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21 Apr 2009 : Column 628W—continued
Vandalism: Wiltshire
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for vandalism in (i) North Wiltshire and (ii) Wiltshire in each year since 2000. [269670]
Maria Eagle: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences of criminal damage, including acts of vandalism, in Wiltshire police force area from 2000 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the table.
Court proceedings data held by the Ministry of Justice do not enable offences involving vandalism to be separately identified from other acts of “criminal damage”.
Data are given in the table for Wiltshire police force area. It is not possible to further break down data to constituency level (i.e. North Wiltshire) as this level of detail is not held centrally.
Data for 2008 will be available at the end of November 2009.
| Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of criminal damage( 1) , in the Wiltshire police force area, 2000 - 07( 2,)( )( 3) | |||
| Indictable offences | Summary offences | All offences | |
| (1) The offence of vandalism cannot be separated from other criminal damage offences. (2) The statistics 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 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. (3) 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. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit. | |||
Victim Support Schemes
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to improve support for families of murder victims. [268417]
Maria Eagle: In January 2009 the Government appointed Ms Sara Payne as Victims’ Champion to ensure that the views of victims and those bereaved by homicide are heard. The Victims’ Champion has been meeting with victims of all crime types to better understand what works well in the system and where there is need for further reform. Ms Payne will feed these views to Ministers throughout the year.
Since October 2007 the CPS has offered bereaved relatives a pre-trial meeting with the CPS prosecutor to answer any questions they may have. They also offer the option of the prosecution advising on and reading out the family impact statement in court, enabling the family to express how the crime has affected them.
The Office of Criminal Justice Reform has recently updated the information pack “information for the bereaved” given by Family Liaison Officers to bereaved family and friends following murder and manslaughter. This pack provides useful information about decisions and arrangements bereaved families and friends may need to make. It also explains how the Criminal Justice System works and the role of the police, the coroner and the courts. It provides contact details of various organisations and support groups to which bereaved families and friends can be signposted. The updated guide is due to be published in May.
The Office for Criminal Justice Reform has been working closely with Support after Murder and Manslaughter (SAMM) to develop the services the charity provides to victims of homicide and improve awareness of victim needs within partner organisations, particularly the police service. SAMM staff and volunteers deliver training to family liaison officers and other statutory agencies who provide direct support to those bereaved through homicide.
SAMM receives a grant of £140,000 a year from the OCJR to deliver services.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to improve support for those injured in road traffic accidents where another person or persons has been found criminally liable for their injuries. [268419]
Maria Eagle: Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (2004), victims of road traffic incidents are referred by the police to Victim Support for dedicated one to one support. This includes victims of traffic incidents where someone has been found liable for a criminal offence.
Since 2007 the Government have provided significant additional investment to Victim Support (£12.6 million) to enable the organisation to either deliver services directly to victims or to commission additional, tailored services for victims that it may be unable to provide itself.
In addition each family will be assigned a police family liaison officer who will work with the family throughout the investigation. The FLO—Family Liaison Officer—will assist the family by liaising with any support services they may need.
In all road traffic incidents involving serious injury or death the police will provide a copy of the bereavement guide which is funded by the Government and produced by the charity, Brake. The guide provides useful information that is relevant both to those seriously injured and those who are bereaved.
Since October 2007 the CPS for cases involving homicide and qualifying cases involving road traffic the CPS has offered bereaved relatives a pre-trial meeting with the CPS prosecutor to answer any questions they may have. They also offer the option of the prosecution advising on and reading out the family impact statement in court, enabling the family to express how the crime has affected them.
Young Offenders: Essex
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people under the age of 16 years in (a) West Chelmsford constituency and (b) Essex received a custodial sentence in each of the last 10 years. [269094]
Mr. Hanson: The available information is contained in the following table.
Data held by the Ministry of Justice on court proceedings is available by police force area (PFA) and the table shows the number of persons under the age of 16 years given custodial sentences in Essex PFA including West Chelmsford constituency, in each year from 1997 to 2007. This data is not made available for smaller areas such as constituencies because detailed checks on sentencing records are not carried out at court level.
Figures for 2008 will be available towards the end of 2009.
| Number of persons under 16 years of age receiving custodial sentences( 1) in Essex police force area , 1997 to 2007 | |
| Immediate custody | |
| (1) Figures on custodial sentences are in this case equivalent to number of immediate custody given because suspended sentences apply only to persons aged 18 or over. Notes: 1. The figures are on principal offence basis. 2. These figures have been taken from administrative IT systems which as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Source: OMS-AS. | |
Leader of the House
Departmental Training
Grant Shapps: To ask the Leader of the House how much has been spent on media training for each Minister in her Office in each of the last three years; how many sessions have been provided; and which organisations provided such training. [268561]
Chris Bryant: In the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons one Minister has attended a media skills training course during the last three years. This was organised by Sara Jones Associates Ltd. at a cost of £2,937.50.
Members: Allowances
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Leader of the House if she will make it her policy to provide that a copy of each (a) parliamentary report and (b) other material funded from the Communications Allowance produced by hon. Members be placed in the Library. [268664]
Chris Bryant: No. Communications expenditure can be used to fund a wide range of material, including websites, direct mail letters and advertisements of Members’ advice surgery dates in local papers, which it would be impractical to deposit in the Library and it is not clear that such a move would serve any useful purpose.
Members: ICT
Andrew Miller: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to enable hon. Members better to engage with their constituents through the use of interactive digital technology. [269337]
Chris Bryant: I have no such specific plans as it is for hon. Members to decide how best to engage with their constituents and how best to make use of the Communications Allowance.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department (a) were disciplined and (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last 12 months. [262228]
Paul Goggins: Since April 2008, 38 staff have been disciplined as a result of poor sickness records and one member of staff had their employment terminated.
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