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28 Jun 2007 : Column 861W—continued
Secure Training Centres: Restraint Techniques
Ms Keeble: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what consultations were undertaken on changes to the use of restraint in secure training centres before the laying of the Secure Training Centre (Amendment) Rules 2007 (S.I., 2007, No. 1709), dated 13 June 2007, before Parliament; and what (a) monitoring and (b) impact assessment she plans to undertake of the implementation of the changes. [146005]
Bridget Prentice: We consulted the Youth Justice Board and Directors of secure training centres about the proposed change. Wider consultation was not necessary or appropriate, as there is no change of the policy on the use of physical restraint. That policy is set out in section 10 of the Youth Justice Board’s code of practice “Managing Children and Young People's Behaviour in the Secure Estate”.
Monitors appointed by the Youth Justice Board monitor the use of physical restraint in secure training centres and are required to submit to the Board a report of any incident in which physical restraint is used. The Board also collects statistical data on the use of physical restraint across the under-18 secure estate. In April 2007, it introduced a new system of data collection, which will provide more detailed information and allow more accurate comparisons to be made about use of restraint in the three sectors of the estate (young offender institutions, secure training centres and secure children’s homes).
Ms Keeble: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many reviews the Youth Justice Board has undertaken of the use of restraint in secure training centres in the last five years. [146006]
Bridget Prentice: The Youth Justice Board has commissioned four reviews relating exclusively to methods of restraint used in secure training centres.
a review by David Waplington of behaviour management in secure training centres (October 2004);
a review by medical and other experts of the safety of “Physical Control in Care” (PCC) the system of restraint approved for use in secure training centres (May 2005);
an independent review of PCC and behaviour management in secure training centres. Conducted by Anthony Bleetman and Peter Boatman (July 2005);
Safe and Sound, a review of the development of physical control techniques used in secure training centres. Conducted by a forum of Secure Training Centre Directors (August 2006).
In addition, the Youth Justice Board commissioned the National Children’s Bureau to report on use of physical intervention within the juvenile secure estate generally (2003).
Northern Ireland
Firearms: Registration
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firearms certificates were (a) held, (b) granted and (c) extinguished in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [145252]
Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable of the Police Service for Northern Ireland has provided the information in the following table.
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| (1) Figures are not available for the number of certificates granted in 2004-05. (2) The increase in certificates granted in 2006-07 reflects a clearance of a backlog of applications. | |||
Scotland
Departments: Credit Cards
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent by staff in his Department via departmental (a) credit, (b) procurement and (c) fuel cards in each of the last three years. [145299]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office does not have any credit or fuel cards. The Office has one procurement card which was issued in 2006-07; nothing was spent on that card in that year.
Departments: Public Participation
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many public consultations his Department undertook in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each consultation. [145281]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office undertook one public consultation entitled “Scottish Parliament Elections May 2007: Ballot Paper Design”, this was an online consultation and the associated costs were £17,000.
Identification of Criminals
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has made to the First Minister of Scotland on the retention of DNA samples of suspected criminals; and if he will make a statement. [146238]
David Cairns: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made no representations to the First Minister with regard to this matter.
Solicitor-General
Criminal Justice Pilots
24. Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Solicitor-General what the early findings are of the Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary pilots on speeding up prosecutions in north Northamptonshire. [146042]
The Solicitor-General: The Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary Process was introduced in three magistrates courts in North Northamptonshire on 4 June 2007. These were Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough. The implementation was effected smoothly, but it is too soon to be able to identify any findings. The process was successfully piloted in four other sites. I have visited courts in Coventry and London recently where there is real enthusiasm about the benefits of CJSSS. It is being rolled out across the country this year.
Law Officers
25. Mr. Mackay: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement on the future role of the Law Officers. [146043]
26. Robert Neill: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement on the future role of the Law Officers. [146044]
The Solicitor-General: I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) today.
Human Trafficking
27. Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to improve prosecution rates in cases of alleged human trafficking. [146045]
The Solicitor-General: The CPS is working with other Departments to implement the UK action plan on trafficking which provides for a range of actions on Prevention, Investigation, Enforcement and Prosecution. The CPS has taken the following steps:
A Network of Human Trafficking Champions appointed in each CPS Area;
A Senior prosecutor seconded to the UKHTC (Government’s multi-agency task force to tackle organised immigration crime) to:
provide early tactical legal advice assist in obtaining evidence from other jurisdictions;
issued national guidance to prosecutors on how to handle trafficking prosecutions; and ensured that the victim’s interests are at the heart of any prosecution as part of the Prosecutor’s Pledge.
Media Reporting: Criminal Cases
28. Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Solicitor-General what his policy is on enforcement of the contempt laws on media reporting of criminal cases. [146046]
The Solicitor-General: I refer to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Lynda Waltho) on 28 June 2007, but I should stress that the Law Officers will not hesitate to enforce the Contempt of Court Act 1981 where coverage of active proceedings creates a substantial risk that the course of justice in those proceedings could be, or has already been, seriously prejudiced. This extends to interference with pending criminal investigations, if there has already been an arrest.
Administration of Justice
Mr. Bone: To ask the Solicitor-General what guidance his Department has issued to the Crown Prosecution Service on procedures for the reinstatement of trials which have been aborted due to technical error. [146229]
The Solicitor-General: No specific guidance has been issued to crown prosecutors on procedures for the reinstatement of trials, which have been aborted due to technical errors. Where cases are stopped because of a technical error, steps may be taken to correct the error so that the case may proceed in the usual way.
More general guidance has been issued, which states that a decision to re-institute proceedings should only be taken when ‘special circumstances’ exist that demand the reinstitution of proceedings in order to maintain public confidence in the criminal justice system. If it is decided to re-institute proceedings, action is taken to bring the defendant back before the court by way of a charge or summons. This process is independent of the previous proceedings.
Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Prosecutions
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions the Crown Prosecution Service has instigated for breaches of criminal anti-social behaviour orders since 2004. [146220]
The Solicitor-General: Crown Prosecution Service records include the number of prosecutions for breach of an antisocial behaviour order under section 1(10) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, but do not differentiate between prosecutions relating to criminal and non-criminal orders.
Complete records are held for the last two financial years, showing that the number of prosecutions under this legislation which reached a first hearing in
magistrates courts, or were entered on indictments in the crown court, was as follows:
| Magistrates courts | Crown court | |
Departments: Northern Ireland
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will place in the Library a copy of the concordat governing the relationship between his Department and the Northern Ireland administration. [145934]
The Solicitor-General: The Law Officer’s Department does not have a concordat governing the relationship between his Department and the Northern Ireland administration.
Departments: Property
Grant Shapps: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was raised from the sale of the Law Officers’ Departments departmental property in each of the last five years. [139309]
The Solicitor-General: The Law Officers’ Departments’ only sales of departmental property in the period were both in 2005-06: the Treasury Solicitor’s Department sold Queen Anne’s Chambers in Central London for £33 million; and the Crown Prosecution Service sold Winchway House in Haverfordwest for £450,000.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was received by the Law Officers’ Departments from the letting of its properties in each of the last five years. [139328]
The Solicitor-General: Of the Law Officers’ Departments, only the Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have owned properties during the period.
Their income from letting was as follows:
| £ | |||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| (1 )Forecast | |||||
Grant Shapps: To ask the Solicitor-General what properties the Law Officers’ Departments has (a) owned and (b) rented in each of the last five years. [139348]
The Solicitor-General: The Treasury Solicitor’s Department owned Queen Anne’s Chambers in London SW1 for the financial years spanning 2002 to 2006. It then sold it, as referred to in my reply to question 13909. They have rented 1 Kemble Street in London WC2 since 2005-06, to date. Riverside Chambers, Taunton, Somerset was leased by the Department in 1991 and is now let to various public sector tenants.
None of the other Law Officers’ Departments owns any properties. The Serious Fraud Office has rented Elm House, London WC1 throughout the period. The SFO rented fourth floor of Verulam Gardens, London WC1 from 2003-04 to 2006-07, and the fifth floor of the same building from 2004-05 to 2006-07. It rented the first and fifth floors of 200 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 from 2005-06 to date.
The Attorney-General’s Office AGO rented 8-9 Buckingham Gate, London SW1 throughout the period, and began renting 20 Victoria Street, London SW1 towards the end of the financial year 2006-07, prior to their move its move there in May 2007.
Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has rented numbers 26 and 28 Old Queen Street, London SW1 throughout this period.
The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, since its inception in April 2005, has occupied space under a Memorandum of Terms of Occupation agreed with HM Revenue and Customs in Ralli Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester and new Kings Beam House, London SE1.
The CPS breakdown is in the following table and a comprehensive list of the buildings has been placed in the Library.
| Owned | Rented | |
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