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22 July 2008 : Column 1212W—continued
Departmental Data Protection
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps he is taking to prevent future losses of sensitive data by his Department; [220408]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to implement the new set of mandatory standards for Government Departments as outlined by the Cabinet Office's Data handling procedures in government review; [220409]
(3) how much has been allocated within his Department to ensure compliance with the new set of minimum mandatory standards, set out in the Cabinet Office's Data handling in government review; [221235]
(4) how many individuals his Department holds sensitive data on. [221393]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice is determined to ensure that all personal information is managed in accordance with the Cabinet Office's Final Report on Data Handling Procedures in Government. The Ministry has set up a dedicated Information Assurance Programme to oversee implementation of the new set of minimum mandatory standards contained in the report. The Ministry expects to spend in the region of £630,000 to cover the costs of managing the programme. Any new development costs will be met from within existing Business Group budgets through re-prioritisation of expenditure.
The Ministry does not hold a central register of the total number of records it holds containing sensitive data. Such information may be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Each Business Group within the Ministry is required to manage its information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Government's Manual of Protective Security.
Departmental Freedom of Information
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many freedom of information requests his Department resolved within (a) 20 days, (b) 40 and (c) 60 working days in the last 12 months; [220466]
(2) how many freedom of information requests answered by his Department in the last 12 months cited an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide all the requested information. [220472]
Mr. Wills: In the 12 months from April 2007 to March 2008 a total of 1,803 non-routine requests were received by the Ministry of Justice. Of these, 67 per cent. were answered within 20 days, in a further 17 per cent. of cases the 20 day time limit was extended for consideration of the public interest in releasing the information requested. Statistics on the number of requests not resolved within the 20 day time limit are not collected in the form requested.
The number of requests received by the Ministry of Justice during this period where the requested information was withheld, either in full or in part, under the Freedom of Information or Environmental Information Regulations was 182.
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many unanswered freedom of information requests there have been by his Department in the last 12 months. [Official Report, 10 September 2008, Vol. 479, c. 12MC.][220474]
Mr. Wills:
Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice in the annual report on freedom of information in central Government for 2007 show that of a total of 1,427 non-routine requests received by the Department. 88 (6 per cent.) had not received a substantive response
within the 20 day time limit. The annual report can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost has been of dealing with freedom of information requests to his Department in the last 12 months. [220477]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice does not calculate the cost of dealing with each freedom of information request and so the total cost is not available.
Departmental Marketing
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of (a) internet and website design and hosting, (b) print media design and (c) broadcast media of each of his Department's public information campaigns since 1997. [214719]
Mr. Wills: Since my Department was created in May 2007, the Ministry of Justice has spent the following on public information campaigns.
Since the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) was created in April 2003, the Department spent the following on public information campaigns.
DCA's predecessor, Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD) launched the Community Legal Service in 2000 to inform people where to go for civil legal advice, help and representation. A total of £1,347,000 was spent on advertising but a separate figure for broadcast media cannot be identified. Further details regarding spend on this campaign are not available.
Departmental Public Participation
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what citizens' juries are planned in the next six months; [220413]
(2) on what policy areas citizens' juries are being held in the next six months. [220489]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice has recently published a framework for greater citizen engagement which includes proposals to make greater use of citizens' juries and on which we are currently seeking views. However, the Ministry of Justice has no citizens' juries currently scheduled to take place over the next six months.
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of citizens' juries held by his Department in the last 12 months was. [220483]
Mr. Wills: My Department has not held any citizens' juries over the last 12 months and has therefore incurred no costs.
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have attended a (a) citizens' jury and (b) citizens' summit sponsored by his Department in the last 12 months. [220486]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice has not sponsored any citizens' juries or citizens' summits over the last 12 months. We have begun to engage the public in other ways, including through The ‘Governance of Britain’ website and regional events. We have also produced a discussion document, ‘A national Framework for Greater Citizen Engagement’, which sets out the circumstances in which citizens' juries and summits should be held and invites views on these proposals.
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the development and running costs of his Department’s digital dialogue programme are on promoting interaction between Government and the wider populace via ICT. [220487]
Mr. Wills: Since December 2005, the Digital Dialogues programme has encouraged Government Departments to explore the use of online technologies to engage the public in the development of policy. The programme cost £80,435 in 2006-07 and £54,000 in 2007-08. Digital Dialogues was designed to run in three phases. At the end of each phase, a report is produced analysing case studies and providing up-to-date good practice guidance. We expect the report from the third stage to be published by the end of summer 2008. More information is available at:
I am currently considering whether to commission a new phase of Digital Dialogues.
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding he has allocated to citizens' juries planned to be held in the next six months. [220491]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice is not scheduled to hold any citizens' juries in the next six months. We are currently considering the budgeting and procurement of the citizens' summit to consider issues around election day and for the development of a statement of values.
Domestic Violence
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many programmes which work with the perpetrators of domestic violence are in operation in the criminal justice system; how many men have taken part in such programmes in each of the last 10 years; how many men are on waiting lists for such programmes; and what work has been done to develop national standards for perpetrator programmes outside the criminal justice system; [220399]
(2) how many prisoners have completed the Healthy Relationships programme; how many prisons operate the programme; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the programme. [220401]
Mr. Straw: There are three programmes which have been accredited by the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel specifically for use with perpetrators of domestic violence. The Community Domestic Violence Programme (CDVP) and the Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme (IDAP) are used in the community, and the Healthy Relationships Programme (HRP) in prison. Other programmes have also been accredited by the panel that may be appropriate depending on particular risks and needs.
The following table sets out the number of new community orders or licences with a requirement to attend an accredited domestic violence programme, the number of offenders who have commenced a programme in the community or completed one in prison since the programmes were introduced.
| New orders or licences with a requirement to attend a domestic violence programme( 1) | CDVP/IDAP commencements( 1) | HRP completions by prisoners | |
| (1) The data are based on information provided from probation areas and includes those who specifically receive a domestic violence programme, but not those who were convicted of a domestic violence offence who were sentenced to undertake another intervention. | |||
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