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25 Nov 2008 : Column 1292W—continued
Departmental ICT
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what provision will be made for IT expenditure in his Department's financial plan for the 2008-11 Comprehensive Spending Review; and what steps he will take to ensure that such expenditure (a) is necessary and (b) offers good value for money. [233765]
Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice's financial plan includes provision for IT expenditure of £557 million for 2008-09. This includes the cost of running the live operational services across the Ministry as well as the costs of new IT developments.
Funding plans for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been agreed. These will be subject to a further budget review in December 2008, as part of the Ministry's wider review of all areas of expenditure. Strong governance arrangements are in place within the budget setting process and thereafter, to ensure that expenditure is necessary and offers value for money.
Departmental Postal Services
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which postal service provider carried most of the (a) letters and (b) parcels sent by his Department and its predecessor in each of the last three years. [238320]
Mr. Wills: In the past three years, the postal service provider who carried the majority of letters sent by the Ministry of Justice, and formerly the Department for Constitutional Affairs, was the Royal Mail. The postal service provider who carried the majority of parcels sent by the Department was Document Exchange.
Departmental Television
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the television licence fee in his official ministerial residence is paid for from public funds. [235297]
Mr. Straw: I have no official ministerial residence and therefore no television licence fee is paid for it.
Driving Offences
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2008, Official Report, column 1505W, on justice: driving offences, on how many occasions an individual has been sentenced with a custodial sentence and a driving ban at the same hearing in (a) each of the last 10 years and (b) 2008 to date; [237764]
(2) on how many occasions an individual has been sentenced with a custodial sentence and a driving ban to run concurrently in (a) each of the last 10 years and (b) 2008 to date. [237765]
Maria Eagle: The requested information for years from 1997 to 2006 (latest available) on the number of offences for which persons received both a custodial sentence and a disqualification in each of the last 10 years is contained in the following table. Data for 2007 will become available once ‘Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 2007’ has been published on 27 November while data for 2008 will become available a year later.
| Number of driving offences attracting a custodial sentence and a disqualification, all courts, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006( 1) | |
| Number | |
| (1) The figures in the table represent a count of offences for which persons received both a custodial sentence and a disqualification. Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OCJR Evidence and Analysis | |
A driving ban starts immediately it is imposed and will, therefore, always run concurrently with a custodial sentence. The Sentencing Guidelines Council guideline on causing death by driving offences says that
“When ordering disqualification from driving, the duration of the order should allow for the length of any custodial period in order to ensure that the disqualification has the desired impact”.
Driving Offences: Cameras
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what percentage of all motoring convictions in England and Wales in each year since 1997 speed cameras have provided evidence. [237933]
Maria Eagle: Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database, from 1997 to 2006 (latest available) on all motoring and speed limit convictions is provided in the table below. Data for 2007 should be available at the end of November this year.
Volumes of convictions for camera detected speed limit offences cannot be accurately established because in many cases the method of detection is not clear from the court data. We do not know exactly in how many cases it was in fact a camera or a visual detection by a police officer.
| Findings of guilt at all courts for speed limit offences( 1,2,3) as a percentage of all motoring offences, England and Wales, 1997-2006 | ||||||||||
| Number of offences | ||||||||||
| Findings of guilt | ||||||||||
| Offence type | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| (1) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 ss. 16, 81, 84, 86, 88 7 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regs. 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926 - byelaws made thereunder. (2) It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. (3) Volumes of convictions for camera detected speed limit offences cannot be accurately established because in many cases the method of detection is not identified in the court data. We do not know exactly in how many cases it was in fact a camera or a visual detection by a police officer. Note: 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 and police forces. 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. | ||||||||||
Driving Offences: Mobile Phones
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many drivers (a) in total and (b) under the age of 25 years were (i) prosecuted and (ii) given a fixed penalty notice for using a mobile telephone whilst driving in each region of England and Wales in each year since 2003. [237931]
Maria Eagle: Available information on prosecutions within the period 1 December 2003 to end 2006 (latest available) taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by my Department, is provided in table A as follows. Data for 2007 should be available at the end of November this year.
Information provided by the Home Office on fixed penalties issued to drivers of all ages from December 2003 to 2006 (latest available) is provided in table B as follows. Data on the number of drivers aged under 25 years issued with fixed penalties are not available as information on the age of recipients of fixed penalties is not reported to the Home Department.
| Table A: Proceedings at magistrates courts( 1,2 ) for the offence of ‘use of hand held mobile phone whilst driving’( 2) , by all ages and by drivers under age 25, and by Government office regions, England and Wales, 2004-06 | ||||||
| Number of offences | ||||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | ||||
| Government office region | Total all ages | Under age 25 | Total all ages | Under age 25 | Total all ages | Under age 25 |
| (1) Includes cases where a fixed penalty notice was originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (2) Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 110 (1), 110 (2) and 110 (3). Introduced 1 December 2003. In December 2003, there was one prosecution in the Bedfordshire police force area. The offender was aged over 25. Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. 2. 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 and police forces. 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. | ||||||
| Table B: Number of fixed penalty notices issued( 1) for the use of a hand held mobile phone while driving( 2) by region, England and Wales, 2003-06 | ||||
| Number of fixed penalty notices issued | ||||
| Government office region | December 2 003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| (1) Includes fixed penalties paid where there is no further action (2) Introduced 1 December 2003. (3) Includes revised figure for Durham police force area for year 2006. (4) Excludes figures for Norfolk police force area for 2006. The force was unable to supply data for that year due to technical reasons. Note: 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 police forces. 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. | ||||
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