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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2252W—continued
Magistrates Courts (Fines)
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was levied in fines by each magistrates court in the county of Greater Manchester in each of the last five years; how much was written off by each court; and what percentage of fines was collected by each court. [15099]
Ms Harman: Information on fines imposed and collected is provided by the 42 HMCS areas in England and Wales and is not available centrally broken down by individual magistrates courts. The following table shows the total amounts imposed, total amounts written off and the payment rate in Greater Manchester for the last five financial years.
Improving performance in the collection of fines is key for ensuring respect for the orders of the court and increasing confidence in the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Real progress has been made through a combination of legislative and non-legislative measures, with the full year payment rate for financial impositions in 2004–05 being 80 per cent. compared to a baseline of 69 per cent. at the end of the first quarter of 2003–04 and a target of 78 per cent.
(2) The primary performance indicator is the payment rate. It is defined as the amount paid into court as a percentage of the new net amount owed.
Payment rate = amount paid divided by new net amount owed
Methods of calculating the new net amounts owed have changed over the last five years and are detailed as follows:
September 1999 to March 2003—new net amount owed includes legally cancelled amounts, civil monies and confiscation orders
April 2003 to December 2003—new net amount owed excludes legally cancelled amounts, civil monies and confiscation orders
January 2004 to July 2004—new net amount owed excludes legally cancelled amounts, administratively cancelled amounts, civil monies and confiscation orders
July 2004 onwards—new net amount owed excludes legally cancelled amounts, administratively cancelled amounts, civil monies and confiscation orders, but includes amounts written back
(3) From April 2003 onwards, confiscation and civil amounts have not been included in any of the enforcement calculations. It is not possible to separate those elements out from the figures before that date.
Note:
As a result of these revisions, direct year-on-year comparisons cannot be made.
Marked Registers
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to her answer of 18 July 2005, Official Report, column1305W, on marked registers, if she will place in the Library the service level agreement laid out in the contract specification between Pickfords and the Government. [15114]
Ms Harman:
As I stated in my answer of 18 July 2005, Official Report, column 1305W, my Department will supply a copy of the relevant sections of the specification to anyone who makes a request to see them. But commercially confidential information is embedded in the specification and it would not be appropriate to publish the whole of it, or possible to extract sections and repackage them into a comprehensible document.
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Mental Health
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will summarise responses to the consultation document (a) Who Decides? Making decisions on behalf of mentally incapacitated adults and (b) Making Decisions: Helping people who have difficulty for themselves; and if she will make a statement. [14313]
Bridget Prentice: In response to the wide consultation on 'Who Decides?', the Government published the policy statement Making decisions" in 1999, confirming that Government would legislate to reform the law on decision-making for people who lack capacity. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 received Royal Assent on 7 April.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent discussions she has held with the Archbishop of Cardiff regarding the Mental Capacity Act 2005, with particular reference to (a) its implementation and (b) the draft Code of Practice to be introduced under the Act; and if she will make a statement. [14314]
Bridget Prentice: There have been no recent discussions with the Archbishop of Cardiff about the implementation of the Act. We expect to publish the draft Code of Practice for consultation in spring 2006.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent discussions she has had with (a) hon. Members, (b) Members of the House of Lords and (c) interested organisations concerning the development of policy on (i) assisted suicide, (ii) euthanasia and (c) the Mental Capacity Act 2005; if she will list those organisations; and if she will make a statement. [14315]
Bridget Prentice: During the passage of the Mental Capacity Act Government Ministers had extensive discussions with a very wide range of groups and individuals, as well as hon. Members and Members of the House of Lords with an interest in capacity issues. We are continuing the open dialogue with stakeholders as work is taken forward to implement the Act.
The Department of Health has responsibility for policy on assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she will answer Question reference 6175 from the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam. [14594]
Ms Harman: I answered the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam on 21 July 2005, Official Report column 1936W.
Postal Voting
Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints she has received from individuals regarding postal voting in (a) local, (b) general and (c) European elections in each year since 1997. [15671]
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Ms Harman: We do not keep a detailed breakdown of the number of individual complaints received about postal voting. As postal voting on demand was only introduced in 2001 we do not have records dating back to 1997. As far as I am aware, my Department received the following number of letters of complaints about postal voting and all-postal voting; seven in 2002, 13 in 2003, 249 in 2004 and 48 in 2005.
Private Finance Projects
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2005, Official Report, column 465W, on private finance projects, what total value of assets and liabilities for each of the listed private finance initiatives and public private partnerships is recorded on the Government balance sheet; what proportion of assets and liabilities is listed; what the accounting treatment is for assets and liabilities; and whether it is compatible with (a) generally-accepted accounting practices and (b) international financial reporting standards. [15959]
Ms Harman: Of the PFI projects listed in my answer of 15 June, the ARAMIS project is not deemed to be an asset of this Department and is therefore not on the balance sheet. There is however, a debtor balance of £0.5 million, which is on the balance sheet. The National Probate Records project is also deemed to be off-balance sheet.
The Net Book Value (NBV) of those assets deemed to belong to the Department and shown on the balance sheet as at 31 March 2005 are as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Project | NBV |
| LOGOS | 2.0 |
| LIBRA | 12.1 |
| East Anglia Courts | 28.4 |
| Exeter Crown and County Court | 20.8 |
| Sheffield Family Hearing Centre | 5.3 |
These figures are subject to formal approval from the National Audit Office.
Where an asset is deemed to belong to the Department then the full value of the asset will be recognised.
There are also prepayments of £11.6 million recognised as assets along with liabilities of £57.6 million.
It is yet to be determined between the Department and the National Audit Office (NAO) as to whether or not the Magistrates courts PFI Schemes will be recognised on the Departments balance sheet, so it is not possible at the present time to give the value of any associated assets or liabilities.
The accounting policies adhered to are those contained in the Resource Accounting Manual (RAM). This is determined by decisions made by the Financial Reporting Advisory Board whose aim is to update the RAM in line with any changes to Financial Reporting
12 Sept 2005 : Column 2255W
Standards. International Accounting Standards have not been fully integrated so there may be some differences in accounting treatment.
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