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13 May 2009 : Column 826W—continued
Departmental Buildings
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department and its predecessor spent on building maintenance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [274567]
Maria Eagle: The cost of building maintenance in each of the last five years is as follows:
| £ | |
Departmental Complaints
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what procedure his Department follows for dealing with complaints received (a) by e-mail, (b) by post, (c) by telephone and (d) via his Department’s website. [274520]
Mr. Hanson: Complaints from these sources about individual members of staff are dealt with in accordance with the procedure outlined on the Ministry of Justice’s website at
All other complaints from these sources about the Department’s policies and procedures and the services it provides are referred to the appropriate officials for a response. Officials aim to respond to those complaints within 15 working days.
Departmental Contracts
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which services his Department and its predecessor have outsourced in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [274445]
Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice does not hold centralised data on the services that the Department and its predecessors have outsourced in each of the last five years. This is because prior to 1 April 2009, procurement was undertaken in numerous parts of the Ministry of Justice and its predecessors and the information could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
A new procurement directorate for the whole of the Ministry of Justice was created on 1 April following an Office of Government Commerce procurement capability review recommendation. Part of the remit of the new directorate is to bring together information on all Ministry of Justice contracts.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to his letter of 27 April 2009 to the hon. Member for Torbay following the answer of 31 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1067-9W, on departmental surveys, whether the budget for catering of £100 per celebration lunch for his Department's staff is for each event or per head. [274591]
Mr. Straw: The £100 per celebration lunch is per event not per person. On average, 18 people attend each celebration lunch. The average cost per head for those in attendance at the lunch has been £5.55.
Departmental Stationery
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on the purchase of (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years. [274575]
Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice is committed to reusing, recycling and reducing waste. Wherever possible, office supplies are from recycled sources and all white paper for printing and photocopying across the Ministry now contains a minimum of 80 per cent. recycled fibre. It is not possible, however, to determine what proportion of total expenditure on office supplies relates to recycled products. To do so would require a detailed analysis of an extremely large number of invoices which could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
The Ministry’s financial systems do not record information at a level of detail that would enable it to identify expenditure specifically on ink cartridges. Some analysis was, however, undertaken for the financial year ending 31 March 2008. This identified expenditure of £1,346,248 from amounts separately identified on invoices.
Departmental Training
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department and its predecessor has spent on IT training for its staff in each of the last five years. [274220]
Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007. Central spend on IT training in each of the last two years in the MOJ, excluding the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), is set out in the following table.
| £ | |
Responsibility for learning and development training is devolved to business groups within the MOJ. In the year 2006-07 the former Department for Constitutional Affairs spent £117,118 on centrally provided IT training. Comparative figures for the years 2005-06 and 2004-05 are not available. In NOMS, IT training spend has been devolved to local level and details are not held centrally. As such, the total spend on IT training across the MOJ could be established only at disproportionate cost.
Most IT training is provided by experienced members of staff or local business training teams. Spend on IT training has declined in recent years with less recruitment and a move to provide more learning through coaching rather than training courses. Training programmes, which support the introduction of new processes in business areas, can also include an element of IT training.
Departmental Work Experience
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many work placements his Department and its predecessor offered to (a) school pupils, (b) university students and (c) graduates in each of the last five years. [274481]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice does not hold all of this information centrally. Business groups including Prison Service establishments, Her Majesty’s Courts Service, the National Offender Management Service headquarters, Corporate Performance Group and individual probation boards have accommodated placements mainly in conjunction with local universities, colleges and schools.
Additionally, the MOJ has provided paid work for interns through the ethnic minority summer development programme and the disability summer placement scheme as follows:
| Ethnic Minority Summer Development Programme interns in MOJ | Disability Summer Placement Scheme interns in MOJ | |
Participants are a mixture of undergraduates and graduates.
Family Courts: Greater London
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions his Department (a) has had and (b) plans to have with magistrates in Waltham Forest and Redbridge on family court provision prior to the transfer of the family court to Stratford. [271843]
Bridget Prentice: There was full public consultation in 2006 on proposals to form a network of family courts in London. This consultation made specific reference to the transfer of Redbridge and Waltham Forest family proceedings court work to Stratford. During the consultation period, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) and officials met with the local MP and representative JPs from Waltham Forest to discuss the proposals. The formal response to consultation was published in December 2006. Her Majesty’s Courts Service is fully involving Waltham Forest magistrates as plans are implemented, through ongoing dialogue. Redbridge family hearings transferred to Stratford in August 2008.
Fines: Surcharges
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was collected in victim surcharges in each Court Service area in February and March 2009. [274160]
Maria Eagle:
The victims surcharge is a £15 charge imposed on offenders ordered to pay fines by magistrates
or Crown courts in England and Wales in connection with offences committed on or after 1 April 2007.
Victim surcharges collected by each court service area for February and March 2009 were as follows:
| £ | ||
| Area | February 2009 | March 2009 |
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