| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Jury Trial
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) of 2 March 2000, Official Report, column 376W, for what reasons he has assumed that 25 per cent. of defendants who would have elected Crown Court trial and whom the magistrates decided to try would appeal against the magistrates' decision; what research he has undertaken into the likelihood of a defendant appealing against the magistrate's decision; and if he will make a statement. [113805]
Mr. Charles Clarke: It is not possible to make a precise estimate of the number of defendants who would appeal against the magistrates' decision on mode of trial; we have merely made the cautious assumption that a quarter of defendants would do so. By way of comparison, the percentage of defendants availing themselves of the unfettered right to appeal against summary conviction after a contested trial is about 14 per cent.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) of 2 March 2000, Official Report, column 377W, on which judges will hear appeals from magistrates on mode of trial, if he will list, for each Crown Court centre in England and Wales, the estimated number of appeals to be heard by each resident judge; what discussions he has had with (a) resident judges and (b) senior presiding judges regarding the requirement for resident judges to hear such appeals, and what representations have been made to him; how the requirement for resident judges to hear such appeals relates to his estimate of a hearing within 48 hours; and if he will make a statement. [113809]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Assuming that 25 per cent. of defendants appeal against the magistrates' decision on mode of trial, it is estimated that there will be 3,500 appeals a year, which is on average less than one appeal per week for each of the 78 Crown Court centres. The proposal that these appeals should be heard by the resident judge has already been discussed with the Lord Chief Justice, who further proposed that a deputy should be nominated by the senior presiding judge of the Circuit to provide cover. This will ensure that appeals will be heard within 48 hours.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the increased number of committals to the Crown Court for sentence if the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) (No. 2) Bill is enacted. [113806]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Assuming that eight per cent. would be committed for sentence, the number of formerly-electing defendants who under the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) (No. 2) Bill would be convicted in the magistrates' courts and committed for sentence would be 1,050, 160 more than under the original Bill.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the assumption of the increased number of defendants who would be tried in the magistrates' court rather than the Crown Court changed from 12,000 under the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial)
9 Mar 2000 : Column: 821W
Bill to 14,000 under the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) (No. 2) Bill; what the basis was for each of those assumptions; and if he will make a statement. [113807]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The estimate that 12,000 formerly-electing defendants would have been tried in the magistrates' courts under the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) Bill was based on the generous assumption that a quarter of such defendants might, through representations, have been able to persuade the magistrates to direct their case to the Crown Court. Since the criteria in the No. 2 Bill are more restrictive, it has been assumed--again generously--that this proportion would be halved.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) of 2 March 2000, Official Report, column 385W, for what reasons the statistics given on the number of press officers in his Department differed from the statistics given to the Select Committee on Public Administration and published in its report, The Government Information and Communication Service (HC770) in July 1998; and if he will publish statistics comparable to those provided to the Select Committee for the dates requested by the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald; and if he will make a statement. [113801]
Mr. Straw:
One difference between the two sets of statistics is that the figures provided to the Select Committee included senior managers, press officers and staff on temporary attachments; whereas the question asked by the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) specifically requested only the number of press officers employed in the Department on certain dates.
The other difference lies in the fact that the figures provided to the Select Committee represented averages of Press Office staff over 12 month periods as opposed to the figures requested by the right hon. Member for a specific series of dates.
In addition, some secondments and attachments are very short term and individuals are not always on the Home Office payroll.
Therefore, it is not possible to supply comparable statistics in the form requested by the hon. Member.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) of 3 March 2000, Official Report, column 384W, on press officer salaries, on what basis press officers recruited to the news team could have earnings up to and beyond £30,000, as stated in the recruitment document, Just Another Day at the Office; what will be the maximum earnings of press officers recruited to the news team; and if he will make a statement. [113808]
Mr. Straw:
As stated in my reply of 3 March, to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), press officers will be largely recruited at Information Officer grade for which the pay band salary is up to £27,709. Press officers working on the news team will be operating on a rota system for which there is an
9 Mar 2000 : Column: 822W
additional shift disturbance allowance amounting to 12.5 per cent. of salary. All press officers, including those on the news team, are expected to join an out of hours duty rota, nights and weekends, for which overtime is paid. There is also a non-pensionable recruitment and retention allowance which can be varied at management's discretion.
For those candidates recruited at the top end of the Information Officer pay scale, which would be dependent on factors such as experience and current salary, annual earnings could therefore be up to and beyond £30,000 as stated in the recruitment document.
Due to the varying hours press officers will work, their individual circumstances on taking up post and the unpredictable amount of overtime which might be payable, it is not possible to give an exact figure for the maximum earnings of a press officer.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the report by Clear Communications Ltd. which led to the restructuring of his Department's Press Office. [113799]
Mr. Straw:
Yes. I will place a copy in the Library today.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what purposes his Department's Press Office Briefing and Research Database is to be used; what information will be stored on it; and if he will place its technical specifications in the Library. [113798]
Mr. Straw:
The purpose of the Briefing and Reference Database (BARD) is to improve my Department's capability to handle media inquiries and to enable more effective briefing of Ministers on current and developing Home Office policies. BARD is a central database that stores news releases, speeches, Parliamentary business and basic facts and figures about Home Office business. BARD is currently being piloted and its technical specification will be placed in the Library once the pilot is complete.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many members of the Royal Family currently receive protection from officers of the Royal and Diplomatic Protection Squad; and what is the cost; [113049]
(3) if he will list those members of the Royal Family who have received protection from officers of the Royal and Diplomatic Protection Squad in the past five years but no longer do so. [113050]
Mr. Straw:
We seek to ensure the most effective and efficient protective arrangements for the Royal Family and other public figures in the light of the changing threat from terrorism and other continuing risks. It is our policy not to comment on the details of protection arrangements for individuals, as to do so could compromise their security.
9 Mar 2000 : Column: 823W
(2) how many officers of the Royal and Diplomatic Protection Squad are assigned to protect members of the Royal Family; [113048]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |