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24 May 2004 : Column 1366W—continued
Tibet
Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on discussions he had on Tibet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and other Chinese official representatives during their recent visit to the UK. [174831]
The Prime Minister: I discussed a wide range of issues with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, including the issue of Tibet. The Government support another visit to China by representatives of the Dalai Lama and believe a peaceful resolution is best achieved through meaningful dialogue without pre-conditions.
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Child Maintenance Payments
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much child maintenance has not been paid in each of the last 10 years; and how much of this is due to one of the parents moving (a) abroad and (b) to another EU member state. [166729]
Mr. Pond: I have been asked to reply. The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Barry Sheerman, dated 24 May 2004:
In replying to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much child maintenance has not been paid in each of the last 10 years; and how much of this is due to one of the parents moving (a) abroad and (b) to another EU member state.
As at 31 March 2003 the reported cumulative debt figure on full maintenance assessments was £664 million (page 86 para 6.1 of the Child Support Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2002/03.) I have no information to determine how much of this is due to parents residing either abroad or in the EU.
Fine Enforcement
John McDonnell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many persons were fined by magistrates courts in England and Wales in each of the last three financial years; and what percentage of the fines were collected in each year. [173119]
Mr. Leslie:
Information on the number of offenders is not available from magistrates courts systems. The latest Home Office statistics available, for the 2002 calendar year, showed that 970,400 offenders were fined by magistrates courts.
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A national payment rate of 76 per cent. was achieved in the last quarter of 2003–04. The full year outturn stood at 74 per cent. The payment rate in 2001–02 was 59 per cent. and 55 per cent. in 2002–03. These figures are not comparable with the 2003–04 data due to collection and calculation changes. In 2003–04 the payment rate was revised so that it focused clearly on fines and excluded confiscation orders, civil and family moneys and cancelled fines.
Public Bodies
Mr. Tyler:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff
24 May 2004 : Column 1368W
are employed by (a) the Public Guardianship Office, (b) the Civil Justice Council, (c) the Strategic Investment Board, (d) the Information Tribunal, (e) the Advisory Group on Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act, (f) the Advisory Group on the Delivery of Enforcement Services, (g) the Review of Procedures Consequent on the Decision to Transfer or Commit Fraud Trials and (h) the Office of the Public Trustee; and what their annual budgets are in 2004–05. [174665]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested is set out in the following table.
| Number of staff employed | Annual budgets in 2004–05 (£ million) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) | Public Guardianship Office | 291 | 5.081 |
| (b) | The Civil Justice Council | 4 | 0.214 |
| (c) | The Strategic Investment Board | 0 | 0.13 |
| (d) | The Information Tribunal | 0 | 0.6 |
| (e) | The Advisory Group on Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act | — | — |
| (f) | The Advisory Group on the Delivery of Enforcement Services | — | — |
| (g) | The Review of Procedures Consequent on the Decision to Transfer or Commit Fraud Trials | — | — |
| (h) | The Office of the Public Trustee | 58 | 1.7 |
| Total | 353 | 7.725 |
The Strategic Investment Board does not employ staff as such. It has a Chairman and five Appointed Members (one vacancy at present) who are all non-executive, but in receipt of fees. Both the Information Tribunal and the Advisory Group on Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act do not directly employ any staff. The Advisory Group on the Delivery of Enforcement Services was formally dissolved during the last financial year. The Review of Procedures Consequent on the Decision to Transfer or Commit Fraud Trials ceased to exist about eight years ago.
Unified Court Boundaries
John McDonnell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the unified court boundaries to be introduced next year will be coterminous with (a) probation and (b) prison service boundaries. [173126]
Mr. Leslie: The unified courts agency will be established in April 2005 and will have 42 local management areas. These areas will directly align with the local boundaries of the National Probation Service. Her Majesty's Prison Service has a 12-region structure that is coterminous with the boundaries of the 42 management areas.
The local management areas of the unified courts agency will be contained within seven regions. The boundaries of these regions are coterminous with the regional Prison Service boundaries with the exception of Cheshire and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, which for the way court business is currently organised, will link with Wales and the South West respectively. The Government will review this position in 2006–07.
The Government announced in January 2004 the creation of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which will oversee the management of probation and public sector prisons. The proposed structure of the NOMS is still being considered.
HEALTH
Ambulance Services
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is a national standard for clinical performance in ambulance services. [174098]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Ambulance services have been set response time targets by the Government that include the target that, immediately life-threatening emergency calls (Category A) should be responded to 75 per cent. of the time within eight minutes, irrespective of location.
The national service framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease emphasises the importance of ambulance services providing advanced life support to patients with suspected heart attack or cardiac arrest, within eight minutes, to maximise the benefits of resuscitation should it be necessary.
The latest information about ambulance performance is contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin, "Ambulance Services, England 2002–03". A copy of the bulletin is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.publications.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0313.htm.
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Asthma
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley suffer from asthma. [173763]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the format requested.
In 2002–03, there were 1,549 finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of asthma for Lancashire area, of which 286 were for the area covered by Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust.
Notes:
1. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. 3. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed)
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health.
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