Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people under 16 have been convicted of a sexual offence in each police authority in the most recent year available.
Answered by Mike Penning
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice
Serious sexual offending by under 16s is unacceptable. As part of the consideration of each young person’s case, the court will look at their background, their reasons for offending, the welfare of the child and any relevant history including time spent in care. It may not always be in the young persons’ interest to severely criminalise low level first time sexual offending, but rather to address the offending behaviour which reduces the risk of reoffending. This is why all youth sentences have a strong rehabilitative element in recognition of a child and young persons’ age and maturity.
The number of offenders aged under 16 found guilty at all courts of sexual offences, in England and Wales, by police force area, in 2013 (latest available) can be viewed in the table below.
| Offenders under 16 found guilty at all courts of sexual offences, England and Wales, 2013 (1)(2) | |
| Metropolitan Police | 31 |
| Cumbria | 2 |
| Lancashire | 9 |
| Merseyside | 6 |
| Greater Manchester | 14 |
| Cheshire | 7 |
| Northumbria | 6 |
| Durham | 2 |
| West Yorkshire | 9 |
| South Yorkshire | 1 |
| Humberside | 4 |
| Cleveland | 2 |
| West Midlands | 13 |
| Staffordshire | 2 |
| West Mercia | 6 |
| Warwickshire | 1 |
| Derbyshire | 4 |
| Nottinghamshire | 4 |
| Lincolnshire | 2 |
| Leicestershire | 1 |
| Northamptonshire | 4 |
| Cambridgeshire | 2 |
| Norfolk | 4 |
| Suffolk | 3 |
| Bedfordshire | 1 |
| Hertfordshire | 4 |
| Essex | 1 |
| Thames Valley | 4 |
| Hampshire | 5 |
| Kent | 2 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 1 |
| Avon and Somerset | 2 |
| Gloucestershire | 2 |
| Dorset | 1 |
| North Wales | 9 |
| Gwent | 3 |
| South Wales | 12 |
| Dyfed-Powys | 3 |
| (1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. | |
| (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | |
| Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice. | |
| Ref: PQ 215366 | |
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people successfully applied for UK citizenship in each of the last five years; how many applications for citizenship in that time have been rejected; and how many people's applications for citizenship are pending.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The published National Statistics of British citizenship grants and refusals, 2009 to 2013, are given in the table below.
| British Citizenship grants and refusals, United Kingdom, 2009 to 2013 | |||||
| Year | Decisions taken to grant | Decisions taken to refuse or withdraw | |||
| 2009 | 203,789 | 10,251 | |||
| 2010 | 195,046 | 7,974 | |||
| 2011 | 177,785 | 6,884 | |||
| 2012 | 194,209 | 6,878 | |||
| 2013 | 207,989 | 7,269 | |||
| Source: Home Office, Migration Statistics | |||||
| Immigration Statistics July to September 2014 | |||||
| Tables cz_01 | |||||
The latest Home Office immigration statistics, including grants and refusals of British citizenship, 2000 to 2013, are published in the release Immigration Statistics July – September 2014, table cz_01 (Citizenship tables), which is
available from the Library of the House and on the Department’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
As at 30 September 2014, a total of 40,620 applications for British citizenship were awaiting despatch, either work in progress or outstanding not input.
The latest UK Visas and Immigration management information, including cases that are work in progress or outstanding not input, are published in the release Transparency data, Temporary and permanent migration data: November
2014, table InC4 which is available on the Department’s website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-and-permanent-migration-data-november-2014
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what comparative estimate she has made of the average cost of (a) resettling a refugee from Syria in the UK and (b) providing financial support to a refugee from Syria in a country neighbouring that country.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
Given the vulnerabilities of those brought to the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme, and the fact that no one yet has received a full 12 months of support, it is not possible at this stage to identify the average cost of refugee resettlement. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the cost of resettling a refugee in the UK is far greater than that of supporting a refugee in the region. We can therefore help far more people in need through our support to partners delivering assistance in neighbouring countries.
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people under the age of 16 in each county were victims of sexual offences in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
The police recorded crime data that the Home Office receives from the police forces of England and Wales relate only to how many crimes are recorded and not
how many reports are received or how many people were victims. It is only possible to centrally provide figures for certain sexual offences that identify the age of the victim in statute, namely:
Rape of a female child under 16
Rape of a female child under 13
Rape of a male child under 16
Rape of a male child under 13
Sexual assault on a female child under 13
Sexual assault on a male child under 13
Sexual activity involving a child under 13
Sexual activity involving child under 16
Sexual grooming (the victim must be under 16)
Data for these offences by police force area are available in the police recorded crime open data available here
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people under the age of 16 have been the victim of a sexual offence in each police area in the last year for which data is available.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
The police recorded crime data that the Home Office receives from the police forces of England and Wales relate only to how many crimes are recorded and not how many reports are received or how many people were victims. It is only possible to centrally provide figures for certain sexual offences that identify the age of the victim in statute, namely:
Rape of a female child under 16
Rape of a female child under 13
Rape of a male child under 16
Rape of a male child under 13
Sexual assault on a female child under 13
Sexual assault on a male child under 13
Sexual activity involving a child under 13
Sexual activity involving child under 16
Sexual grooming (the victim must be under 16)
Data for these offences by police force area are available in the police recorded crime open data available here
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the effect on island communities of Road Equivalent Tariffs on ferry services.
Answered by Alistair Carmichael - Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Justice)
As an Islands MP I keep a very close eye on the effects of Scottish Government policies on our Island communities.
Whilst the RET on ferry services can mean cheaper fares for some, there are unintended consequences, for example on infrastructure and the environment for the islands affected.
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what the average daily number of letters sent from the House of Commons to each government department is.
Answered by Viscount Thurso
In the period April 2014 to October 2014 the average number of letters sent from the House of Commons to government departments via the Inter-Despatch Service (IDS) was 159 items per day; information is not held on a departmental basis.
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from which countries from outside the UK have been granted UK citizenship in the last five years.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The information requested is given in the table below:
| British citizenship grants by the top 20 previous countries of nationality, 2009 to 2013 | |||||||
| Country of previous nationality | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | ||
| India | 26,541 | 29,405 | 26,290 | 28,352 | 36,351 | ||
| Pakistan | 20,945 | 22,054 | 17,641 | 18,445 | 21,655 | ||
| Philippines | 11,751 | 9,429 | 7,133 | 8,122 | 10,374 | ||
| Nigeria | 6,953 | 7,873 | 7,932 | 8,881 | 9,275 | ||
| Bangladesh | 12,041 | 7,966 | 5,149 | 5,702 | 8,902 | ||
| South Africa | 8,367 | 7,446 | 6,351 | 6,924 | 6,448 | ||
| China | 6,041 | 7,581 | 6,966 | 7,198 | 7,289 | ||
| Somalia | 8,139 | 5,817 | 4,664 | 5,143 | 5,688 | ||
| Zimbabwe | 7,703 | 6,301 | 4,877 | 5,647 | 4,412 | ||
| Sri Lanka | 4,762 | 4,944 | 5,886 | 6,163 | 3,855 | ||
| Turkey | 7,207 | 4,630 | 3,627 | 4,726 | 4,184 | ||
| Ghana | 4,662 | 4,551 | 3,931 | 4,744 | 4,675 | ||
| Afghanistan | 5,012 | 5,281 | 3,951 | 4,600 | 3,627 | ||
| Iraq | 5,497 | 4,385 | 5,742 | 3,822 | 2,393 | ||
| Nepal | 1,551 | 2,118 | 3,468 | 4,282 | 7,447 | ||
| Iran | 2,876 | 2,587 | 5,540 | 4,135 | 2,391 | ||
| United States | 3,116 | 2,926 | 2,591 | 3,350 | 3,119 | ||
| Jamaica | 3,148 | 2,958 | 2,514 | 3,005 | 2,874 | ||
| Australia | 2,890 | 2,593 | 2,449 | 2,792 | 2,683 | ||
| Poland | 458 | 1,419 | 1,863 | 3,043 | 6,066 | ||
| Other previous nationality | 54,129 | 52,782 | 49,220 | 55,133 | 54,281 | ||
| Total grants | 203,789 | 195,046 | 177,785 | 194,209 | 207,989 | ||
| Source: Migration Statistics, Home Office Statistics | |||||||
| Table cz 06 - Immigration Statistics April to June 2014 | |||||||
| Top 20 previous countries of nationality based on total grants for the period 2009 to 2013 | |||||||
| Data for every nationality is included in the regularly published table cz 06 - Immigration Statistics April to June 2014 | |||||||
The latest Home Office immigration statistics, including grants of British citizenship for all individual previous nationalities, 1990 to 2013, are published in the release Immigration Statistics April – June 2014, table cz_06
(Citizenship tables), which is available from the Library of the House and on the Department’s website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on tackling Ebola in (i) Sierra Leone, (ii) the UK and (iii) elsewhere in this financial year.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The information on the spend on Ebola by the National Health Service as a whole is not held centrally. However, NHS England is currently undertaking a full appraisal of the potential financial impact of Ebola on the NHS, and have a number of impact workshops planned.
The NHS has not incurred any cost in Sierra Leone or in enabling staff to work in Sierra Leone.
Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on Ebola in (i) Sierra Leone, (ii) the UK and (iii) elsewhere in this financial year.
Answered by Justine Greening
Tackling the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is a priority for my department. As of 21 November, we have committed £230 million.
The vast majority of our commitment will be spent tackling this crisis in Sierra Leone, where the UK is leading the international response. A small proportion of funds have been disbursed to support the work of NGOs in Liberia, where the US is leading the international response to Ebola.
We will work with the international community to ensure that the financial resources needed to contain, combat and ultimately defeat this deadly disease are made available, in the right areas and at the right time.