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29 Oct 2007 : Column 608W—continued
Police: Pay
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the percentage change in (a) police officers’ and (b) prison officers’ pay in Northern Ireland was in each of the last six years. [161556]
Paul Goggins: Annual percentage increases in basic pay for police officers in the Police Service for Northern Ireland and prison officers in Northern Ireland Prison Service in each of the last six years are shown in the following table.
| Police officers | Prison officers | |
| (1) The 2007 police pay negotiations have yet to be concluded. (2) 2.0 + 1.5 per cent. efficiency award. | ||
Territorial Waters: Northern Ireland
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what responsibility for the eco-systems in and around the territorial waters of Northern Ireland are (a) devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive and (b) retained competences for the United Kingdom Government; and what the geographical boundary is of the division of responsibility between the Executive and the UK Government in respect of (i) those lochs whose waters have outlets to the sea and (ii) those lochs and other waters whose shores are shared with the Republic of Ireland. [155824]
Paul Goggins: Answering this question has proved a complex task because responsibility crosses the devolved and reserved boundaries. Unfortunately it will not be possible to provide a comprehensive answer before the end of the Parliamentary Session, so I will write to the hon. Member once all the information is available explaining the position in detail.
I will place a copy of the letter in the Library.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to reply to question 155824, on Northern Ireland territorial waters, tabled by the hon. Member for Thurrock on 5 October for answer on 8 October. [161332]
Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave today.
Women and Equality
Departments: Manpower
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many civil servants work for her in her role as Minister for Women and Equality, broken down by grade; what the pay bands are for each of the grades; how many civil service posts were created at the time that the Government Equalities Office was established; what the budget is of the new Government Equalities Office; and when she will publish a business plan for the new Office. [159424]
Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office currently has a staff complement of 72.95 full-time equivalents.
Excluded from this figure is a small team of nine legal advisers who work alongside the GEO and the director general who has senior oversight of the GEO alongside other responsibilities. There are also 12 staff working at the Women's National Commission.
The breakdown of staff by grade is shown in the following table.
| GEO | Number |
The breakdown for WNC is based on permanent civil servants post. This does not include unpaid interns.
| Number | |
No new posts were created when the Government Equalities Office was established. The tables show the pay bands for each grade. The budget has yet to be agreed and will be laid before Parliament for approval as part of the winter supplementary estimates exercise. The Government Equalities Office will not be publishing a business plan for this financial year, but preparations are being made to develop one for 2008-09.
Departments: Marketing
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the cost was of creating signs for ministerial offices displaying the Government Equality Office's name. [159422]
Barbara Follett: No costs have been incurred in the creation of signage for the Government Equality Office's name.
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the total cost was of the establishment of the Government Equalities Office; and what the costs were of (a) relocation and (b) rebranding (i) signs, (ii) stationery and (iii) official publications. [159423]
Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office was formed by staff from existing teams based in the Department for Communities and Local Government. Budget estimates for the new office will be laid before Parliament in the normal manner and will be included in the winter supplementaries.
No relocation costs have been incurred in respect to the new Government Equalities Office. An interim logo was produced. The cost for this was £1,300. This resulted in a logo available in several formats for print and online use, as well as in Welsh. Some minimal staff time has been used in adapting computer logos to print new letter heads and new compliment slips. There has been no additional publication or signage costs.
Departments: Official Visits
David Simpson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality on how many occasions she has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months. [158926]
Barbara Follett: Since my appointment as Minister for Equality in July 2007, my official visits have been as follows:
| Number | |
In my capacity as Minister for the East of England, I have visited the east of England on five occasions.
Domestic Violence: Advisory Services
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many independent domestic violence advisers were employed in each year since 1997, broken down by region; what indicators the Government use to assess their effectiveness; and what assessment she has made of their performance based on those indicators. [161437]
Barbara Follett: Every one of the 64 Specialist Domestic Violence Courts provides support to victims via an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor service (comprising at least one IDVA). As there is a wide range of work patterns across the 64 areas, we do not have precise employment numbers; we prefer to focus on ensuring delivery of a service that holistically supports individuals who are victims of domestic violence. By autumn of this year, there were 130 Government-funded graduates or students on the accredited training for Independent Domestic Violence Advisers, with a further 75 Government-funded places in the spring 2008.
In 2006-07 the Home Office provided £1.85 million funding to support Specialist Domestic Violence Courts including Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs). In 2007-08, the Ministry of Justice has secured £3 million to contribute towards the Independent Domestic Violence Advisors services supporting the existing 64 Specialist Domestic Violence Courts and for services outside these areas, with a commitment to ongoing funding.
A review of the original Specialist Domestic Violence Courts, selected in 2005-06, (which will include the specific contribution of the Independent Domestic Violence Advisors) is being undertaken at the moment which will be disseminated in November. Part of this review will include a quantitative data analysis of all Specialist Domestic Violence Courts. The review will examine what success looks like for Specialist Domestic Violence Courts in terms of criminal justice and safety measures. Based on the findings of the review, local areas will be advised on how they can measure performance, but we do not plan to have any national performance indicators.
In addition to Specialist Domestic Violence Courts, IDVAs are also integral to the success of the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences. These conferences are the cornerstone of our approach to the safety of victims of domestic violence through the agreement of safety plans for identified high risk victims. Early data from those areas which have been trained in Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference are promising with significant reductions in repeat victimisation, not least due to the work of Independent Domestic Violence Advisors who often carry out over 80 per cent. of the actions agreed at the conference.
Equal Pay
Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the gender pay gap is (a) nationally, (b) by region and (c) by constituency. [157754]
Barbara Follett: The gender pay gap figures are based on median full-time hourly earnings (excluding overtime) in 2006 derived from the Annual Survey of Hourly Earnings (ASHE). The data on earnings are reported by place of residence (rather than place of work).
| (a) Nationally | |||
| £ per hour | Gap (percentage) | ||
| Male | Female | ||
| (b) By region | |||
| £ per hour | Gap (percentage) | ||
| Male | Female | ||
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