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11 Jan 2010 : Column 784W—continued
All claims are subject to a range of automated checks. Tax credits entitlement is calculated automatically if all checks are passed. HMRC often need to make more detailed inquiries into incomplete claims or those that fail risk checks. HMRC may be unable to process and pay those claims within the usual target times.
HMRC also seek additional information from claimants from other EEA member states, A2 and A8 nationals to verify that eligibility criteria for tax credits are met.
John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average length of time was between the receipt of an application to his Department for tax credit and the issue of a receipt for the application in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09; and what the average length of time was in respect of applicants in the (i) upper and (ii) lower quartiles in each such year. [309789]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available, as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not issue receipts for tax credits claims.
For information about HMRC targets and performance outturn in relation to tax credits in 2008-09 and earlier years, I refer the right hon. Member to my recent answer to him on 5 January 2010, Official Report, column 179W.
In 2009-10 HMRC aims to clear 60 per cent. of new claims in 15 calendar days.
Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments
John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number and (b) the amount of tax credits overpayments caused by the failure of a claimant to notify the Tax Credits Office of a change of circumstances in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08 and (iv) 2008-09. [308186]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available, as HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) systems do not record why an overpayment has been made.
However, information on the number of families with tax credits awards, including information on overpayments at UK level can be found in the HMRC publications, "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Supplement on Payments", available at:
Justice
Bail Accommodation and Support Service
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what plans he has to review the bail accommodation contract with ClearSprings; [308171]
(2) how many complaints have been received about ClearSprings from (a) the public, (b) probation services and (c) local authorities since June 2007. [308172]
Maria Eagle: My right hon. Friend, the then Minister of State for Justice (David Hanson), made a written statement to the House on 13 May 2009, Official Report, column 54WS, announcing that the Government intend to re-tender the contract for Bail Accommodation and Support Service (BASS) on the expiry of the current contract on 17 June 2010. A new contract is scheduled to be awarded at the beginning of February 2010.
I am unable to provide information about the number of complaints about ClearSprings as this could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Justice has received a substantial volume of correspondence about the BASS and it would require checking each item of correspondence separately at both local and national level to determine whether it was a complaint.
Channel Islands: Electricity
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice from what energy sources (a) Jersey and (b) Guernsey's electricity demands were met in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009. [309103]
Mr. Wills: Jersey and Guernsey are self-governing dependencies of the Crown and have their own directly elected legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems. The Ministry of Justice does not keep information on the amount of electricity consumed in the Crown Dependencies or the sources from which it was produced.
Criminal Proceedings: Autism
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Minister in his Department is responsible for policy to implement proposals in the autism strategy on improving the accessibility of the criminal justice system; and if he will make a statement. [308724]
Claire Ward: The Ministry of Justice will support the implementation of the planned autism strategy, currently being developed by the Department of Health, in the context of the Health and Criminal Justice Delivery Plan. This plan was published on 17 November 2009, and sets out cross departmental action to improve access to health services by offenders and to support staff in prisons, probation and the police through training. The Delivery Plan is available at:
Crown Dependencies: National Income
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the gross domestic product per capita is for each of the British Crown Dependencies. [309095]
Mr. Wills: Information on the gross domestic product and the population sizes of the Crown Dependencies is publicly available on their respective Government websites:
Jersey (it should be noted that Jersey measures gross value added, not gross domestic product):
Crown Dependencies: Prisons
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders currently being held in prisons in each of the Crown Dependencies are serving sentences for drug-related offences. [309085]
Mr. Wills: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK; they are self-governing dependencies of the Crown and have their own directly elected legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems.
The prisons in the Crown Dependencies are the responsibility of the Crown Dependency Governments and not of the Ministry of Justice. Accordingly the Ministry of Justice does not hold the information sought.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has plans to expand prison capacity in the Crown Dependencies. [309086]
Mr. Wills: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK; they are self-governing dependencies of the Crown and have their own directly elected legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems.
Prisons and prison capacity in the Crown Dependencies are the responsibility of the Crown Dependency Governments and not of the Ministry of Justice.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assistance his Department has provided to rehabilitation programmes for drug addicts serving prison sentences in each of the Crown Dependencies in the last 10 years. [309087]
Mr. Wills: This Department has provided no assistance to rehabilitation programmes for drug addicts serving prison sentences in the Crown Dependencies during the last 10 years. Prisons in the Crown Dependencies are the responsibility of the relevant Island administrations, not the Ministry of Justice.
Dartmoor Prison: Ex-servicemen
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the outcome was of the 2007 scoping study of the number of armed forces veterans who were serving a sentence in HMP Dartmoor. [308607]
Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) had no oversight of this research at the time it was conducted and have no records of the outcomes of this research. From our communication with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) it appears that the research was conducted by a worker in HMP Dartmoor but on an ad-hoc basis and with no official or central oversight by either MOJ or MOD. Preliminary results which found that 32 of the 191 prisoners (16.75 per cent.) were veterans, were presented at a meeting of the Veterans Prison In-Reach Working Group (VPIR), a group sponsored by the MOD. It is likely that the result was skewed because the wings were largely comprised of older prisoners which meant that they were more likely than other prisoners to have served in the armed forces at some time (including under national service).
Debt Collection
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 15 July 2009, Official Report, column 435W, on debt collection, what representations (a) his Department and (b) HM Courts Service have received on collecting debts through credit card payment. [308419]
Bridget Prentice: In considering the extension of credit and debit card facilities to remaining regions within HMCS the opinions of various groups within the debt industry (eg the Citizens Advice Bureau) were sought.
Those consulted expressed some concern that accepting credit card payments for a debt, particularly one which may have arisen from a consumer credit debt, may exacerbate a debtor's difficulties. However, it was widely recognised that the introduction of credit and debit card facilities would be welcomed among the large majority of responsible court users where a debt has arisen from a genuine dispute for a small claim and that
not providing these facilities would be denying those debtors a very convenient way to pay their debt.
All courts who have introduced credit and debit card facilities have found them to be extremely useful, allowing them to operate more efficiently. There is high demand from other courts, based on customer feedback, to introduce the facilities on a wider basis.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 15 July 2009, Official Report, column 435W, on debt collection, what the timetable is for completion of the evaluation of the scheme of taking debt payments by debit and credit card. [308420]
Bridget Prentice: The national roll out of credit and debit card facilities is currently under consideration. The timetable for the introduction of these facilities has not yet been finalised.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 15 July 2009, Official Report, column 435W, on debt collection, if he will place in the Library a copy of the evaluation report by HM Courts Service on accepting credit card payments. [308528]
Bridget Prentice: The national roll out of credit and debit card facilities is currently under consideration. The timetable for the introduction of these facilities has not yet been finalised. The evaluation report will be published during the spring.
Departmental Publicity
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on (a) Ministerial photoshoots and (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available. [305521]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has used external photographers on three occasions between its launch in May 2007 and August 2009, at a total cost of £2,197.04. These were for use as corporate images following reshuffles or machinery of Government changes, and portraits were taken of senior MOJ officials as well as the ministerial team. Since August 2009, the Ministry of Justice has had the capability to provide corporate photography in-house at no cost.
MOJ Communications Directorate has in-house video recording facilities and uses these, at no cost, when filming ministers for both internal purposes and for the Ministry's You Tube channel. Information on the filming of our ministers for other purposes is not held centrally, and to obtain that information would incur disproportionate cost.
Driving Offences: Disqualification
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the merits of making driving whilst disqualified an offence triable either way. [308214]
Claire Ward: We have not considered making the offence of driving while disqualified triable either way.
Driving Under Influence: Gloucestershire
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of drivers convicted of offences of driving when under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Gloucestershire were (a) first-time offenders and (b) had two or more convictions in each year since 1999. [309137]
Claire Ward:
The figures requested are in the following table and cover a range of offences related to driving
under the influence of drink or drugs and failing to provide a specimen. The table shows the number of offenders with previous convictions for any of these offences. Figures for 1999 are not available.
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.
| Number of drivers convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Gloucestershire, 2000-08 | |||||
| Number of drivers convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs | Number of drivers convicted for the first time of driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs | Number of drivers with at least one previous conviction for this offence | Percentage of drivers convicted for the first time | Percentage of drivers with at least one previous conviction | |
| (1) The data includes a range of offences under the Road Traffic Act. They can be found in sections 4(1), 5(1) (a), 7(6), 4(2), 5(1) (b), 6(4) and 7A as amended by the Police Reform Act 2002 and the Transport and Works Act 2002. | |||||
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