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19 July 2007 : Column 569W—continued
Coroners: Wiltshire
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he has given to increasing funding for Wiltshire coroners court to assist with military inquests. [150164]
Bridget Prentice: Since 1 April 2007 the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner has transferred the majority of the inquests which have been repatriated via RAF Lyneham in his jurisdiction to coroners closer to the deceased’s next of kin. I am keeping the handling of these inquests under review and reporting to the House quarterly on progress. The Secretary of State and I plan to meet the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner before the recess. MOJ and MOD officials will also be meeting the coroner, Wiltshire county council and Wiltshire constabulary shortly.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many military inquests were carried out by the (a) Oxfordshire coroner and (b) Wiltshire coroner in each year since 2003. [150165]
Bridget Prentice: The following table gives information on completed military inquests as provided by the Oxfordshire and Swindon and Wiltshire coroners’ offices.
| Oxfordshire | Swindon and Wiltshire | |
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many military inquests are pending in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) Wiltshire. [150166]
Bridget Prentice: As of today there are 54 military inquests pending in the Oxfordshire coroner’s jurisdiction and 24 inquests pending in the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner’s jurisdiction. There is no backlog in Wiltshire. The vast majority of these inquests relate to deaths in the last 12 months, with many inquests relating to deaths in the last six months.
Departments: Ministerial Red Boxes
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many ministerial red boxes the Department bought in each of the last five years; what the cost of each was; who the suppliers were; and what tendering process was used in selecting them. [150295]
Maria Eagle: Red boxes are used by successive Ministers over a number of years. The specific information requested for the last five years could be provided only at disproportionate cost as the information is not recorded centrally.
Red boxes are ordered via the Department’s stationery contract with Banner Business Supplies.
Departments: Private Finance Initiative
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total cost is of all private finance initiative projects for which his Department has responsibility completed since 1997; and what the projected cost is of such projects commissioned or under way. [148030]
Maria Eagle: The total cost of all private finance initiative projects for which my Department has responsibility that have been completed since 1997 is in excess of £8.0 billion and can be found on the list of signed PFI deals, available on HM Treasury's website at:
The list contains by project the annual unitary charge payments, which are projections and are conditional on the performance of the private sector contractor. Unitary charge payments are not simply repayments for the capital value of the project and will frequently include inflation, provision of services and major refurbishment.
All of the projects on the list that are overseen by the Ministry of Justice are fully operational except Avon and Somerset magistrates court, where the final site at Bristol is expected to be completed in 2007-08.
Departments: Wales
Mr. Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what land in Wales is owned by his Department. [150223]
Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice owns the following land in Wales;
Her Majesty’s Prison Cardiff
Her Majesty’s Prison Parc
Her Majesty’s Prison Swansea
Her Majesty’s Prison Prescoed
Cilwrgi Farm
Cwmbran site
Newport site, George street, Newport, NP20
Feltham Young Offender Institution and Remand Centre
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the budget was for Feltham Young Offenders Institute in each of the last five years. [150358]
Mr. Hanson: The budget for Feltham Young Offenders Institute in each of the last five years is contained in the following table.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many social workers working at Feltham Young Offenders Institute are jointly funded by the Youth Justice Board and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. [150359]
Mr. Hanson: The Youth Justice Board has been funding two social worker posts at Feltham. Following the promotion of the senior social worker to be head of safeguarding, there is currently one social worker in post and the vacancy is being advertised. The Youth Justice Board and the Department for Children, Schools and Families have agreed that funding for the financial year 2007-08 would be provided jointly.
Juries: Mentally Ill
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on people undergoing treatment for mental illness serving on juries. [150338]
Maria Eagle: The relevant legislation makes it clear that persons undergoing treatment for a mental disorder are not qualified for jury service, and Sir Robin Auld’s “Review of the Criminal Courts of England and Wales” recommended no change to the exclusion of mentally disordered persons from jury service. However, we recognise that there are potential benefits in a change to the current arrangements, particularly of a social inclusion nature. The current eligibility criteria are in need of review, and we have indicated that we will consult on modernising them. We will make it clear in due course whether and, if so, how the law is to be changed.
Legal Aid: Mediation
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department and the Legal Services Commission have taken to meet the recommendations of the National Audit Office report Legal aid and mediation for people involved in family breakdown; and if he will make a statement. [150036]
Maria Eagle: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is currently awaiting the Public Accounts Committee’s report on the National Audit Office’s (NAO’s) findings. It has however already begun to implement the NAO’s recommendations:
The LSC plans to start piloting family telephone advice through the existing CLS Direct telephone service in the autumn of 2007. This will enable clients seeking family advice to get information about mediation from trained operators.
As a result of decisions taken in the light of the LSC’s and the then Department for Constitutional Affairs’ consultation “Legal Aid Reform: Family and Family Mediation Fee Schemes”, the decision as to whether domestic abuse is a bar to mediation will now sit with the mediator and not the solicitor.
The new Family Fee Structure will also remove the financial disincentives for solicitors to make referrals to mediation, which has historically been an obstacle to increasing mediation referrals, a fact recognised by the mediation profession and in the NAO’s report.
The LSC will monitor the number of referrals made by individual firms to mediation. A report, due for implementation in October 2007, will extract information from LSC databases on the exemption from mediation reasons used by individual firms, and sanctions will be available if solicitors firms do not make appropriate and timely referrals.
The LSC is currently developing a new supplier management system to replace existing systems. This will make it easier to track cases across different schemes.
Legal Aid: Reform
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he next expects to meet the Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Incorporated Law Society to discuss legal aid reforms. [150584]
Maria Eagle: My noble Friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, the lead Minister for legal aid reform, has had a number of meetings with legal aid practitioners and other interested parties, including the current Law Society president to discuss various aspect of the legal aid reform programme. He currently has no plans to meet the Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Incorporated Law Society.
Police Custody
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what provision has been made in his Department’s budgets for the cost of (a) police cell accommodation and (b) court cell accommodation for prisoners in 2007-08. [150145]
Mr. Hanson: The National Offender Management Service has a budget of £9 million for the use of police cells and courts cells in 2007-08. The budget is not split between police and court cells.
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total cost was of (a) police cell accommodation and (b) court cell accommodation in each financial year from 1996-97 to 2006-07. [150144]
Mr. Hanson: I have assumed that this question refers to the use of police and court cells to hold prisoners overnight.
In 2006-07 £1,070,140 was paid for the use of police cells to hold prisoners overnight (known as Operation Safeguard). Police forces invoice in arrears and not all invoices relating to this financial year have yet been received or paid.
Police cells were also used to hold prisoners overnight in the financial year 2002-03. A total of £10.44 million was paid in this period.
In financial year 2006-07 NOMS has paid £235,000 (excluding VAT) to a private contractor to keep court cells available to hold prisoners overnight. Not all invoices have yet been received or paid.
Prison Service: Resignations
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers have resigned from the Prison Service within (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years of starting their employment in each of the last five years. [150134]
Maria Eagle: Information on the number of prison officers who resigned from the Prison Service within six months, one year and two years of joining is contained in the table.
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