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3 Feb 2009 : Column 1162W—continued
Civil Legal Aid
16. Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on piloting new ways to provide civil legal aid. [253537]
Mr. Malik: Pilots can provide important evidence about the effectiveness and cost of new arrangements for legal aid. We are seeking to expand our ability to conduct pilots through the Coroners and Justice Bill.
Titan Prisons
17. Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects construction of the first Titan prison to begin. [253538]
Mr. Hanson: We plan to open the first prison cluster on a phased basis from December 2012. Construction will commence around two years prior to this.
Custody Licence Scheme
18. Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to end the end of custody licence scheme. [253539]
Mr. Straw: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Clwyd West (Mr. Jones) at Justice oral questions today.
Court Cells: Bournemouth
19. Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will allow Bournemouth's court cells to be used by Bournemouth police to detain suspected offenders. [253540]
Mr. Hanson: The Dorset police have been given permission to use the cells at Bournemouth magistrates courts at weekends during peak summer months pending completion of their own custody suite.
Domestic Violence
20. Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to support during judicial processes those who have undergone domestic violence. [253542]
Bridget Prentice: Since 1997 the Government have been working to ensure that all sections of domestic violence law support and protect all victims of domestic abuse. In 2004 the Government passed the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act which was the biggest overhaul of domestic violence law in 30 years
Aside from legislation, on a national level in criminal courts this has included practical system changes promoting a co-ordinated community response to domestic violence through a set of initiatives in and around the criminal justice agencies. This includes establishing 104 specialist domestic violence courts (SDVC) with a commitment to increase this to 128 courts by 2011. Linked to each SDVC is a dedicated independent domestic violence adviser service which provides invaluable support to victims of domestic violence and their families. Evidence shows that incidents of victimisation decrease and victims are less likely to withdraw from cases when this support is provided.
Forced Marriages
22. Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 in enabling the courts to prevent forced marriages. [253544]
Bridget Prentice: As the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 was only implemented on 25 November 2008, it is too early to evaluate trends. 10 orders have been made since the introduction of the Act including one for the victim returned from Bangladesh. We are continuing to monitor the number of forced marriage protection orders made by the courts. We have asked the courts dealing with the Act to provide statistics on the number of orders they make.
British Statement of Values
23. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to consult on a British statement of values. [253545]
Mr. Wills: Since the publication of the Governance of Britain Green Paper in July 2007 we have been conducting an inclusive discussion on citizenship and the values that underpin what it means to be a member of UK society, through a series of online discussions, consultation toolkits and local events. We expect to continue this discussion as part of the proposed Green paper on a Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
Magistrates Courts
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of differences between magistrates courts in their use of custody for remand and for sentences. [253523]
Mr. Malik: On 5 December 2007 we published a report on local variation in sentencing in England and Wales. The study describes geographic variation in custodial sentencing for the period 2003 to 2006 and the possible reasons for it. No similar assessment has been in relation to the use of custody for remand.
Custodial Sentences: Single Parents
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effects on dependent children of custodial sentences for single parents. [253534]
Mr. Malik: The Government recognises that this is an important issue, especially for the children of women offenders who are more likely to be single carers. It is one of the reasons why we commissioned the Corston Review on vulnerable women in the criminal justice system. The Government have made considerable progress in taking forward the recommendations from that review, as has been reported to this House by my ministerial colleague the member for Liverpool, Garston. We agree that more should be done and we are working closely with the Department for Children, Schools and Families to ensure services join-up to meet the needs of these vulnerable children.
Bail Accommodation and Support Service
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many (a) offenders on home detention curfew and (b) defendants on bail have used the Bail Accommodation and Support Service since June 2007; [252832]
(2) in which local authority ward each Bail Accommodation and Support Service property is located. [252833]
Mr. Straw: The service commenced on 18 June 2007. Up to 26 January 2009, 1,073 offenders on Home Detention Curfew and 1,385 defendants on bail have been placed in the service. Of these 1,048 offenders on Home Detention Curfew and 1,292 defendants on bail have been provided with housing.
It is not our practice to publicise the precise whereabouts of the properties, which are the private rented homes of those living in them. When a property is brought into use the hon. Member in whose constituency it is located is advised of the local authority ward. The local authority is given the address and the opportunity to comment on its suitability before a property is brought into use. A list of constituencies and postcode areas was provided on 15 January 2009, Official Report, column 911W in answer to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert).
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the running costs have been of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) in 2008-09; what budgets for CAFCASS have been fixed over the next two financial years; and if he will make a statement. [243873]
Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
The funding allocation for CAFCASS for the current and next two financial years is shown as follows. For this financial year, CAFCASS have received £78,311,528 of which £57,486,020 has been for staff costs.
| Financial year | £ |
Community Orders
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders receiving a community sentence in 2007 had (a) more than five, (b) more than 10, (c) more than 15, (d) more than 25 and (e) more than 100 previous convictions. [252835]
Mr. Hanson: The following table gives the previous criminal history of offenders sentenced to community orders in England and Wales in 2007. Information is not available in precisely the format requested. These figures are based on data published in chapter 6 of “Sentencing Statistics 2007” and count both previous convictions and previous cautions.
| Persons sentenced to community sentences for indictable offences by previous criminal history, 2007 | |
| Number of previous convictions or cautions | Number of sentences |
These figures have been drawn from the police’s administrative IT system, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Further information can be found in chapter 6 of “Sentencing Statistics 2007” at:
Sentencing remains a matter for the court.
Community Orders: Research
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library (a) a copy of the full schedule of questions and (b) a breakdown of results from the research on community punishments undertaken by ICM and announced by his Department on 16 November 2007. [252842]
Mr. Hanson: ICM conducted surveys of 1,085 victims of non-violent crime surveyed between 5-14 October 2007 broken down by gender, age, social class and region and 999 victims of non-violent crime surveyed between 31 October-4 November broken down by gender, age, social class and region.
The research was used for public awareness raising about community sentences. A full schedule of questions and the breakdown of the relevant ICM survey results, including regional results, has been placed in the Library.
Coroners
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) which coroners' courts his Department plans to relocate in the next 12 months; for what reason in each case; and if he will make a statement; [252971]
(2) which coroners' courts have been closed since January 2008; and what the reason for closure was in each case; [252972]
(3) which coroners' courts have been relocated since January 2008; and what the reason for relocation was in each case. [252973]
Bridget Prentice: My Department has no direct responsibilities for the location or relocation of coroners' courts. All arrangements for coroners' court accommodation are made locally and information about the closure and relocation of coroners' courts is not held centrally.
Crime Prevention: Finance
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what account he has taken of the effect of the current economic downturn on levels of crime in planning resource allocation to (a) the Probation Service and (b) HM Courts Service; and if he will make a statement. [252778]
Mr. Straw: The Ministry of Justice's Ministers and Corporate Management Board are supplied with regular statistical information about both the economic downturn itself, and areas of the Department’s business where demand for services might be affected. This ensures that timely action can be taken where necessary.
Changes in demand for services are taken into account when agreeing allocations to departmental business groups, along with other factors such as policy considerations, inflationary pressures and the potential for efficiency savings.
The Department remains committed to living within its budget as set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. We are currently looking hard at the services we provide in order to find new ways to improve how we deliver them, while ensuring that we focus on our frontline services. We aim to drive out inefficiencies, overlap and duplication and to reduce our overheads, especially in our headquarters areas. Where possible the Department will actively look to redeploy staff to alternative and appropriate roles.
Crimes of Violence
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether wounding with intent contrary to section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 is classified as a serious offence. [252843]
Maria Eagle: For the purposes of the dangerous offender provisions in Chapter 5 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 is a serious offence and is specified in Schedule 15 to that Act, which means that an offender convicted of the offence may attract a sentence for public protection.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offences of wounding with intent contrary to section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 were committed by offenders under probation supervision in each of the last five years. [252844]
Mr. Straw: Information on reoffending of offenders commencing court orders under probation supervision or on release from custody on licence is not broken down by detailed offence type. Serious reoffending rates are available which include wounding with intent.
Table 1 provides the number of further severe offences committed per 100 offenders during the one year follow up period for offenders commencing a court order under probation supervision in the first quarter (1 January to 31 March) of the years 2000 to 2006.
The reoffending data do not show if an offender was still under probation supervision when the offence occurred.
The following table shows the severity rates per 100 offenders for adults following commencement of a court order under probation supervision.
| Number of offenders | Number of severe offences per 100 offenders( 1) | ||
| (1) Severe offences includes wounding with intent, as well as other serious violence offences and serious sexual offences. Please note the small numbers of most serious offences committed places a limitation on any robust breakdown of the severity rate. (2) Court orders include pre-CJA 2003 community sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders. Note: Data for 2001 are unavailable due to problems with archived data for community sentences. | |||
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