| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
6 Feb 2008 : Column 1191W—continued
Sentencing: Firearms
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of those sentenced since 1 April 2004 to custodial sentences of less than five years for the offence of possession of a firearm were (a) white and (b) of (i) African, (ii) Caribbean, (iii) South Asian and (iv) other heritage. [181581]
Mr. Hanson: It is not possible to separately identify ethnic records from sentencing statistics on the Courts Proceedings Database.
Supervised Contact Centres
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which constituencies in England and Wales have supervised contact centres within (a) five miles and (b) 10 miles of the constituency boundary. [184755]
Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
This information is not collected centrally.
Young Offender Institutions: Criminal Damage
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the cost was of repairing criminal damage in young offender institutions in each county in England and Wales in each of the last five calendar years; [185067]
(2) how many incidents of criminal damage were recorded in young offender institutions in each county in England and Wales in each of the last five calendar years; [185068]
(3) what steps are being taken to reduce the incidence of criminal damage in young offender institutions. [185069]
Mr. Hanson: The cost of repair of criminal damage is incorporated in the Prison Service maintenance budget. The Prison Service spends on average £40 million year on maintenance. Figures for the cost of criminal damage are not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The number of incidents of damage recorded in young offender institutions in each county in England and Wales in the last five years is shown in the following table. It is not possible to distinguish between incidents which are defined as “criminal damage” and incidents involving minor damage, without incurring disproportionate cost.
| Incidents of damage recorded in England and Wales 2003-07 | |||||
| Calendar year | |||||
| County | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
Criminal damage as legally defined can be the result of many things, including acts of violence and self-harm. The Prison Service has a number of strategies to reduce such incidences. The Violence Reduction Strategy is one such policy and is aimed at addressing all types of violent and disruptive behaviour. For those young offender institutions within the under-18 estate, the Prison Service is working with the Youth Justice Board on a behaviour management programme to support staff in developing a more effective approach to tackling all forms of challenging behaviour, not least violence to other people and damage to property.
Young Offenders: Mentally Ill
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of young offenders and juveniles with mental health disorders re-offended within (a) one, (b) two and (c) three years of their release in the latest period for which figures are available. [182133]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is not collected centrally. The latest information about re-offending by young people is contained in the 2005 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey and was published in a Home Office Statistical Bulletin (“Young People and Crime”) in December 2006.
Treasury
Credit Unions
Tom Levitt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will bring forward proposals to allow local community organisations to invest in credit unions serving their communities; [184131]
(2) what plans he has to enable more people to access the services of credit unions. [184132]
Angela Eagle: As set out in the summary of responses to the consultation on the “Review of cooperative and credit union legislation”, the Government see some merit in both allowing credit unions to be able to admit corporate or unincorporated local community organisations into their membership in certain circumstances and allowing credit unions to have some flexibility in determining their membership criteria to allow more people to access their services. The Government are currently considering the issue in more detail and will make further announcement in due course.
National Security
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role his Department has played in drafting the National Security Strategy; and if he will make a statement. [184230]
Yvette Cooper: Her Majesty's Treasury is working closely with the Cabinet Office and other interested Departments and agencies to produce the National Security Strategy.
Northern Rock
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the letter from his Department to the Bank of England setting out the terms and requirements of lending to Northern Rock. [171169]
Angela Eagle: The establishment of lending facilities for Northern Rock at the Bank of England in September and October 2007 were authorised by the Chancellor in accordance with the tripartite memorandum of understanding. The Chancellor wrote to the chairs of the Public Accounts Committee and the Treasury Select Committee on 21 September and 11 October 2007 outlining the terms of the Bank of England’s facilities. Copies of the letters are available in the House Library. The detailed terms and requirements remain confidential.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the term sheet for the planned guarantees of bonds for Northern Rock; and if he will make a statement. [178708]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 30 January 2008]: It would not be appropriate to make the term sheet public at this stage of negotiations.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Statement of 21 January 2008 on Northern Rock, whether the Government plans to require restrictions on (a) salary, (b) bonus payments and (c) other remuneration for (i) directors and (ii) senior executives of Northern Rock whilst the backstop guarantee remains in place. [183103]
Angela Eagle:
The tripartite authorities are taking forward discussions with the board of Northern Rock, and with other interested parties, on the potential for a private sector solution for the entire company. As set
out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 21 January, any proposals would be based on an agreed business plan and need to contain appropriate protections that recognise the interests of HM Treasury as a provider of financial support to Northern Rock for so long as HM Treasury’s guarantee arrangements remain in place.
Pay: Police
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on the overall rate of inflation of a net pay increase to the police force of (a) 2.5 per cent. and (b) 1.9 per cent. [184207]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 4 February 2008]: The Government are committed to continuing to support public sector workers in their efforts to deliver the best possible public services. Over the last 10 years, the Government have therefore sought to increase the number of frontline workers as well as their pay. In particular, the period January 2000 to January 2006 saw an increase of 29.4 per cent. in public sector average earnings, which compares to 23.8 per cent. in the private sector over the same period.
The Government’s objectives for public sector pay settlements are that they should be consistent with maintaining the necessary levels of recruitment, retention and staff engagement needed to support service delivery; ensuring that total pay bills represent value for money and are affordable within Departments’ overall expenditure plans; and consistent with the Government’s achievement of the inflation target of 2 per cent..
Wage pressures are one of the factors considered by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England when setting interest rates to meet the inflation target.
Prostate Cancer
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the trend in prostate cancer (a) one-year, (b) two-year and (c) five-year survival rates over the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement. [184248]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 6 February 2007:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the trend in prostate cancer (a) one-year, (b) two-year and (c) five-year survival rates over the last 20 years; and if a statement will be made. [184248]
The latest available survival rates are for patients diagnosed in 1999-2003 and followed up to the end of 2004. One-year and (c) five-year survival rates for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer in England in 1998-2003 are available on the National Statistics website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Froduct.asp?vlnk=14007&;Pos=l&ColRank=l&Rank=192
Five-year survival rates for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer in England and Wales in 1991-1999 are available on the National Statistics website at:
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |