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1141884

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Newspaper Press
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department has spent on purchasing (a) national newspapers and (b) newspaper online subscriptions since 2016; and how many copies of each national newspaper were purchased in that time period.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	281674
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Spending on Newspapers (£)</p></td><td><p>15533. 41</p></td><td><p>7298.92</p></td><td><p>710.95</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Figures on the number of individual copies purchased is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 05/09/2019 16:57:39 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1141885

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Transport for the North: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to allocate additional funding to Transport for the North to implement the One North Strategic Transport Plan ahead of schedule.
tabling member constituency	Hyndburn
tabling member printed	Graham P Jones
uin	281719
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government welcomed the launch of the Strategic Transport Plan and we are engaging with TfN as they seek to sequence and prioritise the projects contained within it.</p><p> </p><p>We are already investing over £13bn in improving transport in the North – more than any Government in history. The current spending review period will end in 2020/21. Longer-term investment and funding decisions will be taken in due course.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 03/09/2019 16:22:06 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	3999 label Biography information for Graham P Jones

1141886

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Department for Exiting the European Union
answering dept id	203
answering dept short name	Exiting the European Union
answering dept sort name	Exiting the European Union
hansard heading	Department for Exiting the European Union: Newspaper Press
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much his Department has spent on purchasing (a) national newspapers and (b) newspaper online subscriptions since 2016; and how many copies of each national newspaper were purchased in that time period.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	281675
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Up to the end of the most recent financial year (2018-19), the Department has spent a total of £73,207.36 on newspapers and online subscriptions.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Like all Government departments, it is necessary for us to be aware of public views and opinions, and subscriptions to national newspapers and specialist media outlets are one way we achieve this.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Our current subscriptions are as follows:</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Publication</p></td><td><p>Physical subscriptions</p></td><td><p>Online subscriptions</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Express</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Mail</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Mirror</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Telegraph</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Financial Times</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>i</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mail on Sunday</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Observer</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday Express</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday Mirror</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday Telegraph</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday Times</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Guardian</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Irish Times</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The New York Times</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Sun</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Sunday Times</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Sun on Sunday</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Times</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 09/09/2019 14:10:51 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1141887

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Department for International Development: Newspaper Press
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much his Department has spent on purchasing (a) national newspapers and (b) newspaper online subscriptions since 2016; and how many copies of each national newspaper were purchased in that time period.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	281676
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>As of 2 September 2019, DFID has spent an estimated £47,000 since the start of financial year 2016/17 on newspaper subscriptions (both physical and online). Broken down by year:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Estimated spend</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£12,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£12,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>£17,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>£5,500</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>These figures are estimates because the costs of some newspaper subscriptions are combined with magazine subscriptions and cannot be disaggregated.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the total spent specifically on online subscriptions and the number of each individual newspaper procured is not held centrally and could only be collated at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 09/09/2019 15:40:28 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1141888

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Newspaper Press
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on purchasing (a) national newspapers and (b) newspaper online subscriptions since 2016; and how many copies of each national newspaper were purchased in that time period.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	281677
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent a total of £725,286 on newspapers supplied centrally in financial years 2016-17 to 2018-2019 for FCO staff in the United Kingdom and its diplomatic missions overseas. £617,911 of this was spent on online/electronic newspaper subscriptions which are made available digitally to all staff and £29,658 on print copies for use by its departments in London. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office purchases these through pan-government frameworks and contracts and encourages staff to use newspapers digitally wherever possible in order to ensure efficiency savings. The remaining amount of £77,717 was spent locally by overseas diplomatic missions over the three financial years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>FY 16-17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 17-18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 18-19</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total FCO spend on newspapers </strong></p></td><td><p>£270,820</p></td><td><p>£312,394</p></td><td><p>£142,072*</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>FY 16-17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 17-18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 18-19</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Spend on online/electronic newspaper subscriptions provided centrally for access by all FCO staff</strong></p></td><td><p>£232,527</p></td><td><p>£285,118</p></td><td><p>£100,266*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Spend locally by overseas diplomatic missions</strong></p></td><td><p>£29,813</p></td><td><p>£17,213</p></td><td><p>£30,693</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>* In this financial year the FCO made adjustments to record spending on annual subscriptions according to the proportion actually spent within the same financial year. In many cases that total spend is now spread over more than one financial year.</p><p> </p><p>Titles and number of daily copies of print national newspapers delivered under contract to FCO London</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Newspaper title**</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 16-17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 17-18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY 18-19</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Express</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>1 copy</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Express Sat</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>1 copy</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Mail</p></td><td><p>4 copies</p></td><td><p>5 copies</p></td><td><p>8 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Mail Sat</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>1 copy</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Mirror</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Mirror Sat</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Telegraph</p></td><td><p>9 copies</p></td><td><p>12 copies</p></td><td><p>10 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily Telegraph Sat</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Financial Times</p></td><td><p>4 copies</p></td><td><p>5 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Financial Times Sat</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Guardian</p></td><td><p>7 copies</p></td><td><p>6 copies</p></td><td><p>10 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Guardian Sat</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>i-Newspaper</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mail on Sunday</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>1 copy</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Observer</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sun</p></td><td><p>6 copies</p></td><td><p>5 copies</p></td><td><p>6 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sun Sat</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday Express</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday Mirror</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday People</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday Telegraph</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunday Times</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>5 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sun on Sunday</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>2 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Times</p></td><td><p>13 copies</p></td><td><p>16 copies</p></td><td><p>24 copies</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Times Sat</p></td><td><p>3 copies</p></td><td><p>5 copies</p></td><td><p>4 copies</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>**Non-UK national newspaper titles to the value of £28 over the three financial years above have been omitted</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 09/09/2019 08:53:02 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1141889

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Department for International Trade: Newspaper Press
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much his Department has spent on purchasing (a) national newspapers and (b) newspaper online subscriptions since 2016; and how many copies of each national newspaper were purchased in that time period.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	281678
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>Since 2016, the Department’s Media team has spent £11,545 on national newspapers and £22,981 on newspaper online subscriptions.</p><p> </p><p>Other areas of the Department may purchase national newspapers but this is not recorded centrally.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth West answering member printed Conor Burns question first answered 03/09/2019 11:24:49 answering member 3922 label Biography information for Sir Conor Burns
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1141890

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2019 to Question 252665 on Prison Officers, what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of prison violence of the loss of over 80,000 years of prison officers' cumulative length of service.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	281831
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The causes of violence in prison are complex, but we know that the skills and availability of staff play a critical role in maintaining order. We have recruited over 4,700 more prison officers since October 2016, and we now have the greatest number in post since early 2012. We have established a new Standards Coaching Team of experienced officers from across the estate who have been trained in coaching skills. They are advising these new staff on standards and consistency, and working with them to build their confidence.</p><p> </p><p>Recruiting so many new officers inevitably means there are more staff and more leavers. We are working hard to retain staff, with the biggest pay increase in a decade and additional training so they stay and progress their careers.</p><p> </p><p>The key worker scheme is already showing promising signs of effectiveness and has started in all 92 closed adult male prisons, with over 30,000 prisoners having an assigned key worker who has dedicated time each week to work with them. The Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan case management process for prisoners at risk of violence is fully in place in all prisons. We are improving perimeter security and using other equipment such as body scanners to address the supply of drugs. We are giving officers tools like PAVA pepper spray and body-worn cameras to make their jobs safer. We have announced an extra £100 million for security, on top of the £70 million we were already spending to make prisons more secure and decent.</p><p> </p><p>We are confident that these initiatives, together with the many other measures that we are taking to protect our staff, will reduce the level of violence in prisons.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/09/2019 14:37:00 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1141891

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Private Sector
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Written Statement of 22 July 2019 on Prisons and Probation, HCWS1783, what assessment he has made of how partnering with the private sector to operate prisons offers value for money.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	281832
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>A balanced estate, with a mix of public, voluntary and private sector involvement has been shown to introduce improvements and deliver value for money for the taxpayer. The private sector has an important role to play in our system; it has led the way in driving innovation in areas such as in-cell technology and family support services.</p><p> </p><p>Some privately run prisons are among the best performing across the estate. For example, HM Inspectorate of Prisons said in July 2018 that Oakwood is an “impressive prison” and found it to be reasonably good or better on all four healthy prison tests (safety, respect, purposeful activity, and rehabilitation and release planning). General living conditions, staff-prisoner relationships and prisoner consultation were reported to be very good or excellent.</p><p> </p><p>To manage the performance indicators set out in the contracts, each privately managed prison has a full-time on-site Controller, Deputy Controller and Assistant Controller, all employed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Controller has regular review meetings with the contractor against a range of performance indicators that will reflect numbers of staff in post, recruitment, training, sickness, and attrition. Where action is needed, progress is monitored by the Controller and escalated within HMPPS where appropriate action can be taken in accordance with the contract. This may include a requirement for urgent improvement and/or financial deductions.</p><p> </p><p>The Prison Operator Framework will increase the diversity and resilience of the custodial services market in England and Wales, by creating a pool of prison operators who can provide high quality, value for money, custodial services and enable us to effectively and efficiently manage a pipeline of competition over the next six years. The MoJ sets out very clearly the standards that all private prison operators are required to deliver. Bids will be subject to value for money and affordability tests. Contracts will not be awarded if bids do not meet quality or value for money thresholds based on a public sector benchmark, and in this scenario, HMPPS would act as the provider.</p><p> </p><p>Although privately managed prisons do face many of the same challenges encountered in public sector prisons, by providing good quality custodial and rehabilitation services, private operators are helping us to reduce reoffending and deliver long term savings to the taxpayer.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/09/2019 14:37:37 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1141892

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Staff
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 (a) prison violence and (b) exposure to new psychoactive substances on the (i) physical and (ii) mental health of prison staff.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	281833
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The physical, emotional and social wellbeing of our staff is paramount. All HMPPS staff have access to an occupational health service, and employee assistance programme. This includes 24-hour, 365 days a year access to signposting and counselling, and trauma support services.</p><p>Violence against our hard-working staff will never be tolerated. The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act came into force in November and doubled sentences for those who attack emergency workers, including prison officers. Post-incident care teams, occupational health support, counselling and clinical treatment are available for those who experience trauma while doing their jobs.</p><p> </p><p>We are investing £100 million investment to boost security and combat crime in prisons. Tough airport-style security, including x-ray scanners and metal detectors, will be put into prisons across the estate to clamp down on the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that fuel violence – increasing the risk to our officers and hindering rehabilitation.</p><p> </p><p>Psychoactive substances have presented a particular challenge and in September 2016, we became the first prison service in the world to introduce innovative mandatory drug tests for these substances, a significant step in tackling the supply and use of them.</p><p>Following reports from staff of the effects of secondary inhalation Her Majesty's Prison &amp; Probation Service commenced work with unions, independent scientists and clinicians to assess the impact of reported secondary exposure to psychoactive substances. A programme of voluntary post-exposure biological testing of staff is now being expanded and will enable an assessment of the biological effects on staff to be made.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/09/2019 14:23:16 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1141893

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Older Workers
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 physical ability of prison officers to work in front-line roles above the age of 60.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	281834
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>To become a prison officer you must attend an Area Recruitment Centre (ARC) and pass all elements consisting of literacy and numeracy tests, situational judgment tests and physical and medical tests. These determine a candidate’s suitability for the role and do not take into account a candidate’s age or gender, which prevents any unlawful discrimination. There are four elements of the fitness test including grip, agility, bleep test and holding a shield. All of these elements need to be passed for the candidate to pass the fitness part of the assessment.</p><p> </p><p>All prison officers who joined the service after April 2001 must pass an annual fitness test in order to remain a prison officer. Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level.</p><p> </p><p>There are many factors which determine a person’s ability to pass a fitness test which could not be determined by their age alone.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/09/2019 14:19:29 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon