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9 July 2007 : Column 1230W—continued
Under the penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme, a fixed penalty of £80 may be issued for criminal damage up to a value of £500. While some PNDs issued for criminal damage may actually be for acts of graffiti, it is not possible to identify how many of these were issued for graffiti. This detailed information is only held by individual police forces.
Home Detention Curfews
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to increase the number of offences that fall within the Home Detention Curfew Scheme. [148196]
Mr. Hanson: The Home Detention Curfew Scheme is kept under careful review but at present there are no plans to make changes to the eligibility criteria of the scheme.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for which offences prisoners may be included in the Home Detention Curfew Release Scheme. [148197]
Mr. Hanson: Eligible prisoners primarily serving sentences of three months or more but less than four years may be considered for early release under the Home Detention Curfew scheme (HOC).
Certain categories of prisoners are statutorily excluded from HOC, including prisoners subject to the registration requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (formerly Part 1 of the Sex Offenders Act 1997) and prisoners serving extended sentences for violent offences. In addition, prisoners with any history of
sexual offending or serving sentences for certain serious offences are presumed unsuitable for release on HDC unless there are exceptional reasons to grant release. The categories of offences are: homicide, including manslaughter and causing death by dangerous driving; certain explosives offences; child cruelty; possession of a firearm with intent; possession of an offensive weapon and racially aggravated offences.
Prisoners who are not excluded or presumed unsuitable are eligible to be considered for HDC but are not granted release under the scheme unless they have a suitable release address and pass a careful risk assessment. Full details of the eligibility criteria and assessment process are contained in Prison Service Order 6700 which is available on the HM Prison Service website.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 2 July 2007, Official Report, columns 910-11W, on home detention curfews, how many of those prisoners were returned to prison under the terms of a home detention curfew for committing (a) murder, (b) rape, (c) burglary, (d) grievous bodily harm and (e) actual bodily harm. [148291]
Mr. Hanson:
From Table 10.7 in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005, there were 402 recalls in 2003, 464 recalls in 2004, and 327 recalls from Home Detention Curfew during 2005 where the
offender was charged with a new offence but it is not possible to give a full breakdown by offence because of disproportionate cost. This publication can be found in the House of Commons Library and the table can be accessed at:
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Legal Aid Scheme: Wales
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many law practices in Wales received funds through the Crown courts in Wales for (a) legal aid advice and assistance and (b) legal aid including representation, in each of the last seven years, broken down by (i) the lowest possible geographical areas for which figures are available, (ii) the type of case and (iii) the nature of the work for which the legal aid was paid; and if he will make a statement. [147361]
Maria Eagle: The following tables show the number of solicitor offices that received funding for proceedings in the Crown court by category of offence and geographical location of the solicitors’ offices in Wales, for each of the last six years. Figures for 2000-01 are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
| 2001-02 | |||||||||
| Homicide | Serious violence and drugs | Lesser violence and drugs | Sexual offences | Burglary | Offences of dishonesty | Miscellaneous( 1) | Public order offences | Unknown( 2) | |
| (1) Miscellaneous offences include other common law offences and offences prescribed by legislation that do not fall within the other categories. (2) Unknown offences include payments made to solicitor firms where the offence is not recorded. For example, where payments are made on account. | |||||||||
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