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25 Feb 2009 : Column 834W—continued
Regional Development Agencies: Land
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what land holdings each regional development agency owns. [253777]
Mr. McFadden: Tables showing regional development agency land holdings, as at February 2009, will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Regional Development Agencies: Non-domestic Rates
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate his Department has made of the cost to regional development agencies of paying national non-domestic rates in respect of empty commercial properties in 2009-10. [255740]
Mr. McFadden: The following table shows the estimated cost to RDAs of paying national non-domestic rates in respect of empty commercial properties in 2009-10.
| RDA | Estimated cost to RDAs of paying national non-domestic rates for empty commercial properties in 2009-10 (£000) |
| (1) The economic regeneration of Yorkshire and Humber’s main urban centres is a regional economic strategy priority. To support delivery of this priority YF has acquired strategic properties and sites. The economic downturn is lengthening the delivery of re-uses and new uses for these sites which impacts on rates and empty rates costs. | |
Justice
Care Proceedings: Applications
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for care proceedings were made by local authorities in England and Wales in each month of (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008. [258201]
Bridget Prentice:
The numbers of public law care and supervision applications under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 from April 2007 to December 2008 are shown in the following table. Public law cases are those brought
by local authorities or an authorised person (currently only the NSPCC). Figures relate to the number of children that are subject to each application, are for England and Wales, and have been rounded to the nearest 10. Please note that 2008 figures remain subject to change, particularly the later months of the year.
The majority of applications are made in Family Proceedings Courts (FPCs). There have been data quality issues with figures for FPCs, and a new method of data collection was introduced in April 2007 which has improved the quality and level of recording on previous years. Prior to April 2007 the collection was on a quarterly basis, meaning that monthly data are not available.
Comparisons between short time periods (one or two months) as presented in this table should be made with caution as these figures are subject to more volatility than those covering longer time periods.
Cemeteries: Safety
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 25 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1291-2W, on the Department for Constitutional Affairs Cemetery and Burials Advisory Group, what progress has been made in the review of the compensation culture referred to in the minutes of the Advisory Group meeting of 9 March 2006. [258026]
Bridget Prentice: Following publication of the Better Regulation Task Force’s 2004 report “Better Routes to Redress”, the Department took forward a programme of work to tackle perceptions of a “compensation culture” and to improve the compensation system for those with valid claims. One strand of this work related to risk management, which was the subject of the discussion at the Burial and Cemeteries Advisory Group. A number of initiatives were undertaken by individual Departments, including the production of guidance by the Health and Safety Executive on simplifying risk assessments, and this Department facilitated workshops aimed at improving understanding of issues relating to risk, involving other Departments, insurers, local government, the voluntary sector and other sectors.
Civil Proceedings: Legal Representation
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information he has on the number of criminal cases defended by litigants-in-person. [258015]
Mr. Malik: The criminal justice system does not collect information on the number of unrepresented defendants appearing before the magistrates court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords. The number of unrepresented defendants recorded as appearing before the Crown court in 2007-08 is set out in the following table.
Convictions
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in England are estimated to have an unspent conviction. [258228]
Maria Eagle: The information is not available.
Centralised police national computer (PNC) data only go back to 2000, with incomplete data available for 1997-99 and no centralised data available from before 1997. As prison sentences of over six months remain unspent for 10 years, and prison sentences of over 30 months never become spent, the data available would not provide an accurate indicator of the total number of individuals with unspent convictions in England today.
Moreover, data on whether convictions are spent or not are not routinely collected. They are only obtained when required for operational purposes (e.g. when a disclosure certificate is being prepared, or an individual is calculating whether they have to disclose a conviction). To produce a response to the question, even limited to the years for which there are central data, could therefore be done only at disproportionate cost.
Coroners
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of coroners' inquests likely to be held without a jury on the grounds of (a) national security, (b) the relationship between the United Kingdom and another country, (c) preventing or detecting crime, (d) protecting the safety of a witness or other person and (e) otherwise preventing real harm to the public interest, under clause 11 of the Coroners and Justice Bill, during the first year of operation of the legislation. [257292]
Bridget Prentice: At present, less than 2 per cent. of inquests are held with a jury (in 2007, 540 out of 30,841, or 1.75 per cent.), and we anticipate that only a very small number of those cases, perhaps one or two each year, will be affected by clause 11 of the Coroners and Justice Bill. It is not possible to speculate which limbs of the definition these one or two cases will fall under.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions an inquest has been closed without a recorded verdict in each of the last five years. [257635]
Bridget Prentice:
An inquest may be adjourned under section 16 of the Coroners Act 1988 pending the outcome of criminal proceedings for a homicide offence relating to the death. An inquest may be adjourned under section 17A of the 1988 Act where there is a judicial
public inquiry into the death and the Lord Chancellor considers that the cause of death will be adequately investigated by the inquiry. In section 16 cases, the coroner will only resume the inquest after the conclusion of the criminal proceedings if in his opinion there is “sufficient reason” to do so. In section 17A cases, the coroner will only resume the inquest after the public inquiry if in his option there is “exceptional reason” to do so.
The number of inquests which were adjourned and not resumed by coroners in England and Wales prior to a verdict being reached, in each year between 2003 and 2007, is provided in the following table:
| Number | |
Statistics for 2008 are not yet available, but are due to be published on the Ministry of Justice website in May in the National Statistics bulletin: “Statistics on deaths reported to coroners, England and Wales”.
Cremation: Standards
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 25 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1291-12W on Department for Constitutional Affairs Cemetery and Burials Advisory Group, and the minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Board on 25 February 2008, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of supply of (a) coffins, (b) crematorium services and (c) funeral services in the event of pandemic influenza. [258021]
Bridget Prentice: Following the Advisory Group meeting on 25 February 2008, the Home Office published ‘Planning for a Possible Influenza Pandemic: A Framework for Planners Preparing to Manage Deaths’ on 22 May. This provides guidance for local planners on providing cremation and funeral services in these circumstances. We have since been working with representatives of the funeral industry and coffin manufacturers to explore existing supply arrangements and options to increase capacity if necessary. This work continues.
Debt Collection
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many homes have been subject to forced entry by bailiffs under the provisions of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 in each year since those provisions were implemented. [257514]
Bridget Prentice: Since the introduction of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 the power to force entry has been used to execute warrants of arrest by magistrates court civilian enforcement officers (CEOs) on 386 occasions and to execute warrants of distress by private bailiffs contracted to Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) on two occasions. HMCS does not have a breakdown for each of the individual years available.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 13 October 2008, Official Report, column 870W, on debt collection: parking offences, (1) whether his Department plans to bring forward proposals to amend the law relating to bailiffs to extend rights to bailiffs to have a forced power of entry in relation to unpaid parking fines; [258019]
(2) when he expects the new powers of forced entry for bailiffs under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 to be (a) commenced and (b) implemented. [258067]
Bridget Prentice: The enforcement provisions in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 are far reaching reforms. The provisions have recently undergone a comprehensive reassessment by Ministers to ensure that they remain appropriate even under this difficult financial climate. This assessment has now concluded and a statement will be made shortly.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of each individual non-confidential response to his Department’s consultation paper on the regulation of enforcement agents. [258068]
Bridget Prentice: A copy of each individual non-confidential response to the Department’s consultation paper on regulation of enforcement agents has already been placed in the Library.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department’s joint review with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the enforcement of council tax payments will include in its remit the enforcement powers of bailiffs. [258071]
Bridget Prentice: The Ministry of Justice has completed an extensive review on the powers of bailiffs which culminated in the enforcement provisions in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The Ministry of Justice is working with the Department of Communities and Local Government to look at new ways to collect and enforce council tax, in particular by allowing councils to transfer council tax debts from magistrates to county courts. Any necessary legislation will be introduced as parliamentary time allows.
Debts: Court Orders
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) third party debt, (b) interim charging and (c) final charging orders were made by courts in each of the last five years. [258046]
Bridget Prentice: The following table shows the numbers of interim and final third party debt orders and charging orders made in the county courts of England and Wales in each of the last five years.
| Number of interim and final third party debt orders( 1) and charging orders( 2) made in the county courts of England and Wales 2004—08( 3) | |||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008( 3) | |
| (1) Third party debt orders secure payment by freezing and then seizing money owed or payable by a third party to a debtor. (2) Charging orders obtain security for the payment against a property owned by the debtor. (3) Figures for 2008 are provisional. | |||||
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