To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of voluntary
organisations undertaking charitable work activities that have ceased functioning
since 2010; and what they consider to be the implications for meeting the social and
support needs of vulnerable communities.
<p>The number of registered charities in England and Wales has increased slightly
from 162,415 on 31 December 2010 to 164,158 on 31 March 2014. During the same period
the annual gross income of registered charities rose significantly from £53.86 billion
to £63.64 billion.</p><p>The Charity Commission removes around 6,000 charities from
its register every year and registers a similar number.</p><p> </p>
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action has been taken against those responsible
for the abandoned case involving eight South Wales police officers charged with conspiracy
to pervert the course of justice in the 1988 Lynette White murder inquiry.
<p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This case is the subject of civil litigation. HM Government
is, therefore, unable to comment at the present time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration has been given to local authorities
and their partners having more responsibilities and commensurate finance to work with
local employers to tackle unemployment and underemployment of young people.
<p /> <p /> <p>Through the City Deals, the Government has invited Local Authorities
to develop proposals to tackle unemployment and worklessness in their areas. Several
of these proposals have entailed working closely with local employers to enhance employment
opportunities for young people, for example, Greater Manchester have developed a local
employer-led jobs campaign to co-ordinate and simplify local and national employment
schemes so that business can access young talent easily.</p><p> </p>
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action is proposed to meet any shortfall in primary
and secondary school places in some localities over the next five years, as predicted
by the Local Government Association's analysis of the Department for Education's figures.
<p>In December 2013 the Department for Education announced an additional £2.35 billion
in basic need funding to support local authorities to create the additional places
that will be needed by September 2017, in addition to the £5 billion already committed
for the period 2011-15. We have also allocated £820 million in targeted basic need
funding to fund an additional 74,000 high-quality places in the areas that face the
most demand.</p><p>The Department allocates funding for new school places based on
information provided by local authorities through an annual survey of the current
capacity of schools in the area, and forecasts of future pupil numbers.</p><p>Local
authorities are legally responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school
places. The Local Government Association's report shows how effective many local authorities
have been in creating new places and the Department will continue to support local
authorities in doing this.</p><p>One of the recommendations of the Local Government
Association's report was for longer-term allocations. The Department wants to give
local authorities as long as possible to plan their school places. This should not
extend beyond a period where we have confidence in the underlying data and should
allow the Department to allocate funding to reflect changes in projected population
and in the number of places needed. The Department believes that three-year rolling
allocations strike the right balance between these two objectives.</p>
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are aware of any plans to bring prosecutions
in respect of the deaths of (1) Azelle Rodney, (2) Jimmy Mubenga, (3) Christopher
Alder, (4) Sean Rigg, (5) Habib Ullah, (6) Ricky Bishop, and (7) Anthony Grainger;
and what assessment they have made of the ability of the Crown Prosecution Service
to pursue prosecutions in cases involving deaths in custody or during police operations.
<p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has robust processes for dealing with cases
involving deaths in custody or in contact with police which follow the requirements
of the then Attorney General's "Review of the Role and Practices of the CPS in
Cases Arising from a Death in Custody 2003".</p><p>All death in custody cases
are dealt with by the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division to ensure consistency
of approach and that they are dealt with by lawyers with the necessary skills and
experience. Only very experienced senior lawyers, who are specifically designated,
are permitted to review death in custody cases. The reviews carried out by the senior
lawyer in cases involving deaths in custody are examined by their line manager and
then by the Head of Special Crime & Counter Terrorism Division (or her Deputy).
They are then submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for final approval.
In any case where the decision is not to proceed, unless the DPP is satisfied that
it is "plain beyond doubt" that there is no case to answer, experienced
external counsel will be instructed to advise.</p><p>The status of the specified cases
is as follows:</p><p>(1) Azelle Rodney: Following the publication of the report of
Sir Christopher Holland in relation to his inquiry Mr Rodney's death, the IPCC wrote
to the Director of Public Prosecutions to ask that the CPS review the case. This review
is underway and the CPS is working with the IPCC in order to determine whether any
further investigation is required. Once the CPS is satisfied that it has received
a full file, it will consider whether charges should be brought.</p><p>(2) Jimmy Mubenga:
prosecutions were announced on 20 March 2014.</p><p>(3) Christopher Alder: prosecutions
took place in 2002 – all defendants were acquitted.</p><p>(4) Sean Rigg: The CPS has
provided investigative advice to the IPCCin relation to allegations of perjury. A
charging decision has not been requested.</p><p>(5) Habib Ullah: The CPS has received
a full file and is considering whether charges should be brought.</p><p>(6) Ricky
Bishop: Mr Bishop died in 2001. The case has not been referred to the CPS within the
last 3 years.</p><p>(7) Anthony Grainger: a prosecution was announced on 16 January
2014.</p><p> </p>
