Written Answers to Questions
The following Justice answers were received for publication on Monday 20 July 2009
Justice
Youth Justice Board: Consultants
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many consultants the Youth Justice Board has employed in each financial year since 2003-04; and how many such consultants were paid (a) between £10,000 and £100,000, (b) between £100,000 and £200,000, (c) between £200,000 and £300,000 and (d) over £300,000 in each such year. [282003]
Maria Eagle: The Youth Justice Board does not normally hire individual "consultants". If consultancy services are required for normal youth justice business, specific companies are procured to carry out defined pieces of work. The consultancy firm then decides how many staff they employ to deliver the work and the appropriate pay rates.
However, in specific specialist circumstances the YJB procure the services of named consultants to represent the YJB's interests in specialist matters, and to manage the delivery of specialist work, such as ICT. The table below shows the number of such consultants providing services to the YJB, per year and per amount received by these individuals.
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Aylesbury Young Offender Institution
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many boys have been physically restrained in Aylesbury Young Offender Institution in each month since January 2009; and whether injuries were sustained by the young offender in each case. [286869]
Maria Eagle: Restraint is only ever to be used by staff as a last resort, when all other approaches have either not succeeded or would not be appropriate.
Because of violent and sometimes dangerous behaviour, there are occasions on which use of physical restraint is unavoidable. We must consider the interests and safety of everyone in the establishment-other young people, staff and visitors-as well as that of the young person whose behaviour is causing problems.
The number of incidents of control and restraint, together with the number and type of injuries sustained as a result, are set out in the table. The figures have been provided from records held at the establishment.
| Number of C and R incidents | Number of injuries as a result of C and R | |
Complaints
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints the Office for Legal Complaints dealt with in the last 12 months. [287187]
Bridget Prentice: The Office for Legal Complaints has not considered any complaints in the past 12 months, as it is not as yet fully operational. Under current plans, this is expected to take place later in 2010. Until that time, complaints about the legal profession will continue to be handled by the professional bodies in the first instance with the Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman providing an appeal mechanism.
Convictions: Young Offenders
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) 10 to 12, (b) 13 to 15, (c) 16 to 17 and (d) 18 to 21-year-olds were (i) convicted and (ii) issued with a caution for all offences in each police force area in each year since 1997. [286611]
Claire Ward: The number of persons found guilty at all courts and issued with a caution for all offences in England and Wales, by age group and police force area, 1997 to 2007 (latest available) are shown in tables that have been placed in the House Library.
From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These data are included in tables 5 to 8.
The Government's strategy and reforms on youth crime are working; the latest National Statistics on juvenile reoffending show that the level of juvenile reoffending is at its lowest since records for the frequency of reoffending began in 2000, with the juvenile reoffending rate down by almost a quarter between 2000 and 2007.
Cautions and court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many facilities management contracts have been let by his Department in each of the last 12 years. [288374]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was formed in May 2007 by merging the National Offender Management Service from the Home Office with the Department of Constitutional Affairs and the Office of Criminal Justice Reform. Data in respect of the number of facilities management contracts were not therefore held centrally prior to this time, and were not subsequently held centrally prior to June 2009.
However, a data collection exercise which concluded in June 2009 has determined that a total of 227 contracts for managed, hard and soft facilities management services are in existence across the MoJ.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1662W, on departmental manpower, how many (a) special advisers and (b) press officers were employed by his Department in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09. [285321]
Mr. Straw: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was formed in May 2007. The number of press officers employed by the MoJ in 2007-08 (as at 31 March 2008) was 33. The number employed in 2008-09 (as at 31 March 2009) was 40. This includes a member of staff on maternity leave. The MoJ press office operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, dealing with all media relations for the department and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) from the international, national and regional media. The MoJ is one of the largest Departments in Government. It is right that the public know and understand the work of the MoJ and its agencies and how taxpayers' money is being spent. Communications, including the work of the press office, is an important element of this. The rise in the number of press officers is attributable to the need to increase the capability of the press office to deal with the expanded remit of the work undertaken by the MoJ, compared to its previous incarnations, and to fill vacancies.
Between April 2007 and July 2007, two special advisers were employed. These changed with the change of Secretary of State, so that between August 2007 and March 2008, two different special advisers were employed. The same two continued to be employed throughout 2008-09 and remain in post.
Departmental Security
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many breaches of security have been reported at (a) HM Courts Service, (b) the Land Registry, (c) the National Offender Management Service, (d) the National Archives, (e) the Office of the Public Guardian and (f) the Tribunals Service in the last five years; and what procedures each agency follows when a breach of security involves the disclosure of personal data. [276954]
Mr. Straw: Ministry of Justice (MOJ) records as incidents any breach of security rules or events that have resulted in or had the potential to result in the loss of, damage to or harm to assets. The total number of centrally recorded security breaches/incidents occurring within the last five reporting years for the agencies/offices requested are broken down as follows:
| 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 | 2005-06 | 2004-05 | |
| (1) Agency not created. | |||||
98 per cent. of the incidents occurred in prisons and courts. This needs to be put into the context of the challenges faced with work in the high-risk prison environment.
The Ministry of Justice is applying the Government's Security Policy Framework to effectively, efficiently and reliably control risks across its organisation.
This comprises the requirement for all areas to apply procedures for reporting security incidents robustly, including the identification and investigation of the departure, however minor, from all security procedures.
The outcome is an evidently effective security management regime which in 2008-09 saw the lowest number of escapes from prisons to date; abscond performance is good and improving.
Where incidents involve the inadvertent disclosure of personal data these include the requirement to involve managers and Senior Civil Servants within an hour of any potential disclosure being identified. The circumstances surrounding each potential incident are investigated and where appropriate disciplinary action is taken.
These figures differ from those provided by me in a written answer to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Grieve) on 29 April 2009, Official Report , columns 1327-28W. I will be writing to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield and will issue a corrected answer to be printed in the Official Report.
The figures in this answer include an additional 4,507 security incidents/breaches relating to operational breaches of security in prison establishments. These mostly relate to the smuggling of drugs into prisons.
Drugs misuse as measured by random mandatory drug testing has decreased by 63 per cent. since 1996-97, principally as a result of an effective offender management and prisoner support regime, combined with prison governors deploying a comprehensive range of robust security measures to detect contraband and prevent its importation into prisons.
Director of Offender Management
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects the appointment of the Director of Offender Management in each region in England and Wales to be complete. [286582]
Maria Eagle: Appointments were made in eight of the nine regions in England and the one in Wales. The successful candidates took up post in late March and during April 2009.
There is currently an interim appointment in place in the north east. This post is due to be advertised in September with a view to filling it substantively by the end of the calendar year.
Drugs: Prisons
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what quantity of drugs of each type has been confiscated from prisoners in each prison in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [286491]
Maria Eagle: To compile the data requested requires a lengthy and detailed interrogation of a National Offender Management Service (NOMS) database such that to answer this question would exceed the cost limit.
NOMS is currently part-way through the roll-out of Prison-NOMS Information System and this is due to be completed in 2010. Although this new system will not be updated with old data, any new drugs incidents in prisons will be entered onto it, meaning requests for information such as this will in future be possible to answer within the cost limit and with relative ease.
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