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15 Jun 2006 : Column 1357W—continued
Tax Credits
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on how many occasions he has met the Paymaster General to discuss tax credits since 1 June 2005; and if he will make a statement; [76943]
(2) how many meetings (a) he and (b) the Paymaster General have had on the subject of tax credit fraud since 1 January 2006; and if he will make a statement. [76947]
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when he last met the Paymaster General to discuss tax credits; [77817]
(2) when he last (a) received and (b) sent written correspondence to the Paymaster General regarding tax credits. [77818]
John Healey: Treasury Ministers are in constant contact with each other in person, over the telephone and in writing about a wide range of issues, including tax credits.
Home Department
Endangered Species
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether revised sentencing guidelines have been issued to the judiciary regarding the Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulations. [76714]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There have been no sentencing guidelines issued in relation to these regulations.
HM Prison Belmarsh
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the number of inmates at HM Prison Belmarsh who report feeling unsafe; what action he is taking to reduce the incidence of such reports; and if he will make a statement. [73767]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Regular surveys into issues of prisoner personal safety are undertaken for Standards Audit and violence reduction purposes. The results assist in addressing and improving the quality of life experienced by prisoners. On arrival at Belmarsh, prisoners are advised how to report instances of bullying or feelings of self-harm. In addition information is displayed throughout the prison offering support and setting out what is readily available should support be required.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what stage the Government have reached in preparing for (a) signing and (b) ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on trafficking. [76675]
Mr. Coaker: The Home Office is currently assessing whether to sign the Council of Europe Convention. Whilst the UK supports the multiple aims of the Convention there are certain provisions which present concerns and which remain under consideration. The Home Office recently sought views on aspects of the Convention in the consultation paper ‘Tackling Human Trafficking-Consultation on Proposals for a UK Action Plan’. In reaching a decision on signature we will take into account the views expressed by respondents. A summary of responses to the consultation will be published shortly.
Illegal Drugs
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for using illegal drugs on buses in each region in each year since 2001. [76151]
Mr. Coaker: The requested information is not collected centrally.
Lambert Report
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he (a) commissioned and (b) received the report by David Lambert into operational issues arising from the death of Joseph Scholes; what consultation was conducted with the family of the deceased; what the cost was of the report; what its principal conclusions were; what measures have been taken in response to its recommendations; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [75306]
Mr. Sutcliffe: David Lambert was asked to conduct a review of operational issues arising out of the death of Joseph Scholes. The review was formally commissioned on 21 September 2004. Mr. Lambert began work the following month. He sent his completed report to the Home Office on 12 October 2005. Home Office officials, in consultation with the Youth Justice Board and the Prison Service, have been considering the recommendations in the report, and the action that needs to be taken in response to them. The Government will set out their response, and give details of the action we are taking, in due course. We will also address the issue of disclosure.
I understand David Lambert offered in August 2005 to discuss with Mrs. Scholes the findings of the review, and repeated the offer the following month, but that Mrs. Scholes did not wish to take up the offer.
The cost of the report was £10,589.50.
Legislation
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which (a) Acts and (b) parts of Acts which received Royal Assent between 1976 and 2006 which remain in force for which his Department has policy responsibility. [69148]
Mr. Byrne: I have placed in the Libraries of the House a list of Acts which received Royal Assent between 1976 and 2006 for which the Home Office had policy responsibility at the time of Royal Assent. Some of these Acts have been amended or repealed in whole or part, so not all of their provisions remain in force. Nor are all of these Acts still within the policy responsibility of the Home Office. It is not however possible to provide a definitive list of the provisions which remain in force and which are within the policy responsibility of the Home Office without incurring disproportionate cost.
Leyhill Open Prison (Absconded Prisoners)
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made by the Avon and Somerset constabulary of the volume of crime committed in the Avon and Somerset area since 1999 by prisoners who have absconded from Leyhill Open Prison; and if he will make a statement. [73423]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I understand from Avon and Somerset Constabulary that no estimates are available.
Mentally Ill Prisoners
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reoffending rate was for people who were identified as mentally ill while in prison in 2005-06. [76778]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is not available.
Miscarriages of Justice
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis the Independent Assessor to the Home Secretary on Miscarriages of Justice makes recommendations for interim payments to claimants; and whether interim payments have been made on compassionate grounds. [76920]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Exceptionally, an interim payment of compensation in respect of a miscarriage of justice may be made by the Home Secretary, on the advice of the independent Assessor, before the final amount is determined. The amount of any interim payment will be paid on account and will be deducted from the final award. The Assessor’s consideration of whether, and how much, interim payment might be made in a particular case is based on the information available to him about the miscarriage of justice in respect of which compensation is being paid and the consequences which flowed from it, not simply on what the applicant’s financial needs are at the time. In very exceptional circumstances interim payments may be made on compassionate grounds depending on the circumstances and provided the payment is within the scope of compensation under the scheme.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what average time was taken for the office of the independent Assessor to the Home Secretary on miscarriages of justice to reply to correspondence in the last period for which figures are available; [76922]
(2) what the standard procedure of the independent Assessor to the Home Secretary on miscarriages of justice is in responding to correspondence from claimants’ legal representatives; [76923]
John Reid:
The independent Assessor for compensation for miscarriages of justice does not generally correspond directly with applicants or their legal representatives. All correspondence is handled by the Miscarriages of Justice Team in the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. They attempt to resolve any apparent discrepancies in the submissions from applicants or their representatives, to ensure that the Assessor has all the information he needs to make an assessment. Claims for compensation can amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds and some run into millions. Claims are complex and time consuming and often require investigation by forensic accountants, and, on occasion, high-level legal advice. In many cases an interim award is paid before a final assessment of compensation is made. All correspondence requiring a response should receive an interim or substantive response within the Home Office target of 20 working
days. In the circumstances of these applications an interim reply is often unavoidable. Detailed statistics on performance against target for correspondence for this work are not immediately available and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible with performance figures for the last quarter.
Misuse of Drugs
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of (a) the number of people convicted of drugs offences as a result of the Drugs Act 2005 and (b) how many of them have received a prison sentence. [76976]
Mr. Coaker: It is too early to see any impact of the provisions of the Drugs Act 2005 in the annually published conviction data.
Motoring Offences
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the 10 most common motoring offences were for which men were (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted, (c) fined and (d) sent to prison in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by age group. [75536]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the 10 most common motoring offences for which men were (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted, (c) fined and (d) sent to prison in 2004 (latest available) is given in the following tables.
Data for 2005 will be available early in 2007.
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