involving employers in defining the new standards and assessment and by controlling the funding of apprenticeships. Ofsted will continue to play an important role in ensuring the quality of teaching and learning in registered training providers. We are discussing the arrangements with Ofsted as part of the Trailblazer project.
The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambitions to improve water efficiency. We have committed to work with the water industry to agree what cost effective measures, including rainwater storage, are required to improve water efficiency for both commercial and residential properties.
The UK currently sources only a small proportion of its food from developing countries. The most important drivers of retail food price inflation, including for products sourced from developing countries, are commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices.
The UK remains extremely concerned by constraints on humanitarian access within Yemen. We regularly raise obstructions to humanitarian access and aid distributions with all parties at the highest levels and call for compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2451.
The Foreign Secretary discussed the issue of humanitarian access across Yemen with his Government of Yemen counterparts earlier this year, and on 17 July UK officials raised the issue with the Government of Yemen’s Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed in Riyadh. I discussed it during my visit in the Gulf region last week. The UK will continue to press this issue with senior Yemeni counterparts.
The UK Government has not provided any bilateral official development assistance (ODA) direct to the Government of Venezuela in the last 12 months. ODA eligible programmes have taken place in Venezuela but spend has been delivered through local and international non-governmental organisations and multilateral organisations.
The UK Government is very concerned by the growing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and we are exploring how best we may compliment international humanitarian aid efforts within Venezuela and the wider region. We urge the Venezuelan government to facilitate access to humanitarian assistance for the Venezuelan population.
Aid delivered by road by trusted humanitarian partners is by far the most effective way to meet needs in Syria and to ensure that it reaches those most in need. We have, however, examined all options as part of our determination to do everything we can to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.
Airdrops, manned or using drones, are not capable of meeting either the scale of needs or delivering many of the kinds of aid that could address the priority needs that we see in Syria (e.g. safe drinking water, health support). Furthermore, we judge that such an operation would carry a high level of risk because the consent is needed of those who control the airspace and those on the ground that could threaten aircraft. There is nothing to suggest that the Assad regime would provide such consent, given that it continues to use the denial of aid as a weapon of war.
The World Health Organisation has a strong presence in the Greater Mekong Sub Region (including Vietnam): it continuously works with national governments to assess multidrug resistance and support policy responses. DFID supports the WHO in this essential work. Despite the real concern about drug resistance in Vietnam and the Sub Region, there has been a major decline in the rate of malaria cases and deaths. In Vietnam, between 2013 and 2015, the reported cases declined from 17,128 to 9,331 cases and reported deaths from 6 to 3.
UK aid is reaching hundreds of thousands of people across Iraq, including the most vulnerable groups, such as Yazidis. All UK-funded aid is distributed on the basis of need to ensure that no-one is discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion or ethnicity. The UK works with the Government of Iraq, Kurdish Regional Government, the UN and the international community to support the rights of all minorities and to ensure our aid reaches those in greatest need.
To date, the UK has committed £79.5 million to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.
The Government publishes Official Statistics on a quarterly and annual basis on export licences granted and refused on GOV.UK. These include a country level data report, providing data per country and a statistical commentary report that summarises and provides context and explanation for the key data trends. These are available to view at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.
A searchable database that allows bespoke searches of this information, based on specific licence types, destinations and goods, is also available at https://www.exportcontroldb.trade.gov.uk/sdb2/fox/sdb/SDBHOME.
All information published on GOV.UK must comply with guidelines set by the Government’s Digital Service. This includes a mandatory requirement for all published information to be written in plain English to ensure that it is clear and concise.
We are reviewing all export control content on GOV.UK to ensure it is as clear and simple as possible for exporters and other members of the public.
Arms sales data by region are published annually on GOV.UK.
The Government publishes Official Statistics about export licences granted and refused each quarter. The data currently includes details of licences up to 31 December 2016. Data for the period 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2017 will be published on 18 July 2017. The data can be accessed on GOV.UK
Licences granted are not necessarily a measure of exports shipped in a given period as they are valid for between two and five years. Licensing data only provides a partial indication of sales as exporters only declare export values for a subsection of licences (Standard Individual Export Licences). Some licences expire before they are used and in these circumstances exporters must submit a further application, which can result in an element of double counting.
The value of arms export licences issued from 2010 to 2017 are:-
Year Value (£)
2010 £3,082,468
2011 £439,488
2012 £354,419
2013 £4,255,887
2014 £10,547,414
2015 £140,925,288
2016 £1,822,648
In the event that any franchise were to be taken into Government control, the standard practice would be for a Transfer Scheme to be put in place between the existing and new operator to transfer those existing contracts and assets that would be required for the continued running of the railway.
We want to encourage private sector investment to build and operate a self-sustaining public network that is affordable, reliable and accessible.
Government funding and leadership, alongside private sector investment, has supported the installation of more than 21,000 public chargepoints, 2,100 of which are rapid – creating one of the largest networks in Europe. In August the Secretary of State announced that funding for this year’s on street residential charging scheme, which offers grants to local authorities to support investment at a local level, would be doubled from £2.5 to £5 million. Highways England has also committed £15m to ensure there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020.
This is in addition to the £400m Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund announced at the Autumn budget in 2017.
The Department announced in March 2019 that Highways England would work with Transport for the North on a study looking at options for improving road links between the M65 and north and west Yorkshire. The output of this study will inform consideration of the case for future investment.
We have made a further £300m available, which has been allocated to projects until 2024. If the programme continues to be delivered successfully, DfT will make submissions for further funding in due course. In the meantime, if the industry installs, replaces or renews station infrastructure this will need to comply with current accessibility standards.
Local stakeholders have championed the reinstatement of the Colne-Skipton railway line and work is currently progressing to assess the proposed scheme and determine if it can be made affordable, will attract sufficient traffic, and is part of the right long-term solution for trans-Pennine rail traffic.
We expect to receive the results later this year to inform a decision as to whether the scheme should progress to the ‘develop’ stage of the Government’s Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline. This is part of our new approach to rail enhancements to ensure we address the needs of passengers and freight, and that funding commitments appropriately reflect the stage of development of schemes.
As set out in the Government’s recent drone consultation response on 7 January 2019, my Department is working with the Home Office and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on product standards for drones. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has also published new product standards for drones which will become fully applicable by 2022. These include a mandatory requirement for drones to be fitted with geo-awareness software and being remotely identifiable before being placed on the market.
At an international level, the International Organization for Standardization is currently developing standards for drone safety and operation in which the British Standards Institution (BSI) committee members represent the UK. It is vital that we balance maintaining the UK’s world-leading position in aviation safety and security with supporting the development of this emerging industry.
The Department for Transport has been exploring the options for a traffic sign to make drivers aware of the presence of hedgehogs and other small animals in the road ahead, in locations where there have been a high number of animal casualties. The Department expects to make an announcement on this in due course.
The Inclusive Transport Strategy, published on 25 July 2018, included a commitment to extend our Access for All programme across rail Control Period 6 (2019 to 2024) with an additional £300m of funding from the public purse. We have received more than 300 nominations for this funding and plan to announce the successful stations in April next year.
It is this Government which is giving funding to continue the Access for All programme into the 2019 to 2024 period. Around 75% of rail journeys in the UK now have step free access to and between every platform, which compares with only 50% of journeys in 2005.
We are committed to improving accessibility at railway stations. However, many stations date from a time when the needs of disabled passengers were simply not considered.
Therefore whenever infrastructure work is carried out at a station by the industry, it must comply with the relevant EU and UK accessibility standards. This includes major projects such as Crossrail, but also Network Rail’s ongoing renewals programme. However, in recognition of the scale of the problem, and to increase the pace of delivery, the Access for All programme was launched to provide access improvements over and above those required to be delivered by the rail industry, targeting stations not due to have their access improved as part of other projects.
We plan to announce the next tranche of Access for All projects in April and the Stations will all be completed by 2024 at the latest.
Enforcement against criminal activity against HGV drivers and their vehicles is a matter for the police. The Department will continue to engage with stakeholders to encourage the development of more safe, secure and high-quality lorry parking facilities. In particular, Highways England is developing its role as statutory planning consultee for such developments on the strategic road network, and this will include consideration of desirable criteria for lorry parking such as security features. In addition, the Department will consider how best to promote the uptake in the UK of the forthcoming EU-wide classifications for safe and secure lorry parking sites.
At a Westminster Hall Debate last year, the Rt Hon John Hayes MP announced the formation of a Task and Finish group to consider any taxi and private hire regulatory issues, their causes and potential remedies. The group’s remit includes considering the use and effectiveness of powers currently available to licensing authorities.
The Group has now submitted its report and Ministers are considering the recommendations made. The report and response will be published soon.
The Government is clear that customers should have access to toilet facilities at motorway service areas that are appropriate to their needs. The Taskforce was announced by the previous minister, John Hayes and the Government is now considering how the provision of Changing Places facilities can be increased at Motorway Service Areas as part of the Inclusive Transport Strategy. Alongside this, we are also working closely with MSA operators to understand how better facilities might increasingly be provided as part of their investment and renewal plans.
The table below shows the number of full time equivalent staff employed at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each financial year between 2008/09 and 2016/17:
Financial Year | Full Time Equivalent |
2008-09 | 5,690.0 |
2009-10 | 5,614.0 |
2010-11 | 5,561.3 |
2011-12 | 5,469.0 |
2012-13 | 5,612.6 |
2013-14 | 4,985.1 |
2014-15 | 5,147.0 |
2015-16 | 5,429.9 |
2016-17 | 5,351.2 |
The Government remains committed to the plans it set out at the Spending Review for transport investment in support of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
Between 2006/07 and 2012/13 the private investment in Great Britain's railways amounted to £3,573 million. This includes all enhancements in relation to tracks and signalling, rolling stock and stations and other investments
This information is not available on a regional basis.
Further details of this funding are available on ORR's website at the following link:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/5cc4eb14-fe68-4b72-aebf-81625df90d86
The Department does not collect information about private investment in rail infrastructure or rolling stock on either a National or Regional basis.
ORR publishes data regarding private investment broken down by expenditure type: tracks and signalling; rolling stock; stations and other investment. However, this information is only published for Great Britain as a whole.
Further details of this funding are available on ORR's website at the following link:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/5cc4eb14-fe68-4b72-aebf-81625df90d86
Discussions have taken place with Lancashire County Council on the provision of rolling stock for a new Manchester to Burnley and Blackburn via Rochdale service. A number of representations have been received from hon. Members concerning rolling stock in Lancashire, including at the Westminster Hall debate on rolling stock provision in the North of England on 12 March 2014.
Neither tenants or landlords lose a week’s rent in a 53 weekly rent payment year as has been alleged; no year contains 53 weeks. The problem is alignment between weekly and monthly cycles. Each month the UC housing element is a constant figure but claimants with weekly tenancy agreements will be required to make either four or five rent payments within this period. If the claimant always pays their rent on time, in five payment months they are effectively making payment for part of the following month. That month will always be a four rent payment month, so the combination of the advance payment and the ‘overpayment’ of housing support during that month will get the claimant back on track.
Where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, they will seek 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year. The effect of this is that, over the course of the next housing association rental year, a tenant’s UC payments will accurately reflect their liability, irrespective of the 53 payment weeks.
There is a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.
The housing costs element, in line with all other elements in Universal Credit, has always been subject to means testing for all Universal Credit claimants.
Numbers of people under 21 years claiming housing support entitlement as part of Universal Credit since March 2018 is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
We have no current plans to develop official national statistics on food bank use. However, the Office for National Statistics is leading a project to improve statistics on household food insecurity by reviewing all existing official and non-official sources of data and looking at options to fill data gaps in partnership with government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions.
We intend to assess the impact of Bereavement Support Payment once sufficient evidence is available to assess all aspects of the policy.
Data is not available that distinguishes these cases from other new claims to Universal Credit.
Currently, claimants moving from existing benefits to Universal Credit will only do so because they will have had a change in their circumstances that would previously, under the legacy system, have triggered a new claim to benefits or tax credits. Entitlement would have been calculated based on the rules of their new benefit, taking in to account their new circumstances.
There are currently no plans to put this information in the House of Commons Library as the information is in the public domain. A search facility is available on gov.uk which enables the public to find the nearest Jobcentre Plus office for the specific post code entered in to the search tool.
This information is not currently held by the Department in the format required. However, our systems are configured to map postcodes against offices.
There is a local office search page on GOV.UK, where the allocated Jobcentre Plus office and any relevant contact information can be obtained by entering a postcode
This is available at http://los.direct.gov.uk/
This policy will not affect Housing Benefit claimants; rather it will affect new claims to Universal Credit Full Service from 1 April 2017. This policy will also be implemented alongside the Youth Obligation – a new and intensive package of labour market support for 18-21 year-olds looking to get back into work.
It is important to make clear that the changes referred to will only affect claimants on Universal Credit Full service – they will not affect those on Housing Benefit. Since the policy was initially announced, we have worked in collaboration with key housing stakeholders such as Crisis and Shelter to make sure the policy includes the right exemptions to protect the most vulnerable people; we are therefore confident about the robustness of the policy.
Due to the nature of both the consultation and the responses, DWP undertook a qualitative rather than quantitative assessment of the responses received; statistical information as requested is therefore not available.
A summary of the consultation responses is available in the Government’s response to the consultation published on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/184115/future-of-ilf-response.pdf
The consultation on the Future of the Independent Living Fund did not ask any specific questions in relation to the ring-fencing of future funding.
A summary of the consultation responses is available in the Government’s response to the consultation published on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/184115/future-of-ilf-response.pdf
Neither myself nor the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions have held any discussions with the Association of Gas Safety Managers about access to properties to undertake statutory gas safety checks.
The Health and Safety Executive provides guidance to landlords on what to do if a tenant prevents access for a gas safety check: http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqlandlord.htm
These statistics are published on the Health and Safety Executive website at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/regions/regtab.xls for the latest year, and www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/regions/reghist.xls for the previous five years.
In July 2012 the Department consulted extensively on the future of the Independent Living Fund, including a large number of disability organisations. The consultation received approximately 2000 responses, 79 of these responses were from disability organisations.
The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund and devolving the full funding to Local Authorities (LA) are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March 2014.
Access to Work complaints are handled in accordance with the DWP two tier complaints process. The figures that are available since the introduction of that process are:
Customer complaints received | |||
Year | 2011/12 (Q4 only) | 2012/13 | 2013/14 |
Number of complaints | 121 | 75 | 157 |
The final research outputs from DWP's independent evaluation of the changes to the Local Housing Allowance are due to be published this summer. The research will cover the impact of extending the age threshold for the Shared Accommodation Rate.
There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the department can be reliably estimated.
There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the department can be reliably estimated.
There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the department can be reliably estimated.
There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the department can be reliably estimated.
Pitney Bowes machines are not connected to National Health Service networks and therefore no effect has been seen to any NHS equipment. We are aware that East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust’s franking machines were affected and contingency plans were immediately actioned. This resulted in the Clinical Commissioning Group and a few other local companies franking the mail for the hospital in order to ensure patients received their letters.
Both East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust have confirmed that there was no impact to the provision of care as a result of the recent malware attack.
The Department is working with its partners across Government, arm’s length bodies, local authorities, industry and the wider health and care system to ensure that all relevant parties are prepared for exiting the European Union. The quality and safety of patient care is paramount in our preparedness plans.
The Department, alongside NHS England and NHS Improvement, is ensuring that there is regular communication with frontline National Health Service organisations and stakeholders in the health and social care sector regarding EU Exit preparations. NHS England will be holding EU Exit Roadshows in the lead up to 31 October building on the regular communication that the Department and NHS England has with the frontline.
There are currently over 16,700 more nurses on wards when compared to 2010. The latest data published by the University and College Admissions Service (on 11 July 2019) shows that there has been a 4.6% increase in the number of undergraduate applicants to pre-registration nursing and midwifery courses when compared to the equivalent point in 2018.
The Department has put in place a number of actions to increase nursing workforce supply, including improving staff retention, return to practice, overseas recruitment and expanding nursing associates.
The interim People Plan (published on 3 June 2019) puts staff at the heart of National Health Service policy and delivery and sets out how we will secure a capable and motivated multidisciplinary healthcare workforce, of a sufficient size, to meet population health needs. It sets out the immediate actions needed to grow the nursing workforce across all settings by over 40,000 in the next five years. A final People Plan will be published in due course.
The education funding reforms announced in the 2015 Spending Review started to take effect from August 2017 and pre-registration nursing students began to access student loans rather than receiving a National Health Service bursary.
In January 2019, the NHS published its Long Term Plan which sets out a 10 year vision for healthcare in England. The NHS Interim People Plan, published on 3 June, sets out the immediate actions needed to grow the nursing workforce across all settings by over 40,000 in the next five years.
We will work with the NHS and the Higher Education Institution sector to improve awareness of the financial support packages available to all undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students and how they can be accessed.
NHS England publishes monthly performance data for accident and emergency (A&E) waiting times for each trust rather than individual hospital site level. Performance data for the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
East Lancashire Hospitals Trust A&E performance | June 2019 | May 2019 | June 2018 |
% seen in 4 hours or less | 81.4% | 78.4% | 85.6% |
Total attendances | 15,621 | 16,180 | 17,371 |
Total attendances in 4 hours or less | 12,714 | 12,683 | 14,863 |
Source: NHS England Operational Statistics1
Despite continued high numbers of attendees, performance shows, on average, more than four out of five attendees are seen/treated/admitted/discharged within four hours of arrival. This level of performance has been sustained throughout the months of May, June and July.
The Trust is working hard to ensure robust plans are in place to achieve the A&E standard of 95% of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival in all types of A&E departments.
Note:
The latest published data shows that National Health Service trusts, foundation trusts and the Department, including its arm’s-length bodies and wholly owned property companies, disposed of 301 surplus sites between April 2015 and March 2017, generating £439 million in receipts from unconditional sales. This data is available online, as part of Cabinet Office’s ‘Transparency Report: Government’s land and property disposals in 2015-16 and 2016-17’, published in April 2018 at the following link:
Similar data relating to the 2017-18 financial year will be published in due course.
The Department annually collects data on properties owned by NHS trusts and foundation trusts which has been declared surplus and planned for future disposal. This collection does not include properties owned by the Department, its arm’s-length bodies and wholly owned property companies. Information reported directly by trusts show that as at 31 March 2018 the total declared market value of surplus and potentially surplus land was £260 million; however, many organisations were not able to provide figures due to data limitations, including commercial confidentiality. This data is available at the following link:
Information on expenditure on translation services is not held centrally. There has been no central audit of translation services in the National Health Service, as these services are commissioned by individual NHS organisations.
Information on expenditure on translation services is not held centrally. There has been no central audit of translation services in the National Health Service, as these services are commissioned by individual NHS organisations.
Medium Secure Unit (MSU) Learning Disability (LD) services continue to be provided at the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust Whalley site - there are 40 beds available and currently occupancy is running at 100%.
A new 40 bed MSU LD service has now been approved and building has commenced at the Maghull Health Park. This is planned to be completed by May 2020.
Following the outcome of a consultation on proposals to stop providing services at Mersey Care Whalley, NHS England have committed to the beds at Maghull being provided by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
The 40 beds at the Maghull Health Park will provide MSU LD services for the whole of the North West.
NHS England advises that the operation and use for non-emergency patient transport services is a matter for local commissioners – including transport services to support vulnerable and disabled patients to social prescribing schemes.
No-one should stay in hospital longer than necessary. That is why we have invested an additional £2 billion over three years to support adult social care and reduce delayed transfers of care.
We will look at performance data in November, to identify the poorest performers and agree what action to take. Whilst this includes looking at financial allocations for 2018-2019, we confirm that this funding will remain with local government, and be used for adult social care.
This information is not held centrally.
NHS Improvement published a review of walk-in centres in 2014. This can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-walk-in-centre-services-in-england-review
The Department continues to spend significant levels of funding to train and develop the adult social care workforce, including those aged between 16-25.
In 2016/17, the Department will provide £23 million in funding to Skills for Care for the training and development of the adult social care workforce including for 16-25 year olds. This includes £12 million for the Workforce Development Fund which provides support to employers for modules and qualifications for their workers in adults’ services in the private and voluntary sectors.
The Department is working closely with the sector skills council partner, Skills for Care, through programmes such as apprenticeships in social care and Care Ambassadors which promote positive image of the sector in schools and colleges.
Refractive eye surgery is regulated through providers being registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and doctors carrying out the surgery must be registered with the General Medical Council.
Once the Royal College of Ophthalmologists refractive surgery standards are published, the General Medical Council would expect a doctor to be aware of them. When carrying out inspections and assessments of services, the CQC would also expect a provider to be following best practice guidance, which would include the standards published by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
These processes are well established and so the Department would not have a direct role in assisting in the implementation of the refractive surgery standards. However, the Department will maintain an interest in the consultation and the work of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in this area.
Refractive eye surgery is regulated through providers being registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and doctors carrying out the surgery must be registered with the General Medical Council.
Once the Royal College of Ophthalmologists refractive surgery standards are published, the General Medical Council would expect a doctor to be aware of them. When carrying out inspections and assessments of services, the CQC would also expect a provider to be following best practice guidance, which would include the standards published by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
These processes are well established and so the Department would not have a direct role in assisting in the implementation of the refractive surgery standards. However, the Department will maintain an interest in the consultation and the work of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in this area.
No Ministers in the Department have held such discussions with East Lancashire and Blackburn and Darwen Clinical Commissioning Groups.
We do not hold this information centrally.
Departmental Ministers regularly discuss a number of mental health issues with NHS England officials, although no discussions specifically about the cost of outsourced mental health services have taken place.
We do not hold this information centrally.
Departmental Ministers regularly discuss a number of mental health issues with NHS England officials, although no discussions specifically about the cost of outsourced mental health services have taken place.
No discussions between My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and EMIS about data protection have taken place.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre does not hold the data requested at district authority level. Not all councils have adult social care responsibilities. Councils with adult social care responsibilities (CASSRs) in Lancashire are: Lancashire county council, Blackpool unitary authority and Blackburn with Darwen unitary authority. Lancashire County Council is responsible for social care in the district authorities (Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre).
Such information as is available is the number of adults in receipt of council-funded social services from the three councils with adult social care responsibility during the period 2013-14.
The information in Table 1 below is derived from the Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care (RAP) returns, table P1. RAP returns are collected annually from Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) and refer to the reporting year 1 April to 31 March. All data are final and rounded to the nearest 5.
Table 1: Number of clients receiving services in Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen provided or commissioned by the CASSR during the period 2013-14
Total
Lancashire | 28,350 |
Blackpool (Unitary authority) | 4,845 |
Blackburn with Darwen (Unitary authority) | 2,825 |
Source: RAP P1
Note:
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
Funding allocations to authorities with social services responsibilities will consider the fact that they are responsible for adult social care.
Adult social care is one of the services supported through the Local Government Finance Settlement. Funding from the Local Government Finance Settlement is unhypothecated i.e. local authorities are able to use it for any service. For this reason it is not possible to say how much funding has been provided for any particular service, including adult social care. It is up to local authorities to prioritise their budgets based on the needs and priorities of local people in their area.
Local authorities do report expenditure on adult social care. The Latest expenditure data is from the 2013/14 financial year. Table 2 below shows expenditure in Lancashire:
Table 2
Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) in Lancashire | Social Care Expenditure (2013/14 prices, £ million) |
Lancashire | 357.67 |
Blackpool (Unitary authority) | 46.27 |
Blackburn with Darwen (Unitary authority) | 41.94 |
The Health and Social Care Information Centre does not hold the data requested at district authority level. Not all councils have adult social care responsibilities. Councils with adult social care responsibilities (CASSRs) in Lancashire are: Lancashire county council, Blackpool unitary authority and Blackburn with Darwen unitary authority. Lancashire County Council is responsible for social care in the district authorities (Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre).
Such information as is available is the number of adults in receipt of council-funded social services from the three councils with adult social care responsibility during the period 2013-14.
The information in Table 1 below is derived from the Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care (RAP) returns, table P1. RAP returns are collected annually from Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) and refer to the reporting year 1 April to 31 March. All data are final and rounded to the nearest 5.
Table 1: Number of clients receiving services in Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen provided or commissioned by the CASSR during the period 2013-14
Total
Lancashire | 28,350 |
Blackpool (Unitary authority) | 4,845 |
Blackburn with Darwen (Unitary authority) | 2,825 |
Source: RAP P1
Note:
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
Funding allocations to authorities with social services responsibilities will consider the fact that they are responsible for adult social care.
Adult social care is one of the services supported through the Local Government Finance Settlement. Funding from the Local Government Finance Settlement is unhypothecated i.e. local authorities are able to use it for any service. For this reason it is not possible to say how much funding has been provided for any particular service, including adult social care. It is up to local authorities to prioritise their budgets based on the needs and priorities of local people in their area.
Local authorities do report expenditure on adult social care. The Latest expenditure data is from the 2013/14 financial year. Table 2 below shows expenditure in Lancashire:
Table 2
Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) in Lancashire | Social Care Expenditure (2013/14 prices, £ million) |
Lancashire | 357.67 |
Blackpool (Unitary authority) | 46.27 |
Blackburn with Darwen (Unitary authority) | 41.94 |
The average national waiting time for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme therapies for the last quarter of 2014/15 (quarter two) was 4.8 weeks. The quarter two data for the North of England region show that the average waiting time is 5.3 weeks. The average waiting time for the East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group is 6.3 weeks. Data are not collected by constituency.
Over £400 million is being invested over the spending review period to make a choice of psychological therapies available for those who need them in all parts of England.
The Department’s 2014-15 Mandate to NHS England makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence based services’. The Mandate sets a clear objective for NHS England to deliver the key objectives of the IAPT programme – providing access to therapies to 15% of those eligible (around 900,000 people) per year by 2015, with a recovery rate of 50%.
We have put in place the first waiting times standards in mental health, a significant milestone on the road to parity.
The new five-year plan for mental health, Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020, sets out our ambition and the immediate actions we will take this year and next to achieve better access and waiting times in mental health services.
We have identified £40 million additional spending to kick start change in the current year. We have freed up a further £80 million from existing budgets for 2015/16. This will, for the first time ever, enable the setting of access and waiting time standards in mental health services. This will include treatment within six weeks for 75% of people referred to the IAPT programme, with 95% of people being treated within 18 weeks.
Starting this year, the Department and NHS England will work together with mental health system partners to develop detailed proposals for the introduction of further access and waiting time standards from 2016 onwards.
There is no automatic right for a contractor holding an Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) contract to transfer to a General Medical Services contract.
It is for a commissioner to decide on the appropriate process for the award of a new contract for clinical services in accordance with the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013. There is no requirement to competitively tender all health care service contracts under the regulations and decisions will be based on the local circumstances. Monitor has published guidance for commissioners to support their decision making and is able to provide further advice when requested.
In addition, the provider would need to satisfy the eligibility criteria set out in the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2004. It is not necessarily the case that the holder of an APMS contract will satisfy all of these eligibility requirements.
The requested information is contained in the following table.
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 20131 | ||
England |
| ||||
General Medical Services (GMS) Practices | 4,538 | 4,581 | 4,458 | 4,345 | |
Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) Practices | 262 | 276 | 260 | 271 | |
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North West Strategic Health Authority |
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GMS Practices | 787 | 793 | 768 | .. | |
APMS Practices | 57 | 60 | 53 | .. | |
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Lancashire Area Team |
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GMS Practices | .. | .. | .. | 162 | |
APMS Practices | .. | .. | .. | 7 | |
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East Lancashire Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) |
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GMS Practices | 47 | 47 | 45 | .. | |
APMS Practices | 2 | 2 | 2 | .. | |
| |||||
NHS East Lancashire clinical commissioning group (CCG) |
| ||||
GMS Practices | .. | .. | .. | 44 | |
APMS Practices | .. | .. | .. | 2 | |
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1Hyndburn constituency was held within and serviced by East Lancashire Teaching PCT in 2010-2012 and by NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group in 2013. Prior to the formation of the Area Teams in April 2013, the region of Lancashire was contained within the North West Strategic Health Authority
'..' denotes not applicable
Notes:
Data as at 30 September in each year
GP workforce statistics are not available at constituency level; figures are shown for those NHS Organisations in operation at the time of the relevant census
Data Quality:
The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.
Further details and definitions of GP Practice contracts can be found in our annual Census publication:
http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13849
The performance standard for ambulance response times is that 75% of Category A life threatening calls are responded to within eight minutes.
Information on the percentage of ambulance responses to Category A immediately life threatening calls that failed to respond within eight minutes in England and the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust since April 2004 is shown in the following table.
Data relating to Lancashire and Hyndburn constituency is not collected separately. Lancashire and Hyndburn constituency is covered by the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
Data around the numbers of ambulance calls responded to by the police and the fire service is not collected centrally.
Table showing the percentage of ambulance responses to Category A immediately life threatening calls that were not responded to within eight minutes in England and in the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, April 2004 to March 2014
England | North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust | ||
2004-05 | 23.8% | 23.3% | |
2005-06 | 24.7% | 25.7% | |
2006-07 | 25.4% | 27.3% | |
2007-08 | 22.9% | 24.4% | |
2008-091 | 25.7% | 25.7% | |
2009-10 | 25.7% | 27.0% | |
2010-11 | 25.1% | 26.4% | |
2011-122 | 23.9% | 23.3% | |
2012-133 | Category A (April to May 2012): | 24.5% | 23.2% |
Red 1 (June 2012 to March 2013): | 26.0% | 26.5% | |
Red 2 (June 2012 to March 2013): | 24.4% | 23.4% | |
2013-14 | Red 1: | 24.4% | 24.1% |
Red 2: | 25.2% | 22.6% |
Notes:
1From 1 April 2008, NHS ambulance trusts measured response times from the point when the call is presented to the control room telephone switch. Previously, response times were measured from the point when certain details had been ascertained from the caller. Therefore, data from 2008-09 onwards are not comparable with earlier years.
2Data up to 2010-11 are from the KA34 data collection by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, and not necessarily consistent with later data, which are supplied via NHS England.
3From June 2012 onwards, the single Category A eight minute response standard was replaced by two separate standards, Red 1 and Red 2. Due to differences in clock start definitions, it is not possible to aggregate performance of Red 1 and 2 into a total Category A performance.
Source: Ambulance quality indicators, NHS England
The performance standard for ambulance response times is that 75% of Category A life threatening calls are responded to within eight minutes.
Information on the percentage of ambulance responses to Category A immediately life threatening calls that failed to respond within eight minutes in England and the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust since April 2004 is shown in the following table.
Data relating to Lancashire and Hyndburn constituency is not collected separately. Lancashire and Hyndburn constituency is covered by the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
Data around the numbers of ambulance calls responded to by the police and the fire service is not collected centrally.
Table showing the percentage of ambulance responses to Category A immediately life threatening calls that were not responded to within eight minutes in England and in the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, April 2004 to March 2014
England | North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust | ||
2004-05 | 23.8% | 23.3% | |
2005-06 | 24.7% | 25.7% | |
2006-07 | 25.4% | 27.3% | |
2007-08 | 22.9% | 24.4% | |
2008-091 | 25.7% | 25.7% | |
2009-10 | 25.7% | 27.0% | |
2010-11 | 25.1% | 26.4% | |
2011-122 | 23.9% | 23.3% | |
2012-133 | Category A (April to May 2012): | 24.5% | 23.2% |
Red 1 (June 2012 to March 2013): | 26.0% | 26.5% | |
Red 2 (June 2012 to March 2013): | 24.4% | 23.4% | |
2013-14 | Red 1: | 24.4% | 24.1% |
Red 2: | 25.2% | 22.6% |
Notes:
1From 1 April 2008, NHS ambulance trusts measured response times from the point when the call is presented to the control room telephone switch. Previously, response times were measured from the point when certain details had been ascertained from the caller. Therefore, data from 2008-09 onwards are not comparable with earlier years.
2Data up to 2010-11 are from the KA34 data collection by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, and not necessarily consistent with later data, which are supplied via NHS England.
3From June 2012 onwards, the single Category A eight minute response standard was replaced by two separate standards, Red 1 and Red 2. Due to differences in clock start definitions, it is not possible to aggregate performance of Red 1 and 2 into a total Category A performance.
Source: Ambulance quality indicators, NHS England
No such discussions have taken place.
The Responsible Gambling Trust expects to distribute £6,292,000 on treatment, education and research in 2014-15 and is funded by the gambling industry and further donations.
Widespread deployment of 5G and full fibre networks is a primary objective of Government policy. The Government published the Telecoms Supply Chain Review in July, which recommended the introduction of a new framework for telecoms security based on evidence and a hard-headed assessment of the risks. The Government has not yet made a final decision on individual high risk vendors and the additional controls that will be applied to them. Our international partners must take their own approach based on their own circumstances, network architectures, capabilities and risk assessments.
The United States of America and the United Kingdom are natural, resilient and strong partners and allies, and we will continue to work closely together, including on the issue of telecoms security.
On 4 February the former Minister for Europe and the Americas attended a Lima Group meeting in Ottawa at the invitation of the Canadian Foreign Minister. He addressed the meeting and spoke with several Lima Group colleagues including the Colombian, Brazilian and Chilean Foreign Ministers and the Peruvian Vice Foreign Minister. On 18 June, the former Foreign Secretary and the former Minister for Europe and the Americas met President Duque and Foreign Minister Holmes of Colombia, and discussed the situation in Venezuela and the impact on Colombia, the most impacted country in the region. On 5 August I spoke the Peruvian Foreign Minister, where they discussed the situation in Venezuela and its impact on the region. We continue to work closely with the Lima Group, the Organisation of American States, the United States and like-minded European and international partners to find a peaceful solution to the Venezuela crisis.
In accordance with long-standing Royal practice, The Prince of Wales’ conversations are private
The UK government regularly raises human rights issues as part of our dialogue with the Cuban government. We believe the best way to encourage progress on human rights in Cuba is through dialogue and practical diplomacy, which is best enabled through engagement. This is reflected in our policy of engagement with Cuba, in which TRHs' trip will play an important role.
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown; including credible reports of re-education camps and widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities.
During China’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 6 November, the UK made a statement which described our concern about the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, including Uyghurs. We issued a specific recommendation, calling on China to implement the recommendations by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Xinjiang, and to allow the UN to monitor the implementation. We also raised our concerns about Xinjiang in our Item 4 statement at the September UN Human Rights Council, and we supported the statement of 26 October by the European External Action Service highlighting concerns about Xinjiang.
I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018.
As one of its founding signatories, the UK strongly supports the international community's commitment to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (known as the Ottawa Convention). As well as working to meet our own convention-based commitments to clear our sovereign territory in the Falkland Islands of anti-personnel mines, the UK is committed to the global efforts to tackle the scourge of anti-personnel mines through our international mine action programmes. As a demonstration of the UK's commitment, the Secretary of State for the Department for International Development announced on 4 April 2017 that the UK would triple its spending on mine action in developing countries, taking UK expenditure to £100million over the three years to March 2020. The UK also regularly encourages states who have not signed the Convention to do so, most recently fully supporting Austria, as the outgoing President of the Convention, in urging all non-States Parties to join without delay, as well as encouraging signatory states to fulfil their obligations.
The British Government is concerned by the increase in terrorist and extremist-related violence in Bangladesh. Since the 1 July 2016 attack on the Holey Bakery Café in Dhaka, targeting foreign nationals, the Government has continued to raise its concerns over security directly with senior officials in the Bangladeshi government. We will continue to engage with regional partners and the wider international community to support efforts to address terrorism, extremism and to promote human rights in Bangladesh.
The UK has consistently called upon all parties to refrain from using violence, intimidation and confrontational action. The UK will continue to engage constructively with all political parties in Bangladesh and with international partners, to strengthen democratic accountability and build the willingness and capacity to hold future participatory elections. We are under no obligation to consider asylum claims lodged outside UK territory and it is not appropriate to do so. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach; that is the fastest route to safety.
The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) has established the Department for International Trade to promote British trade across the world and ensure the United Kingdom takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. The Government is currently reviewing its trade policy. We will engage fully with a broad range of stakeholders, including both governments and business over the coming weeks and months, taking a large number of political and economic factors into consideration.
We are concerned about protection of human rights in Bangladesh, but believe that engagement, not sanctions, is the correct course of action. Sanctions would isolate Bangladesh at a time when it is, like so many, facing the global threat of terrorism. Trade sanctions would have a damaging effect on Bangladesh’s development and on efforts to bring people out of poverty.
The United Kingdom will continue to engage constructively with all political parties in Bangladesh and with international partners, to strengthen democratic accountability and build the willingness and capacity to hold future participatory elections. Peaceful, credible elections are the true mark of a mature functioning democracy, and all political parties share a responsibility for delivering them. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office named Bangladesh as one of its 30 Human Rights Priority Countries in its 2015 report. The report cited the confrontational actions of the two main political parties as one of the areas of particular concern.
The Government has made clear its support for Bangladesh’s efforts to bring to justice those accused of atrocities committed during the 1971 War of Independence. However, this must be done in a way that meets appropriate international legal standards. NGOs continue to raise concerns about the process and we urged the Bangladesh government to ensure compliance with these standards during Bangladesh’s second Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in 2013. We continue to emphasise these points in our discussions with the Bangladeshi authorities.
On 4 November, the Foreign Secretary and I met Khaled Khoja, President of the Syrian National Coalition, and Osama Abu Zayd, Spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army. The meeting was an opportunity to hear firsthand about the situation on the ground inside Syria, as well as to underline to President Khoja and his delegation the British Government’s commitment to supporting the moderate Syrian opposition in pursuit of a political solution to the conflict in Syria.
The Government believes that recognition of genocides should be a matter for international courts. It should be a legal, rather than political determination, decided by international judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible international judicial process. I deplore the targeting and persecution of Yezidis and other minorities by the so called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ensure the security and rights of all minority communities in Iraq, including the Yezidi. We are working in Iraq to build consensus around the importance of freedom of religion or belief; and supporting practical projects on community dialogue with civil society and faith groups. The UK is supporting the international humanitarian relief effort in Iraq by providing £79.5m to help the 3.2 million internally displaced Iraqis, including many who have fled their homes on account of ISIL’s persecution on the grounds of religion. The money is providing clean water, sanitation, essential medicines, and funding for NGOs and charities, some of which is specifically designed to protect women and children.
I visited Rakhine State for the second time in July, during my visit to Burma. While there, I met representatives of both Rakhine and Rohingya communities, visited camps for the internally displaced, viewed projects we are supporting, and raised our serious concerns about the treatment of the Rohingya at senior level, with both local and central Burmese government.
It is clear that the Rohingya are being persecuted and denied the most basic rights in Rakhine. Any judgment on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for international judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies.
Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, irrespective of whether they fit the definition of specific international crimes. I and other Government Ministers take every appropriate opportunity, both publicly and in private, to press the Burmese authorities to take urgent steps to address the situation of the Rohingya.
We have withdrawn UK-based family members from Freetown, as well as those staff whose underlying medical conditions may make them more likely to require medical attention locally. We have reviewed working practices to avoid staff being exposed to the Ebola virus and issued guidance to all staff and their families in the region on how best to protect themselves against the virus.
At Budget 2018, the government announced its plans to prohibit the practice of post duty point dilution (PDPD) from April 2020. From that date, wine and made-wine producers will not be able to use PDPD to reduce the excise duty they must pay. Legislation to be included within Finance Bill 2019-20 will give HM Revenue & Customs new sanctions that may be applied to any producer that continues to use PDPD after that date.
There are no plans to revise the existing arrangements for duty collection.
The government has no current plans to introduce a small spirits relief. However, all taxes are kept under review and the impact of such a change is considered at each fiscal event; including its effect on the industry and wider economy.
The Government wishes to encourage pension saving, to help ensure that people have an income, or funds on which they can draw, throughout retirement. This is why, for the majority of savers, pension contributions are tax-free. Furthermore, investment growth of assets in a pension scheme is not subject to tax. Up to 25% of the pension pot can be taken tax-free. After this, payments of pensions are subject to income tax at an individual’s marginal rate, to reflect the fact that these are a form of deferred income and have not been previously taxed.
In addition, the Government is committed to keeping taxes low to ensure people keep more of what they earn.
In April of this year, the Government met its commitment to raise the personal tax-free allowance to £12,500, one year early. This means the Government has now raised the personal allowance by over 90% in less than a decade. In 2019-20, over 32 million individuals will see their income tax bill reduced and 1.74 million people on the lowest incomes will have been taken out of income tax altogether since 2015-16. A typical basic rate taxpayer will pay £1,205 less income tax compared to 2010-11.
The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken as part of the annual Budget process in the context of the wider public finances.
In January 2018 the Charity Commission was allocated an additional £5m per year from the Government to help it respond to significant increases in demand on its core regulatory functions. Any future funding will be decided as part of the upcoming Spending Round.
All taxes are kept under review and the impact of a change to beer duty or other taxes is considered at each fiscal event, including their effect on pubs and the wider economy.
Under the current EU rules, the government cannot remove VAT on the repair and maintenance of places of worship.
The government recognises the importance of places of worship in our communities and provides funding to cover the cost of repairs and maintenance of listed places of worship through The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, managed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport.
The Government believes that it is important that everyone has access to suitable insurance products at the right price.
As a rule, insurers use their claims experience and other industry-wide statistics to set the terms and price at which they will offer insurance cover. Insurers make a risk assessment based on the likelihood a claim being made and the potential cost of that claim.
To assist with building costs, the Government made up to £42 million per annum available for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which provides grants towards the VAT paid on repairs, maintenance and alterations to listed buildings that are used principally as places of worship. Since its inception in 2001, the scheme has made 48,196 individual grants to 17,324 places of worship at a total cost of over £223m. The scheme applies to all faiths and denominations and is delivered UK wide.
Since April 2010, HMRC’s Debt Management group has collected £278.3 billion in underpaid tax, and HMRC’s compliance activities into all types of non-compliance have generated almost £160 billion of additional compliance yield.
| Positive Charging Decisions (PCD's) | Convictions | Acquittals |
2010/11* |
|
|
|
2011/12 | 501 | 401 | 31 |
2012/13 | 739 | 522 | 33 |
2013/14 | 880 | 682 | 40 |
2014/15 | 1254 | 623 | 64 |
2015/16 | 1067 | 774 | 70 |
2016/17 | 1067 | 768 | 77 |
*Lower level data on Positive Charging Decisions not held for 10-11, therefore unable to provide Tax Evasion figures for this year.
The number of staff employed in the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Criminal Investigation Directorate each year since 2010 (as at 31st March) is as follows:
Financial Year | Staffing Numbers |
2009/10 | 1913 |
2010/11 | 1967 |
2011/12 | 2436 |
2012/13 | 2401 |
2013/14 | 2488 |
2014/15 | 2456 |
2015/16 | 2695 |
2016/17 | 4611 |
The figures provided include all resource, including managers, deployed both operationally and non-operationally within the Directorate.
From 1 April 2016 the HMRC Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) was formed from the merger of the Criminal Investigation and Specialist Investigation Directorates.
Since the creation of FIS from 1 April 2016, the focus and deployment of the previous specialist civil investigation and criminal investigation resource has been brought together in line with HMRC’s Serious Fraud Strategy. This means HMRC deploy the appropriate criminal and civil resource to their case work, which makes it difficult for 2016-17 to ring-fence resource deployment that is specifically on criminal investigation.
The number of HM Revenue and Customs staff employed in each year since 2010 (as of 31 March each year) is set out in the table below.
31-Mar-10 | FTE | 70,700 |
Headcount | 78,057 | |
31-Mar-11 | FTE | 66,881 |
Headcount | 74,380 | |
31-Mar-12 | FTE | 66,373 |
Headcount | 74,886 | |
31-Mar-13 | FTE | 64,342 |
Headcount | 72,600 | |
31-Mar-14 | FTE | 60,918 |
Headcount | 68,851 | |
31-Mar-15 | FTE | 56,330 |
Headcount | 63,470 | |
31-Mar-16 | FTE | 58,621 |
Headcount | 65,402 | |
31-Mar-17 | FTE | 60,704 |
Headcount | 67,127 |
FTE – Full Time Equivalence
The Government is ending automatic entitlement to the housing element of Universal Credit – which is gradually replacing Housing Benefit - for out-of-work 18-21 years olds. This is forecast to save £100m over this Parliament.
Our ambitious plans to build a Northern Powerhouse remain a government priority. The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury and Minister for the Northern Powerhouse will lead the work across the whole of government to help make the North a powerhouse for the UK economy. This will build on the strong progress made over the last two years.
The Northern Powerhouse cuts across a range of policy areas within the Treasury, including devolution, local growth, transport, trade and investment, enterprise and innovation and skills and education. Officials from across these wider policy areas continue to be engaged on the Northern Powerhouse agenda.
The government has received representations from a number of waste operators on this issue. We are taking views into consideration and our priority is to ensure that the LCF operates effectively and encourages money to be spent in the communities that need it.
The LCF is a tax credit scheme into which landfill operators contribute voluntarily. The impact of the changes to the LCF announced at Autumn Statement 2015 is set out in Reform and value of the Landfill Communities Fund. This document can be found here:
Output per hour grew 0.9 per cent in Q2 2015 and 0.5 per cent in Q3 but raising UK productivity is a long term challenge. The government published the productivity plan in July, created the National Infrastructure Commission in October and set out further measures in the Autumn Statement.
HM Revenue and Customs is now able to provide the data in the format requested.
The table below shows the number of mandatory reconsiderations for tax credits undertaken by Synnex-Concentix UK Ltd since the start of the contract. The data is accurate as at 2 November 2015.
Within Week | Number |
One | 1,136 |
Two | 133 |
Three | 160 |
Four | 117 |
Five | 97 |
Six | 94 |
Seven | 89 |
Eight | 70 |
Nine | 44 |
Ten | 38 |
More than ten | 106 |
The following table outlines the number of applications HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) received from HM Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) as a result of a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix.
Month | Number of applications HMRC received from HMCTS following a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix |
March 2015 | 3 |
April 2015 | 1 |
May 2015 | 6 |
June 2015 | 5 |
July 2015 | 3 |
August 2015 | 3 |
September 2015 | 19 |
Prior to March 2015 HMRC did not receive any applications from HMCTS challenging a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix.
The Government has established a criteria of eligibility for Help to Buy mortgages for participating banks to uphold. The responsibility of approving or rejecting a Help to Buy mortgage is given to participating banks.
There are currently two existing Help to Buy schemes; the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme and the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme. The eligibility criteria for each of these schemes can be found on the Help to Buy website: http://www.helptobuy.org.uk
The Government does not collect information on the number of Help to Buy mortgage applications declined on the basis of a poor credit rating.
The Responsible Gambling Trust (which is funded by the gambling industry and further donations) expects to distribute £6,292,000 on treatment, education and research in 2014/15. This provides funding to specialist charities, such as GamCare, which provide gambling addiction treatment.
The Government recognises the distress and disruption that metal theft, including the theft of catalytic converters, can cause.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes police recorded crime data on metal theft offences annually which can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/focusonpropertycrimeappendixtables. Whilst the ONS data does not separate out theft of catalytic converters, this would be recorded under non-infrastructure related incidents.
We continue to work closely with the police, industry and others to understand what more we can do to tackle vehicle-related theft.
It is the duty of any responsible Governmnet to prepare for every eventuality including the scenario that we leave the EU without agreeing a deal.
We are working closely with operational partners - including the police - on contigency planning so we can ensure the safety and security of our citizens in all scenarios.
It is important that the police and local agencies have the powers they need to tackle local issues quickly and effectively. That is why we reformed the tools and powers available to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
In 2019/20 Lancashire Police are receiving £285.1 million of funding, an increase of £18.4 million, on 2018/19. Funding for 2020-21 for individual forces will be announced as part of the provisional police settlement later this year. Decisions about the allocation of police resources are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to meet the needs of their local community.
Domestic abuse is a devastating crime and the Government is committed to doing everything we can to tackle it.
The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS, also known as “Clare’s Law”) was rolled out across all 43 police forces in England and Wales in March 2014, and recent data shows that applications and disclosures made under the scheme are increasing.
In the year ending March 2018, there were a total of 5,649 disclosures made under the scheme, representing a 66% increase on the previous year. In the year ending March 2018, applications under the “Right to Know” element of the scheme increased by 47%, and “Right to Ask” applications increased by 111%.
We will continue to work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing to ensure that the DVDS and the guidance underpinning it are being used consistently and effectively to prevent harm and to keep potential victims of domestic abuse and their families safe.
We recognise that demand on the police is changing and we are acting. We are committed to recruiting 20,000 additional police officers over the next three years to tackle the rise in crime. This is the start of a new relationship between the Government and the police, and we will work even more closely together to protect the public.
The National Policing Board has been set up to provide strong leadership and deliver on our commitment to recruit 20,000 more police officers. Following the first meeting, the government and police will move at pace to drive forward our plans to bolster the police’s ranks.
All force-level funding allocations will be set out in the usual way at the pro-visional police funding settlement in December. The Government is working with the sector through a number of important details, including on allocating officers between different functions and activities to ensure maximum value from this additional resource.
The Serious Crime Act 2015 introduced a new domestic abuse offence of coercive or controlling behaviour in intimate and familial relationships. The statutory guidance underpinning the offence is clear that financial abuse, such as controlling the victim’s finances, is a type of behaviour that can form part of a purposeful pattern of behaviour over time to exert power, control or coercion over another person.
In 2017-18 960 offences of coercive or controlling behaviour have been charged and reached a first hearing, more than three times the volume in the previous year. This shows that the offence is having an impact and sends a strong message that coercive or controlling behaviour will not be tolerated.
On 21 January we published our landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill and consultation response which will transform the cross-Government response to this devastating crime. The draft Bill includes provisions for a statutory definition of domestic abuse, including economic abuse. Replacing ‘financial’ with ‘economic’ acknowledges how broad this form of abuse is and how many aspects of a victim’s life it can affect, such as limiting their access to fundamental resources such as money, food, transport, employment and housing. This will raise awareness of the issue of economic abuse and also enable frontline professionals and the criminal justice system to better understand, recognise and tackle it, so that victims can be supported to achieve the economic stability that they need.
The draft Bill is underpinned by a comprehensive package of non-legislative action which we have set out in our consultation response, including a commitment to review the effectiveness of the coercive or controlling behaviour offence to ensure it is fit for purpose and that it adequately protects victims from abuse. In addition, we have committed to update the statutory guidance and CPS legal guidance on the offence to include economic abuse and provide guidance on how this form of abuse can manifest itself as part of a pattern of coercive control
Any act of violence or abuse against retail staff is a serious matter which is why tackling it is the number one priority issue for the National Retail Crime Steering Group, which I co-chair with the British Retail Consortium.
Through this group, we have developed a Violence Reduction Strategy which includes activities to increase reporting of violence and abuse, develop a framework for effective preventative training for retail staff and private security, work with PCCs to raise the priority of this crime type in their policing plans and work with wider Criminal Justice stakeholders to ensure that sentencing guidelines and aggravating thresholds are appropriate.
The Home Office does not collect information on the enforcement actions taken by the police relating to unauthorised traveller settlements.
The Office of National Statistics publishes statistics on metal thefts annually, based on information provided by police forces. The most recent statistics, for the year ending March 2017 were published in December 2017. Statistics relating to the year to March 2018 will be published later this year.
Thefts of stone are not recorded separately in the crime statistics published by the Office of National Statistics. Such thefts will be incorporated within the overall statistics relating to thefts.
We have no plans to legislate to ban squatting in commercial properties to prevent the theft of metals of other commodities. The police can already take action if those who squat in such premises commit crimes when entering or staying in such premises, including crimes relating to criminal damages and thefts.
The Department does not hold this information. Statistics relating to metal theft are published annually by the Office for National Statistics, but this does not include information relating to the circumstances or specific locations of these thefts.
The Home Office does not issue guidance to the police specifically on the resale of stolen metal or stone.
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was introduced specifically to make it more difficult for thieves to dispose of stolen metal through metal recycling yards. There is no similar specific legislation in relation to stolen stone, as its disposal or resale routes are very different.
We do encourage victims of all such crimes to report them to the police, so that they can be investigated. The local response to these crimes is, however, a matter for chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners who, as operational leaders and elected local representatives, must decide how best to deploy resources to respond to these crimes.
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 provides a strong legislative basis for tackling all forms of metal theft by making it more difficult for criminals to dispose of stolen metal through scrap metal yards.
The police can take action against commercial squatters who commit other crimes, including thefts of metal or other commodities, when entering or staying in a property. Enforcement is a matter for chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners who must decide how best to deploy their resources to respond to the crimes affecting their local communities.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of persons detained for more than 24 hours under Part IV of PACE. Data can be found in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin in accompanying table D_03, the latest of which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561975/other-pace-police-powers-procedures-hosb1516-tables.ods
Data, broken down by those detained over 24 hours and up to 36 hours, those detained for more than 36 hours, and those detained for longer than 36 hours under a warrant for further detention can be found in Table D_01 of the same release. For detentions exceeding 36 hours, the time in custody under warrant issued by a magistrate can be found in Table D_02.
Data for earlier years can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
The Home Office does not collect centrally information on the number of persons detained for less than 24 hours, therefore it is not possible to provide a total figure for the number of people detained in police custody each year.
Information on how many people have been detained in police custody for more than 24 hours on mental health grounds is not held centrally.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of persons detained for more than 24 hours under Part IV of PACE. Data can be found in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin in accompanying table D_03, the latest of which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561975/other-pace-police-powers-procedures-hosb1516-tables.ods
Data, broken down by those detained over 24 hours and up to 36 hours, those detained for more than 36 hours, and those detained for longer than 36 hours under a warrant for further detention can be found in Table D_01 of the same release. For detentions exceeding 36 hours, the time in custody under warrant issued by a magistrate can be found in Table D_02.
Data for earlier years can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
The Home Office does not collect centrally information on the number of persons detained for less than 24 hours, therefore it is not possible to provide a total figure for the number of people detained in police custody each year.
Information on how many people have been detained in police custody for more than 24 hours on mental health grounds is not held centrally.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of persons detained for more than 24 hours under Part IV of PACE. Data can be found in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin in accompanying table D_03, the latest of which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561975/other-pace-police-powers-procedures-hosb1516-tables.ods
Data, broken down by those detained over 24 hours and up to 36 hours, those detained for more than 36 hours, and those detained for longer than 36 hours under a warrant for further detention can be found in Table D_01 of the same release. For detentions exceeding 36 hours, the time in custody under warrant issued by a magistrate can be found in Table D_02.
Data for earlier years can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
The Home Office does not collect centrally information on the number of persons detained for less than 24 hours, therefore it is not possible to provide a total figure for the number of people detained in police custody each year.
Information on how many people have been detained in police custody for more than 24 hours on mental health grounds is not held centrally.
A temporary hold on decision-making in respect of some settlement visa applications was introduced on 22 February 2017 so that the implications of the Supreme Court judgment handed down that day in MM (Lebanon) & Others could be considered.
The settlement visa applications affected are those under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules which fall to be refused and which involve a child or do not meet the minimum income requirement. The temporary hold will be lifted once the judgment’s findings have been addressed.
A temporary hold on decision-making in respect of some settlement visa applications was introduced on 22 February 2017 so that the implications of the Supreme Court judgment handed down that day in MM (Lebanon) & Others could be considered.
The settlement visa applications affected are those under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules which fall to be refused and which involve a child or do not meet the minimum income requirement. The temporary hold will be lifted once the judgment’s findings have been addressed.
Information on family settlement visas is published quarterly in the Immigration Statistics which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2017/list-of-tables#visas.
A temporary hold on decision-making in respect of some settlement visa applications was introduced on 22 February 2017 so that the implications of the Supreme Court judgment handed down that day in MM (Lebanon) & Others could be considered. The temporary hold will be lifted once the judgment’s findings have been addressed.
The Home Office has engaged closely with other Government departments through the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Inter-Ministerial Group to oversee delivery of the VAWG strategy including the commitment of increased funding of £80m for VAWG services.
The Home Office has also engaged closely with commissioners and voluntary sector partners on support for independent domestic violence advisers, and our move to support better local collaboration and early intervention through the VAWG Service Transformation Fund.
This Government has maintained protection for police spending in a fair provisional funding deal for policing.
Decisions on the size, composition and deployment of a police force's workforce are matters for Chief Constables, in association with Police and Crime Commissioners.
It is an operational decision for Chief Constables, working with their applicable Police and Crime Commissioner to determine the levels of resources required for the police to monitor and manage such events.
It is up to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Chief Constables to decide how to allocate their resources, including the efficient use of reserves, based on local priorities. The total amount of revenue funding received by each PCC (formerly Police Authorities) and the total amounts of usable reserves, taken from publically available force area accounts are included in the table below. This includes total core Government funding area from the Home Office, Legacy Council Tax Grants and locally raised precept income. It excludes specific grants such as the Innovation Fund and other locally raised income.
Hertfordshire Police Authority/PCC reserves |
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 19.4 | 197.4 | 9.8% |
31 Mar 2012 | 24.9 | 191.5 | 13.0% |
31 Mar 2013 | 28.0 | 189.7 | 14.8% |
31 Mar 2014 | 36.7 | 185.2 | 19.8% |
31 Mar 2015 | 47.9 | 181.1 | 26.5% |
Lancashire Police Authority/PCC reserves
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 20.1 | 285.6 | 7.0% |
31 Mar 2012 | 26.3 | 273.5 | 9.6% |
31 Mar 2013 | 27.5 | 273.5 | 10.1% |
31 Mar 2014 | 35.8 | 266.0 | 13.4% |
31 Mar 2015 | 49.3 | 258.9 | 19.1% |
Thames Valley Police Authority/PCC reserves
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 41.1 | 395.0 | 10.4% |
31 Mar 2012 | 48.2 | 383.4 | 12.6% |
31 Mar 2013 | 45.8 | 382.2 | 12.0% |
31 Mar 2014 | 49.1 | 375.9 | 13.1% |
31 Mar 2015 | 51.4 | 369.7 | 13.9% |
It is up to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Chief Constables to decide how to allocate their resources, including the efficient use of reserves, based on local priorities. The total amount of revenue funding received by each PCC (formerly Police Authorities) and the total amounts of usable reserves, taken from publically available force area accounts are included in the table below. This includes total core Government funding area from the Home Office, Legacy Council Tax Grants and locally raised precept income. It excludes specific grants such as the Innovation Fund and other locally raised income.
Hertfordshire Police Authority/PCC reserves |
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 19.4 | 197.4 | 9.8% |
31 Mar 2012 | 24.9 | 191.5 | 13.0% |
31 Mar 2013 | 28.0 | 189.7 | 14.8% |
31 Mar 2014 | 36.7 | 185.2 | 19.8% |
31 Mar 2015 | 47.9 | 181.1 | 26.5% |
Lancashire Police Authority/PCC reserves
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 20.1 | 285.6 | 7.0% |
31 Mar 2012 | 26.3 | 273.5 | 9.6% |
31 Mar 2013 | 27.5 | 273.5 | 10.1% |
31 Mar 2014 | 35.8 | 266.0 | 13.4% |
31 Mar 2015 | 49.3 | 258.9 | 19.1% |
Thames Valley Police Authority/PCC reserves
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 41.1 | 395.0 | 10.4% |
31 Mar 2012 | 48.2 | 383.4 | 12.6% |
31 Mar 2013 | 45.8 | 382.2 | 12.0% |
31 Mar 2014 | 49.1 | 375.9 | 13.1% |
31 Mar 2015 | 51.4 | 369.7 | 13.9% |
It is up to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Chief Constables to decide how to allocate their resources, including the efficient use of reserves, based on local priorities. The total amount of revenue funding received by each PCC (formerly Police Authorities) and the total amounts of usable reserves, taken from publically available force area accounts are included in the table below. This includes total core Government funding area from the Home Office, Legacy Council Tax Grants and locally raised precept income. It excludes specific grants such as the Innovation Fund and other locally raised income.
Hertfordshire Police Authority/PCC reserves |
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 19.4 | 197.4 | 9.8% |
31 Mar 2012 | 24.9 | 191.5 | 13.0% |
31 Mar 2013 | 28.0 | 189.7 | 14.8% |
31 Mar 2014 | 36.7 | 185.2 | 19.8% |
31 Mar 2015 | 47.9 | 181.1 | 26.5% |
Lancashire Police Authority/PCC reserves
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 20.1 | 285.6 | 7.0% |
31 Mar 2012 | 26.3 | 273.5 | 9.6% |
31 Mar 2013 | 27.5 | 273.5 | 10.1% |
31 Mar 2014 | 35.8 | 266.0 | 13.4% |
31 Mar 2015 | 49.3 | 258.9 | 19.1% |
Thames Valley Police Authority/PCC reserves
Year | Reserves £m | Total revenue funding £m | Reserves as % of government grant+precept |
31 Mar 2011 | 41.1 | 395.0 | 10.4% |
31 Mar 2012 | 48.2 | 383.4 | 12.6% |
31 Mar 2013 | 45.8 | 382.2 | 12.0% |
31 Mar 2014 | 49.1 | 375.9 | 13.1% |
31 Mar 2015 | 51.4 | 369.7 | 13.9% |
It is up to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Chief Constables to decide how to allocate their resources, including the efficient use of reserves, based on local priorities.
Herefordshire is covered by the West Mercia police force area. The total amount of revenue funding received by the West Mercia PCC (formerly West Mercia Police Authority) and the total amounts of usable reserves, taken from publically available force area accounts are included in the following table.
This includes total core Government funding area from the Home Office, Legacy Council Tax Grants and locally raised precept income. It excludes specific grants such as the Innovation Fund and other locally raised income.
Year | Reserves £m | Revenue funding (government grant+precept) £m | Reserves as % of total revenue funding |
31 Mar 2011 | 43.8 | 212.6 | 20.6% |
31 Mar 2012 | 37.8 | 206.9 | 18.3% |
31 Mar 2013 | 46.1 | 204.6 | 22.5% |
31 Mar 2014 | 53.1 | 201.6 | 26.4% |
31 Mar 2015 | 63.9 | 198.5 | 32.2% |
Hertfordshire Constabulary’s final 2014/15 Statement of Accounts are published on the force website. The accounts have been independently audited and include the force’s level of reserves for 2014/15.
The Department has received 49 complaints about the charge for using the 101 police non-emergency number in the last three years.
Research by Ofcom shows that a small fixed charge does not deter people from calling the service and reduces the likelihood of it being used inappropriately.
The latest Crime Survey (published July 2013) shows that use of the 101 number has increased since 2011.
Whilst we have monitored the effect of the 101 non-emergency police number on the number of 999 calls, we have not undertaken an official assessment. We are currently considering, with other government departments, options to review the impact of 101, including on 999.
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, authority may be given to
re-home animals where those animals were bred or held for supply for use in
regulated procedures, or were intended for use in regulated procedures, or have
been used in regulated procedures. This may also apply to animals which are
being kept under the care of the Named Veterinary Surgeon after completing
procedures and is always contingent on our acceptance of certain reassurances
relating to Section 17A of the Act. Records of each animal re-homed would be
kept locally at the licensed establishment so that they can be available to
Home Office Inspectors on request.
European Directive 2010/63/EU, which was implemented in the UK and other Member
States on 1 January 2013, does not provide legal grounds on which the UK can
impose a mandatory obligation of re-homing under the Animals (Scientific
Procedures) Act 1986. Nevertheless, we have provided guidance on re-homing
animals in our Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures)
Act 1983, section 5.21.
Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and
EU counterparts as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As
was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to
provide details of all such meetings.
The Home Office has not issued guidance on this point to police forces.
However, work is underway in UK Border Force and other law enforcement
organisations to tackle this problem, including the better profiling and
identification of containers that may contain stolen metal. They are also
looking at whether there are technological solutions that can be used to better
secure our borders.
The Home Office will continue to contribute to the funding of the National
Metal Theft Taskforce until 30 September 2014. The decision to provide funding
until that date ensures the Taskforce operates concurrently with the first year
of the new licensing scheme under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. After that
date, future enforcement activity will become the responsibility of individual
police forces based on their local crime priorities. It was never the
intention that the Taskforce would continue indefinitely.
The Home Office has not undertaken an assessment of the level of stolen scrap
metal exported for sale abroad.
We are aware of the risk that stolen metals may be directly exported and so
work is underway with UK Border Force and other law enforcement organisations
to deal with this, including the better profiling and identification of
containers that may contain stolen metal. We are also looking to see whether
there are any technological solutions we can use to better secure our borders.
No estimate has been made of the proportion of applicants for scrap metal
dealer's licences who were not known to their local authority under the
previous registration system
Aircraft held in storage are part of the Sustainment Fleet which includes aircraft undergoing upgrade or maintenance.
The number of aircraft available varies from day-to-day according to normal fleet management activities.
Figures for fixed and rotary wing aircraft as at 1 October 2018 are given in the table below. They exclude contractor provided aircraft fleets with the exception of Voyager which is included for completeness.
Aircraft | Service | Sustainment Fleet |
Air Seeker (Rivet Joint) | RAF | 0 |
Atlas A400M | RAF | 5 |
Bae 146 | RAF | 0 |
C-17 Globemaster | RAF | 2 |
C-130J Hercules | RAF | 5 |
Hawk T1 | RAF/RN | 44 |
Hawk T2 | RAF | 5 |
Lightning | RAF | 0 |
Sentinel | RAF | 1 |
Sentry | RAF | 1 |
Shadow/King Air 350 | RAF | 0 |
Tornado | RAF | 9 |
Tucano | RAF | 10 |
Typhoon | RAF | 35 |
Voyager | RAF | 2 |
Avenger | Navy | 0 |
Defender | Army | 0 |
Islander AL Mk1 | Army | 0 |
The number of aircraft available varies from day-to-day according to normal fleet management activities, aircraft held in storage are part of the Sustainment Fleet for undergoing upgrade or maintenance.
The Ministry of Defence does not undertake its own estimates of the number of landmines in Yemen.
The Ministry of Defence does not hold this information.
The UK was a founding signatory of the Ottawa Convention banning land mines and a number of UK organisations such as Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the Halo Trust are at the forefront of global efforts to make the world mine-free.
The UK is not providing training of any kind to the security forces of the Government of Yemen.
The Joint Strike Fighter is a collaborative Programme, and the UK is one of nine Partner Nations. The US Government leads on all aspects of Joint Strike Fighter Foreign Military Sales. The UK has no plans to discuss the procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with Belgium.
The number of black and minority ethnic personnel serving in each Regiment of the Army in each of the last 10 years is detailed in the tables below:
We have stepped up our preparedness significantly and are speaking regularly to councils and partners, including through a delivery board and a network of nine regional lead chief executives. Every council has designated a Brexit Lead Officer to work with central government to intensify their local preparations and, in total, we have made £77 million available to help local areas get ready for Brexit.
It is for those in the area to consider whether a Pennine Lancashire unitary authority would be the best way forward, as my Rt Hon Friend, the then Secretary of State, told the House on 22 July 2019 (HCWS1790). If the area requests that we formally invite councils to submit a proposal for such an authority, we would do so if that request demonstrates local opinion is coalescing around a single unitary option for the area, which would be likely to meet our publicly announced criteria for unitarisation.
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) are independent bodies, supported by an accountable local authority. Government ensures uniform standards are met through the National LEP Assurance Framework, which sets out that chairs are expected to be influential local leaders of high integrity. To meet these standards each LEP makes its own decisions locally for recruitment and associated costs which are subject to scrutiny by the accountable body.
The Social Housing Green Paper recognises many landlords play a role that goes beyond their key responsibilities, which includes providing guidance to vital services such as mental health services. Through the Green Paper, we are seeking to gather evidence on the impact of the important role that many social landlords are playing.
Social housing and more widely, supported housing, provides a vital service for vulnerable people, including people with mental health issues. Safeguarding provision and supply of appropriate supported accommodation is a priority for my department and we will continue to provide capital grant funding to promote new supply of supported housing.
Our recent announcement confirming funding for all supported housing will stay in Housing Benefit, will also give confidence to the sector to continue to invest in new supply. We are also reviewing oversight arrangements for all supported housing. As a Government, we are investing record levels in mental health, spending £11.98 billion in 2017/18.
We continue to work on the design of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and decisions on the operation and allocation of the Fund will be made as part of the 2019 Spending Review.
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) are a valued part of the local institutional framework and play an important role in delivering our ambition for growth in all parts of England. This Government has provided £12 billion through the Local Growth Fund to deliver over 1000 projects across the country.
We have a robust process for monitoring LEP performance. This is based on engagement with local teams who provide LEPs with day to day support, quarterly LEP monitoring returns relating to their Growth Deal projects, and an annual performance review. These processes lead to an agreed set of actions and next steps to ensure that LEPs continue to perform at their best.
Through our LEP Review we will continue to strengthen LEPs, so that they continue to drive sustainable private sector-led growth and job creation.
The Department is not able to estimate the effect of changes to business rates on organisations with charitable status because it does not hold information about which properties have charitable status. Eligibility for charitable rate relief is determined by local authorities.
At revaluation, the government adjusts the value of business rates to reflect changes in the property market. An estimated three quarters of businesses will see no change or a fall in their bills from 1 April thanks to the business rates revaluation and reforms to Small Business Rate Relief. 600,000 businesses are set to pay no business rates at all. A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support for the minority who do face an increase. It is not possible to estimate these figures for individual councils because it is for local authorities to assess eligibility for Small Business Rate Relief.
This information is not held centrally.
Overall the quality of privately rented housing has improved rapidly over the past decade. Surveys show that 84% of private renters are satisfied with their accommodation. A small number of rogue or criminal landlords knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation. We have introduced measures in the Housing and Planning Bill to crack down on these landlords so that they either improve the service they provide or leave the sector. Proposals include a database of rogue landlords and property agents, introducing banning orders for serious or repeat offenders, a tougher fit and proper person test, extending Rent Repayment Orders and introducing civil penalties of up to £30,000.
A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 25 February 2015, a copy of which is attached.
My Department has made no estimate of the average time taken to grant access to properties, or of the costs involved, for housing associations to undertake statutory gas safety checks or the costs involved .
One of the standard conditions of rented tenancy agreements is to allow reasonable access, following advance notice, for gas servicing and safety checks.
My Department has made no estimate of the average time taken to grant access to properties, or of the costs involved, for housing associations to undertake statutory gas safety checks or the costs involved .
One of the standard conditions of rented tenancy agreements is to allow reasonable access, following advance notice, for gas servicing and safety checks.
The Department does not collate or hold any detailed informaton relating to individual local authorities' workforces.
The Office for National Statistics collates workforce information from local authorites as part of its quarterly public sector employment survey. These statistics are available on the Local Government Association website at http://www.local.gov.uk/local-government-intelligence/-/journal_content/56/10180/2991184/ARTICLE.
Park home sites can be jointly owned by home owners and run on a co-operative model. We have not taken steps to promote this. Our priority has been to tackle poor management practices in the sector which is why we have implemented the Mobile Homes Act 2013, which significantly increases the rights of home owners and provides them with better protection.
Helping people to achieve their home ownership aspirations is a central part of the Government's housing strategy. This is why the Government reinvigorated the Right to Buy and, by extension, the Preserved Right to Buy, increasing the maximum cash caps to £75,000 in April 2012. At the same time, the Government committed to keeping the discounts under review to ensure they remain effective.
To reflect the unique nature of the housing market in London, the maximum cash cap for London was increased to £100,000 in March 2013. As part of keeping the discounts under review, the Government is currently legislating to increase annually the maximum cash cap by the Consumer Price Index, and to bring the maximum percentage discount available for houses up, from 60 per cent to 70 per cent, to the same level as that available for flats. We are also legislating, via the Deregulation Bill, to decrease the qualifying eligibility period from five years to three years, bringing it in line with the policy's original intentions.
My Department consulted widely on changes to the Right to Buy prior to the reinvigoration of the scheme in April 2012. We have held roundtable meetings with key partners, such as the National Housing Federation, the Local Government Association and individual local authorities, on the further changes outlined above.
This Government wants to ensure that as many social tenants as possible are helped to achieve their home ownership aspirations. The Preserved Right to Buy ensures that social tenants who were living in their homes at the time of a stock transfer maintain their important right to home ownership. Figures for Preserved Right to Buy sales are collected by the Department on an annual basis. In the first year of the reinvigorated scheme (2012-13), there were 2,458 Preserved Right to Buy sales. Sales data for previous years (table 648) can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales
As housing associations are independent organisations, and stock transfer agreements are private commercial contracts, we do not mandate what they do with receipts they receive from Preserved Right to Buy sales. It is the Department's expectation that these receipts should be used to help fund new homes for affordable rent, and we would encourage housing associations to work in partnership with local authorities, and use other sources of cross-subsidy, to help achieve this.
For future stock transfers, my Department has recently published a Stock Transfer Manual which sets out our intention to require that, for transfers completing after 30 September 2014, net proceeds from Preserved Right to Buy sales are, within three years, used to fund new affordable housing at no greater subsidy cost than under the main affordable homes programme.
This Government wants to ensure that as many social tenants as possible are helped to achieve their home ownership aspirations. The Preserved Right to Buy ensures that social tenants who were living in their homes at the time of a stock transfer maintain their important right to home ownership. Figures for Preserved Right to Buy sales are collected by the Department on an annual basis. In the first year of the reinvigorated scheme (2012-13), there were 2,458 Preserved Right to Buy sales. Sales data for previous years (table 648) can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales
As housing associations are independent organisations, and stock transfer agreements are private commercial contracts, we do not mandate what they do with receipts they receive from Preserved Right to Buy sales. It is the Department's expectation that these receipts should be used to help fund new homes for affordable rent, and we would encourage housing associations to work in partnership with local authorities, and use other sources of cross-subsidy, to help achieve this.
For future stock transfers, my Department has recently published a Stock Transfer Manual which sets out our intention to require that, for transfers completing after 30 September 2014, net proceeds from Preserved Right to Buy sales are, within three years, used to fund new affordable housing at no greater subsidy cost than under the main affordable homes programme.
This Government is continuing to work hard to support vulnerable homeless people get their lives back on track.
We commissioned Homeless Link to undertake studies on Youth Homelessness in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. All three reports are available at: www.homeless.org.uk/youth-homelessness.
Tackling youth homelessness is a priority for this Government and on 10 June I announced a package of £65 million funding from across Whitehall to tackle homelessness, with youth homelessness a central part of the programmes. The package includes:
· £41.5 million which will be shared between the Homelessness Change Programme to provide tailored temporary hostel accommodation for rough sleepers to get them off the streets and transform their lives through health, training and education facilities and Platform for Life - a low rent shared accommodation programme for low needs homeless young people so they have a stable platform for work and study;
· £15 million for the Fair Chance Fund which aims to improve the accommodation, employment and training outcomes for vulnerable homeless 18- 25 year olds;
· £8 million Help for Single Homeless Fundthat will improve council services for single people facing the prospect of homelessness and;
· over £580,000 to extend the Homelessness Gold Standard scheme which helps councils to improve frontline housing services for homeless families and single people.
This is in addition to the £470 million this Government has invested over the spending review period to tackle and prevent homelessness, and work we are already supporting to look at how local services for young people at risk of homelessness can be better joined up, to develop the skills needed to help homeless people into employment and to help single homeless people find accommodation in the private rented sector.
[Holding Reply: Thursday 27 March 2014]
In July 2009, 100 local authorities submitted proposals to the Selector, the Local Government Association. In December 2009, the Selector presented a short-list of 199 proposals, containing over 300 separate requests to the Government. Details of these proposals, the 39 actions this Government said it would take in response and an update on these actions that was published in July last year can be found at:
Five local authorities submitted proposals in 2011. We carefully considered all the proposals and took forward two firm proposals. One local authority has submitted a proposal this year. It is under consideration.
The Government extended the power to submit proposals under the Act to town and parish councils in October last year. Since then five town and parish councils have submitted proposals, which are under consideration.
The closure of a court is subject to public consultation and a decision to close is not taken lightly. In every case, the Lord Chancellor will only agree to close a court when satisfied that effective access to justice can be maintained.
Every person should have access to legal advice when they need it – that’s why the Legal Aid Agency keeps availability under constant review and takes urgent action whenever it has concerns. There are enough solicitors and barristers for criminal legal aid-funded cases across England and Wales and the Civil Legal Advice Telephone Service, offers legal services in a range of issues to those who need it.
We are investing £5m in innovative new technologies to help people access legal support wherever they are in England and Wales.
The number of custodial sentences given to first time offenders in England and Wales is available in the document “Offending History Data Tool: First Time Entrants Statistics” at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017
This data covers the latest available calendar year figures (i.e. the 12 months ending December 2007 to the 12 months ending December 2017)
The Ministry of Justice collects annual data, from each coroner area, on the number of inquest conclusions recorded which are available at:
These include conclusions of suicide and drug/alcohol deaths but do not distinguish between drug and alcohol deaths. We do not collect data on the type of drugs involved in the death.
The Ministry of Justice collects annual data, from each coroner area, on the number of inquest conclusions recorded which are available at:
These include conclusions of suicide and drug/alcohol deaths but do not distinguish between drug and alcohol deaths. We do not collect data on the type of drugs involved in the death.
There are no plans at present to meet with staff representatives of the National Probation Service, but we recognise the significant role that probation officers play within the criminal justice system, implementing the orders of the courts, rehabilitating offenders and protecting the public.
Since the creation of the National Probation Service in June 2014, officials from HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have held regular and lengthy discussions with the National Association for Probation Officers (NAPO) (the trade union for probation officers), Unison and GMB SCOOP over pay and working conditions.
There have also been constructive and exploratory talks on pay reform.
We are working to progress a case, consistent with the Government’s overall approach to public sector pay, which can be agreed with Ministerial colleagues at HM Treasury at the earliest opportunity.
Since 2010 there have been 23 mergers of coroner areas in England and Wales, reducing the overall number from 116 to 92 coroner areas.
It is the Chief Coroner’s aim, which the Government supports, to move, over time, to around 75 coroner areas, each having between 3,000 and 5,000 deaths reported annually. The aimn of this change is to promote consistency and generate efficiencies for local authorities, which fund coroner services.
The Ministry of Justice does not have operational responsibility for the coroner services and does not hold information about the number of coroner’s offices that have closed.
Since 2010, crime has continued to fall and fewer individuals are entering the criminal justice system for the first time. But we have a persistent hardcore of offenders being recycled round and round the criminal justice system, as these figures bear out.
This Government is committed to tackling re-offending rates. We have reformed sentences, so that they combine both punishment and requirements that are effective at preventing further offending. We have legislated so that all community orders must now have a punitive element, and, from 2015, every offender leaving prison spends at least 12 months under supervision, where currently around 50,000 are released each year with no statutory support. We are transforming rehabilitation, by bringing together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors, and only rewarding them when they actually do reduce reoffending.
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of the circumstances of the case and the maximum penalty for the offence. A court may only impose a community order or a custodial sentence where the offence is imprisonable. The overwhelming majority of repeat offenders have previously received a number of custodial sentences but the large majority of previous convictions identified in the table below resulted in a fine as they were for summary non-motoring offences.
The number of offenders who were given a non-custodial sentence in each year since 2004, broken down by their number of previous convictions, is given in Table 1. It is important to note that these figures are based only on those offences recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force, including the British Transport Police, and include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders will therefore be represented several times in the figures.
Table 2 provides a similar breakdown for those offenders who received their first custodial sentence in each year. Again, the figures are drawn from the PNC and will include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. A large proportion of each offender's criminal history is therefore likely to include some offences for which it is not possible to receive a custodial sentence. Of those offenders who had between 76 and 100 previous convictions between the 12 months ending September 2004 and the 12 months ending September 2013, 84% of the disposals for their previous convictions were fines. This increases to 96% when you look at the offenders who had over 100 previous convictions. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders could therefore be represented several times in the figures.
The number of offenders who have received at least one previous conviction, or indeed multiple previous convictions, before receiving their first custodial sentence has decreased under this Government.
It has not been possible to obtain the information required to respond to question 191341 from the hon Member forHyndburn. I will write to the hon Member shortly. I apologise for the delay in responding to these questions.
It has not been possible to obtain this information. I will write to the Honourable member in due course.