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174436

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum case work staff were employed in dealing with asylum claims in each year since 2010-11.
tabling member constituency	Delyn
tabling member printed	Mr David Hanson
uin	221244
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p>The total number of asylum decision makers currently employed by UK Visas and Immigration is 416. In January 2014, we employed 309 decision makers and in April 2013 there were 345 decision makers employed. <br><br>Prior to April 2013, this information is not held in a reportable format and to provide this information would only be possible at a disproportionate cost.The numbers provided have been taken from internal management information <br>and as such are provisional and may be subject to change.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 04/02/2015 12:44:59 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	533 label Biography information for David Hanson

174443

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been waiting for an initial decision on their claim for (a) six months or more and (b) one year or more.
tabling member constituency	Delyn
tabling member printed	Mr David Hanson
uin	221261
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p>At the end of October 2014, 9,844 asylum applications from main applicants were pending initial decision for six months or more and, of those, 5,423 for one year or more.<br><br>The figures provided are a subset of latest published statistics for applications received for asylum since April 2006 and published by the Home Office on a monthly basis. A copy of the latest release Monthly Asylum Applications October 2014 is available from:<br><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/monthly-asylum-application-tables" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/monthly-asylum-application-tables</a>.<br><br>The Home Office has robust plans in place and is working to ensure that straightforward asylum applications made before 1 April 2014 receive initial decisions by 31 March 2015 and straightforward asylum claims made after 1 April <br>2014 are decided within 6 months.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 04/02/2015 12:44:31 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	533 label Biography information for David Hanson

174446

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2015 to Question 220654, what indirect costs were incurred by her Department in connection with policing Black Friday.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	221167
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2015 answer text <p>The Home Office has not made any specific assessment of the indirect policy costs, including managing correspondence, in connection with policing Black Friday although these will be minimal. Outside of this any indirect costs to <br>the Home Office would be in the form of operational policing costs met from central Government funding. These costs are a matter for individual Police and Crime Commissioners and are therefore not collected centrally.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 21/01/2015 14:15:27 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

174455

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Procurement
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that the successful bidder for Compliance and Enforcement Service Project offers value for money.
tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
uin	221188
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2015 answer text <p>The final bids submitted by the remaining three bidders on 5 January 2015 for the competition for Compliance and Enforcement Services are going through a robust evaluation process and HMCTS will award the contract based upon the bidder which submits the most economically advantageous tender. The evaluation criteria takes into account price and non price factors and the overall achievability and financial viability of the bids.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this the agreement that will be put in place with the selected service provider will deliver value for money through a combination of the payment mechanism which incorporates a Payment By Results element based upon performance, Key Performance Indicators and penalties for underperformance.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 22/01/2015 16:03:03 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

174456

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Town Halls: Fenton
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the next meeting between officials of his Department, Urban Vision and Stoke-on-Trent City Council to discuss Fenton Town Hall will take place.
tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent South
tabling member printed	Robert Flello
uin	221182
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Ministry of Justice officials met, including telephone conferences, with Urban Vision on one occasion and with Stoke on Trent City Council on three occasions in the last three months. There are no further meetings scheduled to take place. The MoJ is now in commercial discussions for the sale of the property to a private bidder.</p><p> </p><p>Members of the community in Stoke-on-Trent have made their views on the court building clear to us, and we have engaged in constructive dialogue with Urban Vision as they developed their business case.</p><p> </p><p>Following those discussions, we offered to transfer ownership of the building to Stoke-on-Trent City Council, for a peppercorn rate so they could work with Urban Vision and others on the long term future of the building. Unfortunately the council has declined that offer and sadly now we will be looking to sell the court.</p><p> </p><p>We were keen to explore solutions that suited the community but we have a duty to get best value for the taxpayer when disposing of surplus property and this building had been empty for over two years.</p><p> </p><p>We will be paying for three of the war memorials to be carefully relocated to the nearby Fenton Christ Church. There will be a legal duty for whoever buys the building to preserve the Minton Memorial which cannot be safely moved.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 221235 question first answered 22/01/2015 16:08:51 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	1569 label Biography information for Robert Flello

174457

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Convictions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) number of convictions, (b) conviction rate as a percentage of prosecutions brought and (c) rate of convictions as a percentage of crimes reported was for (i) murder, (ii) grievous bodily harm, (iii) sexual offences, (iv) burglary, (v) robbery, (vi) theft, (vii) criminal damage, (viii) public order offences, (ix) drug offences, (x) driving offences and (xi) all offences in (A) Elmbridge, (B) Surrey, (C) the South East of England and (D) England in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Esher and Walton
tabling member printed	Mr Dominic Raab
uin	221192
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p>Crime is falling and is at its lowest level since records began in 1981, as per the Crime Survey in England and Wales. Since 2010 those who do offend are more likely to go to prison and for longer than ever before. For the first time in ten years, an immediate prison sentence is the most common disposal for indictable offences.<br> <br>This follows a series of measures by the Government to toughen up sentencing and make sure those who commit these crimes face a significant term in prison, including an automatic life sentence for a second serious sexual or violent offence. <br><br>There are also several measures to strengthen sentencing in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, which has completed its passage through Parliament and awaits Royal Assent. These include ensuring that all dangerous offenders who receive the tough Extended Determinate Sentence (EDS) are no longer automatically released two-thirds of the way through their custodial term. The Government has also banned the use of simple cautions for serious offences. <br> <br>We are also determined that our justice system delivers the right outcomes for victims of crime and the public as a whole, and we have made great strides in recent years – not least through smarter use of technology, and joined-up working.<br><br>The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and found guilty, along with conviction ratio at all courts of the offences specified in the question from 2009 to 2013 can be viewed in the tables as detailed below:-<br><br>Figures for Surrey can be viewed in Table 1<br>Figures for the South East of England can be viewed in Table 2<br>Figures for England as a whole can be viewed in Table 3<br><br>There are no courts in the Borough of Elmbridge; hence the figure for that portion of the question is zero. The Ministry of Justice court proceedings database cannot specifically identify the exact location of offences. These figures are based on the location of the court hearing the case.<br><br>Conviction ratio is provided in place of conviction rate as a case can be commenced in one year and concluded in a subsequent year.<br><br>A defendant may be convicted in a different year to that in which they were proceeded against. Variation in the conviction ratio can be caused either by a change in the percentage of cases that end in conviction or by a change in the percentage of cases that end in a conviction in the same year as the original proceeding. Therefore fluctuations in data, particularly in the last year for which figures are available can be misleading. <br><br>Rates of convictions as a percentage of reported crime cannot be provided. The Home Office collects data on the number of notifiable offences recorded by the police. Of these, some crimes may be subsequently ‘no crimed’ (for example if it is believed a crime did not actually take place or was incorrectly recorded as a crime).<br><br>Therefore, conviction rates as a percentage of recorded crime could therefore present a misleading picture.<br><br>Court proceedings data for 2014 are planned for publication in Spring 2015.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 10/02/2015 09:55:12 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning attachment 1 file name PQ 221192 - Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts.xls title Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts
tabling member	4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab

174458

registered interest
date	19/01/2015
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Town Halls: Fenton
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions officials from his Department have met (a) Urban Vision and (b) Stoke-on-Trent City Council to discuss Fenton Town Hall in the last three months.
tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent South
tabling member printed	Robert Flello
uin	221235
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2015 answer text <p>Ministry of Justice officials met, including telephone conferences, with Urban Vision on one occasion and with Stoke on Trent City Council on three occasions in the last three months. There are no further meetings scheduled to take place. The MoJ is now in commercial discussions for the sale of the property to a private bidder.</p><p> </p><p>Members of the community in Stoke-on-Trent have made their views on the court building clear to us, and we have engaged in constructive dialogue with Urban Vision as they developed their business case.</p><p> </p><p>Following those discussions, we offered to transfer ownership of the building to Stoke-on-Trent City Council, for a peppercorn rate so they could work with Urban Vision and others on the long term future of the building. Unfortunately the council has declined that offer and sadly now we will be looking to sell the court.</p><p> </p><p>We were keen to explore solutions that suited the community but we have a duty to get best value for the taxpayer when disposing of surplus property and this building had been empty for over two years.</p><p> </p><p>We will be paying for three of the war memorials to be carefully relocated to the nearby Fenton Christ Church. There will be a legal duty for whoever buys the building to preserve the Minton Memorial which cannot be safely moved.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 221182 question first answered 22/01/2015 16:08:51 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	1569 label Biography information for Robert Flello

174247

registered interest
date	16/01/2015
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Distress Warrants
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of distress warrants that were passed to private debt collection agencies were returned to his Department as uncollected in each of the last three years; and what proportion of those penalties were subsequently collected by the National Crime and Enforcement Service.
tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
uin	221100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>This Government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the total amount of financial penalties collected over the last three years. The amount of money collected reached an all time high of £290 million at the end of 2013/14 and collections continue to rise. In 2013/14 the total outstanding balance of financial impositions reduced by £26.7m (5%) in the year.</p><p> </p><p>We do not keep data on the numbers of distress warrants returned uncollected.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to provide figures on the proportion of those warrants returned where the impositions were subsequently collected by the National Crime and Enforcement Service due to the constraints of the current IT system.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 21/01/2015 16:24:55 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

174248

registered interest
date	16/01/2015
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Fines
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 effect of staff of his Department having access to HM Revenue and Customs information on individuals who have defaulted and are in employment on the level of collection rates of fines and compensation set by the courts.
tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
uin	221135
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>This Government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the total amount of financial penalties collected over the last three years. The amount of money collected reached an all time high of £290 million at the end of 2013/14 and collections continue to rise. In 2013/14 the total outstanding balance of financial impositions reduced by £26.7m (5%) in the year.</p><p> </p><p>In July 2014 HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) started a pilot to utilise data provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to enforce outstanding financial impositions. While the pilot is limited to a number of specifically targeted cases, early indications are that HMRC are able to provide data that assists in the enforcement of outstanding accounts.</p><p> </p><p>So far HMCTS has sent over 124,000 accounts to HMRC who have been able to supply HMCTS with employer’s details on 40% of those accounts and self employment details on a further 22%. In addition, HMRC has been able to provide additional information, such as addresses and phone numbers, that differ from those held on the HMCTS account.</p><p> </p><p>As a result HMCTS have secured attachment of earnings orders on 66% of the accounts where HMRC have been able to supply employer’s details. Additionally, HMRC data secured on some of the accounts in the remaining 34% has enabled us to take immediate alternative enforcement action, such as the service of a further steps notice, but may also enable future enforcement by attachment of earnings should it be required.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to identify how much has been collected as direct result of the data received from HMRC, without checking every account in scope and establishing how many of those accounts would have been paid in full in any event. However, it is possible to confirm that use of the HMRC data has resulted in accounts that have been outstanding for a number of years suddenly being paid in full as a result of the attachment of earnings order, despite many previous attempts to enforce them.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 21/01/2015 15:54:41 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

174039

registered interest
date	15/01/2015
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Terrorism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) offence and (b) sentencing outcome of each terrorist-related offence dealt with in court was in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	220964
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2015 answer text <p>This Government takes terrorism offences extremely seriously, which is why there are tough sentences available to the courts. We are further strengthening the law in this area through the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, currently going through Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>We are increasing the maximum sentence from 10 or 14 years to a life sentence for three specific terror offences - weapons training for terrorist purposes, other training for terrorism, and making or possession of explosives. We are also ending automatic early release for those convicted of a range of serious terror offences - including weapons training for terrorist purposes and directing a terrorist organisation – so that they will only be released before the end of their custodial term at the discretion of the independent Parole Board, who must be satisfied that they no longer pose a threat to society. We are also ensuring that terrorists convicted of a second very serious offence will face the 'two-strikes' automatic life' sentence.</p><p> </p><p>Data for terrorist related offences and sentence outcomes can be viewed in Tables C.01-C.04 at the below link:-</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000-quarterly-update-to-june-2014-data-tables" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000-quarterly-update-to-june-2014-data-tables</a></p><p> </p><p>Findings of guilt includes crimes which have a terrorist link.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 22/01/2015 10:24:43 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies