Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 27 January 2010
House of Commons Commission
Bars
Michael Fabricant: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the rules are governing (a) the use by and (b) the admission of guests of (i) hon. Members, (ii) hon. Members' staff and (iii) House of Commons staff in respect of each bar on the House of Commons part of the parliamentary estate. [312634]
Nick Harvey: Bars on the House of Commons part of the parliamentary estate currently available to staff of the House (all grades) and Members' staff are:
Bellamy's Bar (Mon-Thurs 12.00-23.00 or rise of House, whichever is the earlier, but not before 22.00) with up to two guests.
Moncrieff s CafeBar (Mon-Tue 09.00 (bar 12.00)-20.00; Weds-Thurs 09.00 (bar 12.00)-22.00 or rise of House, whichever is the later; Fri 09.00 (bar 12.00)-16.00) with up to three guests.
Additionally, senior staff of the House of Commons may use the following bar facilities:
Strangers' Bar (Mon-Weds 12.00-23.00 or rise of House, whichever is the later; Thursday 12.00-22.00; Fri 12.00-15.15 or rise of House, whichever is the later). Staff grade A2 and above may take in up to three guests; Staff Grade B may not take in guests.
June-July only: Terrace Pavilion Bar (open 13.00-23.00 Mon-Weds). Access as for Strangers' Bar.
Pugin Room (Bar service open Mon-Tue 11.00-15.00 and 17.30-midnight or 15 minutes after the rise of House, whichever is the earlier; Weds 11.00-15.00 and 17.30-23.00; Thurs 11.00-15.00 and 17.30-22.00; closed Fridays). Open to staff grade A2 and above with up to three guests.
Members and up to three guests have access to all the bar facilities listed above. Also, the Members' Smoking Room is provided for the exclusive use of Members of Parliament (Mon-Tue 14.00-17.00 and 18.00-midnight; Weds 14.00-17.00 and 18.00-23.00; Thurs 13.00-17.00 and 18.00-19.00; closed Fridays).
The following bars are provided elsewhere on the parliamentary estate for all parliamentary pass holders, including Members, their staff and all staff of the House of Commons:
Sports and Social Club bar 12.00-23.00 Monday to Friday (sitting weeks) and at reduced time, depending on the level of trade, during recess.
Lords Bar (Mon-Thurs 10.30-21.00; Fri 10.30-19.30) with up to two guests.
Department of Resources
Mr. Laws: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was spent on running costs for the Department of Resources and its predecessors in each year from 2005-06 to 2008-09; what estimate has been made of such costs in 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [312213]
Nick Harvey: The direct running costs of the Department of Resources and its predecessor the Department of Finance and Administration have been:
| £ 000 | ||
| Actual | Forecast | |
These figures include staff and directly related accommodation costs, but not other expenditure managed on behalf of the House as a whole. They also exclude ICT infrastructure costs which are managed jointly by the parliamentary ICT for both Houses.
Fluctuations in expenditure represent organisational and other work changes that have arisen during the period. For example, the departmental ICT team was amalgamated into PICT on 1 January 2006, the Internal Audit team transferred to the Office of the Chief Executive on 1 January 2008, and there have been additional resources consumed recently because of FOI, the Legg Review and other Member-related work.
Members: Allowances
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what remunerated positions Sir Thomas Legg declared prior to his appointment to review payments from the additional cost allowance; and whether Sir Thomas was required to declare the amount of remuneration he receives from such positions. [313437]
Nick Harvey: Sir Thomas Legg has declared the following positions: non-executive director of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, consultant to Clifford Chance, and Commissioner of the Audit Commission. Sir Thomas was not required to inform the House Administration of the amount of remuneration from these positions.
Justice
Back Office: Central Government
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the reasons for the cost of the finance function of his Department's core headquarters referred to in the publication Benchmarking the Back Office: Central Government; and if he will make a statement. [312681]
Mr. Wills: The cost of the finance function for the Ministry of Justice's headquarters is made up of:
the costs of finance teams that provide support to a number of the MOJ's Directorates, including the corporate centre which provides support and challenge to the entire Department;
the costs for transaction processing for the former Department for Constitutional Affairs parts of the Department (including HM Courts Service and the Tribunal Service) that are funded and managed through a central contract.
The cost differences reflected in the publication 'Benchmarking the Back Office: Central Government' may have a number of causes including, as the report notes: "different bodies in central Government have very different business models to deliver their different services". I believe that, given the MOJ's business model, this level of headquarters expenditure is reasonable in supporting a wider business area and providing support and challenge to help the board and Ministers to achieve outcomes efficiently.
The MOJ supports the work on benchmarking, and is working with other Government Departments to help us to better understand the variations in costs these data illustrate and to drive further efficiencies across the MOJ through the shared services programme started in July 2009. The MOJ also has plans, annexed to 'Putting the Frontline First', to improve the efficiency of both its finance and human resources functions across its headquarters, agencies and non-departmental public bodies. These include moving all human resources and finance transaction processing into a single shared service.
Convictions: Knives
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been (a) charged and (b) convicted of an offence of carrying a knife in each of the last five years. [312767]
Claire Ward: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to carrying a knife, England and Wales 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
The Ministry of Justice do not collect charging data; proceeded against information has been provided in lieu.
Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
| Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to knife possession( 1) , England and Wales 2003 - 07( 2, 3) | ||
| Proceeded against | Found guilty | |
| (1 )Includes the following offences and statutes: Having an article with blade or point in public place. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.3). Having an article with blade or point on school premises. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139A (1)(5)(a) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.4(1)). (2) 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. (3) 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. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. | ||
Driving Offences
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average fine given to a person convicted of driving without insurance was in each justice administrative area in each year since 1997. [312817]
Claire Ward: The number of average fines imposed at all courts in England and Wales for using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks, by police force area, from 1997 to 2007 (latest available) is given in the table.
Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
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