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100242

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Community Rehabilitation Companies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average caseload of Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) staff in each month since the CRC was established.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	211237
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Probation Service transitioned to new structures on 1 June following thorough business readiness testing which demonstrated that NOMS was ready to make that transition at that time. The new CRCs are sufficiently resourced to deliver their core duties and we will ensure that there is enough capacity to meet demand within the new system. Offender management statistics are published quarterly. The statistical bulletin for the quarter ending 30 June 2014 will be published at the end of October 2014, and the bulletin for the quarter ending 30 September will be published at the end of January 2015.</p><p> </p><p>Pending transactions – where a case is in the process of being transferred to another part of the Service for further action – are by their nature fluid. These cases are managed on a daily basis to ensure they are transferred as efficiently as possible. The figure varies from day to day and is not published.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 211241 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:01:44 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

100243

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Community Rehabilitation Companies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost of all voluntary redundancies made in the probation service since the establishment of the Community Rehabilitation Company.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	211238
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The National Agreement on Staff Transfer and Protections includes an enhanced national voluntary redundancy scheme which applies up to and including 31 March 2016. Decisions including agreement on applications for voluntary redundancy have to be made and agreed by 31 March 2015. The costs of all exits under this scheme will be met from the Department’s Modernisation Fund, which is used to support sustainable reductions in resource requirements.</p><p> </p><p>Figures relating to the numbers of redundancies will in due course be published in the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 211240 question first answered 28/10/2014 14:28:06 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

100244

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will commission an investigation into the effect of reforms to the probation service since May 2010 on the overall efficiency of the justice system.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	211239
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>Public Protection is a key priority for this Government. Given the social and financial costs incurred by high reoffending rates, it is imperative that we act now to help offenders turn their backs on crime. With more than half a million crimes committed each year by those who have broken the law before, the status quo is not an option. It is for this reason that the Government set out in the Coalition Agreement our commitment to reform offender rehabilitation services.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does of course understand the need to implement these reforms in a manner that ensures that public safety is maintained. This is why we have been clear that we will manage these changes in a controlled way and will not proceed until we are satisfied that it is safe to do so. We continue to monitor the performance of the system.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 28/10/2014 14:20:49 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

100245

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of probation staff that have taken voluntary redundancy since the establishment of the Community Rehabilitation Company.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	211240
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The National Agreement on Staff Transfer and Protections includes an enhanced national voluntary redundancy scheme which applies up to and including 31 March 2016. Decisions including agreement on applications for voluntary redundancy have to be made and agreed by 31 March 2015. The costs of all exits under this scheme will be met from the Department’s Modernisation Fund, which is used to support sustainable reductions in resource requirements.</p><p> </p><p>Figures relating to the numbers of redundancies will in due course be published in the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 211238 question first answered 28/10/2014 14:28:06 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

100246

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Community Rehabilitation Companies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of pending cases at the Community Rehabilitation Company in each month since it was established.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	211241
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Probation Service transitioned to new structures on 1 June following thorough business readiness testing which demonstrated that NOMS was ready to make that transition at that time. The new CRCs are sufficiently resourced to deliver their core duties and we will ensure that there is enough capacity to meet demand within the new system. Offender management statistics are published quarterly. The statistical bulletin for the quarter ending 30 June 2014 will be published at the end of October 2014, and the bulletin for the quarter ending 30 September will be published at the end of January 2015.</p><p> </p><p>Pending transactions – where a case is in the process of being transferred to another part of the Service for further action – are by their nature fluid. These cases are managed on a daily basis to ensure they are transferred as efficiently as possible. The figure varies from day to day and is not published.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 211237 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:01:45 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

99791

registered interest
date	20/10/2014
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	Shared Ownership Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that part-owners do not face above-inflation increases to service charges under shared ownership schemes.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	211086
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>Shared owners have a full repairing lease and are financially responsible for all maintenance charges and outgoings, in the same way as any other leaseholder or homeowner.</p><p>The Government has no power to intervene in how housing associations, which are private, non-profit making organisations, carry out their maintenance or repair works. However, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires that service charges are only payable where the costs incurred are reasonable.<br><br>Where they believe that the service charges they are being asked to pay are unreasonable, leaseholders - including those who have purchased under a shared ownership scheme - have a number of statutory rights and protections in respect of those service charges, and the management of their property. These include:<br><br><br>- The right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the liability to pay and reasonableness of service charges.<br>- The right to write to their landlord to request a written summary of the costs which make up the service charges, and to require the landlord to provide reasonable facilities to inspect the accounts, receipts and other documents supporting the summary.<br>- Where new or extended services are introduced and where an additional charge may need to be made, landlords are expected to consult appropriately with tenants before introducing these services and associated charges.<br><br>Free initial advice and information on leaseholders' rights can be obtained from the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE). This is a specialist body, funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government, to provide initial advice and information on a wide range of residential leasehold issues.<br><br></p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 27/10/2014 14:35:55 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

93661

registered interest
date	15/10/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment and Support Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he made of the effect of the introduction of contribution-based employment and support allowance on the income of people previously receiving disability living allowance or incapacity benefit.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	210661
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Department is currently reassessing most people on old-style incapacity benefits (Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, and Income Support where paid on the grounds of incapacity), to see if they are fit for work or eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).</p><p>The structure of ESA and its rates of benefit and additions vary significantly from those of the incapacity benefits it is replacing. We have therefore given a commitment that no existing incapacity benefit claimant whose award qualifies for conversion to ESA will see a reduction in the level of their benefit entitlement at the point of change.</p><p>Where on conversion to ESA a claimant receives more by way of their existing incapacity benefit award than they otherwise would via ESA, the rate of their existing award will be frozen and they will be awarded a transitional addition on top of their ESA award, equivalent to the shortfall between the two rates. Where a claimant's ESA award includes such a top-up payment, the amount of benefit they get thereafter will not normally rise until the standard amount of ESA payable at the point of conversion increases (most commonly by virtue of annual up-ratings) by an amount equal to the amount of the top-up payment.</p><p>Where, on conversion to ESA, a claimant is entitled to less by way of their existing incapacity award than they are via ESA, their benefit will immediately be increased to the ESA rate payable.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 21/10/2014 11:21:20 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

93385

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment and Support Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with disability groups on replacing tax-free disability living allowance and incapacity benefit with taxable contribution-based employment and support allowance.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	210385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>No recent discussions have taken place between the Department and disability groups on this specific issue.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 21/10/2014 11:11:32 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

93003

registered interest
date	13/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of (a) how many and (b) what proportion of Disclosure and Barring Service applications took longer than 60 days in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	210178
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2014 answer text <p>The number and proportion of Disclosure applications that took longer than 60 days to process is provided in the table below. The Disclosure and Barring Service was established in December 2012. Data prior to this date relates to the Criminal Records Bureau.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Total Despatched</p></td><td><p>Number issued over 60 days</p></td><td><p>% issued over 60 days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15 year to date</p></td><td><p>2,046,233</p></td><td><p>60,249</p></td><td><p>2.9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>3,948,733</p></td><td><p>83,299</p></td><td><p>2.1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>4,066,605</p></td><td><p>42,839</p></td><td><p>1.1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>4,074,241</p></td><td><p>105,260</p></td><td><p>2.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>4,311,816</p></td><td><p>454,065</p></td><td><p>10.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>4,299,496</p></td><td><p>354,150</p></td><td><p>8.2%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>22,747,124</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1,099,862</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>4.8%</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Staffordshire Moorlands answering member printed Karen Bradley question first answered 20/10/2014 14:18:18 answering member 4110 label Biography information for Dame Karen Bradley
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

93004

registered interest
date	13/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Vetting
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the time targets are for the return of Disclosure and Barring Service applications.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	210116
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2014 answer text <p>The current Disclosure and Barring Service service standard is to issue 88% of all Disclosures within 40 working days.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Staffordshire Moorlands answering member printed Karen Bradley question first answered 20/10/2014 14:18:54 answering member 4110 label Biography information for Dame Karen Bradley
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley