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20 Oct 2009 : Column 1367Wcontinued
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department plans to reduce levels of training of Territorial Army recruits. [293135]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 15 October 2009]: This year is very challenging in resource terms, and success in Afghanistan must take priority. As such, the Army has directed that the regular forces and the reserves must focus available resources on supporting the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan, which means reducing activity levels elsewhere. All TA activity not directly in support of operations will therefore be stopped or reduced for the remainder of this financial year. This does not affect TA soldiers who have been or will be earmarked for deployment to Afghanistan. Nor does it affect initial training for Territorial Army recruits.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in each age group entered the criminal justice system for the first time in each year since 1997. [294204]
Claire Ward: The requested figures are shown in the following table. Figures before 2000 have not been included as the available data are known to be incomplete before that date.
These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer (PNC), 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.
First time entrants( 1) to the criminal justice system, England and Wales, by age group, 2000-01 to 2008-09 | |||||||||
Number of offenders | |||||||||
Age group | |||||||||
10-14 | 15-17 | 18-20 | 21-24 | 25-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50 and over | Total | |
(1) An offender is considered to be a first time entrant to the criminal justice system on the first occasion they receive either a conviction, a caution, a reprimand or a final warning as recorded on the police national computer. (2) Figures for juvenile first time entrants for 2008-09 for England will be published in November by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. |
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to prevent people in prison issuing threats through the internet. [293655]
Maria Eagle: Prisoners are allowed only supervised access to the internet for educational purposes and this is limited to specific learning sites.
Prisons take a variety of measures to prevent unauthorised access to the internet by prisoners which will be mainly through use of illegally acquired mobile phones. The Government are determined to address the risks that mobile phones in prison present to security and to the safety of the public. This is a significant challenge given the advances in technology and our commitment to running decent and effective regimes. We have, though, made significant progress in implementing a strategy to tackle illicit mobile phones. This includes: minimising the number of mobile phones entering prisons; finding mobile phones that are smuggled into prisons; disrupting mobile phones that cannot be found.
In addition, the National Offender Management Service has an agreement with one of the leading internet social
networking sites to ensure that any inappropriate material that may be posted by prisoners is removed as soon as it can be identified.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how long on average it has taken for appeals against refusal of employment and support allowance to be heard in the last 12 months. [293636]
Bridget Prentice: The first tier tribunal-social security and child support target is to bring 75 per cent. of appeals to hearing within 14 weeks of receipt. It has taken an average of 10.22 weeks for appeals against the refusal of employment and support allowance to be heard during the period 1 October 2008 and 30 September 2009. This time is calculated from receipt of the appeal by the Tribunals Service to hearing by the first tier tribunal-social security and child support. The Tribunals Service is unable to provide information on the length of time between the appeal being lodged with the Department for Work and Pensions and it being submitted to the Tribunals Service.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of costs to local authorities of administrating a general election poll are refunded by central Government grant. [294370]
Mr. Wills:
Returning officers are entitled to recover their charges in respect of services rendered or expenses incurred at parliamentary elections if they were necessarily rendered or incurred for the efficient and effective conduct
of the election and they do not exceed the overall maximum recoverable amount specified in an Order made by the Secretary of State. Provision is made for this purpose from the consolidated fund.
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people have pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility in each of the last five years; [294223]
(2) how many people who had pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility were being held in secure accommodation at each location on the latest date for which figures are available. [294225]
Claire Ward: The number of persons who pleaded guilty at the Crown court and were sentenced for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, in England and Wales, from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table. These figures include offenders who were given an unrestricted hospital order, a restricted hospital order or an immediate custodial sentence.
The statistics given relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. For example, when a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence 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.
Data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010.
Persons who pleaded guilty and sentenced at the Crown court for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, England and Wales, 2003 to 2007( 1, 2) | ||||||
Offence: Manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility | ||||||
Statute: Homicide Act 1957, section 2 | ||||||
Sentence breakdown | ||||||
Pleaded guilty | Total sentenced | Unrestricted hospital order( 3) | Restricted hospital order( 4) | Immediate custody | Otherwise dealt with | |
(1) The statistics 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 the principal offence 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) 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. (3) Unrestricted hospital order, under the Mental Health Act 1983, section 37(1). (4) Restricted hospital order, under Mental health Act 1983, section 41. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit-Office for Criminal Justice Reform. |
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he has given to the expansion of the programme of compulsory land registration; and if he will make a statement. [294023]
Mr. Wills: The creation of a comprehensive land register for England and Wales is one of Land Registry's strategic objectives. Over 70 per cent. of England and Wales, including most urban land, is now registered in about 21 million registered titles. The registered area has increased from 45 per cent. in 2004 when data on geographic coverage first became available. This growth is principally attributable to Land Registry's strategy of persuading landowners of the benefits of voluntarily first registration.
First registration of unregistered land is compulsory after certain specific trigger events, including, a sale, a first mortgage or a transfer on death. Two new trigger events, the appointment of a new trustee and the partition of land among trust beneficiaries, were added by the Land Registration Act 2002 (Amendment) Order 2008, which came into force on 6 April 2009. There are no plans at present to introduce any additional triggers.
Other potential trigger events and methods of compulsion were examined as part of the preparatory work for the 2008 Order but at that time were considered impracticable, due to their complexity, or inappropriate, because of the nature of the sanctions that would be required.
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