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227995

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Leader of the House of Lords
	answering dept id	92
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House of Lords
	hansard heading	Written Questions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their policy is that all Parliamentary Written Questions should be answered in full in all parts.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL5810
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>As Leader of the House, I have a particular responsibility to encourage departments to be punctual in answering written questions, but the content of each answer is a matter for the minister concerned. All Ministers are accountable to the House for those answers. That direct accountability is important: that is why Ministers in this House must provide personally signed answers to members.</p><p> </p><p>To inform Ministers in answering questions put to them, the Ministerial Code says that “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament”. It also makes clear that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”. In addition, the longstanding rules of this House on Questions for Written Answer (rules that the House reaffirmed in agreeing to the Procedure Committee’s 5<sup>th</sup> Report of the 2014-15 Session) set out that all answers should be complete and comprehensible.</p><p> </p><p>If any member has particular concerns about a response that they have received that they consider does not adhere to these rules, I would encourage them to raise it with me directly.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston grouped question UIN HL5717 question first answered 24/03/2015 13:45:04 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

227730

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	King Richard III
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, who has been invited to represent the Church of England at the service at Leicester Cathedral for the reburial of King Richard III.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Sir Hugh Bayley
	uin	227784
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2015 answer text <p>The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd &amp; Rt Hon Justin Welby &amp; Mrs Welby will be representing the Church of England at the reburial service for King Richard III in Leicester Cathedral on the 26 March. The local diocese will be represented by the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens alongside other senior clergy from across the country, local dignitaries, ecumenical guests and representatives of other faiths.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Sir Tony Baldry question first answered 19/03/2015 12:48:20 answering member 93 label Biography information for Sir Tony Baldry
	tabling member	385 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Bayley

227992

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Serious Fraud Office
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the performance of the Serious Fraud Office.
	tabling member printed	Lord Morris of Aberavon
	uin	HL5807
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>The current Director has returned the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to its original role and purpose of tackling the topmost tier of fraud, bribery and corruption cases with a greater emphasis on those that harm the UK’s reputation as a safe place to do business.</p><p> </p><p>The follow-up report to the 2012 inspection carried out by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate was published in November 2014. It provides a snapshot of the SFO in 2013 and made clear that a “considerable amount of work had been done” to address the recommendations of the inspection, and that “There has been genuine commitment from managers and staff alike to review and update processes and structures and to improve every aspect of case handling, from intelligence gathering and analysis, to casework management and disclosure handling”.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Tankerness question first answered 26/03/2015 13:03:28 answering member 630 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Tankerness
	tabling member	565 label Biography information for Lord Morris of Aberavon

227993

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Prosecutions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to prosecutions of high profile sex abuse cases, and (2) the financial resources available to the Crown Prosecution Service to carry out such prosecutions; and what, if any, plans the Crown Prosecution Service has to amend its procedures and practices in relation to such prosecutions.
	tabling member printed	Lord Morris of Aberavon
	uin	HL5808
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) considers all cases that are referred by investigators according to the same test, as set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. In 2013/14, the CPS prosecuted 12,445 sexual offence cases, of which 9,104 resulted in a conviction, a conviction rate of 73.2%. This was an increase on the previous year when the conviction rate was 72.4% .</p><p> </p><p>In order to ensure that there are sufficient resources to prosecute sexual offence cases, the CPS continues to work closely with Her Majesty’s Treasury and criminal justice system partners to analyse and manage the impact of increasing volumes. This is in addition to a range of activity to further prioritise sexual offence cases such as the establishment of Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) Units in every region and the publication of legal guidance to further support effective prosecutions.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Tankerness question first answered 26/03/2015 13:10:44 answering member 630 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Tankerness
	tabling member	565 label Biography information for Lord Morris of Aberavon

227685

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, which news applications staff in the Law Officers Departments are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	227817
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>Staff in the Law Officers’ Departments who use work provided phones or tablets are not authorised to download and use any news applications.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 23/03/2015 11:40:27 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

227686

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of employees in the Law Officers Departments identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
	uin	227952
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>It is not compulsory for staff to declare their ethnicity and the following table therefore only provides details on the number of staff in the Law Officers’ Departments who have chosen to declare their ethnicity, and the proportions these represent of the overall workforce.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Treasury Solicitor’s </strong></p><p><strong>Department (TSol) *</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Serious Fraud Office</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Crown Prosecution </strong></p><p><strong>Service </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Ethnic Origin</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Asian/Asian British</p></td><td><p>122</p></td><td><p>6.1%</p></td><td><p>29</p></td><td><p>7.3%</p></td><td><p>471</p></td><td><p>7.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Black/Black British</p></td><td><p>97</p></td><td><p>4.8%</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>4.3%</p></td><td><p>351</p></td><td><p>5.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mixed/Multiple Ethnic</p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>2.6%</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>3.8%</p></td><td><p>142</p></td><td><p>2.2%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>White/White British</p></td><td><p>883</p></td><td><p>44.2%</p></td><td><p>194</p></td><td><p>48.9%</p></td><td><p>4478</p></td><td><p>70.9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other Ethnic</p><p>Background</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>1.5%</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td><td><p>72</p></td><td><p>1.1%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><em>* TSol data also covers the staff of the Attorney General’s Office and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.</em></p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Mr Robert Buckland question first answered 25/03/2015 14:40:33 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

227703

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Social Rented Housing: Blackpool
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households in Blackpool South constituency were on local authority housing waiting lists in (a) May 2010 and (b) February 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
	tabling member printed	Mr Gordon Marsden
	uin	227928
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2015 answer text <p>Statistics on the numbers of households on local authorities' housing waiting lists in each local authority district, including Blackpool, are published in the Department's live table 600, which is available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies</a><br><br>These statistics are not available by parliamentary constituency.<br><br>In the Blackpool local authority area, housing waiting lists under the last Labour Government rose from 4,159 in April 1997 to 6,769 in April 2010. Under this Government, they have fallen to 4,843 as of April 2014.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 20/03/2015 12:38:59 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

227731

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Local Plans
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to provide for local authorities who do not produce a local plan to be placed in special measures.
	tabling member constituency	Nuneaton
	tabling member printed	Mr Marcus Jones
	uin	227787
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>Plan making has significantly improved under this Government. 81% of local planning authorities have at least published their plan and 63% of local planning authorities now have an adopted local plan in place (compared to 17% in 2010).</p><p> </p><p>The Localism Act has strengthened the role of Local Plans, allowing local councils – in consultation with local residents – to draw up plans and determine where new development should and should not go. Paragraph 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework already provides a very strong incentive for councils to have a Local Plan in place. I am aware that the Labour Party's Lyons Review proposed that sanctions should be imposed against councils without a Local Plan and that the Secretary of State should direct the Planning Inspectorate to produce a Local Plan in place of the Council. However, I believe that proposal is excessively centralising, and would be an unpalatable re-creation of the top-down planning regime that we abolished in the Localism Act.</p><p> </p><p>Drawing up a Local Plan can be challenging – it involves trade-offs and hard choices, and there is no longer Regional Planning Guidance or Regional Spatial Strategy imposed from above to hide behind and blame. But it is our preference for this to be a locally-led process.</p><p> </p><p><br><br>The Government has supported local authorities in their Plan making by funding the Planning Advisory Service; the Planning Inspectorate; and senior retired Planning Inspectors to help bring forward sound Local Plans.</p><p> </p><p>This Government introduced neighbourhood planning which offers an unprecedented opportunity for communities to develop plans with statutory force. Over 1,400 communities, representing around 6 million people in England, have now applied for a neighbourhood area to be designated and 59 successful referendums on neighbourhood plans have been held. The Government is committed to supporting communities throughout the process and encouraging more communities to join them. The Government recently announced a new support contract worth £22.5 million, which will begin in April 2015 and last until 2018.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis grouped question UIN 227786 question first answered 24/03/2015 18:04:25 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	4024 label Biography information for Mr Marcus Jones

227732

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Local Plans
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to assist local residents to produce a local plan in areas where no such plan has been produced by the local authority.
	tabling member constituency	Nuneaton
	tabling member printed	Mr Marcus Jones
	uin	227786
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>Plan making has significantly improved under this Government. 81% of local planning authorities have at least published their plan and 63% of local planning authorities now have an adopted local plan in place (compared to 17% in 2010).</p><p> </p><p>The Localism Act has strengthened the role of Local Plans, allowing local councils – in consultation with local residents – to draw up plans and determine where new development should and should not go. Paragraph 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework already provides a very strong incentive for councils to have a Local Plan in place. I am aware that the Labour Party's Lyons Review proposed that sanctions should be imposed against councils without a Local Plan and that the Secretary of State should direct the Planning Inspectorate to produce a Local Plan in place of the Council. However, I believe that proposal is excessively centralising, and would be an unpalatable re-creation of the top-down planning regime that we abolished in the Localism Act.</p><p> </p><p>Drawing up a Local Plan can be challenging – it involves trade-offs and hard choices, and there is no longer Regional Planning Guidance or Regional Spatial Strategy imposed from above to hide behind and blame. But it is our preference for this to be a locally-led process.</p><p> </p><p><br><br>The Government has supported local authorities in their Plan making by funding the Planning Advisory Service; the Planning Inspectorate; and senior retired Planning Inspectors to help bring forward sound Local Plans.</p><p> </p><p>This Government introduced neighbourhood planning which offers an unprecedented opportunity for communities to develop plans with statutory force. Over 1,400 communities, representing around 6 million people in England, have now applied for a neighbourhood area to be designated and 59 successful referendums on neighbourhood plans have been held. The Government is committed to supporting communities throughout the process and encouraging more communities to join them. The Government recently announced a new support contract worth £22.5 million, which will begin in April 2015 and last until 2018.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis grouped question UIN 227787 question first answered 24/03/2015 18:04:24 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	4024 label Biography information for Mr Marcus Jones

227733

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	227819
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Communities and Local Government does not authorise users to download and use news applications on their work-provided phones. The Department does not provide tablets. However, staff can access news websites through any in-built brower, if necessary.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/03/2015 14:32:25 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies