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29 Apr 2009 : Column 1327W—continued
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's budget for travel, subsistence and hospitality was in each of the last three years. [263835]
Mr. Straw: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) does not set a budget for travel, subsistence and hospitality for the Department as a whole. Departmental business groups are allocated money by the central Corporate Finance team and manage their own budgets, including in respect of travel, subsistence and hospitality.
I have asked for work to be put in hand so that better information is available centrally on this kind of expenditure.
Departmental Security
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many breaches of security at his Department were recorded in the last 12 months. [268821]
Mr. Straw: MOJ records as incidents any breach of security rules or events that have resulted in or had the potential to result in the loss, damage or harm to assets. The total number of centrally recorded security breaches/incidents occurring within the Ministry of Justice for the 2008-09 reporting year was 5,847, broken down as follows:
| Number | |
Of the total, over 80 per cent. relate to incidents involving prisons and courts. This needs to be put into the context of the challenges faced with work in the high-risk prison environment. 2008-09 saw the lowest number of escapes from prisons to date; abscond performance is good and improving.
The Ministry of Justice is applying the Government's security policy framework to control risks across its organisation.
Enforcement Restriction Orders
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to introduce enforcement restriction orders in 2009. [271457]
Bridget Prentice: The Government are committed to supporting consumers in unexpected difficulties.
The ERO is intended to support those with short-term financial problems only. It restricts all enforcement, including the commencement of claims without leave of the court for up to 12 months where there has been a temporary, sudden and unforeseeable change in an individual's financial circumstances that leaves them unable to meet their commitments. However, as it is intended only for those with short-term problems, the court must be satisfied that there are realistic prospects of recovery, which will allow normal commitments to be met within six months, before an order can be made.
In view of the strict qualifying criteria, I am not convinced that the ERO itself would provide the level of support that may be necessary for many people. Addressing financial problems at an early stage is essential in achieving a sustainable solution. The ERO was developed as one element of a package of targeted and complementary measures contained in Part 5 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, which are designed to assist the over-indebted. These are intended to provide alternatives for those for whom the current statutory schemes, such as bankruptcy and Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), may not be the best option.
This package includes the new Debt Relief Order, which took effect from 6 April, and is intended to assist those who will never be able to pay their debts and who have minimal assets.
I consider that introducing the ERO in isolation would introduce a significant risk that consumers would apply for the order in inappropriate circumstances. This would lead to unnecessary pressure on the courts while also deflecting consumers from exploring more appropriate solutions and thereby, potentially, worsening their financial problems.
The Government are currently reviewing the implementation of the other measures in Part 5 of the Act. It is expected that an announcement will be made on this shortly.
Offensive Weapons: Sentencing
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Knife Crime Sentencing Quarterly Brief for October to December 2008, what
proportion of the figures in Table Four on length of custodial sentences relate to possession of a knife only; and how many people convicted of knife possession received the maximum sentence of four years custody in the period October 2007 to September 2008. [269258]
Maria Eagle: The following table shows the numbers of custodial sentences given in England and Wales for offences involving the possession of an article with a blade or point between Quarter 4 2007 to Quarter 4 2008.
| Sentence length | Q4 2007 | Q1 2008 | Q2 2008 | Q3 2008 | Q4 2008 | Percentage change Q4 2007 to Q4 2008 |
| (1) Total figures include offences where sentence length was not recorded by the police. | ||||||
According to data recorded by the police on the Police National Computer, during the period October 2007 to September 2008, one offence of possession of an article with a blade or point received a four year custodial sentence, as did two offences of possession of an offensive weapon. Maximum penalties are set at a level to provide for the most serious conceivable case of a particular offence and therefore are rarely imposed.
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. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people have received a custodial sentence on conviction for selling a knife to a person under the legal age for buying a knife in each of the last 10 years; [270145]
(2) what the maximum punishment was for selling a knife to a person under the legal age for buying a knife in each of the last 10 years. [270146]
Mr. Straw: The requested information is shown in the table. Prior to 1 October 2007 it was illegal to sell a knife to a person under 16 it was amended on that date to 18. The statutory maximum sentence has been a six month custodial sentence or a fine up to £5,000 or both throughout the years shown.
| Number of custodial sentences( 1) and maximum punishment imposed for selling a knife to a young person( 2) 1997-2007 | ||||
| Total number sentenced | Number of custodial sentences | Maximum sentence( 3) | Community sentences( 4) | |
| n/a = Not applicable (1) Immediate and Suspended custodial sentences (2) Criminal Justice Act 1988 added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 made it an offence to sell a knife or other pointed or bladed object to a person under 16 this was amended by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 from 1 October 2007 to a person under 18. The statutory maximum sentence is a fine up to £5,000 or six months imprisonment or both. (3) The amount is the most severe sentence that was imposed in that year, months if a custodial sentence £s if a fine. (4) Depending on the nature of the community sentence it could be considered a more severe punishment than a fine. Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. 2. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice | ||||
Prison Accommodation
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in England and Wales shared a cell in each year since 1990. [271678]
Mr. Hanson: Figures on cell sharing are only available from 2006 onwards and the data available do not allow for a breakdown of prisoners sharing by individual accommodation types.
The following table shows the number of prisoners sharing any accommodation such as cells, rooms, wards and dormitories in each of the last three years.
| June each year | |||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
Data on two prisons, Ashfield and Parc, are not held centrally and therefore information relating to them is not included in the sharing figures.
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