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20 Apr 2009 : Column 348W—continued
Prisons: Mobile Phones
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made on the provision of mobile telephone jammers for use in prisons in England and Wales. [269066]
Mr. Hanson: We have committed to take forward mobile phone signal blocking, as we indicated in the Government response to David Blakey’s report, “Disrupting the Supply of Illicit Drugs into Prisons”. We are working closely with the Home Office Scientific Development Branch to trial and evaluate a range of disruption technologies.
Disrupting mobile phones is one part of our three-tiered strategy to minimise the number of illicit mobile phones entering prison, and find and disrupt those that do enter. We are rolling out a range of technology to strengthen local searching and security strategies, including BOSS chairs for every prison which does not already have one, as recommended in the Blakey report.
Prisons: Standards
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons participated in the most recent performance testing exercise; and if he will make a statement. [268761]
Mr. Hanson: The three prisons on the Isle of Sheppey (Elmley, Swaleside and Stanford Hill) were involved in the most recent performance testing exercise. Their proposals for improvement were accepted and a service level agreement was awarded to the Sheppey cluster from April 2006.
Probation
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has issued guidance to the probation service on conducting unpaid work assignments in bad weather. [268774]
Mr. Straw: Probation areas are required under health and safety guidance to provide suitable clothing for staff and offenders when work is taking place outdoors. It is expected that offenders undertaking Community Payback will work outdoors in all but the most severe weather conditions.
Repossession Orders
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many repossession orders there were in each of the last 12 quarters for which figures are available. [268579]
Bridget Prentice: The latest quarterly figures on mortgage and landlord possession orders made in the county courts of England and Wales (from 2004 to 2008) are available on the Ministry of Justice website. Please see the tables on pages seven and nine of the following link:
These figures do not indicate how many homes have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made while not all court orders result in repossession.
The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, geographical boundaries of county courts may not necessarily be consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries.
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken by the Cardiff office of the Appeals Service was to review decisions on applications for (a) disability living allowance and (b) all benefits in the latest period for which information is available; and how many appeals submitted to that office for review were outstanding on 31 January 2009. [269510]
Bridget Prentice: In 2008-09 the average time taken by the First-tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) office in Cardiff to review decisions on applications for (a) disability living allowance was 10.84 weeks and (b) all benefits was 11.85 weeks. The national target for SSCS appeals is to ensure that 75 per cent. of all appeals should receive a first hearing within 14 weeks of receipt. There were 9,455 appeals outstanding in the Cardiff office on 31 January 2009.
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance his Department has issued to the Appeals Service on the maximum time for making determinations on appeals against decisions on disability living allowance applications. [269803]
Bridget Prentice: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is not responsible for setting performance targets for the tribunals service, as the tribunals service is an agency within the Ministry of Justice. The Tribunals Service Business Plan for 2008-2009 contained agreed strategic objectives, service delivery targets and performance indicators. The tribunal seeks to ensure that 75 per cent. of all social security appeals receive a first hearing within 14-weeks of receipt.
Television: Licensing
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for non-payment of the television licence fee there have been in West Chelmsford constituency in each of the last three years. [269073]
Maria Eagle:
The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all
courts for non-payment of the television licence fee in Essex police force area, 2005 to 2007 is shown in the following table.
Information held centrally cannot be further broken down to constituency level, hence Essex police force area data have been provided in lieu of West Chelmsford constituency.
These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
| Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for non-payment of the television licence fee in Essex police force area, 2005 - 07( 1,2,3) | ||
| Proceeded against | Found guilty | |
| (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (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. (3) The TV licensing provisions of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 were replaced by new provisions in section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 which came into effect 1 April 2004. (4) Following quality checks these data are not considered reliable enough for publication. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice | ||
Duchy of Lancaster
Age Concern: Finance
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what funding his Department has (a) allocated to and (b) channelled through Age Concern in each of the last three years; for what purposes such spending has been incurred; and what steps his Department takes to monitor the value for money achieved from such spending. [268719]
Kevin Brennan: In the last three years the Office of the Third Sector has provided funding to three local Age Concern branches. The table shows the funding per year for the past three years:
| £ | ||||
| Age Concern | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | Total |
This funding was provided as part of the Office of the Third Sector GoldStar volunteering and mentoring programme and was provided to these organisations to support their work to involve more volunteers. Each of the 46 organisations that received funding from the GoldStar programme were subject to regular monitoring visits. They were also required to submit accounting and progress reporting documentation each quarter.
Business
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many medium-sized businesses there are in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK. [268416]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many medium-sized businesses there are in (a) Jarrow Constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK.
Annual statistics on business size and location are available from the ONS release on UK Business: Activity, Size and Location. The following table contains the enterprise counts for 2008.
| Count of Business 2008 | |
| Employment Size Band (50-249) | |
Central Government: Public Relations
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in what year the Central Office of Information established its list of accredited public relations companies for Government contracts. [257523]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.
Letter from Peter Buchanan, dated April 2009:
As Acting Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question [257523] asking in what year the Central Office of Information established its list of accredited public relations companies.
The Central Office of Information established its first framework of accredited public relations companies in 1997.
Central Office of Information: Directories
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire of 26 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1348-49W, on departments: publications, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Central Office of Information's IPO Directory or equivalent publication for 1996. [258655]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.
Letter from Peter Buchanan, dated April 2009:
As Acting Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question [258655] requesting a copy of the 1996 IPO directory published by the Central Office of Information.
A copy has been placed in the libraries of the House.
Central Office of Information: Expenditure
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer to Lord Cope of Berkeley of 19 November 2008, Official Report, House of Lords, column 193WA, on the Central Office of Information: expenditure, for what reasons the figure of £265.8 million expenditure on public relations, marketing and advertising given in the Answer differs from the £391 million expenditure figure published in the Central Office of Information's Annual Report and Accounts for 2007-08; and if he will publish an expenditure figure for 1996-97 using the same methodology as used to calculate the figure in the 2007-08 document. [249011]
Mr. Byrne: The £265.8 million figure represents expenditure on public relations, marketing and advertising. The £391 million figure in the 2007-08 annual report is the total for all expenditure through COI, including for example costs relating to Directgov, public consultations, research, interactive services, publications and regional offices.
In 1996-97 the total expenditure through COI was £125.9 million. The expenditure on public relations, marketing and advertising, unadjusted for inflation, was £81.2 million.
The majority of the increased expenditure since 1996-07 is related to campaigns for public service recruitment, health and safety and new issues such as climate change. The largest campaigns over the last year have been on Army recruitment, RAF recruitment, Act On C02, Alcohol Harm Reduction, Obesity and Road Safety.
Charities
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the Charity Commission's regulatory case report on Age Concern England and its Heyday membership scheme; and what reports he has received of the Charity Commission's investigation into the Green Crescent Charity in Stockport. [268948]
Kevin Brennan: The Charity Commission's regulatory case report into Age Concern England and its Heyday membership scheme raises some wider issues for the charity sector. In particular, the report highlighted the importance of strong governance arrangements alongside accountability and transparency. The ongoing inquiry into Green Crescent is a matter for the Commission who notified us that they had opened an inquiry under section 8 of the Charities Act 1993. However, in accordance with its normal practice, the Commission will publish a statement of the results of the inquiry setting out its findings and any wider lessons once the inquiry is completed.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many charities have (a) opened and (b) closed in each (i) year since 2004 and (ii) month since January 2008; and if he will make a statement. [269357]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Charity Commission to reply.
Letter from Andrew Hind, dated April 2009:
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