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Young Offenders

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many repeat youth offenders there were in (a) Romford and (b) Havering in each of the last five years. [48549]

Fiona Mactaggart: The data are not currently available on a sub-national basis. Information on the criminal histories of sentenced young offenders is published on an annual basis by the Home Office. The most recent data was published in chapter six (in particular, table 6.5) of Sentencing Statistics 2004 (HO Report 15/05) a copy of which has been placed in the Library or can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1505.pdf

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Data Sharing

Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of the advice and guidance issued by the Information Commissioner on (a) data-sharing between public sector databases and (b) the co-ordinated online register of electors. [43541]

Ms Harman: I have placed in the Library a copy of the Information Commissioner's office's February 2001 publication, 'Data sharing between different local authority departments'. Any other advice issued by the Information Commissioner's office on this issue would likely to have been specific to particular databases and so would be held by the organisations responsible for those databases, rather than by my Department.
 
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In respect of the Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors specifically, I have placed in the Library the relevant parts of a letter of 7 July 2005 from the Information Commissioner's office, encapsulating their views on the Government's thinking on CORE at that time.

Departmental Staff

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many of her Department's staff are paid on a performance-related basis. [50079]

Bridget Prentice: Staff who are employed on DCA terms and conditions are all subject to performance related pay. These include staff in the former Court Service agency (now part of Her Majesty's Courts Service), staff at the Public Guardianship Office and those staff who are part of the DCA and its Associated Offices. This is a total of 12,750 staff.

On 1 April 2005, with the creation of Her Majesty's Courts Service as an executive agency of the Department, the DCA became responsible for all former employees of the Magistrates' Courts Service in England and Wales. This is a total of 12,067 staff. Those staff who were previously employed by the magistrates courts currently remain on their previous terms and conditions and are not paid on a performance-related basis. There is a DCA Pay and Grading Project currently under way. New pay, grading and benefit arrangements are due to be introduced for all DCA staff later this year. Performance related pay is likely to be a feature of the new system.

Legal Services Commission

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what assessment the Legal Services Commission made of the contribution of the Specialist Support Project to the Legal Services Commission's corporate priorities; [51375]

(2) on what basis the Legal Services Commission assessed that funding for the Specialist Support Project was not sustainable. [51376]

Bridget Prentice: Specialist Support Contracts form part of the Legal Services Commission's (LSC) special projects budget, that was reviewed in the summer 2005 against a number of criteria. These included the LSC's Corporate Priorities, compatibility with the future vision for the Community Legal Service, and Value for Money effectiveness.

The LSC has concluded that as specialist support services provide advice to other legal advisors and not directly to clients, this did not represent the most cost-effective approach to meet the increasing need for front-line advice.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) how her Department plans to replace the Specialist Support Project's
 
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expertise in dealing with the legal cases of vulnerable minority groups once Legal Services Commission funding ends; [51377]

(2) what estimate her Department has made of the future level of demand for specialist support legal services. [51378]

Bridget Prentice: The Legal Services Commission contracting arrangements include quality assessment such as Peer Review, File Assessment, and Quality Profiles. These all look to improve the quality of advice across front line providers, by indicating areas for improvement, allowing providers to build on and improve their legal competences and expertise, and reducing the need for specialist support services.

An example is the Immigration and Asylum Accreditation scheme, mandatory from August 2005, which should ensure that clients get the quality of advice they expect.

First tier organisations will continue to be able to seek specialist advice (e.g. counsel's opinion) in particularly complex circumstances.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Allotment Land

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the applications he has received in the last 12 months for the de-registration of allotment land; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on such applications. [44574]

Yvette Cooper: Under Section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's consent is required for the disposal of statutory allotments. 45 applications were received for disposal in the period from January 2005 to January 2006, which are set out in the table, of which six were granted approval for disposal.

In determining such applications the following criteria are applied:

Consent for disposal cannot be given unless certain criteria are met. The criteria are that:

The allotment in question is not necessary and is surplus to requirements;

Adequate provision will be made for displaced plot holders, or that such provision is not necessary or is impracticable;

The number of people on the waiting list has been effectively taken into account;

The authority has actively promoted and publicised the availability of allotment sites and has consulted the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners;

and,

The implications of disposal for other relevant policies, in particular development plan policies, have been taken into account.

 
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List of applications for disposal consent received between January 2005 and January 2006 of allotment land

Regional Office	Local Authority and name of site	Application date	Decision date	Number of plots	Size	Replacement plots provided? If yes, how many?	New use of land	Disposal application refused (x)
GO-NE	Brittons Fields Allotments, Barnard Castle, County Durham-Teesdale DC	14 December 2004	Case is still live	16	0.126 ha	Council is considering a replacement allotment site. Number of plots unknown as yet	Not known. I have requested more details
GO-NE	Brittons Fields, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham (Barnard Castle Town Council)	14 December 2004	16 May 2005	16	0.1053 hectares	0	Housing and car parking
GO-EAST	Terrington St. Clements pc Land at Terington St. Clements	17 December 2004	1 February 2005		5.2 acres	No relocation	Change of use to farming land
GO-EAST	Breckland DC Plots 68–84 Shouldham Lane, Swaffham, Norfolk	1 April 2005	1 April 2005	16 plots	0.91 hectares	All not used	for use as grazing land
GO-EAST	Chelmsford BC Melbourne allotments, Chelmsford	16 May 2005	20 June 2005	35	0.85 hectares	Some of the allotment holders have been moved to new plots.
GO-EAST	Broadland dc, Ramsey Road Allotments, Saint Ives	9 September 2005	9 November 2005		3.5 hectares		Change of use
GO-EAST	Cambridge City Council, Land at Hulatt Way, Cambridge	16 February 2005	9 March 2005		0.1 hectares	None	Construction of 20 flats for elderly people	n/a
GO-EAST	Swaffham Town Council, Tumbler Hill, Norfolk	30 March 2005	5 May 2005	24	1.24	None	To be used as a base for a charity who help people with learning difficulties develop independent living skills through gardening	n/a
GO-EAST	Balsham Parish Council, South Cambridgeshire DC	16 May 2005	5 December 2005		0.44 hectares	allotment holders will be provided with cultivated allotments on the new site with hard standing for a shed	The parish council are applying for permission to build 18 affordable houses in the village of Balsham	Allowed
GO-EM	Leicester City Council, (Land on the South Side of the Muston Garden Development), Washbrook Allotments, Welford Road, Leicester	19 January 2005	18 March 2005	1	0.0082ha	No	Land is required to amend boundary discrepancy with adjoining residential development	No
GO-EM	Leicester City Council, Wycombe Road Allotments, Wycombe Road, Leicester	12 May 2003	28 February 2005	87	2.606ha	No	The land is for residential development	None
GO-EM	Broxtowe Borough Council, The Hassocks Beeston	25 February 2005	31 May 2005	62	1.6ha	No	The land will be used for a new fire station plus residential or industrial development	No
GO-EM	Leicester City Council, Bonney Road Allotments , Bonney Road, Leicester	2 November 2004	31 May 2005	12	0.42ha	No	Open Space	No
GO-EM	Leicester City Council, Bonney Road Allotments, Bonney Road, Leicester	2 November 2004	31 May 2005	16	0.53ha	No	The land is for residential development	No
GO-EM	Leicester City Council, Groby Road Allotments, Groby Road, Leicester	13 May 2005	31 May 2005	100	3.81ha	No	The land will be used for development and open space	No
GO-EM	Leicester City Council, Braunstone close Allotments, Braunstone Close, Leicester	2 November 2004	31 May 2005	42	1.11ha	No	Open Space	No
GO-EM	Heanor and Loscoe Town Council, Hands Road Allotment, Hand Road, Heanor, Derbys	12 September 2004	26 May 2005	8	0.227ha	No	The land will be used for residential development.	No
GO-WM	Birmingham City Council, Yardley Green Allotments	28 June 2004	15 February 2005	131	5.08 hec	No—but more revised plots made available	Release of land at Yardley Green Allotments for development
GOWM	Walsall MBC, Herberts Park/Stanbury Avenue	14 October 2004	24 March 2005	unused land	0.28hec	n/a	Residential Development	Statutory status being clarified
GOWM	Coventry City Council, Coundon Hall	19 October 2004	16 November 2004	133	3.4 hec	n/a	Community Woodland
GOWM	Rugby Borough Council, Addison Road	3 February 2005	14 April 2005	10	0.6 hec	n/a	Cemetery
GOWM	Malvern Hills District Council Elgar Avenue, Malvern	22 February 2005	15 July 2005	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	Refused
GOWM	Herefordshire County District Council UA, Rockfield Allotment Site	22 February 2005	17 November 2005	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
GOWM	Redditch BC, Sillins Avenue and Farm Road, Redditch	8 March 2005	6 April 2005	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	Withdrawn
GOWM	Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Mill Gardens Allotments	12 May 2005	6 July 2005	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	Invalid
GOWM	Rugby Borough Council, Addison Road Allotments	31 May 2005	12 July 2005	None	0.1 hec	n/a	Access to new housing development
GOWM	Wolverhampton MBC, Parker Road	10 June 2005	4 July 2005	5	0.21 hec	n/a	Residential Development
GOWM	Walsall MBC, Berry / Bradshaw Allotments site	20 September 2005	24 October 2005	10	0.25 hec	n/a	Residential Development
GOWM	Wolverhampton MBC, Sandy Lane Allotments Site	21 September 2005	24 October 2005	Part of 1	1.43 hec	n/a	Road Widening
GOWM	Redditch Borough Council, 233 Bromsgrove Road	21 December 2005					Gardens
GO-L	LB Croydon, 166 Spa Hill	30 December 2004	23 March 2005		0.00188 ha		Sale	Allowed
GO-L	LB Croydon, Midday sun allotments	29 November 2004	27 April 2005	Pending	1105sqm		Sale	Allowed
GO-L	LB Harrow Land at Harrow Leisure Centre	12 September 2005	2 November 2005	n/k			Sale	Allowed
GO-L	LB Harrow Kenmore Avenue	9 September 2005	02 November 2005				Sale	Allowed
GO-L	LB Bromley Southfield Allotment	21 January 2005	8 April 2005		0.4704 hectares		For use as open space	Allowed
GO-SE	Newtown Allotments	2 November 2004	31 January 2005
GO-SW	Dorchester Town Council (West Dorset District)	2 December 2004	20 January 2005	11	2.023 sq metres	0	for council depot	None
GO-SW	Bristol City Council, Marling Road, St George, Bristol	20 January 2005	11 February 2005	0	0.86 hectares	0	The land to be used as a riding school and stables	None
GO-SW	Bristol City Council, Cotman Walk Allotments, Lockleaze, Bristol	23 February 2005	31 March 2005	0	0.638 hectares	0	doesn't say	None
GO-SW	Bristol City Council, Stibbs Hill Allotments, St. George, Bristol	23 February 2005	31 March 2005	3	0.3571 hectares	1 plot of land offered on site 200m away	doesn't say	1 plotholder
GO-SW	Bristol City Council, Goulston Road, Bishopsworth, Bristol	3 February 2004	25 April 2005	13(10 vacant remaining 3 plotholders will retain their plots)	2,958 sq yards	None	doesn't say	None
GO-SW	Bridgewater Town Council (Sedgemoor district), Bristol Road, No. 2 site, Bridgewater	20 April 2005	7 June 2005	None the site is vacant	0.78 hecta res	None	Lease to Bridgewater Carnival Committee	None
GO-SW	Bristol City Council, Whitefield Road, Speedwell, Bristol	6 May 2005	21 June 2005	the site is vacant	0.126 hectares	None	doesn't say	None
GO-SW	Bristol City Council, Bedminster Down C", Bedminster Down Road, Bristol	14 July 2005	1 September 2005	the site is vacant	0.0675 hectares	None	The land will be leased to the owners of the adjoining house	None
GO-SW	Henstridge Parish Council (South Somerset District)	28 June 2005	site is vacant	1.48 hectares	None	the land will be used as a play area (0.2ha) and leasing of the remainder (1.28) [holding answer] to a local farmer for grazing.	None

 
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