Written Answers to Questions
The following answers were received between Thursday 14 September andMonday 18 September 2006
Duchy of Lancaster
Scouting Centenary
Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what Government support will be made available for the Centenary of Scouting in 2007; which Minister has been designated to lead Government support for the Centenary; and if she will make a statement. [91207]
Edward Miliband: As Minister for the Third Sector, I want to ensure the Government plays a role in supporting the Centenary of Scouting celebrations. Officials from the Office of the Third Sector are currently working with the Scout Association to consider how the Government can support the Centenary of Scouting in 2007.
Solicitor-General
Northamptonshire CPS
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Solicitor-General in what proportion of cases prosecuted by the Northamptonshire Crown Prosecution Service, bail was given against the prosecutor's advice in each of the last five years. [91111]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain records on bail decisions other than the information held on individual case files. The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by identifying and retrieving every relevant file.
Persistent/Prolific Offenders
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps he is (a) taking and (b) plans to take to ensure the successful prosecution by the Crown Prosecution Service of persistent and prolific offenders. [91110]
The Solicitor-General: As I have previously indicated on 27 April 2006, Official Report, column 1264W, persistent and prolific offenders receive a 'Premium Service' from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and other criminal justice agencies. CPS prosecutors review the progress of these cases with local police crime managers at regular meetings and the CPS work with the courts to give these cases priority listing. The full extent of the criminal activity is brought to the attention of the court.
The CPS will continue to work
closely at a national and local level with colleagues in the criminal
justice
system, particularly the police, in order to bring to justice those
prolific and priority offenders who are causing the most harm to their
communities.
Education and Skills
Health and Safety
Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to make teachers aware of the health and safety warnings relating to interactive whiteboard use in schools. [91049]
Phil Hope [holding answer 13 September 2006]: Becta (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency), the Department’s strategic ICT partner and lead on the operational aspect of embedding ICT in schools, provides guidance on the safe use of interactive whiteboards in schools through its website, liaison with interactive whiteboard suppliers, briefings and publications for local authorities and schools.
Constitutional Affairs
Freedom of Information Act
Mr. Truswell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the Government have to change the charging arrangements in relation to requests under the Freedom of Information Act; and if she will make a statement. [91267]
Bridget Prentice: The fees regime is still under review and the Government have not yet made a decision on what changes should be made to the present regime.
Judicial Powers
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what consultation process was undertaken in relation to the Government’s proposals to give judges the power to order the withdrawal of a defendant's solicitor or barrister from certain trials, as published in proposals by her Department. [91001]
Vera Baird [holding answer 13 September 2006]: The Consultation Paper “Proposals to create judicial powers to manage conflict of interest and capacity issues in Very High Cost Cases” was published on 4 August 2006 and responses are required by 27 October 2006. It is available on the DCA’s website and we have sent copies to key stakeholders. In addition, copies of the Consultation Paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. We are keen to ensure the widest range of views are considered. We have already discussed the proposals with the judiciary and the professional bodies. We will publish our response at the beginning of November on the DCA’s website and copies will be available in the Libraries of both Houses.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Policing Board
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what determining date was used in deciding on the allocation under the d'Hondt formula for the political members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board; and what factors he took into account when selecting the determining date. [57296]
Paul Goggins: Under the terms of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, the Secretary of State's only obligation when appointing members of the Policing Board during suspension of the Assembly is to ensure that the Board, as a whole, is representative of the community in Northern Ireland. Therefore he is not required to use the results of the Assembly elections or apply d'Hondt to the allocation of seats to political members.
The Secretary of State announced on 13 October 2005 that he intended to invite nominations from the political parties based on the 2003 election results and reflecting what would have been the parties representation at that time, had the Assembly not been suspended and the d'Hondt formula run based on those strengths. His recent invitation to the parties to make nominations was consistent with that decision.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what factors he took into account when setting the notice period for party leaders to submit nominations for the Northern Ireland Policing Board. [57297]
Paul Goggins: The Secretary of State in determining the notice period for party leaders to submit the political nominations for the Northern Ireland Policing Board took into account the following factors:
(1) He had already announced on 13 October 2005 the reconstitution of the Board with effect from 1 April 2006 including the proposed seeking of political nominations.
(2) He had launched the recruitment competition for independent members on 15 November 2005 and this competition closed on 16 December 2005.
(3) Political parties were made aware at the launch of the competition for independent members that the seeking of political nominations was the next step.
(4) All steps in the reconstitution process must be concluded by 1 April to ensure the establishment of the new Policing Board.
School Finance
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the Department of Education's budget allocation has been spent on (a) new integrated schools and (b) maintenance and essential repairs to schools in each education and library school area in each of the last five years. [87997]
Maria Eagle: The information for the last five years for which information is available is as follows:
(a) Spending on the new grant-maintained integrated schools which have been recognised and funded by the Department of Education since September 2000 is as follows:
| £000 | ||||||
| 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | Grand total | |
| (1)
Includes capital grant of
£2,500 | ||||||
(b) Spending on maintenance and essential repairs in all schools, including integrated schools, is as follows:
| £000 | ||||||
| 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | Grand total | |
Sexual Offences
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents of a serious sexual nature (a) were investigated by police in Northern Ireland and (b) were the subject of a successful prosecution in 2005. [69464]
Paul Goggins: The PSNI do not gather statistics relating to number of investigations. Although details of prosecutions for 2005 are not yet available, the tables show the number of sexual offences recorded and cleared for the years 2004-05 and 2005-06.
| Number of sexual offences recorded in Northern Ireland 2004-05 to 2005-06 | ||||
| Recorded | Cleared | |||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| All sexual offences cleared by method of clearance 2004-05 to 2005-06 | ||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |||
| Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |