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20 Nov 2007 : Column 688W—continued
Mike Penning: To ask the Solicitor-General how many unduly lenient sentences she referred to the Court of Appeal in each of the last five years. [165684]
The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General’s Office publishes annual statistics on unduly lenient sentence references on its website
The following table shows the number of offenders whose sentences were referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient, the number of offenders whose references were subsequently withdrawn and the number of offenders who were therefore brought before the Court of Appeal in each of the last five years for which full statistics have been published.
| Offenders referred to Court of Appeal | Withdrawn references | Offenders brought to the Court of Appeal | |
Northern Ireland
Departmental Assets
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; what the (a) description and (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement. [164169]
Mr. Woodward: The following table illustrates the Northern Ireland Office’s assets (excluding its Agencies and Executive NDPBs) which are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11.
| £000 | |||
| Description of asset | Net book value (NBV) at 30 September 2007 | 2007-08 Actual/expected revenue | ( 3) 2008-09 to 2010-11 expected revenue |
| (1) The addresses of residential properties have not been provided for security reasons. (2) The expected revenue of residential properties disposed of in 2007-08 is based on the proceeds received to date, plus the forecast receipts for the remainder of the year. (3) For the planned disposals in the years 2008-09 to 2010-11 it is assumed that assets will be sold at their net book value. The Department is still finalising details of the actual year each property will be sold in, a breakdown of these annual figures will be provided in the Department’s CSR07 Asset management Strategy which is due to be published in December 2007. | |||
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what efficiency savings projects his Department put in place under the Spending Review 2004 targets; on what date each was initiated; how much each was expected to contribute to the target; how much was saved by each; and if he will make a statement. [164152]
Mr. Woodward: Details of the Northern Ireland Office’s efficiency savings in relation to Spending Review 2004 can be seen in the NIO’s Efficiency Technical Note. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Departmental Repairs and Maintenance
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent by his Department on renovation and refurbishment of its properties in each of the last five years. [164368]
Mr. Woodward:
The NIO does not record expenditure under the specific headings of renovation and refurbishment, and so to provide this information could be done only at disproportionate cost. I can provide expenditure on all maintenance and minor works costs which will include renovation and refurbishment. The figures therefore include renovation
and refurbishment expenditure, including fit out costs of new accommodation, plus expenditure on reactive and planned maintenance, as well as health and safety maintenance, repairs to mechanical and electrical systems and associated fees.
The rise in expenditure over the last two years is due to fit out costs for new accommodation for the Public Prosecution Service as a result of the roll out of a regional office network.
| £000 | |
Departmental Wines
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to ensure that English wine is served exclusively or at the request of guests at meals, parties and receptions hosted by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [164295]
Mr. Woodward: All public procurement procedures must comply with the EC Treaty. The key principles of the treaty, from a public procurement point of view, are the free movement of goods and services, and non-discrimination on the grounds of nationality. This legislation is designed to ensure that all public procurement across the European Union is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory.
This means that my Department cannot specify that it will only buy goods (e.g. wine) from a particular country or locality, as that would discriminate against producers from other EU member states.
However, the Government are committed to increasing opportunities for small and local suppliers to tender for contracts, thus enhancing competition and securing better value for money. My Department has done this by advertising its requirements, both locally and in accordance with the European Directives, thus offering all potential suppliers, large and small, the opportunity to compete for the Department’s business.
Draft Marine Bill
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the likely impact of the provision of the Draft Marine Bill on Northern Ireland. [164401]
Paul Goggins: My officials have been kept informed as to how the Marine Bill will affect Northern Ireland. Officials in the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland are also closely involved in the development of the Bill. If the Bill seeks to legislate on matters that are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Administration, the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly would have to be sought.
Drugs: Smuggling
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on reducing levels of drug trafficking in Northern Ireland. [164398]
Paul Goggins: Tackling the illegal drugs trade in Northern Ireland is a key priority for the Government. In my role as chair of the Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF) I have regular meetings with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other law enforcement agencies to consider ways of dealing with this problem.
The OCTF also has a Drugs Expert subgroup, which meets on a quarterly basis to consider proactive ways of dealing with the supply and trafficking of illegal drugs. This is chaired by a senior police officer and its membership is comprised of representatives from all of the law enforcement agencies as well as the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
There have been some notable successes: from April to September this year, drugs with an estimated street value of £1.6 million have been seized by the police; also, 1,726 people have been arrested for drug-related offences in 2006-07, an increase of almost 20 per cent. over the previous year.
Hazelwood School: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) cost and (b) construction timetable is of the proposed new wall at Hazelwood Integrated Primary School; and if he will make a statement. [164312]
Paul Goggins: The estimated cost of the fence is £202,000.
Preparatory ground work is now finished and the fence should be completed by mid January 2008.
The decision taken to erect a security fence at Hazelwood Integrated Primary School was based on a PSNI security assessment. The on-going requirement for the fence will be subject to regular review.
Prisons
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cells in the prison estate in Northern Ireland are not in use; and if he will make a statement. [164389]
Paul Goggins: As of 13 November, the Northern Ireland Prison Service had a total of 299 vacant cells—Maghaberry 79, Magilligan 102, Hydebank Wood Male 97 (of which 72 are being refurbished) and Female 21 cells.
The Magilligan figure includes a new 50 room unit which is due to be finally commissioned very shortly.
As much of the accommodation is designated for specific categories of prisoner, this limits the flexibility in allocating prisoners to the available vacant cells, for example, males aged over 23 are not housed in Hydebank Wood and integrated prisoners do not share landings with separated prisoners in Maghaberry.
Sexual Offences
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were convicted of sexual offences against children in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years; and what sentence was imposed in each case where proceedings are complete. [165142]
Paul Goggins: Northern Ireland court proceedings and sentencing data sources do not include victim information in relation to the commission of an offence. It is therefore possible only to provide the number of convictions for those offences which, by their definition, identify a child as the victim. The following tables document the number convicted for such offences, the method of disposal and average custodial sentence length.
Data cover the calendar years 2000 to 2005 (the latest available years) and are collated on the principal offence rule; therefore only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
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