Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 30 November 2006
House of Commons Commission
Surveillance Devices
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much has been spent on surveillance devices used on the parliamentary estate in each of the last five years. [106662]
Nick Harvey: It is not the policy of the Commission to comment on security matters.
Scotland
Departmental Statistics
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which statistics have been put forward by his Department for consideration to become new national statistics in each of the last five years; and how many statistics sets his Department has produced in total in each of the last five years. [101645]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established in 1999 to assist the Secretary of State for Scotland in his functions and duties. These mainly relate to constitutional affairs and, as such, there is no history of the Scotland Office producing statistics sets for national statistics, or otherwise.
Freedom of Information
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Freedom of Information requests have been made to his Department in each month since March 2006. [106201]
David Cairns: The information is as follows:
| Number of FOI requests | |
Public Appointments
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which public appointments have been made by his Department to former Ministers who have served in the Government since May 1997. [104577]
Transport
First Great Western
Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what First Great Western Trains' public service requirements are in relation to peak time services provision between Cardiff Central and Swansea during 5pm to 6pm. [104147]
Mr. Tom Harris: The service level commitment 2 (‘SLC2’) for the First Great Western franchise is available in the House of Commons Library.
Rail Freight
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of freight carried by rail. [105819]
Mr. Tom Harris: I refer my hon. Friend to the written statement the then Secretary of State for Transport made to the House on 19 July 2005, Official Report, columns 71-73WS, setting out the Government's policy towards rail freight.
Rail Overcrowding
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what limits exist on the number of passengers allowed in train carriages; what steps are taken to enforce such limits; and what penalties are imposed on companies who break such limits. [103602]
Mr. Tom Harris: There is no legal limit on the number of passengers that can travel in any given train coach.
Trains are designed to operate effectively and safely when fully loaded.
Wales
Departmental Staff
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many value for money exercises on the use of (a) management consultants and (b) professional advisers were conducted by his Department in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [103006]
Tax Rates
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the effect on the Welsh economy of tax rates in the Republic of Ireland. [101724]
Nick Ainger: Wales has tax parity with the rest of the UK and tax is a reserved matter for the Chancellor to determine. No specific Government study has been made into the impact on the Welsh economy of tax rates in the Republic of Ireland.
Solicitor-General
Anti-terror Legislation
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Solicitor-General where the Crown Prosecution Service has visited on its national tour to areas with high Muslim populations to explain and demystify the anti-terror legislation; where else it will be visiting; and when the tour will conclude. [104328]
The Solicitor-General: In early November, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) concluded in early November the first round of ‘Listening Reassurance and Information’ events with Muslim communities. These events took place in London; the west midlands; Greater Manchester; Cardiff; West Yorkshire; Lancashire; Bedfordshire; and Leicestershire. The purpose of these events was to provide information on the prosecution of racist and religious crimes, incitement to racial hatred cases and terrorist cases. Through these events the CPS reached over 350 groups and individuals working with Muslim communities. The events will now be evaluated with a view to informing a further series in 2007-08. The further events, in areas yet to be determined, are expected to run on a quarterly basis throughout 2007-08. The events will be kept under active review in terms of the need for an ongoing programme.
Crown Prosecution Service
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General what the budget was for the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [104492]
The Solicitor-General: The following table shows the total expenditure of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for the last five years. The CPS has received an increase in funding over the period to support the Department's modernisation and reform programme; an increasing workload; the implementation of statutory charging; and the increasing role the Department now plays in supporting victims and witnesses.
| Total net expenditure (£) | |
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases have been handled to the Crown Prosecution Service by police for prosecution in the last five years; and how many resulted in a prosecution being initiated. [104546]
The Solicitor-General: The number of defendants whose cases were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by the police and completed in each of the last five years was as follows:
| Number | |
The volume of cases handled by the CPS has fallen in recent years. This is believed to be a direct and positive reflection of lower levels of crime and the introduction of penalty notices for disorder. Furthermore, the same period has seen an appreciable increase in the proportion of cases resulting in conviction. This is partly because of an initiative which means that, in most cases, the CPS has responsibility for deciding whether a person should be charged with a criminal offence and, if so, what that offence should be. The CPS has set performance targets providing for farther improvement in case outcomes in the future and it continues to work with its criminal justice system partners to ensure that these are delivered.
Magistrates Courts Case Workers
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General what the role is of designated magistrates courts case workers. [104481]
The Solicitor-General: Designated caseworkers (DCWs) are Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff who are empowered under section 7A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 to conduct criminal proceedings in the magistrates courts. Their role is defined by legislation and by a set of general instructions issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
DCWs currently review straightforward cases that are likely to result in guilty pleas and can conduct all types of hearings in the magistrates courts except trials, hearings involving complex legal or factual issues, and offences to be heard in the Crown court including those offences: triable only on indictment; for which the accused has elected to be tried by a jury; that the court has decided are more suitable to be tried by a jury; and when a notice of transfer has been given under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 or section 53 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.
Culture, Media and Sport
Digital Switchover
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on the effect of the national switchover from analogue to digital radio and television by 2012 on greenhouse gas emissions; and if she will make a statement. [106643]
Mr. Woodward: The Department has received no representations on this subject.
London Olympics
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in her Department spend the majority of their time on work related to the 2012 Olympics; and what the pay band is of each of these staff members. [106518]
Mr. Lammy: 37 full-time equivalent staff in my Department spend all or the majority of their time on work related to the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. These staff members fall into the Department’s pay bands as follows:
| Number of staff (FTE) | Pay band minimum (£) | Pay band maximum (£) | |
In addition, there are a further eight individuals in my Department (comprising legal advisers, consultants, agency staff and a specialist adviser) who spend all or the majority of their time on work related to the 2012 games. These individuals do not fall into the Department’s pay band structure.
Private Finance Initiatives
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total capital value is of each private finance initiative scheme overseen by her Department which has reached financial close; over what period repayments will take place; and what the total cost of repayment will be in each case. [103580]
Mr. Lammy: The Department currently leads on a total of 12 projects that have reached financial close.
The Amber Valley leisure centre project has a total capital value of £22 million and was awarded a total of £17.5 million of DGMS PFI credits. The date of financial close was 12 April 2006, and payments commenced on 13 April 2006 for a period of 34 years.
Bournemouth received £6 million of DCMS credits for a new build library project with a total capital value of £20.1 million. The project reached financial close on 10 August 2000 and payments commenced on 11 March 2002 for a period of 30 years.
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