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4 Jun 2007 : Column 200Wcontinued
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will consider introducing a pilot scheme for lowering the voting age to 16 years to ascertain the effects on (a) political engagement and (b) electoral turnout. [139574]
Bridget Prentice: The Government have no immediate plans to introduce pilot schemes to ascertain the effects of lowering the voting age to 16.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the financial implications of the planned changes are to the way in which care proceedings are dealt with in court. [140268]
Ms Harman: Details about the financial implications of implementation of the recommendations of the Review of the Child Care Proceedings System in England Wales are contained in the regulatory impact assessment laid before Parliament on 18 May 2006. A copy has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and is available electronically through the former Department of Constitutional Affairs website
John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (1) how many cases of (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful litigation there have been related to injuries and deaths caused by falling gravestones and memorials in council graveyards in the last 20 years; [140511]
(2) how many complaints there have been of unsafe gravestones and memorials in council graveyards in the last 20 years; [140512]
(3) how many church graveyards were safety inspected in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007; [140514]
(4) how many deaths there were in council graveyards in each of the last 20 years (a) in total and (b) from falling gravestones and memorials; [140515]
(5) how many council graveyards had areas closed for safety reasons during (a) 2006 and (b) 2007; [140516]
(6) how many non-members of the National Association of Memorial Masons are authorised to test and repair gravestones in council graveyards. [140517]
Ms Harman: The information requested is not held or collated centrally. Responsibility for the management and safety of council burial grounds, including the competence of those authorised to test and repair gravestones, lies with individual burial authorities.
Recent advice to burial authorities has stressed the need for great sensitivity and careful planning in the way any memorials are tested or made safe.
John Mann:
To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (1) what involvement the National Association
of Memorial Masons had in determining standards of health and safety in council graveyards; [140518]
(2) which external bodies were consulted over the system of gravestone testing now operated by local authorities. [140519]
Ms Harman: I understand that the National Association of Memorial Masons were one of the bodies represented on the Technical Committee responsible for the preparation of the relevant British Standards Institution specifications published in 2005.
It is for individual local authorities to determine what testing of gravestones should be undertaken. Detailed advice and guidance on memorial and safety standards has been issued by various professional and representative bodies, including the National Association of Memorial Masons.
John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many childrens panel solicitors are registered in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) England; and how many were so registered in each case in each of the last five years. [138994]
Bridget Prentice: The Law Societys Children Panel is maintained by the Law Society and is independent of Government. I understand that there are 1,617 solicitors currently registered on the Childrens Panel in England and Wales.
The number of solicitors registered on the Childrens Panel for England and Wales in each of the last five years is as follows.
Number | |
There are 36 solicitors currently registered on the Childrens Panel in Nottinghamshire. However historical data on the different regions are not held.
Robert Neill: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice which offences fall under the definition of acquisitive crime as referred to by the Secretary of State for Justice in his recent speech on sentencing. [138908]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The term Acquisitive Crime is used to describe crime where items are stolen from persons or property, or acquired fraudulently. This encompasses such offences as theft, burglary, vehicle crime, fraud and counterfeiting.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will list the outside (a) agencies and (b) consultancies which are undertaking work
commissioned by her Department; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost is of each commission. [138465]
Ms Harman: Since the Ministry of Justice was only formed on 9 May 2007, my response refers to the former Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) and those bodies which were formerly part of the Home Office which are now part of the new Department.
(a) A framework contract exists with Kelly Services for the supply of temporary agency workers to cover administrative posts. In the financial year ending 31 March 2007, expenditure with them was £8.08 million. DCA did use other agencies, but information relating to them is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
(b) Annex 1 lists those consultancy contracts that were in place on 1 April 2007.
Office for Criminal Justice Reform (PCJR)
(a) Knight Employment Limited and Manpower are used to cover temporary administrative posts. In April 2007, expenditure with Knight Employment Limited was £30,000 and in the financial year ending 31 March 2008, expenditure with Manpower is expected to be £90,000. Information relating to the use of other agencies is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
(b) Annex 2 lists consultancy contracts in place on 1 April 2007.
National Offender Management Service (N OMS)
(a) In the financial year ending 31 March 2007, £2,298,876 was spent with employment agencies to cover temporary administrative posts. The top five employment agencies used, in terms of expenditure, were Adecco, Hays, Manpower, Reed Personnel and Brook Street.
(b) Information on current consultancy contracts is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, Annex 3 lists consultancy contracts in place from 1 February 2006 to 28 February 2007.
(a) In the financial year ending 31 March 2007, the following companies, together with expenditure details, were used to supply agency workers to cover temporary administrative posts:
Adecco UK Limited£964,993
Brook Street (UK) Limited£1.2 million
Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited£840,784
Manpower UK Limited£279,909
Reed Employment plc£914,190.
(b) Information on current consultancy contracts is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, Annex 4 lists consultancy contracts in place during the financial year ending 31 March 2007.
DCA consultancy expenditure as at 1 April 2007Annex 1 | ||
Consultancy | Project | Approximate value (£) |
Provision of management information and business planning services to Tribunals Service | ||
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