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14 Dec 2009 : Column 792W—continued

and copies are available in the Library of the House.


14 Dec 2009 : Column 793W

Departmental Information Officers

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent press officers (a) are employed by and (b) work for his Department. [303603]

Mr. Wills: As of November 2009, there were 33 press officers employed by the Ministry of Justice. In addition, there were five other staff working in the office as press office contractors.

The Ministry of Justice was created in May 2007. Staffing levels in the Ministry's Communications Directorate now more adequately reflect the high level of media interest in the work of the Department, and the need to meet the high demands of a 24/7 media. 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.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on (i) alcohol and (ii) entertainment in the last 12 months. [305534]

Mr. Wills: All expenditure on food, drink and entertainment is in line with the Ministry's internal finance policy manual and gifts and hospitality policy, which set out mandatory guidance for all staff regarding the use of public funds. Both are consistent with the Treasury guidance on "Managing Public Money", at:

and the Treasury handbook on "Propriety and Regularity" at:

The Ministry's policy on in-house hospitality prohibits the supply of any alcohol to Ministry of Justice personnel who are paid from departmental funds. When providing hospitality to external parties, then discretion can be exercised, e.g. a modest amount of wine with a meal, but expenditure should be modest and appropriate to the circumstances.

Expenditure on alcohol and entertainment are not specifically identified within the Ministry's accounting systems as they form part of a wider "entertainment and hospitality" classification. To identify specific amounts relating to alcohol and entertainment would involve examining every individual transaction within this wider category, which would incur disproportionate costs. Expenditure in 2008-09 on this wider category of expenditure was £315,000 for the Ministry and its Executive agencies, excluding the 42 local probation boards and trusts.

Departmental Telephone Lines

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0870, (b) 0845 and (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case. [305210]


14 Dec 2009 : Column 794W

Mr. Wills: The Department's telecoms services are provided through contracts with external service providers. The majority of these services are managed within individual business areas and detailed management information is not collated centrally.

Following de-regulation of the telecoms industry, many telecommunications companies offer call packages which have inclusive calls, though in most cases 0800/0845 number are not covered. This means that charges paid by the caller to prefix 08 numbers are set by each phone company individually, with charges varying accordingly, especially when the call originates from a UK mobile or non-UK number.

From the records held centrally, the Department operates 52 0845 numbers and 25 0800 telephone numbers to provide a range of services. There is no record of any 0870 numbers being used for public access to services.

Some prefix 08 numbers could also be considered to be sponsored by the Department, as it pays for some of the cost to the caller. However, the amount would differ depending on the relevant tariffs in a caller's specific call plan.

In 2008-09, call volumes to 18 0845 numbers used by Her Majesty's Courts Service Bulk Payment Centre totalled 789,000.

Details of call volumes to other individual numbers, and any additional alternative exchange numbers that may be in use, are not collated centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

As part of providing a cost-effective service to its users, the Department considers ways to make service users aware of the possibility that cheaper call options could be available. For instance, Her Majesty's Courts Service Bulk Payment Centre publish alternative exchange numbers for 18 0845 numbers on their web pages. This allows customers to choose which number to call, depending on their call plan. Charges vary, especially when the call originates from a UK mobile or non-UK number.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named. [305373]

Mr. Wills: The information requested is shown in the table and covers the Session from 3 December 2008 to 12 November 2009.


14 Dec 2009 : Column 795W

Number of named day questions for answer Number of questions answered substantively on the named day

December 2008

45

40

January 2009

75

54

February 2009

74

63

March 2009

92

56

April 2009

35

22

May 2009

79

40

June 2009

65

36

July 2009

100

62

August 2009

0

0

September 2009

59

31

October 2009

81

47

November 2009

45

31

Total

750

482


Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the "Guide to Parliamentary Work", at

In the response to the Procedure Committee report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

Foster Care: Finance

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the cost of an intensive fostering placement. [305320]

Maria Eagle: The estimated cost for intensive fostering for the financial year 2009-10 will vary with the geographical area in which the provider is located, with some areas having larger overheads, including foster carer payments, transport, salaries and premise costs than another area. The costs currently range between £2,220 to £2,385 per week per placement.

Fuel Poverty

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 10 November 2009, Official Report, columns 295-96W, on fuel poverty, when he expects figures on fuel poverty in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) England to be available for (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009. [305197]

Mr. Kidney: I have been asked to reply.

Figures on fuel poverty in Yorkshire and the Humber, and for all Government office regions within England, are published at the same time as headline levels for England. 2008 data will be published during 2010, and figures for 2009 will be available a year later. We will be announcing publication dates of the 2008 and 2009 figures early in the new year (2010) at the following link:

Health Services: Channel Islands

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consultation his Department conducted with (a) British Chambers of Commerce, (b) trade unions, (c) the Federation of Small Businesses, (d) the Confederation of British Industry and (e) other organisations with interests in industry, trade, or commerce prior to the decision to cancel the reciprocal agreement between the National Health Service and
14 Dec 2009 : Column 796W
the Isle of Man with effect from 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement. [306506]

Mr. Wills: No such discussions took place. The Department of Health ended the bilateral agreement with the Channel Islands (including Jersey and Guernsey) and gave notice on the agreement with the Isle of Man, as it considers that they are out of place considering the wide availability of travel insurance, and there is little robust data to justify the business case and value for money for the national health service.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the latest estimate is of the annual cost of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. [302638]

Mr. Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Davies) on 10 December 2009, Official Report, column 622W.

Legal Aid: Hazel Grove

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for legal aid were (a) received from and (b) granted to residents of (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) each local authority in the north-west in each of the last five years. [304691]

Bridget Prentice: Applications for civil legal aid help and advice are made to individual providers. Existing data collection arrangements record the number of instances of advice provided, rather than the number of applications made.

Applications for civil legal aid representation are submitted to the Legal Services Commission (LSC). The LSC collects data on the number of civil legal aid representation applications submitted to providers located within (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) each local authority in the north-west and this is broken down for each of the past five financial years (see Table 1). A proportion of these applications will come from individuals resident outside (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) local authority areas in the north-west.

Data on applications for criminal legal aid are not recorded in the same way as applications for civil legal aid representation. Instead, they rely on a separate 'online' application process. This does not allow applications for criminal legal aid to be identified on the basis of postcode information. Therefore, it is not possible to provide details of criminal legal aid applications submitted from residents in the Hazel Grove constituency area, nor from those residents in each local authority area in the north-west.

However, following the introduction of means testing in October 2006, the Legal Services Commission can identify the number of criminal legal aid applications submitted to the neighbouring Stockport magistrates court (see Table 2). These applications will include those submitted from defendants charged with an indictable only offence and facing trial before Manchester Minshull street Crown court. A proportion of these applications will have come from individuals resident in the Hazel Grove constituency area.


14 Dec 2009 : Column 797W

Table 2 also provides the total number of applications submitted to all 42 magistrates courts covered by the north-west region of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS). An analysis of these data by individual court
14 Dec 2009 : Column 798W
could be provided only at disproportionate cost. As with the data for Stockport magistrates court, the applications will include a proportion from individuals who are resident outside the north-west region.

Table 1: Civil legal aid applications for representation, and legal aid certificates granted-Hazel Grove and north-west local authority areas-last five financial years
Applications Certificates

2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Hazel Grove constituency

84

84

108

113

118

64

68

70

78

85

North-west local authority areas

Allerdale

215

185

196

216

153

160

137

149

154

109

Barrow-in-Furness

353

348

354

282

221

287

285

279

225

157

Blackburn with Darwen

1,100

1,090

1,105

1,034

1,131

891

915

928

829

935

Blackpool

1,099

1,237

1,178

1,049

1,102

863

986

949

825

908

Bolton

1,295

1,171

1,194

1,191

1,163

1,008

926

978

979

988

Burnley

619

665

725

637

568

458

507

566

506

455

Bury

514

528

528

499

551

379

412

401

380

421

Carlisle

530

534

465

428

397

419

418

380

367

315

Chester

512

404

409

380

480

384

327

305

296

367

Chorley

304

321

268

227

306

225

263

209

174

239

Congleton

114

160

170

142

129

81

120

128

115

106

Copeland

196

241

237

231

195

161

184

190

186

142

Crewe and Nantwich

304

334

293

267

264

240

263

244

227

228

Eden

91

78

95

84

72

73

56

70

71

48

Ellesmere Port and Neston

150

167

189

156

182

118

132

146

131

138

Fylde

189

198

170

137

118

136

150

132

99

93

Halton

505

476

460

447

539

386

371

367

368

441

Hyndburn

559

575

470

380

360

457

440

358

276

292

Knowsley

360

365

366

353

300

247

302

281

276

244

Lancaster

570

578

557

504

447

437

471

436

407

337

Liverpool

2,388

2,366

2,576

2,279

2,538

1,869

1,852

2,053

1,921

2,066

Macclesfield

219

187

213

175

225

164

155

179

141

189

Manchester

3,057

2,677

2,591

2,361

2,454

2,470

2,178

2,102

1,913

1,977

Oldham

937

882

967

874

910

731

714

804

720

755

Pendle

318

228

243

192

221

220

172

175

145

165

Preston

1,062

1,039

865

809

859

899

856

735

657

681

Ribble Valley

26

30

18

19

29

18

28

16

14

17

Rochdale

718

785

822

763

812

567

672

692

624

687

Rossendale

158

134

143

104

128

122

112

107

70

99

Salford

1,403

1,348

1,301

1,054

1,015

1,188

1,151

1,134

900

848

Sefton

1,203

1,129

1,083

997

1,002

931

856

818

783

803

South Lakeland

189

215

224

234

247

150

174

181

177

208

South Ribble

68

58

51

31

52

55

40

34

28

34

St. Helens

929

938

891

920

1,118

759

760

738

752

926

Stockport

1,123

1,153

1,270

1,164

1,179

866

912

994

871

896

Tameside

930

850

904

731

734

745

722

780

602

575

Trafford

577

534

462

531

729

486

430

382

401

561

Vale Royal

328

393

388

367

504

234

282

288

278

400

Warrington

527

511

465

404

450

400

398

330

328

337

West Lancashire

262

244

243

212

237

215

205

205

176

204

Wigan

1,012

1,145

1,320

1,343

1,371

767

836

937

896

958

Wirral

1,649

1,822

1,831

1,682

1,885

1,354

1,531

1,493

1,445

1,625

Wyre

306

321

314

281

264

216

239

244

209

192


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