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21 July 2008 : Column 914W—continued
The following table demonstrates that, when taking into account the prison population for each year, there has been a relatively low increase in the proportion of
assault incidents involving bladed instruments since 2000:
| (c) Proportion of assault incidents involving use of a knife/bladed instrument or other sharp instrument | ||||||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| (1) MOJ statistics. | ||||||||
The information requested in relation to the number of knives and offensive weapons found in prisons and young offender institutions is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Young Offender Institutions: Emergencies
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are in place in (a) young offender institutions and (b) prisons in England and Wales to ensure that staff invoke appropriate response procedures in the event of (i) fire, (ii) death and (ii) other emergencies; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that prison staff are trained in such procedures. [218874]
Mr. Hanson: HM Prison Service provides instructions to ensure that governing governors and directors of both prisons and young offender institutions have contingency plans in place in the event of fire, death and other emergencies.
Public and private sector prison staff receive the appropriate training to ensure they have required skills and knowledge to deal with incidents of fire, death and other emergencies in prisons. It is the responsibility of individual prisons to assess the training needs of their staff to ensure these incidents are managed effectively.
Young Offender Institutions: Offensive Weapons
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what protocols are invoked upon the discovery of a knife or other offensive weapon in prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales. [219082]
Mr. Straw: Any offensive weapons found within prisons and young offender institutions will be seized and reported to the prison security department where the incident is dealt with according to the circumstances involved. The discovery of firearms or explosives must be reported to the police immediately. The discovery of offensive weapons such as knives, kitchen or workshop implements or improvised weapons should be reported to the police if there is evidence to suggest that the weapon is intended for use in a criminal offence such as a serious assault.
Possession of an offensive weapon is a disciplinary offence and prisoners will face an internal adjudication if the matter is not dealt with through the courts. The conveying of an offensive weapon into or out of a prison or passing of such an article to a prisoner is a criminal offence and will be dealt with accordingly.
Policy and guidance on the handling of weapons found within prisons is contained within the National Offender Management National Security Framework, which sets outs procedures for the preservation and continuity of evidence in cases where weapons are found.
Young Offender Institutions: Speech Therapy
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research his Department has commissioned on the effects of providing speech and language therapy in young offender institutions and secure training centres in the last three years. [219217]
Maria Eagle: There has been no research commissioned specifically on the effects of providing speech and language therapy in young offender institutions and secure training centres in the last three years.
Professor Karen Bryan’s research in this area, published in 2004, funded by the Helen Hamlyn Trust and supported by HM Prison Service, has been used to inform the new reception screen developed by the Youth Justice Board. All young offenders receive health screening on reception into prison, and in addition, a screen for their educational needs.
A strategy looking at the health and social care needs of children across the criminal justice system is currently in development and due for publication in 2008. This is a joint initiative between the Department of Health, Department of Children, Schools and Families, Ministry of Justice and the Youth Justice Board, and is intended as an integrated and holistic response to the health and social care needs of these children.
Young Offenders
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of juvenile offenders were attending school at the time of their conviction in 2007. [219230]
Mr. Hanson: Data relating to the educational status of young offenders upon conviction are not recorded centrally. However, the Youth Justice Board (YJB) has a performance indicator to ensure that 90 per cent. of all young people supervised by youth offending teams are in suitable full time education, training or employment at the end of their order. These data are published in the YJB annual statistics and are available on their website:
Mr. Heath:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether responses to the Youth Justice Board’s
consultation exercise on the scaled approach will be published in full; [220514]
(2) when the responses to the Youth Justice Board’s consultation exercise on the scaled approach will be published; [220515]
(3) when he will publish the evaluation report of the Youth Justice Board’s scaled approach pilot; [220516]
(4) what the reasons are for the time taken to publish the evaluation of the piloting of the Youth Justice Board’s scaled approach. [220613]
Mr. Hanson: The Youth Justice Board is completing compilation of the responses to the consultation exercise on the scaled approach and revision of the Scaled Approach framework based on the responses. These will be published together in the autumn.
The evaluation of the scaled approach pilot will also be published. Evidence and recommendations from an initial draft of the evaluation were used to inform the development of the scaled approach framework. The report is being finalised for publication which includes an academic peer review and review by Ministry of Justice Analytical Services. This should be completed over the summer to allow publication in the autumn.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Boilers: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government have taken to protect consumers from excessive charges for replacement boilers. [218179]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 15 July 2008]: The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 requires a trader who agrees to provide a service—including the provision of a replacement boiler—to carry out that service with reasonable care and skill, for a reasonable charge (unless the price is fixed by contract) and within a reasonable time (unless the time is fixed by contract). It also requires that any goods and materials supplied are of satisfactory quality. If the trader fails to comply with these requirements the law treats the matter as breach of contract and a consumer could, if necessary, pursue a claim for redress through the civil courts.
Business: Rural Areas
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his definition of a rural business is; and what estimate he has made of the number of rural businesses in England. [217664]
Mr. McFadden: There is no standard industrial classification for a rural business but in 2004 Government agreed to define a rural business in England as a business registered at an address in an area defined as rural by the 2004 definition of rural. This defines settlements with populations of 10,000 or more as urban, and those with less than a 10,000 population as rural.
Analysis of the ONS Inter Departmental Business Register by Defra shows there were 476,490 businesses
registered for VAT or PAYE in rural areas in England in 2005. This represents 28 per cent. of the total number of VAT and PAYE businesses registered in England, which was 1,712,745 in 2005.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to reduce the level of administrative burdens on rural businesses. [217953]
Mr. McFadden: BERR's plans to reduce the burden of bureaucracy on businesses, including rural businesses, are set out in our Better Regulation Simplification Plan.
Carbon Emissions: Standards
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the UK’s capacity to meet its carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets with the current level of technical expertise available to industry and the public sector; and if he will make a statement. [201298]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
The Government remains committed to meeting its CO2 emissions reduction targets, and is confident that the correct strategies and mechanisms are in place to achieve this, including the UK Climate Change Programme, tighter building regulations and the EU emissions trading scheme.
Companies: Fraud
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) to which authority Companies House refers for prosecution complaints relating to false registration of a registered address; [218539]
(2) which authority receives complaints from property owners against companies which falsely register their office address as the property owner's address; [218540]
(3) how many (a) people and (b) companies were prosecuted for false registration of a registered office pursuant to sections 12 and 363 of the Companies Act 1985 in each of the last 12 years; and what penalties were imposed. [218541]
Mr. Thomas: Under the Companies Act 1985, there is no offence directly related to a company providing false information relating to the address of its registered office. Nevertheless, over the last 12 months, Companies House received 49 complaints relating to the address of the registered office. These were mostly from occupiers of addresses that are the registered offices of companies with which they have no links. In these circumstances, it may be possible for the occupier to bring court proceedings against the company.
The Companies Act 2006 makes it an offence for a person knowingly or recklessly to deliver a document to the registrar or to make a statement to him that is misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular. This provision will come into force on 1 October 2009. This offence might be committed if a company notified without permission another's address as the address of the company's registered office.
Departmental Computers
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of (a) the number of computer devices left on overnight in his Department when not in use and (b) the cost per year of leaving computer devices on overnight when not in use in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [217864]
Mr. Thomas: The Department has implemented software to automatically turn off all PCs, that may have been left on, at an agreed time overnight. As a result, no energy is consumed overnight by IT desktop devices.
Departmental Sick Leave
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what percentage of staff in his Department and its predecessor have had more than two periods of sickness of less than five days in each of the last three years. [218728]
Mr. Thomas: BERR’s records, and its predecessor, the Department for Trade and Industry, show:
| BERR HQ including UKTI staff who have had more than two periods of sickness of less than five days | ||
| Number | Percentage | |
Energy: Conservation
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimates his Department has made of the amount of energy consumed by circulator pumps in (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic properties in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available. [219191]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
The Government's Market Transformation Programme estimates that the energy consumed by circulator pumps was about 1.7 TWh for domestic properties and about 3.4 TWh for non-domestic properties in the UK in 2006.
Environment Protection: Finance
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much additional funding the Government have committed to (a) the Clean Technology Fund and (b) the Strategic Climate Fund following the Heads of Government agreement on energy and climate change at the G8 summit. [218870]
Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
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