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Low Impact Development
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of the planning system to accommodate low impact development; and if he will make a statement. [3357]
Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its chief executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. Martyn Jones, dated 10 December 1996:
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As you know, Mr. Moss recently asked me to write to you in reply to a number of Questions which you had raised in the House. My letters of 13 November 1996 addressed Questions 1650, 1651, 1652, 1653, 1654 and 1655, however, the letter sent in reply to PQ 1659 was a copy of the letter sent in reply to PQ 1651. I apologise for the oversight and for any confusion this might have caused.
Your Question asked about an assessment of the capacity of the planning system to accommodate low impact development.
The Planning Service has made no such assessment. We will, however, monitor the outcome of any assessment undertaken in the rest of the United Kingdom, and assess what relevance, if any, it may have for Northern Ireland.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Offenders
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the peak age of offending for males and females in (a) London and (b) England and Wales in (i) 1979, (ii) 1990 and (iii) the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [7701]
Mr. Maclean: Table A gives information for England and Wales on the peak age of known offending, that is, offenders found guilty or cautioned for indictable offences per 100,000 in the general population in the age group.
| Peak age | Persons found guilty or cautioned per 100,000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Males | Females | Males | Females |
| 1979 | 15 | 14 | 7,404 | 1,639 |
| 1990 | 18 | 15 | 7,921 | 1,999 |
| 1995 | 18 | 15 | 8,376 | 2,115 |
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| Males | Females | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 1990 | 1995 | 1990 | 1995 |
| 10 | 176 | 64 | 30 | 17 |
| 11 | 291 | 203 | 60 | 61 |
| 12 | 607 | 516 | 135 | 182 |
| 13 | 1,112 | 830 | 270 | 351 |
| 14 | 1,737 | 1,641 | 442 | 580 |
| 15 | 2,475 | 2,538 | 509 | 669 |
| 16 | 2,938 | 2,908 | 550 | 541 |
| 17 | 3,640 | 3,763 | 596 | 557 |
| 18 | 4,357 | 4,464 | 667 | 614 |
| 19 | 4,321 | 4,109 | 639 | 559 |
| 20 | 3,960 | 3,870 | 613 | 543 |
| 21 to 24 | 13,813 | 12,619 | 2,394 | 2,005 |
| 25 to 30 | 13,887 | 16,636 | 2,648 | 3,034 |
| 31 and over | 15,503 | 17,984 | 3,562 | 3,630 |
| All ages | 68,817 | 72,145 | 13,115 | 13,343 |
(46) Information for 1979 by detailed age group is not available centrally.
Juvenile Detainees
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what options are available to review the sentences of juveniles sentenced to detention during Her Majesty's pleasure if there is exceptional progress before the expiry of the tariff; how many cases have been reviewed in each year since 1983; and in how many cases in each year since 1983 early release has been authorised. [7927]
Miss Widdecombe: As the then Home Secretary announced on 30 November 1983, interim review procedures ensure that consideration can be given to any special circumstances or exceptional progress which might justify changing the Parole Board review date. Advancement of review dates under this policy, which applies equally to life sentenced prisoners and those detained during Her Majesty's pleasure or sentenced to custody for life, is exceptional. We have identified only four prisoners whose review dates have been advanced under this policy, none of whom was detained during Her Majesty's pleasure.
All life-sentenced prisoners, including those detained during Her Majesty's pleasure, are now given details of their tariff and may make representations about it at any time. All representations are carefully considered and a response is given.
Further statistical information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Michael:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each year since 1983 he has (a) increased, (b) decreased and (c) upheld the judicial recommendation on tariff for juveniles sentenced to detention at Her Majesty's pleasure. [7942]
Miss Widdecombe:
The information is not readily available for the period requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, since the judgment in the House of Lords in 1993 in Doody, which requires the disclosure of tariff information and the consideration of representations, 22 persons convicted of murder, and sentenced to be detained during Her
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Majesty's pleasure, have had a tariff set for the first time. Of these 22 tariffs: 20 are in line with the recommendation of the trial judge or of the Lord Chief Justice; and two are higher than the recommendations of both the trial judge and the Lord Chief Justice.
Similarly, 14 such persons whose tariffs had been set before the Doody judgment, have since had a fresh tariff set after submitting representations. Of these 14 fresh tariffs, three are lower than the first tariff. Two of these three lower tariffs are higher than, and one is in line with, the judicial recommendations. The remaining 11 new tariffs are the same as the original tariffs. In six of these 11 cases, the tariff has been set and has remained higher than the recommendations of both the trial judge and the Lord Chief Justice.
Mr. Ainger:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list those cases in which writs have been served on his Department since May 1993 where the court found in favour of the plaintiff; and what were the costs incurred by his Department in defending those actions and any costs awarded against his Department in each case; [7962]
Mr. Howard:
The Home Office has been involved in several thousand judicial review applications since may 1993 and has been successful in more than 90 per cent. of them. The detailed information requested is not readily available.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the public appointments unit. [8535]
Mr. Howard:
Since 1 January 1996, 15 appointments have been made from names supplied by the public appointments unit. They were:
Mr. Wareing:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the current police funding formula to meet the spending requirements of police authorities; what plans he has to review the spending needs formula; and if he will make a statement. [8339]
Mr. Maclean:
The 1996-97 police funding formula is the best currently available means of assessing the relative needs of different police authorities. In 1997-98, as in
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1996-97, we intend to consider with the allocation formula working group possible changes to the operation of the formula which may be suggested by the service, by police authorities and others.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought in each year since 1990 for possession of an airgun without a licence. [7177]
Miss Widdecombe:
Only high powered air weapons require a police certificate issued under section 1(1) of the Firearms Act 1968. It is not possible, from the information held centrally, to identify prosecutions in respect of this type of firearm from others covered by the above mentioned section of the Act.
(2) if he will list those cases of judicial review since May 1993 in which the court ruled against his Department, the costs that were incurred by his Department and any costs that were awarded against his Department in each case. [7963]
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs: 1
Alcohol Education and Research Council: 1
Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel: 6
(reappointments)
Data Protection Tribunal: 4
Parole Board: 2
Police Information Technology Organisation: 1
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