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10 Jun 2009 : Column 881W—continued
Hezbollah
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of statements by Hezbollah’s leadership that the group will never recognise Israel; and if he will make a statement. [277763]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The only sustainable solution to the challenges facing Lebanon and the conflict in the Middle East is full engagement in democratic politics and the peace process. The Government continue to believe that Hezbollah should disarm, reject violence and play a constructive, democratic and peaceful role in Lebanese and regional politics, in line with UN Security Council resolutions. This includes the issue of the Middle East Peace Process, where we call on all parties to share the vision of two states—Israel and Palestine—living together in peace and security.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to reply to the letter of 9 March 2009 from the hon. Member for Woking on his constituent Mr. Samad. [274331]
Chris Bryant [holding answer 11 May 2009]: This letter was transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions who are currently dealing with the issues raised by Mr. Samad and have informed us they aim to provide a response by 23 June 2009.
Somalia: Piracy
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of allegations that British intelligence sources are providing information to Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden; and if he will make a statement. [276001]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are aware of recent press reports, upon which we assume your question is based and which originate in a speculative Spanish radio report, citing allegation that Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden have been receiving information from shipping consultants in London.
The allegations contained in the original report and subsequent press reporting are unsubstantiated and unfounded.
USA
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions his predecessor met senior members of the US administration in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [274603]
David Miliband: The then Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) met with senior members of the US Administration between June 2001 and December 2003 on a number of occasions. These included the then Secretary of State, Colin Powell in Washington, both in July and October 2001, and also at the UN General Assembly in November 2001, and the then Vice President, Dick Cheney, in Washington, in February 2002 and in London in March 2002.
House of Commons Commission
Parliamentary Association: Visits Abroad
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what records the Commission holds on the (a) number of and (b) cost to the public purse of overseas visits made by hon. Members as part of delegations of (i) the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and (ii) the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union since the start of the 2008-09 financial year. [278667]
Nick Harvey: Both organisations receive funding from a number of sources which includes grant in aid paid from the House of Commons Administration Estimate. They have informed me that the total costs incurred by them in funding delegations undertaken by hon. Members since the start of 2008-09 have been:
| Number of delegations | Total cost (£) |
Duchy of Lancaster
Departmental Pay
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2009, Official Report, column 1352W, on departmental reorganisation, what estimate she has made of the change in staffing costs consequent on the reorganisation of her Department’s Communications Directorate and the ensuing change in staff numbers. [271912]
Angela E. Smith: Based on a current estimate of staff salaries the overall pay costs for Cabinet Office communications are likely to reduce but any savings will be dependent upon the levels of salary finally agreed for the new staff appointed.
Government Departments: Hotels
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will consider the merits of instructing Government Departments to use budget hotel accommodation for the purposes of overnight stays on official business by Ministers and civil servants. [277901]
Angela E. Smith: Ministers and civil servants are required under the “Ministerial Code” and the “Civil Service Management Code” to make the most efficient and cost effective travel arrangements.
Work and Pensions
Carers’ Benefits
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effects on expenditure on social care of measures which have been introduced to enable older people to live independently at home through housing adaptations since 2005. [278156]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
This is a matter which is best demonstrated locally through the work of agencies and local authorities via local strategic partnerships.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department spent on event management services in each of the last three years; and whether any such services were supplied by external providers. [274846]
Jonathan Shaw: The DWP manages its requirements for a wide range of marketing and publicity services through a number of frameworks set up in 2006 through open and fair competition under EU rules comprised of external suppliers.
There are five frameworks in place to cover event management services, namely:
| Suppliers | |
The spend across these five frameworks in each of the last three years was as follows:
| £ million | ||
| Lot 1 | Lots 2 to 5 | |
The data for lots 2 to 5 are consolidated on our systems and it would incur disproportionate cost to review all the individual transactions and separate them out as some suppliers are approved for more than one lot.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what expenditure under what budgetary headings was incurred by her Department in relation to the National Employment Partnership meeting held on 11 February 2009. [270563]
Jonathan Shaw: No costs were incurred by my Department.
Justice
Crimes of Violence: Convictions
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of (i) offences of violence against the person and (ii) sexual offences in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [278343]
Mr. Straw: The number of persons who were proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts by selected offence groups in England and Wales, for the years 1998 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales to provide extra protection to children from sexual exploitation. This makes direct comparisons with previous legislation very difficult. Many new offences created by the Act will not have a direct equivalent under the old legislation.
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.
| N umber of persons who were proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for sexual offences and violence against the person in England and Wales, 1998 to 2007( 1,2,3) | ||||
| Proceeded against | Found guilty | |||
| Sexual offences( 4,5) | Violence against the person( 6) | Sexual offences( 4,5) | Violence against the person( 6) | |
| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings 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 it 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) Sexual offences and Violence against the person include ‘Indictable only’ and ‘triable-either way offences’. ‘Indictable only’ are the most serious breaches of the criminal law and must be dealt with at the Crown court. ‘Triable-either-way offences’ may be tried either the Crown court or at magistrates courts. The offence groups do not include summary offences. (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. (4) The Sexual Offences type includes data for the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force on 1 May 2004. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 represented a major overhaul of the law and so comparisons with old offending regimes can be misleading. ( 5) Sexual Offences offence type includes the following offences: Buggery Sexual Assault on a Male Indecency between Males Rape of a Female Rape of a Male Sexual Assault on a Female Sexual Activity with child under 13 Sexual Activity with child under 16 Familial Sexual Offences (Incest) Exploitation of Prostitution Abduction Bigamy Soliciting of women by Men Sexual activity etc. with a person with a mental disorder Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography Trafficking for sexual exploitation Abuse of trust—sexual offences Gross Indecency with Children Miscellaneous sexual offences ( 6) Violence against the person offence type includes the following offence classes: Murder Attempted Murder Threat or Conspiracy to Murder Manslaughter Infanticide Child Destruction Causing Death by Dangerous Driving Manslaughter Due to Diminished Responsibility Causing Death by Careless Driving when under the Influence of Drink or Drugs Causing Death of a child or vulnerable person Wounding or other act Endangering Life Endangering Railway Passenger Endangering Life at Sea Malicious Wounding etc. Cruelty to or Neglect of Children Abandoning Child aged under Two Years Child Abduction Procuring Illegal Abortion Concealment of Birth Causing Death by Aggravated Vehicle Taking (7) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. Source: OCJR—E and A: Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit, Ministry of Justice | ||||
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