| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Staff Travel Allowances
Mr. Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what allowances are made available to senior House staff to assist with travel costs in the event of a late sitting. [81506]
Nick
Harvey: Senior House staff (in common
with all staff) on official duty are entitled to use the late night
transport service in the event of a late night sitting. A late night
transport service is provided for staff on official duty
if:
the House rises between 11 pm (or if the motion for the Adjournment is moved at or after 10.30 pm) and 9 am the next morning; or
a Committee rises between 11 pm and 9 am the next morning.
If there is a major disruption to public transport, the late night transport service is provided from 10 pm irrespective of what time the House rises. The House meets the cost of journeys of 25 miles or less. Staff wishing to travel outside this radius are advised (at the time of booking) to enter in to a private arrangement with the driver and pay him/her the additional cost of the journey. Where practicable, taxis are shared between a number of staff.
Staffing Levels
Mr. Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when staffing levels in the House were last reviewed; and if he will make a statement. [81505]
Nick Harvey: The last significant review of staff numbers was a review of the needs of the Committee Office in 2003, conducted jointly by the House’s Internal Review Service (IRS) and the National Audit Office. More generally, staffing levels are controlled by a budgetary mechanism rather than by limits on staff numbers. The IRS has recently completed the first stage of a review of staff grading. Subject to the views of the Administration Estimate Audit Committee, the second phase will be conducted later in the year.
Tours
Mr. Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2006, Official Report, column 1250W, on tours, why it is not the Commission's practice to make available details of the use made by individual hon. Members of the organisation of tours of the House; and if he will make a statement. [81629]
Nick Harvey: Details of the use made by individual hon. Members of House facilities and services are regarded as personal data, and not appropriate for publication.
Communities and Local Government
Local Authority Constitutions
Mr. Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities are required to submit revised constitutions to the Department for evaluation. [81726]
Mr. Woolas: There is no requirement for local authorities to submit revised constitutions to the Department for evaluation.
Local authorities are required to submit proposals to the Department for Communities and Local Government in respect of a change from one constitutional model to another. There is no such requirement in respect of revisions to the same constitution. Local authorities will keep their constitutions under review and make amendments as necessary, and it is for the local authorities themselves to ensure that their constitutional arrangements are appropriate and compliant with legislation. The Department has no statutory role in evaluating local authority constitutions.
Outsourcing
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her policy is on local authorities outsourcing administrative functions overseas. [81414]
Mr. Woolas: Local authorities are responsible for taking their own procurement decisions subject to the requirements of best value legislation and to the EU/UK regulatory framework. This includes any decision to outsource administrative functions overseas. Any specific complaint that best value is not being met in a particular set of circumstances would need to be addressed in the first instance to an authority’s external auditor.
Oversight and Scrutiny Committees
Mr. Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities do not offer the chairmanship of any oversight and scrutiny committees to opposition parties in the council. [81575]
Mr. Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold the information requested.
Parliamentary Papers
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to make copies of deposited papers available in (a) the Vote Office and (b) Printed Paper Office at the same time as copies are deposited in the Library; and if she will make a statement. [82354]
Angela E. Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 July 2006, Official Report,column 729W by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House.
Renewable Energy
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities use renewable energy for some or all of their (a) power and (b) energy requirements. [80268]
Mr. Woolas: This information is not held centrally although we understand that a number of local authorities have installed micro-renewables to supply energy for their own use and also pursue initiatives to purchase renewable electricity and fuel.
As the 2006 Climate Change Programme made clear, local authorities have a key role in achieving the UK’s goals on climate change and sustainable energy. Government strongly support innovative local action in this area.
Social Exclusion
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what responsibilities her Department has for tackling social exclusion. [78361]
Mr. Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government leads on policy and delivery in addressing social exclusion and deprivation in deprived areas. The Department has responsibility for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund which aims to narrow the gap between the 86 most deprived local authority areas and others. It has five key ‘floor targets’, which are: education, employment, crime, health and housing and physical environment.
The new Social Exclusion Taskforce, based in the Cabinet office and formed from some previous Social Exclusion Unit staff, is currently undertaking work on an action plan looking at key priorities for the Prime Minister such as looked after children, mental health, teenage pregnancy and tomorrow’s problem families.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster chairs the new Social Exclusion Cabinet Committee on which the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government sits as a key member, reflecting the strong synergies between the work of the Cabinet Office and that of the DCLG.
Home Department
Correspondence
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has power to insist that the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis answer the letter dated 15 August 2005 and reminder letters dated 10 October 2005, 13 December 2005 and 28 April 2006 from the right hon. Member for North East Hampshire concerning his constituent, Mr Jasdeep Bajwa. [82092]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 3 July 2006]: This is an operational matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Crime Reporting
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether arrangements are in place (a) in Redbridge, (b) in Waltham Forest and (c) in England and Wales for the public to report a crime to the police on-line; and if he will make astatement. [78554]
Mr. McNulty: The national police portal (www.police.uk) provides the facility for members of the public to report ‘non-emergency’ crime and hate crime/incidents online. Event specific forms are available that seek information from the public. The information is then sent to the force in whose area the alleged crime is committed.
Guantanamo Bay
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedure is in place to allow hon. Members confidential access to each level of classified material on prisoners in Guantanamo Bay; and in what circumstances access would be denied. [80054]
Mr. McNulty: Hon. Members can either write to the relevant minister to request material, or make a request to the relevant public body under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Foreign Secretary leads on most matters concerning prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.
Access to classified material may be refused in the interests of safeguarding national security
Labour Party Conference
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely impact on policing in Greater Manchester of the policing of the Labour Party Conference in September. [76671]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 June 2006]: The chief officer is responsible for determining staffing requirements and deploying the resources available in accordance with day to day operational demands, within the overall policy and budget set by each police authority.
Life Sentences
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2006, Official Report, column 1035W, on life sentences, for which crimes each of the 53 life-sentence prisoners were convicted. [78499]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information detailing the offences the 53 life sentenced prisoners were convicted of, as recorded in paper files for the individuals concerned, is set out as follows:
The vast majority of the cases are automatic life sentences under the previous sentencing regime set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. This system meant that repeat offenders convicted of a second serious violent or sexual offence, were automatically sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial judge unless there were exceptional circumstances.
This framework has since been replaced with Indeterminate Public Protection sentences provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offenders assessed as dangerous. These new sentences apply to a wider range of offences than those set out in the 1997 Act, and can be imposed for a first offence.
Information on releases per year is given as follows:
| Year of release | Number |
The fixing of a “minimum term” arises only in the case of an offender sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment for murder. None of those released since 2000 and referred to in the previous answer were so sentenced.
The minimum period of imprisonment for all non-mandatory life sentences is known as the “specified part”. Details of the specified parts fixed by the trial judge in the cases in question are set out in the following table. At the end of the specified part the offender will be eligible to be considered for release by the parole board. The offender will only be released if the parole board consider it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2006, Official Report, column 1035W to the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) on life sentences, for what offences the 53 prisoners had been sentenced to life; and if he will make a statement. [78802]
John Reid [holding answer 19 June 2006]: Information detailing the offences the 53 life sentenced prisoners were convicted of, as recorded in paper files for the individuals concerned, is set out as follows:
The
vast majority of the cases are automatic life sentences under the
previous sentencing regime set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997.
This system meant that repeat offenders convicted of a second serious
violent or sexual offence, were automatically sentenced to life
imprisonment by the trial judge unless there were exceptional
circumstances.
This framework has since been replaced with Indeterminate Public Protection sentences provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offenders assessed as dangerous. These new sentences apply to a wider range of offences than those set out in the 1997 Act, and can be imposed for a first offence.
Information on releases per year is given as follows:
| Year of release | Number |
The fixing of a “minimum term” arises only in the case of an offender sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment for murder. None of those released since 2000 and referred to in the previous answer were so sentenced.
The minimum period of imprisonment for all non-mandatory life sentences is known as the “specified part”. Details of the specified parts fixed by the trial judge in the cases in question are set out in the following table. At the end of the specified part the offender will be eligible to be considered for release by the parole board. The offender will only be released if the parole board consider it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined.
| Table of specified parts | |
| Length of specified part—period to be served before eligible for consideration of release by Parole Board | Number of offenders since 2000 receiving this period of specified part |
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of12 June 2006, Official Report, column 1035W, on life sentences, how many of the 53 prisoners were released in each year since 2000. [79022]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 20 June 2006]: Information detailing the offences the 53 life sentenced prisoners were convicted of, as recorded in paper files for the individuals concerned, in the following table.
The vast majority of the cases are automatic life sentences under the previous sentencing regime set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. This system meant that repeat offenders convicted of a second serious violent or sexual offence, were automatically sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial judge unless there were exceptional circumstances.
This framework has since been replaced with Indeterminate Public Protection sentences provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offenders assessed as dangerous. These new sentences apply to a wider range of offences than those set out in the 1997 Act, and can be imposed for a first offence.
Information on releases per year is given in the following table.
| Year of release | Number |
The fixing of a “minimum term” arises only in the case of an offender sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment for murder. None of those released since 2000 and referred to in the previous answer were so sentenced.
The
minimum period of imprisonment for all non-mandatory life sentences is
known as the “specified part”. Details of the specified
parts fixed by the trial judge in the cases in question are set out in
the table below. At the end of the specified part the offender will be
eligible to be considered for release by the parole board. The offender
will only be released if
the parole board consider it is no longer necessary for the protection
of the public that the prisoner should be
confined.
| Table of specified parts | |
| Length of specified part - period to be served before eligible for consideration of release by parole board | Number of offenders since 2000 receiving this period of specified part |
| (1
)Inclusive | |
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) of 12 June 2006, Official Report, column 1035W, on life sentences, what minimum term was set for each of those released. [79535]
John Reid: Information detailing the offences the 53 life sentenced prisoners were convicted of, as recorded in paper files for the individuals concerned, is set out in the table:
The vast majority of the cases are automatic life sentences under the previous sentencing regime set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. This system meant that repeat offenders convicted of a second serious violent or sexual offence, were automatically sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial judge unless there were exceptional circumstances.
This framework has since been replaced with Indeterminate Public Protection sentences provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offenders assessed as dangerous. These new sentences apply to a wider range of offences than those set out in the 1997 Act, and can be imposed for a first offence. Information on releases per year is given in the table:
| Number | |
The fixing of a “minimum term” arises only in the case of an offender sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment for murder. None of those released since 2000 and referred to in the previous answer were so sentenced.
The minimum period of imprisonment for all non-mandatory life sentences is known as the "specified part". Details of the specified parts fixed by the trial judge in the cases in question are set out in the following table. At the end of the specified part the offender will be eligible to be considered for release by the parole board. The offender will only be released if the parole board consider it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined.
| Table of specified parts | |
| Length of specified par— period to be served before eligible for consideration of release by Parole Board | Number of offenders since 2000 receiving this period of specified part |
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) of 8 June 2006, Official Report, column 810W, for what crimes the 23 former prisoners whose life licences have been revoked were convicted; when the Probation Service lost contact with them; and if he will make a statement. [79536]
John Reid: Of the 23 life licensees referred to in the previous answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), 21 had been convicted of murder, one of manslaughter and one of robbery and possession of a firearm. Four of the 23 offenders unlawfully at large at the beginning of June when the information was collated are now back in custody. Police continue to pursue vigorously all information and lines of enquiry in order to find these offenders and effect a swift return to custody. Details of the time that the original 23 licensees have been out of contact with the probation services are set out in the following table:
| Time | Number of offenders |
| (1
)Inclusive | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |