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22 July 2008 : Column 1238W—continued
Official Secrets: Photography
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for the offence of photography contrary to section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 in the latest period for which figures are available. [219424]
Maria Eagle: Information on court proceedings held by the Ministry of Justice for the period 2002 to 2006 (latest available) shows that there was one prosecution and one conviction under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 in 2002. The information reported to the Ministry of Justice does not include the individual circumstances of offences, therefore it is not possible to identify whether the photography was involved in the offences committed.
The figures relate to persons for whom the offence was the principal offence for which each person was dealt with. When a defendant has been proceeded against for two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
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 courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Parole Board
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of cases the Parole Board will deal with in each of the next 10 years. [220764]
Mr. Hanson: The Parole Board’s caseload projections for the period 2008-09 to 2009-10 are listed in the following table. Longer term projections are the subject of review following the implementation of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 which will impact on the number of cases referred to the Parole Board.
| Type of case | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
| (1) Estimated until impact of Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is known. | ||
Parole Board: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many caseworkers were employed by the Parole Board in (a) Leeds West constituency and (b) Leeds Metropolitan District to deal with (i) oral and (ii) written hearings in each year since 1997. [220770]
Maria Eagle: I am advised by the Parole Board that they do not employ any caseworkers in Leeds. All caseworkers are based at the board's London office apart from one who is based in Nottingham. Information on the number of caseworkers employed to deal with oral and paper hearings is contained in the following tables.
| (i) Number of caseworkers on oral hearings | ||
| Permanent | Temp/Agency | |
| (ii) Number of caseworkers on paper hearings | ||
| Permanent | Temp/Agency | |
Police Custody
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners are being held in police cells; at what cost; and how many have been so held in (a) England and Wales and (b) each police force area in each of the last five years. [219155]
Mr. Straw: Prison population figures are published every Friday. The total prison population for England and Wales on Friday 18 July was 83,610 which included 47 prisoners held in police accommodation under Operation Safeguard. The estimated average cost of a place in a police cell under Operation Safeguard is about £385 per night.
The average number of prisoners held each night under Operation Safeguard in 2006, 2007 and 2008 (January to June) based on end month figures was 23,181 and 93 respectively.
Operation Safeguard was activated between 12 October and 22 December 2006 and again from 16 January 2007 to date. The following table covers these periods up to the night of Thursday/Friday 10-11 July and gives the aggregate total of the number of prisoner nights in
which a police cell was used during each year shown. It is not possible to ascertain how many individual prisoners these totals cover.
| Aggregate number of prisoner nights in police cells | |||
| Police force | 2006 | 2007 | 2008( 1) |
| (1) To 10-11 July. | |||
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