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1133300

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Civil Partnerships: Heterosexuality
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to use the powers in section 2(1) of the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 to amend the Civil Partnership Act 2004 to enable two persons who are not of the same sex to form a civil partnership in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	266884
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government intends to change the law by regulations to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples, as required by the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019, by 31 December 2019.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 23/07/2019 11:31:22 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1133563

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Employment: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to ensure that employers are offering disability leave to disabled employees as part of reasonable adjustments.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	267246
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to protecting people with disabilities in the workplace and The Equality Act 2010 places obligations on employers with disabled employees, including the requirement to make reasonable adjustments, which may include granting leave related to the employee's disability.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Act recognises the need to strike a balance between the needs of disabled people and those of employers. What is ‘reasonable’ will be different for each employer because of factors such as the practicality and the cost of making the adjustment. A court or tribunal may ultimately make a final decision on whether a particular person meets the definition of disability in the Act and whether an adjustment request is reasonable.</p><p> </p><p>Practical advice on reasonable adjustments is available from a number of sources, including Acas and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The EHRC’s examples of reasonable adjustments for employers include disability leave.</p><p> </p><p>If a disabled person feels that they have not been treated fairly by an employer, the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) offers information and advice about discrimination, including disability discrimination. EASS can be contacted by telephone, via an online contact form or by post.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 23/07/2019 13:31:57 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1133569

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Closures
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the (a) postcode, (b) local authority area and (c) rural and urban classification for each state school that has closed and not reopened in another form in each year since 2000.
tabling member constituency	Harborough
tabling member printed	Neil O'Brien
uin	267249
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>654 schools have closed with no direct replacement provision between 1 January 2000 and 21 June 2019. Of these, 183 were designated as rural schools. Between 1 January 2010 and 21 June 2019, <del class="ministerial">260</del> <ins class="ministerial">249 </ins>schools closed with no direct replacement provision. Of these, <del class="ministerial">104</del> <ins class="ministerial">102 </ins>were designated as rural schools. A full list can be found attached.</p><p>Information about all open and closed schools in England is available on Get Information about Schools[1] (the department’s register of schools). This can be found at:</p><p><a href="http://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk" target="_blank">www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk</a>.</p><p>The Ofsted definition of a state funded school has been used. This definition does not include local authority maintained nursery schools, alternative provision<ins class="ministerial"> or special schools.</ins><del class="ministerial">, studio schools or university technical colleges.</del></p><p> </p><p>[1] Responsibility for updating Get Information about Schools is shared between the Department, schools and local authorities and therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 28/06/2019 10:48:31 question first ministerially corrected 10/07/2019 15:39:58 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb attachment 1 file name 267249_state_school_closures.pdf title 267249_table previous answer version 125528 answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb attachment 1 file name 267249_state_school_closures.pdf title 267249_table
tabling member	4679 label Biography information for Neil O'Brien

1133578

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Offensive Weapons: 3D Printing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate the production of firearms and offensive weapons using 3D printers.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	267185
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>It is already an offence to manufacture, possess, purchase or sell firearms without a licence, and this applies equally to 3D printed guns as to other firearms. It is also an offence to manufacture, import and supply offensive weapons, including any produced using 3D printing.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 28/06/2019 11:53:01 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1133582

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rivers: Microplastics
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) track and (b) reduce the volume of microplastics in rivers; and whether his Department plans to introduce an independent regulatory body to enforce and monitor the reduction of microplastics in wastewater and rivers.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	267186
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>Defra is working with the Environment Agency, Highways England, academics and the UK water industry to understand the scale of the microplastic pollution problem and to establish detection methods to monitor, characterise and quantify the types of microplastics entering our rivers. There has been substantive research reporting the presence and impacts of microplastics in the marine environment. However, little is known about their sources, release and impact on freshwaters and their ultimate transport to the marine environment. Defra has commissioned evidence reviews to further understand these issues and will use the outcomes from these and other research to develop policy options.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has set a target to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within the lifetime of the 25 year Environment Plan (by 2042) and set aside £20 million for research and development managed through the Plastics Innovation Fund in March 2018. A further £10 million was committed in the 2018 Autumn Budget for continued/additional plastics research and development along with £10 million to pioneer innovative approaches to boosting recycling and reducing litter.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department does not plan to introduce an independent regulatory body to enforce and monitor the reduction of microplastics in wastewaters and receiving rivers.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 28/06/2019 13:58:05 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1133587

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what redress a victim or witness has if special measures are requested in court but are not subsequently provided.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	267261
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>There are many statutory protections that support vulnerable victims and witnesses in the criminal courts, for example banning cross examination of rape complainants by the defendant. In addition, a number of special measures can be applied for by the CPS to further support a victim or witness who is intimidated or vulnerable, for example the provision of protective screens.</p><p> </p><p>Such applications are considered by the trial judge. Should circumstances change during the trial it is possible for a late (or second) application to be made. Where applications are refused, it may be possible to appeal at the Court of Appeal or, in certain exceptional circumstances, to seek a judicial review.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:17:27 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133598

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence, (b) type of drug, (c) method of importation and (b) health risks to (i) prisoners and (ii) staff of the presence of illegal drugs in prisons in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	267271
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>HMPPS measures the prevalence of drug use in prisons through random mandatory drug testing of prisoners. These test for a wide range of drugs including psychoactive substances as defined in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. In 2017/18, 20.4% of samples tested positive for drugs.</p><p> </p><p>Psychoactive Substances (PS), as defined in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, are the most prevalent drug type in prison. Psychoactive substances were present in 60% of all positive samples in 2017/18, overtaking cannabis (28%), opiates (11%) and buprenorphine (10%). HMPPS is continuing to develop its drug testing frameworks to respond to the changing patterns of misuse in prisons.</p><p> </p><p>Drugs can enter prison through a number of routes including being thrown over the wall or flown over by drone, via mail, visits, forced recalls (offenders who intentionally breach their licence in order to be recalled), and corrupt staff. The extent to which individual routes are used varies over time and across the estate and is influenced by a range of static and dynamic factors. HMPPS monitors these routes by gathering intelligence and working with law enforcement partners.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS is working with unions, independent scientists and clinicians to assess the impact of secondary exposure to psychoactive substances on staff and prisoners. A program of staff post-exposure biological testing is being expanded and will explore prisoner and staff experiences of secondary exposure to assess the risk.</p><p> </p><p>To respond to the risk from drugs in prisons, we are strengthening our gate and perimeter security, drafting specialist search teams into prisons across the country and investing in physical and technical security counter measures. Alongside this, HMPPS has developed a new, national Prison Drugs Strategy, published in April 2019. The strategy outlines how HMPPS is working to restrict the supply of drugs, reduce demand through rehabilitative activities, and support prisoners to build recovery from substance misuse.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:29:33 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133601

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Homicide
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of homicides were committed by people on (a) parole and (b) a life licence in England and Wales in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	267272
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>Under the Probation Serious Further Offence (SFO) Review Procedures, the National Probation Service (NPS) or Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) must undertake a review where an offender under statutory supervision in the community is charged with a qualifying offence – a “notification”. Not every notification results in a conviction for an SFO.</p><p> </p><p>SFOs are rare. Less than 0.1% of offenders under statutory supervision are convicted of murder, and less than 0.5% convicted of any SFO. Nonetheless, every single SFO is taken extremely seriously, and in all cases a review is carried out to identify any lessons for the better management of future cases.</p><p> </p><p>We have interpreted ‘parole’ to mean offenders subject to indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) released by the Parole Board.</p><p> </p><p>Table 1 below sets out the number of offenders convicted of murder, who at the time they committed the offence were being supervised on a) an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection and b) life licence in England and Wales between 2016 and 2018.</p><p> </p><p>Table 2</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>a) Offenders supervised on an IPP sentence</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>b) Offenders supervised on life licence</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><ol><li>The data provided are provisional figures subject to change when any outstanding cases are concluded at court.</li><li>There were no other serious further offences of homicide such as manslaughter or infanticide.</li><li>The data also includes cases where the offender committed suicide or died prior to any trial, where a Court has ruled that they were responsible.</li><li>Data is not included on any determinate sentence prisoner either released automatically or released by the parole board early from an extended determinate sentence or following recall.</li><li>Data Sources and Quality .We have drawn these figures from administrative IT systems which, as with some large-scale recording systems, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing</li></ol><p> </p><p>We are not able to present the number of murders committed by offenders subject to probation supervision as a proportion of all murders and homicides, as there are differences in the way the respective data sets are produced. Published Homicide Index data are based on the year when the offence was recorded as a crime, not when the offence took place or when the case was heard in court. SFO data are first recorded when the notification, usually triggered by the court appearance, is received by the SFO Team in Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. However, in some cases it will be the following year(s) when the offender is convicted of the SFO</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:33:58 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133604

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Offenders: Electronic Tagging
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people with a community order were made subject to an electronic monitoring condition; and on how many occasions was that condition breached in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	267275
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2019 answer text <p>Electronic Monitoring (EM) is a vital tool in protecting the public and robustly monitoring offenders in the community. It supports probation staff and the police in managing offenders and defendants safely in the community, delivering the orders of the court and helping them tackle the problems which lead to offending.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>The table below shows the total number of people in each year subject to EM as a requirement of a Community Order.<sup>(1)</sup> Data is only available from June 2016 onwards.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of people in England and Wales with Community Orders with EM equipment installed<sup>(2)</sup></p></td><td><p>18,081</p></td><td><p>16,098</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Data on compliance is only available for completed Community Orders. The table below shows how many Community Orders with EM were completed in each year, and in how many of these a tagged subject failed to comply with their EM requirement at least once. Please note that these figures concern the monitoring of curfew requirements only, not GPS location monitoring requirements.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total completed Community Orders with EM equipment installed<sup>(2)(3)</sup></p></td><td><p>15,547</p></td><td><p>15,987</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Compliance</p></td><td><p>6,065</p></td><td><p>6,645</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Non-compliance</p></td><td><p>9,482</p></td><td><p>9,342</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>(1) The figures provided in these tables do not include data from the GPS pilot, which commenced in October 2016 and completed in March 2018. A total of 17 tags were issued to individuals as part of a Community Order during the Pilot. An independent qualitative process evaluation of the GPS location monitoring pilot was published in February 2019: ‘Process evaluation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Electronic Monitoring Pilot - Qualitative findings’: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-the-global-positioning-system-gps-electronic-monitoring-pilot" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-the-global-positioning-system-gps-electronic-monitoring-pilot</a>. A quantitative process evaluation of the GPS Pilot containing analysis of Management Information gathered over the course of the pilot is currently undergoing quality assurance and being finalised. This will include information on compliance.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>(2) Derived from caseload files with equipment on (3) Derived from number of completions of Community Orders with equipment on (4) A person may have more than one completion. Figures after March 2018 will be published in the HMPPS Digest in July 2019.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>If a subject on tag does not comply with an Electronic Monitoring condition or requirement, for example by being absent during curfew hours or tampering with a tag, an instantaneous alert is generated that is sent to Electronic Monitoring Services (EMS). The appropriate authorities decide, based on the evidence, whether the non-compliance event constitutes a breach and if so what action should be taken. The nature of breaches vary, and not all non-compliance events are classed as formal breaches requiring further action – for example, if the subject was at hospital or in custody at the time, and therefore unable to return to their curfew location in time for their curfew. While the majority of non-compliance events will generate an alert than can lead to a breach there are a range of other circumstances that can lead to breach action being taken</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 05/07/2019 13:53:27 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133605

registered interest
date	20/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Curfews
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people released from prison on a home detention curfew were subsequently returned to prison as a result of a breach of that condition in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	267276
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>Prisoners sentenced to a standard determinate custodial sentence must be released automatically at the halfway point of their sentence. Those sentenced to at least 12 weeks but less than four years may be released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) up to 135 days before the halfway point, depending on sentence length. HDC is a robust scheme which allows suitable, risk assessed, prisoners to work towards rehabilitation in the community, while remaining subject to strict monitoring and other conditions. If they breach these, they can be returned to custody. HDC allows reintegration back into the community in a controlled and supervised way, which research suggests may help to reduce the risk of further offending.</p><p> </p><p>Offenders released on HDC are subject to electronically monitored curfew conditions in addition to the general conditions of supervision required for offenders released on license but not on HDC. Most HDC recalls are for curfew-related breaches, for example missing the curfew, tampering with the equipment or technical inability to monitor, such as where the offender loses their accommodation. The rest relate to breaches of the general supervision conditions, such as failing to keep in touch with the offender manager or being charged with a further offence.</p><p>We have not published to that level of detail since 2014. Of the 842 recalls that year, 650 were EM Curfew related.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the number of people released on HDC, recalled to prison whilst on HDC, and the proportion of those released who were so recalled in each of the last five years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><p><strong>Releases and Recall on HDC, England and Wales 2014-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015<sup>(1)</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number released on HDC</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>8,614</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>8,319</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>9,041</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>9,312</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>14,769</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number of HDC recalls</strong><strong><sup>(2)</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>842</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>569 <sup>(3)</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>542</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>698</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>*</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Percentage Recalled</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>10%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>7%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>6%</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>7%</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><p>(1) Figures for year 2015 and earlier were produced using an older methodology. (2) Includes all recalls during the HDC period</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><p>(3) From 2015 we began to record the number of releases in that year ending in recall, including where the recall takes place the following year - so that the release and recall can be linked. Until 2014 we simply recorded the number of recalls in the year regardless of year of release.</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p>* Unavailable The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:38:42 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts