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1 July 2008 : Column 879W—continued
So far this financial year, no money has been spent from the public purse on security measures at the residences of judges.
The security of the Justice system and of judicial office-holders is of paramount importance but expenditure on security measures at judicial homes is only undertaken after risk assessment confirms a significant threat.
Juries
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance he issues to courts on precautions to be taken to ensure that members of the public undertaking jury service do not have criminal records. [214750]
Maria Eagle: Potential jurors must respond to their summons by completing and returning to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau (JCSB) a questionnaire declaring their eligibility and availability for jury service. When the juror has responded to their summons, their details will be checked against the police national computer (PNC).
There will be occasions where a juror does not respond to their summons but does attend court for their jury service. In these cases, courts have been instructed that under Section 2 (5) of the Juries Act 1974 as amended by the Administration of Justice Act 1982, the juror should be asked to complete the confirmation form attached to the jury summons to declare their eligibility on their arrival at court. The court will then ensure a PNC check is undertaken to confirm the person is not disqualified to serve as a juror. If the juror is not qualified to serve, they will be released from jury service.
Parc Young Offender Institution
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2008, Official Report, columns 845-7W, on young offender institutions: mental health services, how many young people have been transferred from Parc Young Offender Institution to specialist NHS secure hospital units for under 18 year olds in England. [214431]
Maria Eagle: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 11 June 2008, Official Report, columns 316-17W.
Prisoners
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average annual prison population was in England and Wales in each year since 1990. [214289]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is published in the supplementary table 8.8, “Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2006”, available via the Library of the House and from the Ministry of Justice website at:
The following table shows the average population (average of end-month data) of all prison establishments in England and Wales between 1990 and 2006:
| Prison population( 1, 2) 1990 to 2006: England and Wales | |
| Total | |
| (1) Annual average population (2) Excludes police cells | |
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Prospects Project: Exeter
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were referred to the Prospects Project in Exeter; how many people attended; and how much the project has cost to date. [212843]
Mr. Hanson: The project in Exeter opened in December 2005 and received 279 referrals up until February 2008, of the 279 referrals 132 were admitted to the project. The building costs of the project were £1.814 million and operational costs have been in the region of £1.9 million which includes the cost of termination and compensation costs. Future use of the premises to ensure best use of capital expended is currently under consideration.
Small Claims
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of (a) the number of false claims made in the small claims court and (b) the number of such false claims which have led to defendants gaining poor credit ratings in the most recent period for which figures are available. [215342]
Bridget Prentice: The Ministry of Justice does not hold data explicitly on alleged false claims issued in the civil courts.
However, provisional figures for 2007 indicate that there were 26,203 county court judgments that were ‘set aside’ following a successful application to the court. These judgments relate to a total of 24,278 claims made for amounts of £5,000 or less. Across all county court claims (regardless of value) there were 988,000 judgments registered with Registry Trust Limited in 2007.
In almost all ‘set aside’ cases, the initial judgment will have been made in favour of the claimant, and the application to set aside the judgment will have been made by the defendant. A judgment can be set aside for a number of reasons, including where it was originally made in error or where the defendant has paid the amount claimed in full. A ‘set aside’ judgment does not imply that the initial claim was issued falsely or maliciously.
All county court judgments are registered by Registry Trust Limited and the register is available for searches (upon payment of a fee) by credit reference agencies and other interested parties. However, all registered judgments are automatically cancelled by Registry Trust Limited if they are set aside by a court, and they will therefore not appear in any subsequent register searches.
Witnesses: Protection
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps he will take to ensure that a balance is achieved between the need to protect witnesses in the prosecution of dangerous criminals and the defendant’s rights when considering new legislation on witness anonymity; [214106]
(2) what plans he has to introduce legislation on witness anonymity; if he will make it his policy to ensure that such anonymity remains an option in certain circumstances; and what his policy is regarding witnesses who are (a) children, (b) members of the security services and (c) police informants. [214112]
Mr. Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement I gave on 26 June 2008, Official Report, columns 514-16.
Culture, Media and Sport
BBC External Services: Broadcasting Programmes
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what records he holds of viewing figures for BBC World TV in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007, broken down by country. [213935]
Andy Burnham: My Department does not hold the viewing figures requested.
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what records he holds on the profits derived from the broadcasting of BBC World TV in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007; and if he will make a statement. [213936]
Andy Burnham: Financial information on BBC World News for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 is included in the BBC's annual reports and accounts for those years.
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the funding arrangements for BBC World TV. [213937]
Andy Burnham: BBC World News is commercially funded. No licence fee funding is used, as this is not permitted under the terms of the BBC's Charter and Agreement.
Departmental NDPBs
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the maximum per item expenditure limit for each of his Department’s non-departmental public bodies is before a (a) Departmental, (b) Ministerial and (c) HM Treasury sign-off is required. [213833]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 25 June 2008]: Following approval of their budgets, our non-departmental public bodies have authority to incur expenditure without further reference to this Department, subject to the delegated limits set out in their financial memoranda. I am arranging for copies of these to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Treasury approval is required for: capital projects of £6 million and above, or which exceed limits set out in the relevant financial memoranda where these are higher; gifts and non-statutory contingent liabilities of £100,000 and above; and any expenditure that could set a potentially expensive precedent, cause repercussions for others, or are novel or contentious.
Departmental decisions are normally handled at official level. Ministers might be involved in cases for which there are particular sensitivities.
Departmental Retirement
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the standard retirement age in his Department is; and how many people worked beyond the standard retirement age in each of the last five years. [214131]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The current mandatory retirement age in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is 65.
In the last five years two staff have been allowed to work beyond 65—one in 2005 and one earlier this year.
National Lottery: British Overseas Territories
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether National Lottery outlets may be established in British overseas territories. [214110]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The location of national lottery retailers is a commercial matter for the operator, Camelot, subject to the requirements of its licences and other legal obligations.
Camelot is prohibited by its licences from selling national lottery tickets for draw-based games outside of the European economic area (EEA), unless it has the prior consent of the National Lottery Commission. To date, the National Lottery Commission has not been asked to provide such consent. The operator is not prohibited by its licence from selling national lottery scratchcards outside of the EEA.
Reaching Communities Scheme: Big Lottery Fund
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the sum to be distributed from the Big Lottery Fund in the 12 months to 31 December 2008; and what proportion of such funding will be available to the Reaching Communities scheme. [213638]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Lottery grant decisions, and estimates of expenditure, are made independent of Government by distributors like the Big Lottery Fund (BIG). For the 12 month period up to 31 December 2008, England wide, BIG estimates it will:
distribute £423 million to good causes through all programmes; and
distribute £62.3 million through the Reaching Communities programme, this is equal to 14.7 per cent. of the total allocation.
Sport Action Zones
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when and by whom the decision was taken to close sport action zone schemes. [213786]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that the 12 sport action zones were established and funded for a five-year period. There was no intention to fund this programme beyond this period. The expectation was that the type of interventions which they promoted would be picked up by mainstream initiatives.
Sports: Finance
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by Sport England through the Community Projects Capital Fund in each year since 1999; and what proportion was spent on projects requiring funding under £100,000 in each year. [212983]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The amount spent by Sport England through the Community Projects Capital Fund in each year since 1999, and the proportion that was spent on projects requiring funding under £100,000, as provided by Sport England, is as follows:
| Financial year | Amount spent through Community Projects Capital Fund | Proportion spent on projects requiring funding under £100,000 (percentage) |
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Sport England distributed through its Awards for All fund in each year since 1999. [212987]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that it allocated the following amounts through its Awards for All fund in each year since 1999:
| Financial year | Amount allocated (£ ) |
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