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23 July 2007 : Column 798W—continued


Public Defender Service: Liverpool

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of establishing the Public Defender Service Office in St. John's Street, Liverpool; and what its running costs have been since establishment. [151776]

Maria Eagle: The set up costs and annual running costs of the Liverpool Public Defender Service Office are as follows:

Amount (£)

2001-02

(1)164,348

2001-02

(2)385,332

2002-03

(2)488,927

2003-04

(2)564,784

2004-05

(2)682,617

2005-06

(2)639,983

(1 )Set up costs. (2 )Running costs.

These figures were published in the PDS Annual Reports which are available on the Legal Services Commission's website (www.legalservices.gov.uk).

Public Defender Service: Pilot Schemes

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the expected completion dates are of the public defence pilots in (a) Swansea, (b) Middlesbrough, (c) Birmingham, (d) Cheltenham and (e) other locations. [151778]

Maria Eagle: The Public Defender Service pilot, running in Birmingham, Cheltenham, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Pontypridd, Swansea, Chester and Darlington, concluded on 31 March 2005. The Middlesbrough office closed during 2006, and in February 2007 the Legal Services Commission proposed to close the Birmingham, Chester and Liverpool offices. All operated in areas with ample
23 July 2007 : Column 799W
alternative Criminal Defence Service supply. The Cheltenham, Darlington, Pontypridd and Swansea offices continue to operate.

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment the Government have made of the Public Defence Office pilots. [151779]

Maria Eagle: The Government commissioned an independent team of leading academics, lead by Professor Lee Bridges of the University of Warwick, to undertake a full evaluation of the PDS pilot. The final report entitled “Evaluation of the Public Defender Service in England and Wales” was published in January 2007 and can be found on the Legal Services Commission's website at;

A copy of the final report can also be found in the Libraries of the House.

Public Defender Service: Standards

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the comparative (a) cost and (b) quality of service of the Public Defender Service Office and private sector criminal defence lawyers. [151777]

Maria Eagle: The Independent Evaluation of the Public Defender Service (PDS) in England and Wales, which was published in January 2007, includes an assessment of the comparative cost and quality provided by the PDS. The final report entitled “Evaluation of the Public Defender Service in England and Wales” was published in January 2007 and can be found on the Legal Services Commission's website at;

A copy of the final report can also be found in the Libraries of the House.

Repossession Orders: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court orders were issued for the repossession of homes by each London county court in each of the last three years. [150562]

Bridget Prentice: The table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made in each London county court since 2004.

The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for example, possession orders made at Croydon county court may relate to properties in other London boroughs besides Croydon.

These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all orders result in the properties actually being repossessed.


23 July 2007 : Column 800W
Number of mortgage possession orders made in the county courts in London, 2004-06
Possession orders made( 1)
2004 2005 2006

Barnet

287

552

580

Bow

897

1,423

1,702

Brentford

372

602

779

Bromley

585

1,037

1,121

Central London

265

506

409

Clerkenwell and Shoreditch

406

661

804

Croydon

895

1,474

1,856

Edmonton

644

1,121

1,249

Ilford

392

563

650

Kingston-upon-Thames

209

356

420

Lambeth

553

920

1,089

Mayors and City

3

1

9

Romford

486

900

981

Uxbridge

347

515

595

Wandsworth

340

555

582

West London

141

287

293

Willesden

497

893

1,080

Woolwich

343

624

903

London total

7,662

12,990

15,102

(1) Includes suspended orders. The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction.

Road Traffic Offences: Prisoners Release

Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for convictions in relation to which types of motoring offence prisoners are eligible for early release under the early release scheme. [150992]

Mr. Hanson: The End of Custody Licence came into use on 29 June 2007. Eligible prisoners serving four weeks or more but less than four years may be released under licence from prison up to 18 days before their automatic release date. Full details of the eligibility criteria are set out in Prison Service Instruction 27/2007. Prisoners convicted of motoring offences are eligible for release on End of Custody Licence.

Theft: Bicycles

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) sentenced for bicycle thefts in (i) Eastbourne and (ii) East Sussex in each of the last five years. [151381]

Maria Eagle: One person was prosecuted and one sentenced in the Eastbourne and Hailsham court area in 2001 for bicycle theft. In the same year, 10 people were prosecuted and six sentenced in the Eastern Sussex court area for the same offence.

From 1 January 2002 it was not possible to separately identify people prosecuted and sentenced in the Eastbourne and Hailsham court from those in other courts within the Eastern Sussex court area. The following table shows the number of people prosecuted and sentenced in the Eastern Sussex court area from 2002 to 2005, the latest year for which data are available.


23 July 2007 : Column 801W
Number of people proceeded against at magistrates courts and sentenced at all courts, for bicycle thefts in the Eastern Sussex court area: 2001 to 2005( 1, 2)
Proceeded against Sentenced

2002

1

1

2003

3

3

2004

3

3

2005

3

2

(1) These data are on the principal offence basis.
(2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Note:
In 2001 it was possible to give the number of people proceeded against and sentenced for bicycle theft within the Eastbourne and Hailsham court area. However, from 1 January 2002 it is not possible to separate data in relation to the individual courts within the Eastern Sussex court area.

Thorn Cross Young Offender Institution: Vocational Education

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many inmates of Thorn Cross Young Offenders Institute have acquired vocational qualifications whilst detained at the institute. [150870]


23 July 2007 : Column 802W

Mr. Hanson: In the periods 2005-06 and 2006-07, 104 and 145 prisoners respectively acquired vocational qualifications at HMYOI Thorn Cross. In the first three months of the current business year 2007-08, 91 prisoners have so far gained a vocational qualification at the establishment.

Tribunals

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the cost of setting up the new tribunals service under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill if enacted. [150918]

Bridget Prentice: The Tribunals Service has been operating as a government agency since April 2006. The net running costs in 2006-07 were £286.8 million. The Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill was published on the 16 November 2006. That identified the estimated additional cost of implementation as £50,000. This was for establishing the Tribunal Procedure Committee as set out in The Regulatory Impact Assessment. These estimates will be updated as required by the Cabinet Office guidance on Impact Assessments.

Written Answers to Questions

Monday 23 July 2007

Health

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the number of patients seeking advice and treatment for alcohol related illnesses since 2004. [150480]

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format requested. Estimates of the proportion of adults (aged 16 and over) in Great Britain, who have discussed drinking with their general practitioner or another medical person, are available from the Office for National Statistics Omnibus Survey. Estimated proportions are based on all drinkers. Questions on alcohol are included in the Omnibus Survey biennially and the data is provided in table 1 for 2004 and 2006.

The number of alcohol related illnesses is not available in the format requested. Data are available providing the number of adults, aged 16 and over, admitted to national health service hospitals in England with a primary or secondary diagnosis that is specifically related to alcohol consumption. These figures are presented in table 2 and are published in “Statistics on Alcohol: England 2007” produced by The Information Centre for health and social care, available at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/alcohol07. Numbers of those admitted with a diagnosis of an accident, illness or disease that does not specifically relate to alcohol but can be attributed to alcohol consumption are not currently available.


23 July 2007 : Column 804W
Table 1 Discussion of drinking in the last year, by gender, 2004 and 2006 —Great Britain
Percentage( 1)
Discussed drinking with : 2004 2006

Men( 2)

GP

8

11

Someone else at the surgery

1

2

Doctor elsewhere

1

1

Other medical person elsewhere

1

2

Not discussed drinking

89

86

Women( 2)

GP

5

5

Someone else at the surgery

1

1

Doctor elsewhere

1

1

Other medical person elsewhere

1

1

Not discussed drinking

92

92

Bases

Men

1,384

1,017

Women

1,645

1,156

(1) Percentages may sum to more than 100 per cent. as respondents could give more than one answer
(2) Aged 16 and over
(3) Percentages are based on respondents who drink alcohol
Source:
Drinking: Adults’ behaviour and knowledge in 2006. Office for National Statistics

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