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24 Apr 2009 : Column 969W—continued
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many properties registered with the Land Registry changed ownership in each of the last three months. [270642]
Mr. Wills: Land Registry is able to provide information on the total number of registered properties sold in the last three months for which data are available. As these figures are extracted using price paid data, no information is available for any properties which have not been sold. The only way to identify other changes of ownership would be to extract data regarding every application over the time period asked for. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Total sales( 1) | |
| (1 )As at 31 March 2009. | |
Land Registry: Complaints
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the remit of the Office of the Independent Complaints Reviewer extends to the investigation of complaints relating to errors made by local Land Registry offices. [269970]
Mr. Wills:
Complaints concerning a land registration decision made by a Land Registrar are not available for review by the Independent Complaints Reviewer. Such decisions can only be reviewed judicially. Complaints
about the way in which decisions were made may be investigated. The Independent Complaints Reviewer can also investigate matters not involving a land registration decision, but usually only when complaints have been through Land Registry’s internal complaints procedure.
Political Parties: Finance
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish revised impact assessments following Government amendments made to the Political Parties and Elections Bill. [270196]
Mr. Wills: Revised impact assessments for the Political Parties and Elections Bill were published alongside introduction to the House of Lords on the 3 March 2009. The latest versions of the impact assessments can be found on the Ministry of Justice website
in the Vote Office, or in the Lords Printed Paper Office.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to bring Clause 13 of the Political Parties and Elections Bill into effect. [270214]
Mr. Wills: Clause 13 of the Political Parties and Elections Bill increases the thresholds for recording and reporting donations in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It will come into force on a day appointed by order made by statutory instrument. We are considering, in discussion with the Electoral Commission, what the most appropriate timing for commencement might be.
Politics and Government
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which proposals contained in The Governance of Britain, Cm 7170, have yet to be (a) commenced and (b) fully implemented. [270287]
Mr. Wills: The ‘Governance of Britain’ Green Paper, published in July 2007 set out a route map for further constitutional reform, to better strengthen the relationship between government, Parliament and the citizen, and to take steps towards a new constitutional settlement that built on the reforms that had been carried out since 1997.
In July 2008 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, made a written ministerial statement that set out the progress that had been made in meeting the objectives of the Governance of Britain programme in the 12 months since publication. The accompanying report, ‘Governance of Britain: One year on’, set out progress on the key commitments in the Green Paper and was published on the Ministry of Justice website:
An update to the ‘Governance of Britain: One year on’ report has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Prisoners: Religion
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of those detained in (a) young offender institutions and (b) prisons changed their declaration of religious faith to Muslim in each year since 2003. [269318]
Mr. Hanson: Information on how many prisoners had changed their declared religion to Muslim is not held centrally.
The Prison Service Order on Religion (4550) sets out the process for change of religious affiliation by prisoners, which is managed locally by establishments. A copy of the Prison Service Order is in the Libraries of the House.
Information on population in prison establishments by religion is published annually in Offender Management Caseload Statistics (most recently for 2007), copies of which can be found in the Libraries of the House, and also on the Ministry of Justice website at:
Privacy: Impact Assessments
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what requirements there are on Government Departments to (a) notify and (b) consult the Information Commissioner in respect of privacy impact assessments. [270139]
Mr. Wills: The report of the Cabinet Secretary's Review of Data Handling Procedures, published in June 2008, mandated that all Government Departments carry out privacy impact assessments when introducing new policies or processes involving the use of personal data. While Government Departments are not required to consult the Information Commissioner in respect of the privacy impact assessments, many choose to do so.
Repossession Orders
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency in the last two years for which data is available. [270033]
Bridget Prentice: Figures for Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency are not available. However, the following table shows the number of mortgage and landlord possession orders made in the Birmingham county court, for 2007 and 2008.
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. Repossession orders made at Birmingham county court may therefore relate to properties in other constituencies besides Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath.
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.
| Number of mortgage( 1) and landlord( 2,)( )( 3) possession orders made( 4,)( )( 5) in Birmingham county court, 2007-08( 6) | ||
| Mortgage possession | Landlord possession | |
| (1) Includes all types of mortgage lenders. (2) Includes all types of landlord whether social or private. (3) Landlord actions include those made under both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enables the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence for shorthold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end. (4) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (5) Includes outright and suspended orders, the latter being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage or rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (6) Figures for the latest year are provisional. Source: Ministry of Justice | ||
Young Offenders: Reoffenders
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2009, Official Report, column 998W, on young offenders: reoffenders, what the final figures are for the number of (a) persistent young offenders and (b) offences committed by persistent young offenders in each police force area in 2008. [269783]
Mr. Hanson: Overall statistics on persistent young offenders (PYOs) for England and Wales and each police force area are available from 1997 to 2008.
These figures are designed to measure the speed and efficiency of the youth justice system, through monitoring the pledge to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with PYOs in England and Wales from 142 days in 1996 to 71 days. They are not designed to measure overall trends in youth crime, and will give a misleading picture of the true trend if used for this purpose.
The table shows the number of PYOs, and the number of offences committed by them after designation, for each police force area in 2008. These figures are now finalised and replace the provisional ones provided before.
On 10 December 2008, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor announced in a written ministerial statement that 2008 is the last year for which PYO statistics will be published and compiled, instead, from this year, Local Criminal Justice Boards are being asked to focus on a single priority group of young offenders deemed to pose the highest risk of re-offending and causing serious harm to others, the Deter group.
| Number of persistent young offenders (PYOs) and offences committed by PYOs, by police force area, 2008 | ||
| Police force area | Number of persistent young offenders | Number of offences committed by persistent young offenders |
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