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17 Oct 2005 : Column 702W—continued
Gypsies/Travellers
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the (a) documents and (b) guidance that his Department has published relating to Gypsies and Travellers since 1997. [17498]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 12 October 2005, Official Report, column 483W, detailing the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's publications on Gypsies and Travellers,
Jury Trial
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on consultation undertaken regarding the appropriateness of jury trial for all cases. [16472]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Criminal Justice Act 2003 makes provision for trial by a judge sitting without a jury in serious or complex fraud cases, and in cases of jury tampering. Before that legislation was introduced, the White Paper Justice for All", published in July 2002, invited views on the proposal that it should be possible for a court to order non-jury trial in such circumstances. There has been no consultation about the appropriateness of jury trial in the generality of cases, since no further reform is contemplated.
Laptop Computers
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement. [4120]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on the issue of laptop computers by year is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. Records on the issue and costs of laptops also date back only to 2001 when the Home Office took on Sirius (Fujitsu Alcedo Ltd.) as its service provider.
Since 2001 only two laptops have been issued to Ministers and only six have been issued to special advisers. A total of 3,192 laptop computers have been issued to officials in the core Home Office. With regards to the loss and theft of laptop computers, in 1995 and 1996 no laptops were reported lost. In 1997 four were reported lost and in 1998 two were reported lost. Since 1998 no reports have been made for the loss of a laptop.
On the number of laptops reported stolen there were seven reports in 1995, nine reports in 1996 and 1997, one report in 1998, three in 1999 and 18 in 2000. Between the end of 2000 and 2003 there were 39 thefts of laptops reported and since 2003 there have been a further 19 thefts reported.
The costs of laptops used since 2001 are as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1 April 2001 | 283,152.85 |
| 1 April 2002 | 150,029.22 |
| 1 April 2003 | 216,672.21 |
| 1 April 2004 | 168,111.83 |
| 1 April 2005 | 283,671.23 |
Management Consultants
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's total spending on management consultants has been in each of the last three years. [13135]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information available for the financial year 2004–05 from the interrogation of the Adelphi Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system accounts payable module indicates the cost of external consultants to the department was £46.9 million.
The information available for the financial year 2003–04 from interrogation of the Business and Accounting Strategic System (BASS), indicates that the cost of external consultants to the department in 2003–04 was £106.8 million.
We do not hold information on the Department's total expenditure on management consultants for 2002–03 and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
The Department awards contracts in open competition according to the EU procurement regulations, based on best value for money. The use of external consultants in the Home Office provides the Department with specialist knowledge, skill, capacity and technical expertise that is not otherwise available in house.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of Statefor the Home Department what estimate he has made of the total expenditure saved in each of the last three years as a result of implementing recommendations by management consultancies within his Department. [13631]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: My Department does not hold information in a form that would enable this question to be answered without incurring disproportionate cost
Offences Against the Person Act
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the tariff range of sentence for those convicted under (a) section 18 and (b) section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 is; [1218]
(2) what the average sentence given for people convicted under (a) section 18 and (b) section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 was in each year since 2000 in (i) Essex and (ii) England. [1221]
Fiona Mactaggart: The maximum sentence under Section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 is life imprisonment and under Section 20, five years. The following table shows the average custodial sentence length imposed for these offences (excluding those sentenced to life imprisonment) in both Essex and England for the years 2000 to 2003. Statistics for 2004 are due for publication in the autumn of 2005.
(18)Excludes those sentenced to life imprisonment.
(19)Tariff range (maximum): life imprisonment.
(20)Tariff range (maximum): 5 years imprisonment.
Olympic Games
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the implications are of the award of the 2012 Olympic games to London for the (a) workload and (b) staffing levels of his Department. [11674]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Home Secretary is responsible for overseeing the security preparations for the 2012 Olympic games. This task will be taken forward as a high priority and the appropriate level of staffing and other resources will be allocated to the task. It is not possible to be more specific at this early stage.
Prison Sentences
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prison sentences handed down in (a) 1992, (b) 1997, (c) 2001 and (d) 2004 were for (i) six months or less, (ii) three months or less and (iii) five weeks or less; and if he will make a statement. [16370]
Fiona Mactaggart:
The proportion of prison sentences handed down in (a) 1992,(b) 1997, (c) 2001 and (d) 2003, for (i) six months or less, (ii) three months or less and (iii) five weeks or less, is shown in the following table.
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Notes:
1.The shorter sentence length groups are subsets of the longer sentence groups. For example, in 2003 the 13.2 per cent. who received a custodial sentence length of five weeks or less are included in the 37.9 per cent. who received a sentence of three months or less.
2.The data for 2004 is unpublished and therefore not included. This data will be available from 27 October 2005.
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