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17 Jan 2008 : Column 1430W—continued

Fuels: Prices

Mr. McGovern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the merits of linking changes in the winter fuel allowance to changes in fuel prices. [179828]

Angela Eagle: The Government keep all tax rates and benefit payments under review as part of the Budget process. However, the pre-Budget report 2005 announced that winter fuel payments will be paid at their current levels for the rest of this Parliament.

Government Departments: Annual Reports

Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the guidance provided by HM Treasury to Departments on what should be included in their 2007 autumn performance reports. [179152]

Andy Burnham: A copy of the guidance to departments on their 2007 autumn performance reports (APRs) is being deposited in the Library.

HM Revenue and Customs: Delivery Services

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how HM Revenue and Customs allocates deliveries to mail carriers employed to handle outgoing mail. [169944]

17 Jan 2008 : Column 1431W

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs allocate mail to carriers based on contractual obligations, level of service requirements and best value.

Northern Rock

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has on the remuneration packages of directors and senior managers of Northern Rock. [179831]

Angela Eagle: Remuneration of staff and directors is a matter for the board of Northern Rock. Details of directors’ remuneration packages are included in the annual report and accounts.

Parole Board

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the outcome was of the review of the 16 hour rule announced in paragraph 4.10 of the Parole Board Review 2004 document, Choice for Parents. [179778]

Jane Kennedy: The Government considered the option of extending entitlement to the child care element of working tax credits as set out in pre-Budget report 2004. However, as the child care element is an integral part of the overall tax credits system, it would not be practical to have a shorter hours rule for certain claimants claiming certain elements.

Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the Exchequer of raising the level of trivial commutation to (a) £16,000, (b) £17,000, (c) £18,000, (d) £19,000, (e) £20,000, (f) £21,000, (g) £22,000, (h) £23,000, (i) £24,000, (j) £25,000, (k) £26,000, (l) £27,000, (m) £28,000, (n) £29,000, (o) £30,000, (p) £31,000, (q) £32,000, (r) £33,000, (s) £34,000 and (t) £35,000. [177955]

Andy Burnham: The trivial commutation limit is currently £16,000 and will rise in stages to £18,000 in 2010. The cost of raising the trivial commutation limit would depend upon a number of behavioural factors, though independent research by the Pensions Policy Institute published in June 2007 suggests the cost to the Exchequer from significantly raising the current limits would most likely be very high. Figures from the ABI show that many annuitised pots are below the £16,000 ceiling for trivial commutation, which suggests the limits are already very generous.

At PBR 2006 the Government announced that HMRC would discuss with interested parties concerns raised regarding the administration costs of paying trivial commutation lump sums under current rules. The Government are exploring how the current rules impact on the interests of individual pensioners, pension savers, and pension providers and how they fit with its wider objectives of encouraging pension saving to provide people with an income in retirement.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what policies HM Revenue and Customs has in place to ensure that correspondence is securely delivered; and if he will make a statement. [173360]

17 Jan 2008 : Column 1432W

Jane Kennedy: HMRC's post and carriage guidance determines which form of postal service should be used for the different types of mail HMRC deals with.

Taxation: Plastic Bags

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's policy is on the proposals in the London Local Authorities Bill to introduce a new additional plastic bags tax on shops in London. [173340]

Angela Eagle: The Government pledged in the Waste Strategy for England 2007 to phase out free, single-use carrier bags. The Prime Minister made clear in his environment speech of 19 November that in the longer term it will be necessary to eliminate these bags altogether. The Government are actively considering how it can bring forward action that will enable single- use carrier bags to be phased out, but determining the right way forward needs careful consideration, including the need for compliance with E.U. law.

Justice

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any of his Department’s special advisers also work for organisations outside his Department. [178484]

Maria Eagle: Special advisers are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the ‘Model Contract’ and ‘Code of Conduct for Special Advisers’, copies of which are in the Library of the House. My Department’s special advisers have informed the permanent secretary that they hold no outside appointments.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will reply to the letter, dated 19 November, from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton, regarding Mr Kurm Shezad Butt. [177550]

Mr. Straw: I apologise for the delay. The letter was sent on 16 January 2008.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will reply to the letter of 29 November 2007 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr A. Anwar. [179263]

Mr. Straw: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 January. I apologise for the delay.

National Offender Management Service: Consultants

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent by (a) the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) on external consultancy fees and (b) his Department on external consultancy fees related to NOMS in each of the last three years. [179366]

17 Jan 2008 : Column 1433W

Mr. Straw: Central collation of NOMS HQ costs started in February 2006, following its creation on 1 April 2005. The amount spent on consultants by NOMS during the period February 2006 to December 2007 is as follows:

	£
February 2006 to March 2006	1,893,670
April 2006 to March 2007	4,013,390
April 2007 to December 2007	4,264,450
Total	10,171,510

It is not possible to provide details of Consultancy spend for NOMS by the wider Department, since such details were not collated centrally during this period. The cost, however, is likely to be negligible in the context of information provided in the table.

National Offender Management Service: Manpower

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent staff are employed by (a) the National Offender Management Service, (b) the National Probation Service and (c) HM Prison Service. [179367]

Mr. Straw: The last published figures were as at 31 December 2006 and showed that there were 21,370.98
17 Jan 2008 : Column 1434W
full-time equivalent staff in post in the national probation service. Updated figures covering Quarter 4 2006-07 (1 January 2007 to 31 March 2007) and Quarter 1 2007-08 (1 April 2007 to 30 June 2007) are currently being validated and will be published shortly in issue 13 of the Workforce Information Report.

On 30 September 2007 there were 48,714 full-time equivalent staff employed by the public sector Prison Service.

The full-time equivalent figure for staff employed by the National Offender Management Service as at 30 September 2007 was 1601.16.

Offensive Weapons

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) under 18-year-olds and (b) over 18-year-olds were convicted of illegally carrying (i) knives and (ii) other weapons in each year since 1997, broken down by police authority area; and if he will make a statement. [176295]

Mr. Straw: The number of persons convicted of illegally carrying (i) knives and (ii) other weapons in each year since 1997 by police force area is shown in the following tables.

17 Jan 2008 : Column 1435W

17 Jan 2008 : Column 1436W

N umber of defendants aged 10 to 17 who were convicted at all courts for illegally carrying offensive weapons excluding knives, in England and Wales by police force area for the years 1997 to 2006( 1, 2, 3)
Police force area	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Avon and Somerset	29	21	34	24	43	57	44	51	45	61
Bedfordshire	9	9	11	13	14	8	11	31	17	25
Cambridgeshire	11	13	10	13	18	23	15	12	33	20
Cheshire	25	29	25	35	27	31	17	35	51	48
City of London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cleveland	20	12	18	20	28	25	31	30	20	35
Cumbria	20	20	21	15	21	15	22	17	27	26
Derbyshire	26	22	28	20	26	31	36	46	41	37
Devon and Cornwall	22	16	16	32	24	28	41	42	53	42
Dorset	6	9	12	13	9	13	13	14	17	24
Durham	24	23	33	34	39	36	27	42	39	56
Essex	56	52	37	43	61	46	62	97	62	83
Gloucestershire	11	21	7	13	12	14	15	18	22	15
Greater Manchester	85	103	105	129	193	175	149	201	181	185
Hampshire	50	55	46	63	85	72	78	88	88	94
Hertfordshire	11	12	8	25	16	10	27	40	43	37
Humberside	16	29	37	34	36	34	40	48	46	55
Kent	33	41	33	43	51	29	35	34	47	50
Lancashire	51	30	39	55	59	53	59	84	87	81
Leicestershire	31	35	26	34	35	41	43	45	40	48
Lincolnshire	8	27	13	15	21	17	23	27	14	22
Merseyside	68	71	48	57	64	63	67	87	96	96
Metropolitan Police	335	336	347	435	679	686	550	631	682	713
Norfolk	16	19	12	16	20	11	29	21	22	21
North Yorkshire	15	8	19	16	10	20	19	28	22	31
Northamptonshire	5	12	15	10	4	7	0	5	1	4
Northumbria	68	98	98	103	125	141	119	138	143	100
Nottinghamshire	20	34	29	44	63	48	55	59	70	64
South Yorkshire	31	35	41	57	58	80	62	63	75	80
Staffordshire(3)	25	19	25	(4)—	31	31	35	42	50	37
Suffolk	13	9	19	12	12	27	26	24	42	38
Surrey	7	10	6	20	24	12	15	22	19	19
Sussex	14	21	23	32	43	30	43	55	66	57
Thames Valley	28	32	23	23	43	39	27	36	65	75
Warwickshire	11	12	9	11	9	7	10	15	9	15
West Mercia	12	19	18	12	41	28	28	36	52	59
West Midlands	82	95	82	135	200	180	140	158	163	186
West Yorkshire	54	44	70	65	65	76	105	121	110	112
Wiltshire	9	18	17	9	13	29	17	19	32	34
Dyfed-Powys	6	13	5	15	6	10	11	10	15	14
Gwent	15	11	20	19	19	12	17	31	23	33
North Wales	13	17	13	34	28	32	17	27	40	28
South Wales	36	43	39	49	55	53	55	58	45	56
Total	1,427	1,555	1,537	1,847	2,430	2,380	2,235	2,688	2,815	2,916
(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. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4 )Nil. Source: Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice. Cur reference: PQ 176295 (Table 3)

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