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12 Dec 2007 : Column 597W—continued
Prisons: Staff
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what speech and learning disability awareness training is available to staff in prisons. [172961]
Maria Eagle: No specific training is delivered centrally to prison officers in identifying people with such difficulties but under Prison Service Order 2855, governors must ensure that procedures exist for prisoners to be able to disclose disability, including learning disabilities, both on reception and subsequently. Each prison must have a disability liaison officer to ensure that the needs of disabled prisoners are met.
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers have five or more passes at GCSE or equivalent at grades A to C. [173519]
Maria Eagle: Information on the number of educational qualifications obtained by prison officers is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by asking local prisons to collate the information from individual staff files.
Private Security Industry Act 2001
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions have been brought and (b) convictions obtained for offences under section 22 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. [167116]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
The licensing of individuals under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA) has been rolled out since 2004.
Section 22 creates offences connected with the making of false statements to the Security Industry Authority.
For each of the three years 2004, 2005 and 2006, there have been no prosecutions or convictions under section 22 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
There are a number of provisions under the PSIA and immigration legislation, under which proceedings can be taken in respect of offences by persons applying for SIA licences, or holding licences. Which provision would be appropriate in a particular case would depend on the circumstances of the case.
Secure Custody: Children
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children in secure custody were awarded five passes at A* to C at GCSE in each of the last five years. [173542]
Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
Information on the number of GCSEs gained by all young people in custody is not collected centrally. The LSC report that young people under-18 in young offender institutions achieved 354 GCSEs A*-C in all subjects between 1 April 2007 and 30 September 2007. However this figure does not reflect all of the GCSEs achieved in juvenile custody because this does not include young people in secure children's homes, secure training centres, or private prisons. Also some of the young people in young offender institutions are still registered at schools and colleges and therefore any GCSEs that they achieve whilst in custody will be reflected in achievement figures of schools and colleges, rather than the figures reported by the LSC for those achieved in custody.
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children in secure custody were awarded five passes at GCSE in each of the last five years, broken down by subject and grade achieved. [173543]
Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
Information on the number of GCSEs gained by all young people in custody is not collected centrally. The LSC report that young people under-18 in young offender institutions achieved the following GCSEs from 1 April 2007 to 30 September 2007:
Mathematics: 18 GCSE's at grades A* to C, and 91 below grade C;
English: 29 GCSEs at grades A* to C and 56 below grade C;
Other subjects: 307 GCSEs at grades A* to C and 162 below grade C.
Further breakdown is not available. Also this figure does not reflect all of the GCSEs achieved in juvenile custody because this does not include young people in Secure children's homes, secure training centres, or private prisons. Also some of the young people in young offender institutions are still registered at schools and colleges and therefore any GCSEs that they achieve whilst in custody will be reflected in achievement figures of schools and colleges, rather than the figures reported by the LSC for those achieved in custody.
Young Offenders: Lancashire
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people under 18-years-old were convicted for (a) vehicle crime, (b) domestic burglary and (c) robbery in Lancashire in each of the last 10 years. [173420]
Mr. Hanson: Data showing the number of people under 18-years-old convicted of vehicle crime, domestic burglary and robbery in Lancashire from 1997 to 2006 is in the following table.
| Number of persons aged under 18 found guilty at all courts for selected offences in the Lancashire police force area, 1997 to 2006( 1, 2) | ||||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| (1) These data are provided 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 police forces and courts. 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. (3) Includes offences of theft of a vehicle and theft from a vehicle. Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform | ||||||||||
Work and Pensions
Benton Park View
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what costs were met by his Department for site services and maintenance at Benton Park View in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [168861]
Mrs. McGuire: Benton Park View site forms part of the Newcastle estate, a private finance initiative between Newcastle Estates Partnership (the landlord) and HMRC (the major government occupier). DWP occupies approximately 25 per cent. of the site under an agreement with HMRC and is charged on a pro rata basis for accommodation costs and services provided.
The cost to DWP for site services and maintenance (as detailed(1)) since April 2006 are as follows:
(1) Site services and maintenance include: rent, building maintenance, rates, cleaning, security, facilities management services and utilities.
| £ | |
| (1) Forecast cost | |
Children and Young People: Low Incomes
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many children in families of recipients of (a) income support, (b) income-based jobseeker’s allowance and (c) the guaranteed credit part of pension credit are (i) eligible for and (ii) claiming free school meals in the latest period for which figures are available; [172401]
(2) how many people aged 16 to 18 years who receive income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance in their own right were (a) eligible for and (b) claiming free school meals in the latest period for which figures are available. [172402]
Kevin Brennan [holding answer 10 December 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
The requested information is not available.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what formula will be used to determine his Department's share of the sale receipts when the Government offices site at Heyhouses Road, St. Annes is disposed of. [165773]
Mrs. McGuire: Financial gain may be generated by the expanded PRIME Contractor, Land Securities Trillium, from the sale of buildings which DWP return to them as surplus under the flexibility to vacate options in the contract. The sale prices over each financial year are pooled and compared to the Base Values listed in the contract as at 1 April 1998 (or at December 2003 for buildings covered by PRIME Expansion). Base Value is the price placed on a property, assuming vacant possession, at the start of the contract.
Properties can also attract a financial loss however, whereby the sale of the property and the associated costs of this are less than the Base Value. Any such losses are therefore offset against positive gains and any resulting net gain is shared 50:50 between the Department and LST.
Negative gains are offset against positive gains and any resulting net gain is shared 50:50 between the Department and Land Securities Trillium.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff aged between 16 and 18 were employed by his Department and its predecessors (a) directly and (b) through an employment agency in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of these were given time off work to undertake some form of training; and what proportion were provided with some form of training (i) wholly and (ii) partially funded by his Department. [171277]
Mrs. McGuire: Information on the number of staff aged between 16 and 18 in the Department since its formation in 2001 is in the following table. Information is not held in this detail prior to September 2001.
Staff employed through an employment agency are not directly employed by the Department therefore no personal information is held in respect of these staff.
| Number of staff | |
| Note: Numbers exclude temporary staff | |
The information regarding time off and funding to undertake “some form of training” for 16-18 year olds in the Department is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, it should be noted that all staff undertake mandatory training to perform their role within DWP.
Departmental Travel
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months. [171264]
Mrs. McGuire: Between November 2006 and October 2007 the Department for Work Pensions spent £11,650,293.00 on 1(st) class rail travel (including Eurostar journeys).
Departmental Sick Leave
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department (a) were disciplined and (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last five years. [163693] [Official Report, 5 February 2008; Vol. 471, c. 5MC.]
Mrs. McGuire: The available information is contained in the following table:
| Financial year | Number of staff disciplined for unsatisfactory attendance | Number of staff dismissed for unsatisfactory attendance |
Disability Discrimination Act 2005
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which executive agencies have responsibility for implementing the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. [172227]
Mrs. McGuire: The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 significantly amended and extended the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, including by placing particular additional duties on public authorities.
It introduced a duty for public authorities not to discriminate against disabled people in the carrying out of their public functions. It also introduced a duty for public authorities to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people (the “Disability Equality Duty”). In addition, The Disability Discrimination (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Regulations 2005 (Statutory Instrument 2005/2966) as amended place specific duties on the public authorities listed in those regulations. The listed authorities include a Minister of the Crown or Government Department.
All Government Departments are responsible for ensuring that they and any executive agencies for which they are responsible meet the requirements of this legislation.
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