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11 Nov 2008 : Column 1024W—continued
Justice
Appeals: Incapacity Benefit
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the success rate at appeal hearings has been for incapacity for work applicants (a) overall and (b) where both the claimant and the representative attended the hearing in the last five years for which figures are available. [234433]
Bridget Prentice: The overall success rate at incapacity benefit appeal hearings was:
45.09 per cent. from April 2007 to March 2008;
43.44 per cent. from April 2008 to October 2008.
Where the appellant had representation, the success rate was:
58.37 per cent. from April 2007 to March 2008;
57.58 per cent. from April 2008 to October 2008.
Prior to April 2007, this information was not recorded.
The tribunal does not record appeals where both claimant and representative attend.
Appeals: Disability Living Allowance
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the success rate was at appeal hearings for disability living allowance applicants (a) overall and (b) where both the claimant and the representative attended the hearing in the last five years for which figures are available. [234434]
Bridget Prentice: The overall success rate at disability living allowance appeal hearings was:
36.05 per cent. from April 2007 to March 2008;
33.87 per cent. from April 2008 to October 2008.
Where the appellant had representation the success rate was:
43.22 per cent. from April 2007 to March 2008;
41.65 per cent. from April 2008 to October 2008.
Prior to April 2007, this information was not recorded.
The tribunal does not record appeals where both claimant and representative attend.
Asylum: Appeals
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of asylum decisions were overturned on appeal in each year since 1997. [233322]
Bridget Prentice: The information requested can be viewed in the following table.
Details are published in the Home Office publications ‘Control of Immigration Statistics United Kingdom’, copies of which are available in the Library of both Houses. Details can also be found on the Asylum Statistics UK website at these links:
Courts Service
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many posts in HM Courts Service there are; and what projection he has made of the number of jobs in the service in 2011. [233752]
Bridget Prentice: As at September 2008 there were 19,474 permanent full-time equivalent on strength members of staff employed by Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS).
It has been clear since the publication of MoJ's CSR07 settlement that the Department and its constituent bodies, including HMCS, would have to cut budgets. The efficiency savings plan for Moj for 2008-09 is currently under way.
We are working up over the next few months the performance and efficiency plan for MoJ and its constituent bodies, including HMCS, to cover 2009-10 and 2010-11.
We expect there to be a reduction in headcount in HMCS parts of MoJ but we expect a large part of that to come from reductions in agency staff and contractors. Exact numbers will only be available once we have completed our planning exercise.
We will aim to match courts’ work better to the changing pattern of demand and do not have any current plans to close courts.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many courts HM Courts Service administers at present; and what projection he has made of the number of courts in operation in 2011. [233751]
Bridget Prentice: As at September 2008 Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) administers 583 courthouse properties. Local justice areas, county court jurisdiction or Crown court determines where the courts sit, and may provide their court services from one or more court properties within their areas.
In the normal course of operation HMCS reviews its property base to match court work better to the changing pattern of demand and efficient provision of justice. We do not have any current plans to close courts although a number of courthouses (properties) may be combined as part of these plans.
There are no property disposals planned over and above that agreed in the CSR07 MoJ Asset Management Strategy These plans form part of the agreed MoJ Asset Management Strategy. For commercial reasons HMCS does not publish details of any proposed changes to individual locations. In any event, any disposals/changes are subject to agreed consultation processes.
Crime: Victim Support Schemes
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to improve police services for victims of crime. [234104]
Maria Eagle: The Government have placed victims and witnesses at the heart of the criminal justice system and given support services to them a high priority.
Since 2004 the Government have introduced the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime which gives victims legal rights to support and information about their case. They have also supported the development of Victim Support into a strong national organisation able to help more victims more quickly. Victim Support is an independent charity and is the main provider of services to victims and witnesses across England and Wales. Over recent years funding has increased from £11.7 million to £30 million. Victim Support has recently introduced an improved business process, with an additional £12.6 million from Government, so that victims can be contacted quickly, have their needs assessed and, if needed, be offered a wider range of practical services than was previously available.
In addition the Government fund a number of other organisations offering specialist support services through the Victims Fund. £8.2 million has been invested so far, funding services to victims of sexual violence, childhood sexual abuse, hate crime and homicide. The Poppy project supports adult women who have been trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation and this includes provision for temporarily accommodating victims.
The Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) has provided £5.6 million since 2007 for independent domestic violence advisers (IDVAs) who provide a service to victims who are at high risk of harm. The money provides IDVAs to support victims as their cases progress through specialist domestic violence courts. The £5.6 million follows £2 million of Home Office funding in 2006-07.
The recently published Youth Crime Action Plan will be improving support services to young victims of crime. The plan has been developed jointly between the OCJR, Ministry of Justice, the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Home Office. The action plan will deliver results on youth justice, youth crime prevention and cross cutting themes on victimisation.
Support after Murder and Manslaughter (SAMM) receives an annual grant of £140,000 to provide advice and support to those bereaved by homicide and presents training to police forces and other statutory agencies (e.g. the Health and Safety Executive) on bereavement awareness issues.
Victims and witnesses have a voice in shaping Government policy and future support services through the Victims Advisory Panel and, shortly, the appointment
of a Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses will be able to promote the views of victims and witnesses at the highest levels.
Drugs: Crime
James Brokenshire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of (a) possession and (b) supply of illegal drugs of each classification level in each of the last 10 years; and how
many such people received (i) a custodial sentence and (ii) the maximum possible sentence in each case. [232145]
Maria Eagle: The requested information is contained in the following tables. The maximum sentence is available for the most serious possible case of a particular crime. The average sentence for an offence will, rightly, fall well below the maximum.
| Number of persons convicted( 1) for possessing or supplying illegal drugs by class, all courts, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006 | ||||||||||
| Number of persons | ||||||||||
| Offence description | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| (1) These data are on the principle offence basis. Source: OCJR E and A | ||||||||||
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