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17 July 2008 : Column 572W—continued



17 July 2008 : Column 573W

17 July 2008 : Column 574W
Table C: Fixed penalty notices issued for the endorsable offence of driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks( 1) by police force area, England and Wales, 2003( 2) to 2006
Police force area 2003( 2) 2004 2005 2006

Avon and Somerset

5

47

63

115

Bedfordshire

0

0

62

154

Cambridgeshire

0

63

53

138

Cheshire

0

40

101

203

Cleveland

48

70

159

102

Cumbria

0

0

0

0

Derbyshire

0

0

0

112

Devon and Cornwall

0

0

42

80

Dorset

0

0

0

0

Durham

0

0

7

13

Essex

0

0

6

362

Gloucestershire

0

0

0

3

Greater Manchester

9

44

13

3

Hampshire

0

111

125

393

Hertfordshire

11

177

389

532

Humberside

0

0

0

0

Kent

10

12

31

249

Lancashire

42

91

174

409

Leicestershire

34

62

19

212

Lincolnshire

0

0

0

46

London, City of

2

21

9

51

Merseyside

0

0

0

102

Metropolitan Police

43

147

490

1,408

Norfolk

0

0

0

(3)

Northamptonshire

5

40

93

74

Northumbria

38

7

4

12

North Yorkshire

33

95

92

121

Nottinghamshire

21

42

101

162

South Yorkshire

0

0

0

0

Staffordshire

36

122

152

274

Suffolk

0

0

0

95

Surrey

0

0

0

12

Sussex

0

0

0

115

Thames Valley

0

0

0

0

Warwickshire

31

50

70

146

West Mercia

0

0

32

281

West Midlands

0

37

0

3

West Yorkshire

3

46

104

328

Wiltshire

0

0

0

141

Dyfed-Powys

0

0

0

0

Gwent

0

0

0

0

North Wales

87

139

297

200

South Wales

0

0

0

0

England and Wales

458

1,463

2,688

6,651

(1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2).
(2) As from 1 June 2003, ‘driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks’ became a fixed penalty offence.
(3) Force unable to supply data due to technical reasons.
Notes:
1. Offenders are subject to a £200 fixed penalty. However this can be increased to a maximum of £5,000 if the matter goes to court.
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 police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Electoral Register

Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the percentage of voter registration is estimated to be in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area in England; [218824]

(2) what the target level for voter registration is; [218827]

(3) what plans he has to enable local authorities to maximise voter registration. [218828]

Bridget Prentice: The Government have not made any estimate of the percentage of voter registration in each constituency and local authority area in England. The Electoral Commission estimated that 3.5 million eligible electors were not registered to vote in their report, Understanding Electoral Registration, which was published in September 2005. However the number of electors registered in England continues to grow and between 2 December 2006 and 1 December 2007 the number of parliamentary electors grew from 37,588,775 to 37,817,466 and the number of local government electors grew from 38,223,259 to 38,599,775.

The Government have not set any target level for voter registration, as we believe that all eligible electors should be registered to vote. To support this aim we have taken a number of steps to increase voter registration rates. Section 9 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 placed a new duty on electoral registration officers to take all necessary steps to maintain the electoral register, including sending the annual canvass form more than once, making house to house inquiries and inspecting records that they are permitted to inspect. It is for the ERO to decide on the best steps to use in conjunction with their local knowledge to ensure that requirements for making contact with persons and maintaining the register are complied with. To support such activities we have made £2.5 million available each financial year under our Participation Fund, which allows EROs to apply for additional funding to assist them in promoting electoral awareness within their areas.

The Act also includes a provision for the Electoral Commission to introduce new performance standards for EROs. The Electoral Commission is currently developing these standards and the final set of standards will be published during July 2008. A copy of these standards will be laid before the House and the information obtained from local authorities as a consequence will give us a better understanding of the actions taken to increase registration.

Incapacity Benefit: Fraud

Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people previously in receipt of incapacity benefit who have had their entitlement to benefit withdrawn following a medical assessment appealed against the decision in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of those appeals were successful. [219451]

Bridget Prentice: The Tribunals Service holds data on the number of appeals made against decisions regarding incapacity benefit. This includes information on anyone who may have been refused incapacity benefit on their initial claim. It is not possible to specify the number of appeals made by people who have previously been in receipt of incapacity benefit and who have subsequently had their entitlement to the benefit withdrawn following a medical assessment.

Between April 2007 to March 2008, the number of incapacity benefit appeals listed for hearing was: 65,723; the number of cases heard at hearing was: 57,806. Of these, 29,636 (45.1 per cent.) cases were successful.


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