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9 Jun 2008 : Column 91W—continued
Research Development and Statistics Directorate
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received on the academic and political independence of her Department's Research Development and Statistics Directorate. [201597]
Meg Hillier: In 2004 the Home Office Research and Statistics teams were embedded in Home Office businesses rather than being in a single directorate. Quality assurance and professional development for these teams are overseen by the Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser.
Since July 2007 I have not received any representations about the academic and political independence about research, development and statistics in my department.
However, my department co-operated fully with a review of science in the Home Office and Ministry of Justice conducted by the Government Office for Science in late 2007. This review took evidence from the public and both internal and external Home Office stakeholders and is published at:
A summary of the written evidence to this review provided by both internal and external stakeholders can be found at:
http://www.berr.gov.uk/dius/science/sciencereviews/Completedpercent20Reviews/Homepercent20Office/page 44574 .html
In addition my Department has updated its procedures and release practices for National Statistics following the creation of the independent UK Statistics Authority as part of the Statistics and Registration Act 2007 and also published its response to the report ‘Crime Statistics—An independent review’ that was published in November 2006. This response can be found on the Home Office website at:
Road Traffic Offences: Fees and Charges
Mrs. Villiers:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who was responsible for drafting the table of charges set out in Annex A of the Report
on the consultation regarding statutory charges for the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles by police; and on what date Ministers agreed the table of charges. [209061]
Mr. Coaker: I take the reference to be to the table annexed to a letter sent on 31 March by the Home Office to various organisations and individuals who had been involved in the further work set up by the Government to consider levels of charges and the scenarios to which charges would apply following consultation on the charges which ended in July 2007. The table was drafted by Home Office officials and agreed by Ministers on 13 March 2008.
Speed Limits: Cameras
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average cost of (a) installing and (b) maintaining a single speed camera for one year. [209073]
Mr. Coaker: Information on costs is not held centrally. This is a matter for the police and local safety camera partnerships. Costs in each area will vary over time and depend on the particular cameras selected for purchase, the numbers of each purchased and their subsequent deployment.
Terrorism
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation her Department has had with (a) the Lord Advocate and (b) other senior Scottish law officers on provisions within the Counter-Terrorism Bill in the last 12 months. [202939]
Mr. McNulty: As part of the wide-ranging consultation on the Counter-Terrorism Bill officials in the Scottish Executive were kept fully involved at all times. Official level meetings took place in Edinburgh on 3 May 2007 and 16 August 2007 to discuss the Bill as a whole. It is a matter for the Scottish Executive whether as part of their deliberations on the Bill they involved the Lord Advocate or the Solicitor-General for Scotland. However in the Lord Advocate’s evidence to the Counter-Terrorism Bill Committee on 22 April, she made clear that she had been fully consulted.
I have recently discussed the issue of jurisdiction with the Lord Advocate. My noble and learned Friend the Attorney-General has also discussed this matter with the Lord Advocate.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she last met (a) the Lord Advocate and (b) other senior Scottish law officers to discuss provisions of the Counter-Terrorism Bill. [202940]
Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has not met the Lord Advocate or the Solicitor-General for Scotland to discuss the provisions in the Counter-Terrorism Bill. However, I have recently discussed the issue of jurisdiction with the Lord Advocate and my noble and learned Friend the Attorney-General has also discussed this issue with her.
The Scottish Executive have been kept fully informed regarding the Bill. Official level meetings took place with the Scottish Executive in May and August 2007 to discuss the proposals.
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many production orders have been issued by each police force to media outlets under Schedule 5 of the Terrorism Act 2000; and what guidance she issues to police forces in considering obtaining such orders. [207766]
Mr. McNulty: There are no centrally held records on the number of production orders which have been issued. Therefore the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office does not issue guidance on obtaining production orders under Schedule 5. Schedule 5 provides detailed instructions for the police on how to apply for such orders.
Vetting
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) standard and (b) enhanced record checks were processed by the Criminal Records Bureau in each year since 2002, broken down by police force area. [205119]
Jacqui Smith: The total number of standard and enhanced disclosures processed by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) each year since 2002 is shown in the following table.
| Number of disclosures processed | ||||||
| Financial year | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
The CRB cannot provide figures broken down by police force area. This is because standard disclosures are processed without any requirement for the police forces to conduct checks and several different police forces may be required to conduct checks in order to produce one enhanced disclosure.
Duchy of Lancaster
10 Downing Street: Art Works
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which works of art from the Government Art Collection are located in (a) the personal ministerial residences of the Prime Minister and (b) the Prime Minister’s offices in Downing Street. [205432]
Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
I am arranging for a list of the works of art to be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the expenditure of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office was between April 2007 to the date of the Department's closure; and whether resource accounts will be produced for the Department for that period; [189529]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 85W, on catering, how much was spent on food and drink by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office from April 2007 to the date of the Department's closure; [189524]
(3) pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 85W, on catering, how much of the expenditure on drink related to products obtained from the Government wine cellar; [189525]
(4) pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 85W, on catering, if he will break down that expenditure by subheading; [189526]
(5) pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 13 December 2007, Official Report, column 826W, on departmental records: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and further to the Deputy Prime Minister's Office Resource Accounts for 2006-07, how much the Deputy Prime Minister's Office spent on minor works, refurbishment, fittings and fixtures, in relation to the official ministerial residence in Admiralty House of the Deputy Prime Minister during 2006-07. [189523]
Mr. Watson: Information on expenditure by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office in 2007-08 will be included within the published Resource Accounts for the same period. In financial year 2007-08, expenditure by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office (DPMO) on official hospitality was £6,796.33. All DPMO expenditure on official hospitality was made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in “Government Accounting” and the Treasury handbook on “Regularity and Propriety”. Information on the break down of catering expenditure by sub-heading could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
No expenditure was incurred during 2006-07 on minor works, refurbishment, fittings and fixtures to the official ministerial residence formerly occupied by the former Deputy Prime Minister.
Epilepsy: Death
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people died of epilepsy in each of the last five years. [207860]
Mr. Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 June 2008:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people died of epilepsy in each of the last five years. (207860)
The most recent figures available are for deaths registered in 2006. the following table contains the number of deaths where the underlying cause was epilepsy from 2002 to 2006 in England and Wales.
| Number of deaths from epilepsy,( 1 ) England and Wales, 2002-06( 2) | |
Fairtrade Initiative
Mr. Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2008, Official Report, column 592W, on the Fairtrade initiative, (1) what Fairtrade products are (a) available for purchase at his Department's staff catering facilities and (b) offered at official departmental meetings and engagements; [209017]
(2) what the value was of Fairtrade produce purchased at his Department's staff catering facilities in each of the last three financial years; and what proportion of total revenue this represented. [209018]
Phil Hope: Fairtrade products available for purchase in our restaurants and offered at official departmental meetings and engagements are listed as follows:
Available for purchase in coffee shop and restaurants
Tea
Sugar
Flapjacks
Fruit juice
Cookies
Chocolate.
Offered at official departmental meetings and engagements
Tea
Sugar.
The value of Fairtrade produce purchased in each of the last three financial years and the proportion of total revenue this represented can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Binley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the average length of time for (a) hon. and right hon. Members and (b) members of the public to receive a ministerial response to letter correspondence was in each of the last 10 years. [208981]
Edward Miliband: The detailed information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Cabinet Office has published on an annual basis, a report on Departments and agencies performance on handling Members' and Peers' correspondence. Information for 2007 was published on 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 73WS.
Migration
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimates he has made of levels of UK net migration in the latest year for which figures are available. [208959]
Mr. Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 June 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what recent estimate has been made of levels of UK net migration in the latest year for which figures are available. (208959)
In 2006 the difference between immigration and emigration, net migration, was estimated at 191,000 for the UK. This is the latest available official estimate.
Justice
Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average cost of issuing, administering and collecting the penalty imposed by a penalty notice for disorder. [206763]
Mr. Straw: Available data from the Office of Criminal Justice Reform show that the average cost of issuing a penalty notice for disorder (PND) on the street is £33. Where penalty notices for disorder are issued in custody then there will be additional costs associated with taking the recipient to the police station and supervising him or her whilst there.
The lowest cost for taking a comparable case to court is estimated at £256.
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