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28 Jan 2008 : Column 132W—continued
National Licensing Scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the (a) highest, (b) lowest and (c) average fine imposed has been for those found guilty of breaking the National Licensing Scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation laws; [182460]
(2) how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful prosecutions there have been under the new National Licensing Scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation in each local authority area. [182461]
Maria Eagle: The relevant part of the 2004 Housing Act came into force on 6 April 2006. In 2006, the latest year for which data are available, there was one prosecution, resulting in a conviction and a £1,000 fine.
The prosecution took place at the Sussex (Western) court, within the Sussex police force area. From the information available my Department are unable to determine in which local authority area the offence took place.
Data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
National Offender Management Service
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when his Department first received a recommendation that C-NOMIS be cancelled from staff working on the project. [181868]
Mr. Hanson: C-NOMIS is not being cancelled.
In the written ministerial statement I laid before the house on the 8 January, I announced the newly revised
and deliverable NOMIS programme. Within that programme, the Prison NOMIS project will continue the roll-out of C-NOMIS, building on the version that is currently successfully in use as the live case management system in three public prisons, and preserving the financial and business benefit from work completed to date.
National Offender Management Service: Finance
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether estates development, including in relation to prison capacity, is classified as capital expenditure in the National Offender Management Service budget. [181941]
Mr. Hanson: In line with Government accounting rules all expenditure on estates development (including prison capacity) which results in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) obtaining an asset with an economic life/benefit of more than one year is classified as capital expenditure in the NOMS budget.
National Probation Service for England and Wales: Pay
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to (a) implement the pay recommendations of the prison and police review boards and (b) pay probation staff their regular yearly increments. [182109]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The Prison Service pay review body (PSPRB) is due to report its recommendations by 16 February 2008. These will be considered at the appropriate time.
(b) Under the Probation Service pay agreement probation staff are contractually entitled to pay progression on an annual basis from the 1 April each year but the amount of this progression is the subject of negotiation with the trades unions.
Offender Management Act 2007
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when sections 28 to 30 of the Offender Management Act 2007 will come into force; and if he will make a statement. [182069]
Mr. Hanson:
Work is currently being undertaken to enable mandatory polygraph pilots to begin by April 2009. By virtue of section 41 of the Offender Management Act 2007, sections 28 and 29 may be brought into force by order only in relation to a specified area for a specified time, unless a draft of the
statutory instrument containing the order has been laid before, and approved by, each House of Parliament. The legislation was framed in this way in order to allow pilots of mandatory polygraph testing of sex offenders on licence to take place in specified areas before Parliament decides on whether mandatory testing may be rolled out nationally.
Offenders: Accommodation
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2008, Official Report, column 1654W, on Offenders: Accommodation, how many of those receiving bail in respect of alleged violence against the person breached their bail conditions as a result of (a) alleged re-offending, (b) failure to attend court and (c) another cause. [182271]
Mr. Straw: In 2006, an estimated 5,500 defendants proceeded against for offences in the violence against the person group failed to appear to bail. This information is taken from table 4.9 of the publication “Criminal Statistics 2006, England and Wales”. Data on re-offending while on bail and on breaches of bail conditions are not collected centrally.
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2008, Official Report, column 1654W, on Offenders: Accommodation, how many of those bailed for violence against the person (a) were acquitted, (b) received a custodial sentence and (c) received a non-custodial sentence in each of the last three years; [182270]
(2) what proportion of defendants (a) bailed and (b) remanded in custody (i) were acquitted, (ii) received a custodial sentence and (iii) received a non-custodial sentence in the latest period for which figures are available. [182302]
Mr. Straw: Data showing the number and percentages of defendants acquitted, and receiving custodial and non-custodial sentences, whether remanded on bail or in custody, for 2004-06 (latest three years available) can be found in the following table. These data are a summary of table 4.8 in the annual publication “Criminal Statistics, England and Wales”. An offence group breakdown is not available by outcome. The general presumption in favour of remand on bail (though subject to important exceptions) is based upon the fundamental principle of our legal system that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
| Percentage of persons | ||||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | ||||
| Final outcome | Bailed | Remanded in custody( 2) | Bailed | Remanded in custody( 2) | Bailed | Remanded in custody( 2) |
| (1) Remand status shown is that given by the court passing sentence. (2) Includes those remanded for part of the time in custody and part on bail. These figures are not directly comparable with the number of persons received on remand into Prison Service establishments (published annually in “Offender Management Caseload Statistics”). This is mainly because these figures relate to the year of the final court decision, rather than the year of the initial reception into prison on remand, which may be different. (3) Includes detention in a young offender institution, detention and training orders and unsuspended imprisonment. (4) Includes discharges, fines, community sentences, and fully suspended sentences. (5) Includes offences otherwise dealt with, not counted as custodial or non-custodial sentences. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the estimates 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. | ||||||
Offenders: Foreigners
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of those bailed for indictable offences were foreign nationals in the last year for which data are available. [182803]
Mr. Hanson: Court proceedings data held by my Department, which include information on bail, do not identify the nationality of the defendants proceeded against.
Prison Sentences
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what average length of prison sentence was (a) imposed and (b) served in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement. [182625]
Mr. Hanson: The following table shows the average custodial sentence length (ACSL) in months imposed for 2000 to 2006. The figures given are for all offences at all courts and exclude life and indeterminate sentences.
| ACSL | |
On average prisoners serve half the time they are sentenced to.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of all prison sentences handed down in each year since 1997 were for three months or less; and if he will make a statement. [182633]
Mr. Hanson: The following table shows the number of persons sentenced to immediate custody for three months or less. It also shows the proportion of those persons sentenced to immediate custody who received three months or less.
| Number given custody | Up to and including three months | Proportion (Percentage) | |
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