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11 Nov 2009 : Column 478W—continued
Magistrates Courts
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many jobs have been (a) lost and (b) created at magistrates courts as a result of restructuring in 2009-10. [297792]
Bridget Prentice: Magistrates courts are part of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS). The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in HMCS at 31 March 2009 was 19,100. This had reduced to 18,657 at end September 2009. During the year staff numbers will also fluctuate as individuals either leave, or are recruited, and it is not possible to say definitively how much of this overall reduction is directly a result of restructuring.
Magistrates Courts: Closures
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2009, Official Report, column 1373W, on magistrates courts: closures, how many magistrates' courts opened in each type of area in each year since 1997. [295942]
Mr. Straw: The following tables provide details of the magistrates courts opened (broken down into each type of area) since 1997. This substantial investment in replacing courthouses that have passed their working life demonstrates the Ministry of Justice's commitment to the courts and the communities that they serve. At the heart of this investment are the needs of court users.
| Number of magistrates courts opened in each year since 1997( 1) | |||||||
| Rural 75 | Rural 50 | Significant rural | Other urban | Large urban | Major urban | Total number of courts opened | |
| Rural 80( 2) | Rural 50 | Significant rural | Other urban | Large urban | Major urban | Total number of courts opened | |
| (1) The rural constituency classification (introduced by the Rural Evidence Research Centre on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2006) has been used to define whether court closures took place in rural/urban areas. The classification divides constituencies into the following six categories: Major Urban: districts with either 100,000 people or 50 per cent. of their population in urban areas with a population of more than 750,000. Large Urban: districts with either 50,000 people or 50 per cent. of their population in one of 17 urban areas with a population between 250,000 and 750,000. Other Urban: districts with fewer than 37,000 people or less than 26 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns. Significant Rural: districts with more than 37,000 people or more than 26 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns. Rural-50: districts with at least 50 per cent. but less than 80 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns. Rural 75: Over 75 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements (including 207 large market towns). (2) The rural constituency classification (introduced by the Rural Evidence Research Centre on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) changed in April 2009 and one rural classification has changed from rural 75 to rural 80. Rural-80: districts with at least 80 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns. (3) For Wales a Rural Authority is defined as any having a population density of below the Wales average of 140 persons per sq km. | |||||||
Magistrates Courts: Haverfordwest
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court have received notification in the last three months that their positions may be relocated. [297794]
Bridget Prentice:
Magistrates courts enforcement staff located at Haverfordwest have been notified in recent months that the enforcement administration work is to be moved substantially to Port Talbot, where most such work within Wales is to be centralised in order to obtain economies of scale and a reduction of costs. Staff affected are being fully consulted, and at this stage they are being offered redeployment within the business or early departure on voluntary terms. Other administrative
functions relating to magistrates courts and also of the county courts will continue to be undertaken at the Haverfordwest Law Courts.
Money for Ministers
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's guidance entitled Money for Ministers-An Introduction to Finance in the Ministry of Justice for Ministers. [298079]
Mr. Straw: The internal guidance document Money for Ministers-An Introduction to Finance in the Ministry of Justice for Ministers is currently scheduled for updating by the Ministry of Justice Corporate Finance team and will be placed in the Library upon completion, during December 2009.
National Offender Management Service: Disciplinary Proceedings
Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 16 September 2009, Official Report, column 2266W, on prisons: manpower, what the offences were for which the prison service staff were (a) dismissed and (b) otherwise disciplined. [296341]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is held centrally, but the level of detail required could be obtained only by conducting a manual check of over 1,600 disciplinary cases across both reporting systems at a disproportionate cost.
National Offender Management Service: Standards
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what efficiencies he expects the National Offender Management Service to achieve in the next three years. [297626]
Maria Eagle: The National Offender Management Service is planning to deliver £205 million of efficiencies in 2010-11. Planning for the next spending review period, that is 2011-12 to 2013-14, has not yet commenced.
National Probation Service for England and Wales: Finance
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the likely level of expenditure on the National Probation Service in the next five years. [298287]
Maria Eagle: The budget for the National Probation Service for the 2010-11 financial year is £870 million.
Planning for the next spending review period, that is 2011-12 to 2013-14, will be considered as part of the next comprehensive review.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the year-on-year change in expenditure on the Probation Service has been in each of the last 15 years. [298331]
Maria Eagle: Change in expenditure by local probation areas is detailed in the following table:
| £ million | ||
| Financial year | Expenditure | Year-on-year change |
The figures for 2001-02 to 2007-08 are the net operating costs recorded in the annual consolidated accounts of local probation boards. The figure for 2008-09 is provisional as the boards' consolidated accounts have not yet been signed off, and is taken from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) 2008-09 accounts, including probation trusts. Before 2001-02, local probation committees were financed partly by local government and the figures are based on the expenditure implied by the main grant cash limit plus an allowance for probation hostels; these figures include some estimates.
Following standard accounting practice, local boards' and trusts' pension contributions are not fully reflected in the figures. Expenditure on probation met centrally by the former National Probation Directorate and the National Offender Management Service is not included in local areas' expenditure.
Comparisons over time are difficult because of machinery of government changes and accounting methodology changes. After adjusting as much as possible for these factors and discounting for inflation, the real terms increase in expenditure on probation between 1996-97 and 2007-08 is about 70 per cent.
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