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10 Sep 2008 : Column 1966W—continued
Information Commissioner
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to reduce the time taken by the Information Commissioner to process complaints; and if he will make a statement. [221399]
Mr. Wills:
The Information Commissioner is an independent post created by statute. His responsibilities include handling complaints made under the Data
Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
In response to business cases presented by the Commissioner to deal with his Freedom of Information workload my Department has increased the grant in aid available to his office for this financial year and the previous three.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice is promoting a scheme for staff from central Government Departments to second to the Commissioner's office in response to his request for additional staff.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints were referred to the Information Commissioner in each of the last three years. [221400]
Mr. Wills: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is an independent body created by statute.
Its responsibilities include handling complaints made under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI), Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR).
The following table shows the number of cases received by the ICO in the last three financial years.
| April to March each year | DPA and PECR | FOI and EIR |
Information Commissioner: Finance
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding his Department gave to the Information Commissioner's Office in each of the last three years. [221401]
Mr. Wills: The Information Commissioner's data protection work is funded through notification fees paid to his office by data controllers under section 26 of the Data Protection Act 1998, which his office retains with the agreement of HM Treasury.
The Commissioner's freedom of information work is funded through grant in aid paid by the Ministry of Justice. The amount of grant in aid allocated in the last three financial years has been:
| £ | |
Information Commissioner: Freedom of Information
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the Information Commissioner on the backlog of Freedom of Information cases being processed by the Information Commissioner's Office. [221403]
Mr. Wills: There are regular discussions between my Department and the Information Commissioner's office about a range of issues, including workload.
In response to business cases presented by the Commissioner to deal with his freedom of information workload, the Ministry of Justice has increased the grant in aid available to his office for this financial year and the previous three.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice is promoting a scheme for staff from central Government Departments to second to the Commissioner's office in response to his request for additional staff.
Information Commissioner: Manpower
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff were employed by the Information Commissioner’s Office in each of the last three years. [221402]
Mr. Wills: The number of staff employed by the Information Commissioner’s Office as at 31 March in each of the last three years is as follows:
| April to March each year | Total staff (including part-time) | Full-time equivalents |
Information Commissioner: Powers
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to increase the powers of the Information Commissioner. [221234]
Mr. Wills: On 17 July 2008, the Government published a consultation paper on the Information Commissioner’s inspection powers and funding arrangements under the Data Protection Act 1998, in response to the Data Sharing review published by the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas and Dr. Mark Walport on 11 July 2008.
The consultation paper proposes strengthening the inspection powers of the Information Commissioner’s Office. The consultation ended on 27 August 2008. The Government will consider how best to take forward the recommendations of the Data Sharing review and the result of the consultation exercise and respond in detail in autumn 2008.
Legal Services Board: Pay
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the rate of remuneration will be of the members of the new Legal Services Board. [221453]
Bridget Prentice: Members of the Legal Services Board will receive £15,000 per annum for approximately 30 days.
Legal Services Board: Public Appointments
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the political affiliation or trades union experience is of each member of the new Legal Services Board where appropriate. [221451]
Bridget Prentice: We understand from the Legal Services Board that applicants were asked to declare any political activity within the past five years. Michael Napier QC, CBE made a recordable donation to the Labour party. No other members declared any political activity. Applicants were not asked about any trade union experience, as it was not considered relevant to the selection process.
Legal Services Commission: Complaints
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what guidance the Legal Services Commission has issued to (a) its staff and (b) the public on its complaints procedures since April 2004; [220885]
(2) what guarantee the Legal Services Commission provides to complainants on the treatment of their complaint; and what arrangements are in place to monitor the application of that guarantee. [220886]
Mr. Wills: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers of my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice the Member for Lewisham East (Bridget Prentice) to him on 4 June 2008, Official Report, column 1040W, and 22 May 2008, Official Report, columns 411-12W.
Mediation
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are in place in his Department to delegate authority for settling litigation claims by mediation; to what grade of official the authority is delegated; and if he will make a statement. [217295]
Maria Eagle: All Government Departments are covered by the pledge made in 2001 committing Government to the use of alternative dispute resolution in appropriate cases. Treasury Solicitor's Department and MOJ consider on a case by case basis whether mediation is appropriate. The decision to mediate will be taken by whoever within MOJ has responsibility for the litigation in question.
Offences Against Children
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in England and Wales were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted on charges relating to having sexual intercourse with an underage person in each of the last two years; what percentage of these cases resulted in a custodial sentence; and what the average length of prison sentence was (i) in total and (ii) broken down by region. [220548]
Maria Eagle: Information requested on court proceedings data for sexual offences with an underage person in England and Wales, by region, 2005 to 2006 is shown in the following table.
These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of 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.
Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
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