Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date she plans to launch her Department's consultation on sentencing for dangerous driving.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Government is committed to making sure that sentencing for those who kill or cause serious injury on the roads is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework.
We published the consultation on driving offences and penalties on 5 December.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average hourly earnings were of his Department's (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.
Answered by Andrew Selous
There are multiple Terms and Conditions and multiple working patterns in operation at the MoJ. Providing an accurate and meaningful answer for both BME and non-BME employees would incur disproportionate costs.
The Civil Service is changing, and our recruitment seeks to reflect the make-up and composition of our nation as a whole. Historically, BME staff were under-represented: both in terms of previous recruitment patterns and the number and proportion in higher grades, both of these factors have contributed to the differences in average salaries.
We are making progress the proportion of BME staff in the Civil Service has risen from 9.2% in 2010 to 10.6% in 2015, but we recognise that there is still more to do.
In March, the Government published its 2016 Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service. It provides a progress update on initiatives to increase diversity in the Civil Service, including cross-Government talent programmes aimed at under-represented groups.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Children's Act 1989 to protect children from the effects of Parental Alienation syndrome and implacable hostility.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Guidance on Parental Alienation Syndrome is not issued to family court judges as the ‘syndrome’ is not recognised as such by many professionals in this country.
The Children Act 1989 contains adequate provisions to protect against the effects of parental alienation or implacable hostility. These include the requirement for the court to ascertain the wishes and feelings of a child who is the subject of a parental dispute, commensurate with that child’s age and level of understanding and the power to request Cafcass to prepare a welfare report into any matters relevant to the child or the family.
Cafcass practitioners are aware of the potential for children to be influenced or alienated by parental views and are alert to this possibility throughout the case.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance is issued to family court judges on Parental Alienation syndrome and implacable hostility.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Guidance on Parental Alienation Syndrome is not issued to family court judges as the ‘syndrome’ is not recognised as such by many professionals in this country.
The Children Act 1989 contains adequate provisions to protect against the effects of parental alienation or implacable hostility. These include the requirement for the court to ascertain the wishes and feelings of a child who is the subject of a parental dispute, commensurate with that child’s age and level of understanding and the power to request Cafcass to prepare a welfare report into any matters relevant to the child or the family.
Cafcass practitioners are aware of the potential for children to be influenced or alienated by parental views and are alert to this possibility throughout the case.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people (a) are protected and (b) have previously been protected but no longer are by a Forced Marriage Protection Order.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Statistics on Forced Marriage Protection Orders are published by the Ministry of Justice and are available as part of the Family Courts Statistics Quarterly series at
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly. Under this series, the document “Family court tables” provides statistics on the number of applications and orders made in each quarter since 2009 (currently at Table 13). The latest statistics were published on 31 March 2016, providing data up to the end of December 2015.
However, information on the number of people protected by an order is not held centrally.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the terms of reference of his Department's review of criminal driving offences.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Driving offences can have devastating consequences for victims and their loved ones.
The government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and is committed to making sure sentencing for driving crimes is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation in due course which will look at driving offences and penalties.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department's review of criminal driving offences will consider changes to the distinction between careless and dangerous driving offences.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Driving offences can have devastating consequences for victims and their loved ones.
The government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and is committed to making sure sentencing for driving crimes is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation in due course which will look at driving offences and penalties.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to the letter to him of 13 January 2016 from the hon. Member for Leeds North West, relating to criminal driving.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Secretary of State for Justice replied on 3 February 2016.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of penalties for motorists causing death by car dooring.
Answered by Andrew Selous
A death caused by a collision with a car door can, depending on the circumstances, be classified as one of a number of offences carrying different maximum penalties. While there is a specific offence, under regulation 105 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, to
“open, or cause or permit to be opened, any door of a vehicle on a road so as to injure or endanger any person” which has the maximum penalty of a level 4 fine (£2,500), other possible charges include offences against the person which carry maximum penalties of up to life imprisonment.
The Government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and intends to start a consultation on sentencing before the end of the calendar year. This would include driving offences and penalties.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of weapons confiscated at each UK prison for each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Selous
Data on the confiscation of all types of weapons for the period requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost. I refer the Hon Member to PQ24706, which contains data on firearms, and PQ24558, which contains data on knives.