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28 Oct 2009 : Column 398W—continued
These figures are based on published figures in "Sentencing Statistics 2007" pivot tables at;
They include all categories in published figures except totals for violence against the person, robbery, and sexual offences, and summary offences.
The table shows the number of persons sentenced to immediate custody for non violent and non sexual offences, by sex and age. The data are presented on the principal offence basis: where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty was imposed; where the same sentence has been imposed for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.
Table 2 shows the prison population in all prison establishments in England and Wales sentenced for non-violent and non-sexual offences, in each year since 2003, the earliest available year.
| Table 2 : Prisoners sentenced for non violent and non-sexual offences | |||||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
These figures are based on those published at the following websites:
where sub-totals for violence against the person, sexual offences, and robbery have been excluded. Juveniles in Secure Training Centres and Local Authority Secure Children's Homes are excluded.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Electoral Register
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for how many years the data gathered on electoral registers are retained; whether such data are retained centrally; and if he will make a statement. [295677]
Mr. Wills: There is no specific legislative provision that specifies that data gathered on electoral registers may only be retained for a set period. It is for electoral registration officers to determine how long the information should be retained having regard to relevant principles, including those set out in the Data Protection Act.
The Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (S.I.2001/341), and the Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (S.1.2001/497), as amended, and the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008 (S.I.2008/1741) set out the regulatory regime governing access to the electoral register.
Data gathered on electoral registers are not retained centrally. However, under the regulations, relevant parts of the full register may be supplied by an electoral registration officer to certain persons and bodies for use for specific purposes, including statistical and crime prevention purposes. It is for each organisation to determine how long they wish to retain the electoral register for, and I understand national libraries retain them indefinitely.
Homicide: Prisoners Release
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people convicted of murder have been released from prison in each of the last 10 years; what their original prison sentence was in each case; how much time in prison each served; and if he will make a statement. [295346]
Claire Ward: The Courts must impose a mandatory life sentence on any individual convicted of murder. This is the only sentence available for such a conviction.
The following table gives the numbers of such prisoners first released in each of the last 10 years from all prison establishments in England and Wales, and the amount of time served at point of release. It is clear there are fewer offenders serving longer sentences.
| Year of first release | Number of m andatory l ifers | Average time served (years) |
This table is taken from table 9.5 in "Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2008", a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library and which can also be found at the following website:
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Human Trafficking: Compensation
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many compensation orders against convicted human traffickers there have been in each of the last three years; and how much money has been realised as a result. [294867]
Maria Eagle: According to the Ministry's court proceedings database, there were no offenders ordered to pay compensation for offences relating to human trafficking in the years 2005-2007, the latest three years for which data are available. Data for 2008 will be available when 'Sentencing Statistics 2008' is published.
Injunctions
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what information his Department holds on the number of non-reportable injunctive orders each judge of the High Court has issued in each of the last five years; [295031]
(2) if he will (a) collate and (b) publish statistics on the numbers of injunctions issued in the High Court in the last five years where the claimants have been granted anonymity in the listed name of the case. [295034]
Mr. Straw: Information on injunctions granted and the judges who made them is held on the court file relating to the relevant case. Although the High Court in England and Wales collects figures on applications generally, applications relating to injunctions are not separately identifiable, and there are currently no plans to amend databases to make them so. Only if an inquiry is made with the relevant details of the case would it be possible, by reference to the case file, to ascertain if a non-reportable injunction had been made and the identity of the relevant judge.
Legal Aid
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many legal aid lawyers (1) dealt with (a) housing cases, (b) employment cases and (c) family cases in (i) Mid Bedfordshire constituency, (ii) the East of England and (iii) England in each of the last 10 years; [295412]
(2) dealing with immigration and asylum cases there were in (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency, (b) the East of England and (c) England in each of the last 10 years. [295413]
Bridget Prentice: Figures are only available for the last nine years, since the Access to Justice Act came in. Information is not held on the number of practitioners at each firm and instead shows the number of solicitor offices providing legal aid services each year.
Prior to the introduction of the civil unified contract in April 2007 and criminal unified contract in July 2008, legal aid providers delivering services in more than one office would hold separate contracts for each of those offices. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) now contracts with legal aid firms but each firm may have several offices. The office then holds a schedule or schedules that enable it to undertake work in each category of law. Therefore, from the introduction of the unified contracts, the total figures do not represent the total number of offices.
Over the period there has been a downward trend in the overall number of solicitor offices dealing with legal
aid. This is because there has been a continuing process of offices that do only small amounts of legal aid work leaving the market or merging with other offices, so that the work is done in larger volumes at fewer offices. In addition, the Legal Services Commission has over time sought to terminate dormant accounts where no work was being done.
The figures requested are available in the following tables.
| England and Wales | ||||
| Financial years | Family | Housing | Employment | Immigration asylum( 1) |
| (1 )The immigration/asylum categories were split in 2004 so we can only provide information on immigration and other after this point. | ||||
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