Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much it has cost his Department to deliver the (a) Core Sex Offender Treatment and (b) Extended Sex Offender Treatment programme in the last 12 months; and how many people have participated with what outcomes in each such programme in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are absolutely committed to reducing reoffending and addressing the needs of those individuals convicted of a sexual offence.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) does not record expenditure in its central accounting system in a format that allows for the identification of spend on Sex Offender Treatment Programmes and therefore, cannot provide cost data for the period requested.
The NOMS Annual Digest 2016/17 provides information on volumes of sex offender programmes delivered in 2016/17. This is included in the table below.
In April 2017 the final core and extended SOTP programmes completed and we stopped the programme and introduced new programmes. No offenders took part in the programme after April 2017.
The new programmes are Horizon (Moderate Intensity) and Kaizen SO (High Intensity), which we have introduced for men convicted of sexual offending.
These programmes draw on the latest international evidence on effective treatment for this cohort of offenders.
Table: Accredited Sexual Offending Programme Starts and Completions in Prison, England & Wales 2016/17 | ||
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| Starts | Completions |
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Core Programme | 527 | 594 |
Extended Programme | 133 | 128 |
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All Sexual Offending Programmes | 1,173 | 1,171 |
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It should be noted that some of those completing a programme in 2016/17 will have started it in the preceding year, and some starting in 2016/17 will complete in the subsequent year.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of religious freedom in Azerbaijan; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The majority of people in Azerbaijan are able to practise their religion freely. We are concerned, however, that some groups have been prevented from practising their faith by the authorities, and some religious activists have been prosecuted without free or fair trials. The British Embassy in Baku regularly observes criminal trials in such cases and raises freedom of religion with officials from the Government of Azerbaijan. The British Embassy also held an event to mark International Religious Freedom Day on 27 October 2017 to raise awareness of this issue.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Home Office guidance on firearms licensing law is complied with.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions. The police will be required to have regard to this guidance. We intend to consult on this guidance publically before it is finalised.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps she is taking to enable small charities in the UK to access funding allocated by her Department.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Small Charities Challenge Fund was launched in July this year. This fund is specifically for UK registered non-for-profit organisations with an annual income of less than £250,000. The fund is continuously open for applications and the first review of applications is currently underway.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
What progress the Government has made on placing vulnerable Syrian refugee families in the UK.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
It is important that we focus our support on the most vulnerable refugees in the region fleeing the atrocities in Syria, whatever their nationality. Latest statistics published on 24 August confirm that a total of 8,535 people have been resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since it began, 4,369 of which arrived in 2016. We will continue to work closely with local authorities and devolved administrations to ensure we meet our commitment.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Electoral Commission's 2013 recommendation that political parties that receive and spend less than £500 annually should be exempt from submitting a full statement of accounts.
Answered by John Penrose
The Electoral Commission published a report “a regulatory review of the UK’s party and electoral finance laws” in June 2013 that made 50 recommendations. The report’s first recommendation proposed changes to the reporting requirements for parties that receive and spend less than £500 annually. Such a change would require primary legislation. The Government recognises that there is a balance to be struck between reducing the burden on smaller parties and maintaining transparency of the funding of all parties which contest elections in the UK.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average caseload is of probation officers in the National Probation Service who carry a caseload.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics showing the total caseload of the probation service (the National Probation Service (NPS) and the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies) and also staff in post in the NPS. Figures for total probation caseload are published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics Bulletin, England and Wales:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
Figures for NPS staff in post are also published quarterly, in the National Offender Management Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics
Figures on the average caseload of probation officers are not collected centrally. Individual probation officer caseloads across the NPS are, however, carefully monitored by experienced managers. We are also developing a Workload Management Tool to assist National Probation Service Divisions, which will help with the process of allocating cases appropriately between staff.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers do not carry a caseload in each area of the National Probation Service.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics showing the total caseload of the probation service (the National Probation Service (NPS) and the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies) and also staff in post in the NPS. Figures for total probation caseload are published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics Bulletin, England and Wales:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
Figures for NPS staff in post are also published quarterly, in the National Offender Management Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics
Figures on the average caseload of probation officers are not collected centrally. Individual probation officer caseloads across the NPS are, however, carefully monitored by experienced managers. We are also developing a Workload Management Tool to assist National Probation Service Divisions, which will help with the process of allocating cases appropriately between staff.