Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Nico 9 stun grenades were used in each youth offender institution in each year since 2017.
Answered by Edward Argar
HMPPS uses Nico 9 Stun grenades as a distraction device during planned interventions as part of an agreed tactical plan. They can only be employed by National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) staff who are highly trained in their use.
The table below states how many times Nico 9 stun grenades were used in each Youth Offender Institution in each year since 2017.
Establishment | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Cookham Wood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Feltham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Parc | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Werrington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wetherby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many bilateral meetings the Prime Minister has held with foreign leaders in each year since 2015.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 15 November 2021, Official Report, PQ 66179.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times (a) the National Dog and Technical Support Group was deployed to Youth Offender Institutes and (b) those dogs were used in those deployments in each year since 2017.
Answered by Edward Argar
The National Dog and Technical Support Group (NDTSG) provides prison dogs for patrol and detection purposes and a wide range of technical support including the transmission of audio and visual information, and the capability to capture evidence of an incident.
The table below states how many times NDTSG was deployed to each Youth Offenders Institute and how many times those dogs were used in those deployments in each year since 2017.
Establishment | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | |
Cookham Wood | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Feltham | 39 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 46 | - | 15 | - | 8 | - |
Parc | 37 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 23 | - | 30 | - | 15 | - |
Werrington | 13 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wetherby | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - |
Total | 120 | 6 | 76 | 3 | 37 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
“–” indicates where dog uses are not recorded pre-2020.
NDTSG is deployed to support the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) with a wide range of technical support including the transmission of audio and visual information, and the capability to capture evidence of an incident. As shown by the number of dog uses, the increased deployment of NDTSG is not necessarily indicative of an increase in the use of dogs. Equally, where dog uses have increased, this may be due to an increase in proactive searches and patrols at establishments, and is not necessarily indicative of responses to disorder.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times the National Dog and Technical Support Group was deployed to each youth offender institution in each year since 2017.
Answered by Edward Argar
The National Dog and Technical Support Group (NDTSG) provides prison dogs for patrol and detection purposes and a wide range of technical support including the transmission of audio and visual information, and the capability to capture evidence of an incident.
The table below states how many times NDTSG was deployed to each Youth Offenders Institute and how many times those dogs were used in those deployments in each year since 2017.
Establishment | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | |
Cookham Wood | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Feltham | 39 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 46 | - | 15 | - | 8 | - |
Parc | 37 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 23 | - | 30 | - | 15 | - |
Werrington | 13 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wetherby | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - |
Total | 120 | 6 | 76 | 3 | 37 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
“–” indicates where dog uses are not recorded pre-2020.
NDTSG is deployed to support the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) with a wide range of technical support including the transmission of audio and visual information, and the capability to capture evidence of an incident. As shown by the number of dog uses, the increased deployment of NDTSG is not necessarily indicative of an increase in the use of dogs. Equally, where dog uses have increased, this may be due to an increase in proactive searches and patrols at establishments, and is not necessarily indicative of responses to disorder.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total number of remand prisoners was in each prison on HMPPS estate as of 1 January 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Ministry of Justice holds data on the number of remand prisoners in each prison in the HMPPS estate. This information is routinely published in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) Prison Population Data Tool (latest file here). The data can be accessed by selecting the ‘custody type’ view in the PT tab. The latest data is from 31 December 2023.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time spent on remand was, broken down by prisoner (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) age and (d) status as a Foreign National Offender in 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar
Information relating to the time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice. To obtain the data to answer this question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the department.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time spent on remand was in each year since 2010.
Answered by Edward Argar
Information relating to the time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice. To obtain the data to answer this question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the department
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support research-intensive companies in the battery sector.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Last year we announced a record £211m funding uplift for the Faraday Battery Challenge, which began in 2017 and supports world-class scientific technology development and manufacturing scale-up capability for batteries in the UK. This new funding brings the overall budget for the Challenge to £541m.
Projects funded so far are improving the lifespan, range, and charging rate of batteries, as well as battery reuse, remanufacture and recycling.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his planned timetable is for the implementation of a portal for people who do not have a direct relationship with an electricity supplier to claim the Alternative Fuel Payment.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Households that need to apply for the Alternative Fuel Payment because they do not have a relationship with an electricity supplier will be able to do so through a GOV.UK portal. This portal will include an overview of eligibility and what applicants need to do to apply for support. Households will be able to do this by the end of February.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether people without a direct relationship with their electricity supplier will be paid the Alternative Fuel Payment in February 2023.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Households that need to apply for the Alternative Fuel Payment because they do not have a relationship with an electricity supplier will be able to do so through a GOV.UK portal. This portal will include an overview of eligibility and what applicants need to do to apply for support. Households will be able to do this by the end of February.