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Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General how many staff were involved in each of the last three years in preparing draft answers to written parliamentary questions. [49156]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 17 April 2002]: The Attorney-General and I answer parliamentary questions on behalf of all Departments for which the Attorney-General is responsible. Large numbers of staff from each of those Departments may, over any period of time, be involved in providing the information on which an answer is based. The information requested would require an examination of all questions answered in the last three years and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will take steps to improve the response time to parliamentary questions. [47720]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 10 April 2002]: In its response to the Public Administration Select Committee's Second Report of Session 2000–01 on Ministerial Accountability and Parliamentary Questions, the Government made clear their commitment to providing prompt and accurate answers to parliamentary questions.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what the cost was to her Department of answering written parliamentary questions in 2001; and how that cost was calculated. [49114]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 17 April 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons, on 17 April 2002, Official Report, column 929W.
Sunset Clauses
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General which Bills introduced by her Department in the last five years have contained sunset clauses; and what plans she has for the future use of such clauses. [49630]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 17 April 2002]: In the last five years this Department has introduced two Bills—which became the Law Officers Act 1997 and the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate Act 2000. Neither contained sunset clauses. I have no plans for the future use of sunset clauses.
Underspend
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what the (a) capital and (b) revenue underspend in her Department is expected to be in the financial year 2001–02. [47812]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 10 April 2002]: Information on the Department's forecast Departmental Expenditure Limit outturn for 2001–02 are published in the tables produced in the Budget and spring documents.
Part-time Employees
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General how many and what proportion of the staff of her Department are part-time employees. [47168]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 10 April 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Christopher Leslie) on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 50W.
Staff Pay
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what have been the total salary costs of each of the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible in each of the last five years. [50556]
The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General is not responsible for any non-departmental bodies.
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Overtime Payments
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what her policy is on overtime payments for staff in her Department. [49123]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 17 April 2002]: In the Departments for which the Attorney- General is responsible, the general policy is to avoid the need to ask staff to work overtime. Where overtime is necessary, staff below the senior civil service, in overtime grades, are entitled to receive payment, or time off in lieu, or both, for work carried out in addition to weekly conditioned hours.
Staff in the senior civil service are not entitled to receive payment for overtime.
Better Quality Services Initiative
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General which of the services of her Department have not been reviewed under the Better Quality Services Initiative; and when they will be reviewed. [50318]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 18 April 2002]: The CPSS has given a commitment in its current strategic plan to review 60 per cent. of its services by 2004. This target is still on course to be achieved. The CPS has recently undergone a period of significant organizational change and, in the light of this change, is currently evaluating its future approach to the Better Quality Services Initiative.
The legal services provided by the Treasury Solicitor's Department Agency have not been subject to review under the Better Quality Services Initiative. They were, however, subject to an executive agency Quinquennial Review during 2001 which looked at how those services could be better delivered. The main recommendations of the Review were accepted by the Attorney General and are now being implemented.
The Serious Fraud Office does not provide services to the public within the terms of the Better Quality Services Initiative. However, it does actively manage its business processes and continually seeks to deliver efficiency gains across all its outputs. As an example, last year the office undertook a fundamental review of pay and reward structures and introduced pay progression and fluid grading.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act
Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been detained under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. [52556]
Mr. Blunkett: Eleven people have so far been detained using powers in Part IV of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Eight were detained in December 2001, one in February 2002, and two yesterday.
Of the total detained, two have voluntarily left the United Kingdom; the other nine remain in detention.
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Electronic Tagging
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have been released from prison with electronic tags in (a) Wales and (b) Lancashire; and how many of these went on to commit further crime while wearing the electronic tag in (i) 2000 and (ii) 2001. [45791]
Beverley Hughes: Since the home detention curfew scheme started on 28 January 1999, the number of offenders successfully placed onto the scheme to an address in (a) Wales is 1,549 in 2000 and 1,528 in 2001 and in (b) Lancashire is 521 in 2000 and 447 in 2001.
The data on offenders who have been reported as either cautioned, convicted or are awaiting prosecution for an offence while they were subject to the scheme is collated centrally and to break this information down into regions or counties would incur disproportionate cost.
Victim Support
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the victim support scheme in Weston-Super-Mare. [47760]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The Home Office does not directly inspect individual victim support schemes. Under the terms of the annual Home Office grant to victim support, each local scheme is normally reviewed by Victim Support's National Office on a three-year cycle. The last such review of the Weston-Super-Mare scheme was undertaken in January 2000.
Indecent Publications
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure children do not have access to indecent publications. [49690]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The Government are particularly concerned that the young and more vulnerable members of society should be protected from potentially harmful material.
The general law underpins this approach. The Obscene Publications Act 1959 is the principal control on broadcast and published works, including material published via the internet, and makes it a criminal offence to publish any article which, in the view of the court, tends to "deprave and corrupt" those who are likely to read, see or hear it. In addition, under the Indecent Displays (Controls) Act 1981 it is an offence to display any indecent material in a public place or where it can be seen from a public place. In addition, where a publication does not fall under these controls, most newsagents abide by a voluntary code of practice, placing pornographic magazines on the top shelves and refusing to sell them to young people under 18.
The internet, while offering many positive opportunities to children, presents a particular challenge in this area and the Government established a Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet in March 2001 with representatives from the internet industry, child welfare
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organisations, the police, the Government, the main opposition parties and others. The objectives of the task force include:
- scoping new legislative measures specifically to tackle "grooming" of children by paedophiles online (and offline);
developing effective safeguards for children using the Internet and improved mechanisms for reporting online crimes and concerns about activity online; and
raising awareness of adults and children of how to surf the net and use chat rooms safely.
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