Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the Port of Dover are no longer accepting collective passports.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK is a signatory to the 1961 Council of Europe treaty which provides for collective passports for young people. Continued acceptance of these passports from those who have ratified the treaty is current practice. The UK has not left the Council of Europe.
It should be noted several EU countries have declared they will no longer accept a collective passport issued by the UK under this treaty.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether bereaved families are still entitled to claim compensation under the rules of Directive 2004/80/EC following the UK's departure from the EU.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
EU Directive 2004/80/EC provides for EU Member States to have reciprocal compensation schemes for victims of violent crime or other persons affected by such a crime.
Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in December 2020 any such agreements have now ended. The 1983 Council of Europe Convention on compensation for victims of violent crimes (‘the Convention’) remains applicable and has requirements in place for assisting victims of violent crime. Where the crime was committed in an EU Member State, UK victims of violent and bereaved families may be eligible to apply to the compensation scheme in that State, under the Convention.
EU and EEA nationals can continue to apply for compensation in the UK, under the 2012 Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, including those not party to the Convention.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) continues to facilitate bereaved families applying to the state where the crime occurred; and whether the EU Compensation Application Team (EUCAT) continues to exist within CICA to facilitate applications in a foreign language.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
EU Directive 2004/80/EC provides for EU Member States to have reciprocal compensation schemes for victims of violent crime or other persons affected by such a crime. Under the requirements of the Directive, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) provided support to British citizens seeking to apply for compensation from EU Member States through its EU Compensation Assistance Team (EUCAT).
Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in December 2020 any such agreements have now ended. The 1983 Council of Europe Convention on compensation for victims of violent crimes (‘the Convention’) remains applicable and has requirements in place for assisting victims of violent crime. Where the crime was committed in an EU Member State, UK victims of violent and bereaved families may be eligible to apply to the compensation scheme in that State, under the Convention.
CICA’s EUCAT continues to exist and where the application was received on or prior to 31 December 2020, provides support to British citizens (including bereaved families) applying to the state where the crime occurred and assists with applications in a foreign language. Where the applicant meets the basic eligibility criteria this includes providing the appropriate application form and information about how to complete this, providing guidance on any supporting material which is necessary, forwarding the completed application form to the relevant authority where the injury occurred and providing information on how to respond to requests for further information. The EUCAT also facilitates the translation of documents where applications are made in a foreign language. CICA no longer provides this support for any applications received after 31 December 2020 following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Under the 2012 Criminal Injuries Scheme, EU and EEA nationals can continue to apply for compensation in the UK, including those not party to the convention.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2022 to Question 410, how many slots within the 24-week booking window for car tests are allocated to (a) DrivingScout and (b) other similar private companies.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Practical car driving test slots are not allocated to, or reserved for, private companies.
When a test slot is booked, it is not possible to link the named candidate to a driving school or private company.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the £300m of Government funding announced for youth justice on 20th May 2022, if she will publish a breakdown of how much of that funding will be spent on each priority outlined.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This Government has committed to invest at least £300m over the next three years to bolster our existing work to address youth crime across the country, with a particular focus on early intervention and prevention. It is important that funding is distributed to ensure both maximum impact in tackling youth offending and value for money for the taxpayer.
My officials and those in the Youth Justice Board will inform Youth Offending Teams across England and Wales of their 2022/23 allocation, from this overall funding, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the backlog of practical driving tests; and whether he has plans to extend the validity of theory test certificates to over two years in response to that backlog.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) operates a 24-week booking window for car tests and there are test slots available within this window.
The DVSA recognises the high demand for learners wanting to take their practical driving test following the suspension of routine driver training and testing during the pandemic. It is committed to increasing the availability of practical driving tests by recruiting more than 300 driving examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, conducting out of hours testing, and asking recently retired driving examiners to return.
The DVSA has resumed the number of driving tests per day to seven for each full-time examiner. This was reduced to six a day during the pandemic.
It is important road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point a person drives unsupervised for the first time.
The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a candidate’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.
Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the preparation of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Learners will therefore need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions has the monitor appointed to Oakhill secure training centre reported allegations against custody officers, in accordance with section 8(3)(b) Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, in the 12 month period ending (a) 31 March 2022, (b) 31 March 2021 and (c) 31 March 2020.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff were dismissed for conducting inappropriate relationships with child prisoners in each year since 2010.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil claims against (a) HM Prison Service and (b) private providers have been brought by current or former children detained in (i) juvenile young offender institutions and (ii) secure training centres in each year since 2010.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many police investigations have been launched in response to allegations against staff working in (a) young offender institutions and (b) secure training centres in each year since 2010.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.