House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 23 Nov 2005 (pt 49)

23 Nov 2005 : Column 2138W—continued

Departmental Contracts (Direct Mail)

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many contracts were signed by her Department in (a) 2005–06 to date and (b) 2004–05 for direct mail; and what the value was in each case. [27789]

23 Nov 2005 : Column 2139W

Ms Harman: My Department commissioned the following direct mailings detailed as follows. Information about newsletters is not held centrally; to collate that information would be disproportionate to cost.

Date

Purpose of direct mail Value of contract (£)

FY 2005–06 to date

June 2005 Letter to MPs and Peers to provide background information about the reforms proposed for Legal Aid 1,674.50

October 2005 As above 1,580.00

October 2005 Brochure and DVD sent to employers in the UK to raise awareness of the magistracy and to promote the business benefits of having lay magistrates as staff 8,559.78

October 2005 Leaflets and letters sent to targeted offenders to recoup unpaid court fines from defaulters, as part of Operation Payback 3 campaign 430

October and November 2005 Letter from DCA/ Law Society sent to 8,000 lawyers to raise their awareness of judicial appointments (part of drive to increase diversity within the Judiciary) 1,285

FY 2004–05

November 2004 Leaflets and letters sent to targeted offenders to recoup unpaid court fines from defaulters (Operation Payback 2) 839.95

January 2005 Leaflets and posters sent to FOI Officers in public authorities, solicitors, Advice Centres, Jobcentres, GP surgeries etc. to raise awareness among staff of new responsibilities as a result of introduction of Freedom of Information Act 86,628.51

Date	Purpose of direct mail	Value of contract (£)
FY 2005–06 to date
June 2005	Letter to MPs and Peers to provide background information about the reforms proposed for Legal Aid	1,674.50
October 2005	As above	1,580.00
October 2005	Brochure and DVD sent to employers in the UK to raise awareness of the magistracy and to promote the business benefits of having lay magistrates as staff	8,559.78
October 2005	Leaflets and letters sent to targeted offenders to recoup unpaid court fines from defaulters, as part of Operation Payback 3 campaign	430
October and November 2005	Letter from DCA/ Law Society sent to 8,000 lawyers to raise their awareness of judicial appointments (part of drive to increase diversity within the Judiciary)	1,285

FY 2004–05
November 2004	Leaflets and letters sent to targeted offenders to recoup unpaid court fines from defaulters (Operation Payback 2)	839.95
January 2005	Leaflets and posters sent to FOI Officers in public authorities, solicitors, Advice Centres, Jobcentres, GP surgeries etc. to raise awareness among staff of new responsibilities as a result of introduction of Freedom of Information Act	86,628.51

Departmental Finance

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the real terms percentage increase in allocated resources for her Department (a) was for the period 1997–98 to 2004–05 and (b) is estimated to be between 2005–06 and 2007–08 (i) for each period and (ii) for each year. [31043]

Ms Harman: The information requested is as follows:

(a) (i) The average annual real terms growth rate in allocated budget between 1997–98 and 2004–05 was 3.7 per cent. for Resource DEL and 16.2 per cent. for Capital DEL.

(a) (ii) The year on year real terms change was as follows:

Resource DEL

Percentage

1998–99 ⁽⁵⁰⁾-3.4

1999–2000 ⁽⁵⁰⁾3.2

2000–01 ⁽⁵⁰⁾6.5

2001–02 9.4

2002–03 9.8

2003–04 -2.8

2004–05 4.3

⁽⁵⁰⁾ Cash basis.

Capital DEL

Percentage

1998–99 -10.7

1999–2000 -39.4

2000–01 68.2

2001–02 22.4

2002–03 23.4

2003–04 65.3

2004–05 25.8

23 Nov 2005 : Column 2140W

	Percentage
1998–99	⁽⁵⁰⁾-3.4
1999–2000	⁽⁵⁰⁾3.2
2000–01	⁽⁵⁰⁾6.5
2001–02	9.4
2002–03	9.8
2003–04	-2.8
2004–05	4.3

	Percentage
1998–99	-10.7
1999–2000	-39.4
2000–01	68.2
2001–02	22.4
2002–03	23.4
2003–04	65.3
2004–05	25.8

(b) (i) The average annual real growth rate in allocated budget between 2005–06 and 2007–08 is -1.7 per cent. for Resource DEL and -10.7 per cent. for Capital DEL.

(b) (ii) The year on year real terms change is as follows:

Resource DEL

Percentage

2006–07 -2.0

2007–08 -1.4

Capital DEL

Percentage

2006–07 -23.0

2007–08 3.5

	Percentage
2006–07	-2.0
2007–08	-1.4

	Percentage
2006–07	-23.0
2007–08	3.5

Electoral Commissioners

Mr. Kemp: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will seek to amend the relevant legislation to allow (a) local councillors, (b) other publicly elected office holders, (c) people who have made donations to a registered political party within the last 10 years and (d) (i) officers, (ii) employees, (iii) members, and (iv) people who have been members within the last 10 years of a registered political party, to serve as electoral commissioners. [29834]

Ms Harman: There are currently no plans to amend the eligibility criteria for appointment as an Electoral Commissioner as set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000.

Electoral Fraud

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many arrests there have been in each year since 1997 for non-voter registration. [20773]

Ms Harman: It is not an offence in electoral law to fail to register to vote although it is an offence to fail to complete and return an annual registration canvass form to an electoral registration officer (ERO). EROs are responsible for compiling a register of eligible electors for their registration area and would hold locally any records regarding prosecutions for failure to supply information requested as may the police in respect of any related arrests. Such information is not collected centrally for the UK.

Gravesend County Court

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average waiting time for small claims from allocation to hearing was at the Gravesend county court in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05. [30300]

23 Nov 2005 : Column 2141W

Ms Harman: The average waiting time for small claims for 2003–04 was 72.7 per cent. and for 2004–05 were 63.8 per cent. of claims heard within 15 weeks of allocation.

The latest data (September 2005) indicates that performance now shows 100 per cent. of small claims heard within 15 weeks.

The key factors related to previous performance are judicial allocations and courthouse capacity.

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many drugs possession cases were heard at the Gravesend and Dartford county court in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05. [30306]

Ms Harman: When referring to Drugs cases I can only assume that the hon. Member means drug testing and treatment orders (DTTOs) which is a criminal matter and are therefore not heard in any county court; county courts deal with civil matters only.

No drugs cases were heard in Gravesend or Dartford county courts for the specified period.

Her Majesty's Courts Service

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what funding has been made available for the start-up costs of Her Majesty's Courts Service. [27476]

Ms Harman: The resource budget for HMCS' first year of inception in 2005–06 is £962.52 million. The funding allocation is net of income and efficiency savings. The difference in the running costs of pre and post HMCS included in the funding is £217 million.

National Minimum Wage

Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many employees in her Department were affected by the rise in the national minimum wage on 1 October. [28968]

Bridget Prentice: None of our employees were affected by the rise in the national minimum wage on 1 October.

Postal Voting

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make it a requirement for the returning officer to make available a marked register indicating postal voters in West Lancashire. [27696]

Ms Harman: There is currently no provision in electoral law for a Returning Officer to prepare a register of postal voters marked to show which of them returned their postal votes. However, the Electoral Administration Bill currently before Parliament does make such provision, and our intention is that marked registers of returned postal votes will therefore be available after future elections.

23 Nov 2005 : Column 2142W

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the extent of postal vote fraud in (a) the last round of local elections and (b) the last general election. [30937]

Ms Harman: We are aware of allegations of electoral fraud in five areas at the last general and local elections on 5 May 2005. some of which are currently the subject of police investigation. However, no systematic central record is kept of such allegations and there may be others of which we are not aware. Where incidences of electoral fraud are discovered, or allegations made, they should be reported to, and investigated by, the relevant police authority.

The Government are nonetheless aware that these and previous cases have highlighted areas for improvement in the process of postal voting. Our policy paper 'Electoral Administration-a policy paper for discussion', published on 25 May 2005 put forward a number of proposals aimed at increasing the security of postal voting. We intend to introduce secondary legislation to implement these proposals in time for the local elections in May 2006.

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