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19 Sept 2002 : Column 93W—continued
Casework Review
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General when the thematic review of all aspects of casework having a minority ethnic dimension was published; and if this thematic review included the London area. [60226]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 10 June 2002]: HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate published the Report of its thematic review of CPS Casework Having a Minority Ethnic Dimension on 10 April 2002.
Inspectors examined performance in sixteen CPS Areas, of which London was one.
Law Enforcement Agencies
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Solicitor-General what statutory law enforcement agencies and prosecuting authorities there are within the responsibility of her Department; and what complaints procedure is available for each. [57128]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 16 May 2002]: The Law Officers Department is responsible for three prosecuting authorities: The Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Prosecuting Arm of HM Customs and Excise.
All complaints received by the CPS are dealt with in accordance with designated procedure set out in a complaints leaflet. This is also available on the Internet on the CPS website www.cps.gov.uk. There are three stages to the CPS complaints handling procedure. Complaints are initially directed to the Branch or Unit
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that dealt with the case in question. The Branch Crown Prosecutor or Unit Head will arrange for a response to be sent.
If the complainant is dissatisfied with this response, or alleges impropriety by the CPS, the matter will be referred to the Chief Crown Prosecutor.
Complaints which cannot be resolved by the Chief Crown Prosecutor are referred through the Customer Service Unit to the Director of Public Prosecutions or Chief Executive who will consider how the complaint should be handled and arrange for a response to be sent. Where possible, a full response should be sent to the complainant within three working days of receipt. If a full response is not possible, an acknowledgement should be sent within three days and a full response within 10 working days.
The Serious Fraud Office complaints procedure is that minor complaints about members of staff are dealt with by Line Managers or their Assistant Directors.
Formal written complaints addressed to the Director are dealt with either by her or passed or an Assistant Director for full investigation.
Complaints about the professional conduct of legally qualified SFO staff may be made to the appropriate professional standards body such as the Bar Council or the Law Society.
Customs and Excise complaints procedure is contained within their Code of Practice which is available on their website www.hmce.gov.uk.
Where complaints cannot be resolved with the Customs Officer concerned, complainants are directed to the Regional Complaints Unit. That Unit will ask the appropriate local manager to investigate the complaint and the Unit will then respond normally within 10 working days.
If the complainant is dissatisfied with that response, the complaint can be reconsidered by the Regional or Business Head.
Where a complainant is not satisfied with the response by the Customs and Excise, the matter may be raised with the Adjudicator. The Adjudicator will give an independent view of the case and make a recommendation.
Advertising Campaigns
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was spent on press and advertising campaigns in 2001–02; and what the planned expenditure is for 2002–03. [60898]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 17 June 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 12 March 2002, Official Report, column 885W. There are no specific plans for expenditure in 2002–03.
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Female Staff
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what percentage of the staff of her Department are women; and what the percentage was in June 1997. [66905]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 8 July 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, on 5 July 2002, Official Report, column 622W.
Recyling
Sue Doughty: To ask the Solicitor-General what proportion of (a) paper and (b) other goods purchased by her Department was recycled paper in each year since 1997; what the annual total cost of these purchases was; what plans there are to increase these proportions; and if she will make a statement. [65768]
The Solicitor-General: In relation to the Departments for which the Attorney General is responsible, the information available is as follows:
The Crown Prosecution Service has a policy of purchasing recycled paper wherever possible. The paper provided under the Department's central contract for office use is 100 per cent. recycled—approximate cost £500,000. Of the products supplied under the central contract for supply of other paper-based products, in 2001–02 82 per cent. by volume (approximate cost £80,000) contained an element of recycled content (ranging from 35 per cent. to 100 per cent. pre- and post-consumer waste).
The Department does not hold information on recycled paper usage back to 1997.
The Treasury Solicitor's Department is able to reply only in general terms, as records have not been, and are not, kept in such a way as to provide this information.
Since 2000, 100 per cent. of white paper purchased has been from recycled stock. The Agency budgeted £100,000 for paper in each of the last two financial years and although the spend on white paper cannot be separately identified, it does make up the bulk of the figure.
Other recycled products bought are not on record, though contracts specify that suppliers should have regard to environmental factors when providing goods to the agency. There are at present no specific plans to increase the proportion of recycled goods procured but the Agency is always ready to consider means of "greening" its operations when it can do so in an efficient and cost-effective way.
The Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, is small and paper usage is comparatively low. Although recycled paper has been used in the past, purchases must be made on a best value for money basis. Until recently, the cost and quality of recycled paper did not provide this compared to virgin paper from sustainable resources. However, recycled paper appears to have improved in both quality and price and the Department has recently recommenced the purchase of recycled paper.
The Serious Fraud Office does not currently purchase recycled paper but will consider the matter again in the light of improvements in price and quality.
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS
GCSEs
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of pupils achieving five or more A*–C grades at GCSE in the last year for which figures are available included an intermediate GNVQ equivalent to four A*–C grade GCSEs in their qualifications. [60876]
Stephen Twigg: The proportion of pupils in all schools in England who achieved 5 or more A*–C grades at GCSE/GNVQ, whose results included an intermediate GNVQ was 0.5 per cent. in 2000–01. This represents 1,457 pupils in 85 schools.
Key Stage 2
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the percentage point gap is between the 2001 Key Stage 2 results separately and the statutory EDP targets for (a) English and (b) maths in 2004 in each local education authority. [62661]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is shown below.
Difference in percentage points between Local Education Authority 2004 statutory targets for the proportion of pupils gaining Level 4 and above in the KS2 English and maths tests and their performance in the 2001 tests
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*differences calculated using midpoints of agreed target ranges
Source: final 2001 performance data files and LEA Education Development Plans (EDPs)
Percentages reflect EDP and target-setting definitions: all maintained schools except
PRUs and Hospital schools. Underlying figures rounded to whole numbers.
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