| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Dec 2008 : Column 473W—continued
a new package of support to be launched by April 2009 and delivered in the English regions focused on helping innovative companies with export experience to increase their internationalisation capabilities;
the creation of a Business Ambassadors network announced by the Prime Minister on 3 October. 17 leading figures from business and universities will work with UKTI to promote the UK’s excellence internationally, highlight trade and investment opportunities and help SMEs to access global markets.
Yorkshire Forward: Finance
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the operating costs of the regional development agency for Yorkshire, Yorkshire Forward were in the months of (a) July, (b) August, (c) September and (d) October 2008. [241970]
Mr. McFadden: Yorkshire Forward operating costs were as follows.
| £000 | |
Justice
Appeals: Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many appeals have been lodged by claimants of incapacity benefit against a decision made to stop payment of the benefit in each of the last 11 years; how many such appeals were upheld in each year; and what the average time taken from an appeal being (a) received and logged and (b) logged and resolved was in each year. [243475]
Bridget Prentice: The Tribunals Service and the Department for Work and Pensions are currently collating this information. I will write to the hon. Member very soon and place a copy of this letter in the Libraries of the House.
Bradley Review
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will publish (a) the Bradley Review and (b) his response to it. [242067]
Mr. Hanson: The Government have not yet received Lord Bradley's report, but expect to do so early in the new year. On receipt, I will inform the House of the publication date as it is the intention to publish the report and Government response at the same time.
Burglary: Sentencing
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many individuals who have received a non-custodial sentence for burglary at Peterborough Crown Court since May 2005 had (a) up to five, (b) between six and nine, (c) between 10 and 15 and (d) more than 16 previous convictions; and if he will make a statement. [242758]
Maria Eagle: Between May 2005 and December 2007 (the latest date for which data are available) 34 non-custodial sentences (including any fines, community sentences, discharges and otherwise dealt with) were imposed by the Crown court in Peterborough for burglary. Data on the numbers of previous convictions are not available at court or regional level.
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.
Cannabis: Crime
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the Penalty Notice for Disorder for cannabis possession will come into force. [241647]
Maria Eagle: The Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) for possession of Class B drug (cannabis) will come into force in early 2009, subject to parliamentary approval.
Offences are added to the PND Scheme by means of secondary legislation subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.
Children: Maintenance
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many consent orders for child maintenance have passed through the courts in each of the last 10 years; [241941]
(2) what estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of consent orders that will go through the courts for child maintenance, following repeal of section 6 of the Child Support Act 1991. [241942]
Bridget Prentice: Information on the number of consent orders for child maintenance made by the courts is not held centrally. Statistics on disposal of applications for ancillary relief are published annually in Chapter 5 of Judicial and Court Statistics, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
Analysis from the Families and Children Study 2004 showed that for 4 per cent. of parents who are eligible to receive child maintenance, the child maintenance arrangement was through a Consent Order at court. It was also possible for parents to make maintenance arrangements via the Child Support Agency or via private settlement, or to have no formal arrangements at all.
It has been estimated that an additional 7,500 to 9,500 cases may come to the courts each year to agree child maintenance, as a result of repeal of section 6 of the Child Support Act 1991.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel: Finance
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated resource expenditure is of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel in the current three year Comprehensive Spending Review period. [241846]
Maria Eagle: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel has a resource budget allocation of £767,000/£790,000/£814,000 for the CSR 07 period covering the financial years 2008-09; 2009-10; and 2010-11.
Departmental Higher Education
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff in his Department undertook courses funded by the Department for (a) undergraduate degrees, (b) postgraduate degrees or diplomas, (c) Masters degrees, (d) MBA degrees and (e) PhD degrees in the last 12 months, broken down by pay band. [242140]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice has supported 150 staff to work towards qualifications in the last 12 months. A full breakdown of the numbers and grades is set out in the following table.
| Number | |
Driving Offences: Fines
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of foreign drivers did not pay fines for motoring offences in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) the last 12 months. [241768]
Maria Eagle: Financial penalties for motoring offences can take the form of a fixed penalty notice offered by the police or a fine imposed by the courts.
Information held centrally by the Home Office on fixed penalty notices issued by the police, and the Court Proceedings Database, held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, does not identify the nationality status of drivers issued with a financial penalty.
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made in his review of the application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to private sector bodies delivering public services; and if he will make a statement. [241531]
Mr. Straw: The Government continue to assess the merits of designating additional public authorities under the Act and will publish their response to the Section 5 public consultation in due course.
Gifts
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff members in his Department have received gifts valued at £100 or higher in the
course of their duties in each of the last three years; what these gifts were; and from whom they were received. [241799]
Mr. Wills: This information could be provided across the Ministry only at disproportionate cost as the information is maintained locally in many separate locations.
The Ministry of Justice has a Departmental wide Gifts and Hospitality Policy. This requires managers in all parts of the Department to maintain a gifts and hospitality register and ensure that all instances of offers (accepted or declined) are recorded. The policy also requires that a gift can only be accepted in exceptional circumstances and even then it must be modest and appropriate.
Government Departments: Information and Communications Technology
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 4 November 2008, Official Report, columns 336-7W, on Government departments: information and communications technology, which IP addresses are used by (a) his Department and (b) computers in the offices of its (i) Ministers, (ii) communications officials and (iii) special advisers. [241956]
Maria Eagle: To help defend against electronic attack, it is standard good information security practice for corporate IT systems not to publish internal IP addresses. When accessing internet websites, the IP addresses of all of the computers on the Ministry of Justice's internal office IT system are hidden behind the following IP addresses which are publicly available—195.92.40.49 and 62.25.106.209. These IP addresses are shared with other Government departments that use the Government Secure Intranet.
Judicial Appointments Commission: Finance
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated resource expenditure is of the Judicial Appointments Commission in the current three year Comprehensive Spending Review period. [241843]
Bridget Prentice: The Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission has a resource budget allocation of £1.6 million for the 2008-09 financial year. Funding Plans for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been settled.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |