Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Solicitor-General
Crown Prosecution Service: Victims
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Solicitor-General by what methods the Crown Prosecution Service has kept victims of crime informed of the progress of prosecutions since 2002. [315349]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) introduced the initiative known as Direct Communications with Victims in 2001. Under this initiative, victims are written to when key prosecution decisions are taken. Senior CPS prosecutors also meet victims or their families in very serious cases to explain decisions. Additionally the phased introduction of witness care units (WCU) across England and Wales during 2004-05 has meant that CPS and police staff are able to provide information and support to victims and other witnesses based on the individuals preferred means of contact.
Dorneywood
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Solicitor-General with reference to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: official hospitality, what use the Attorney-General's Office has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months. [315465]
The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General's Office has not used Dorneywood for any official engagements during the last year.
Victims: Prosecutions
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Solicitor-General with reference to the answer of 27 March 2009, Official Report, column 729W, on prosecutions, when she expects the comprehensive review of resources available to victim and witness care to report. [315348]
The Solicitor-General: The review referred to was intended to assess and inform the staffing of the joint police/CPS witness care units (WCU), and thereafter the effective deployment of victim and witness care resources.
The first strand of the review, in relation to the staffing of the WCU, has been completed, and CPS resources dedicated to these units have been maintained for the financial year 2010-11. A further strand of the review will take place during 2010, to ensure full consideration is given to the impact of the launch of the National Victims Service.
Scotland
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department have the status of (a) embedded communicators and (b) are members of the Government Communications Network and are not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book. [315541]
Ann McKechin: No staff at the Scotland Office have the status of embedded communicators. No staff are members of the Government Communications Network and not listed in the COI White Book.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many layers of management reporting from the most senior to the most junior there are in his Department; how many officials are employed in each such layer; and how much was spent on salaries and associated employment costs of staff at each such layer in the latest year for which information is available. [312831]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly. All staff in the Office are seconded from other Government Departments, mainly the Scottish Executive and Ministry of Justice. Staffing information containing the grade and gender breakdown of all staff using the Scottish Executive's grading structure, for illustrative purposes, is published in the Office's annual report. Under this grading structure, there are currently nine grades between the most senior and the most junior posts in the Scotland Office. The Office does not keep information on salary and associated employment costs in the form requested.
Departmental Public Consultation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many citizens' juries or summits have been hosted by his Department since October 2008; on what date each event took place; and which Ministers were present at each event. [314529]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office has not arranged any citizens' juries or summits since October 2008. On 31 October 2009 I attended a public consultative event on the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in Edinburgh arranged by the Ministry of Justice.
Hotels
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many separate bookings for hotels graded at five star or above were made through the Expotel booking service by his Department in the latest year for which figures are available; and at what cost such bookings were made. [315544]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not separately record information on the grade of hotel booked by officials.
All travel and subsistence is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers and the Civil Service Management Code. All expenditure has been incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Wales
Children: Poverty
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers and ministerial colleagues on steps to be taken to reduce levels of child poverty in Wales. [314567]
Mr. David: During recent bi-lateral meetings with Ministers at the Welsh Assembly Government I have discussed the Child Poverty Bill. This Bill commits the Government to eradicating child poverty by 2020 and will enshrine in law an ambitious set of targets to achieve this goal.
The Government are also taking action to assist children from low income families across the UK through the introduction of Child Trust Funds enabling families to save for their children's future with additional funding for low income households. 64,000 children in Wales will benefit from an additional Welsh premium. The Government have also ensured an increase in the child element of child tax credit benefiting an estimated 380,000 children and in child benefit, benefiting an estimated 640,000 children in Wales.
The Welsh Assembly Government are further complementing these efforts through the introduction of legislation such as the proposed Children and Families (Wales) Measure underpinning their commitment to the target set for 2020. This recognises families in poverty often face multiple disadvantages requiring specialist and intensive support. The Welsh Assembly Government also has in place a range of policies aimed at tackling child poverty including employment support programmes, childcare initiatives, education and health programmes and Communities First interventions.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many performance reviews were undertaken in respect of staff of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a direct result of such a rating; and what percentage of full-time equivalent staff this represented. [313822]
Mr. Hain: Performance Management in the Wales Office is an ongoing process, with all staff undergoing annual and mid-year formal performance reviews. The total numbers of annual performance reviews carried out in each of the last five years are set out in the following table.
| Total annual performance reviews undertaken | |
| Number | |
Only a very small number of staff received 'unsatisfactory' markings during each of those five years. Therefore actual numbers cannot be provided without compromising staff confidentiality.
The award of an unsatisfactory performance marking invokes poor performance procedures, but would not directly result in dismissal. Support is provided to employees to reach and maintain the required standards of performance.
Departmental Public Consultation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many citizens' juries or summits have been hosted by his Department since October 2008; on what date each event took place; and which Ministers were present at each event. [314531]
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Register: Expenditure
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how much was spent on electoral registration initiatives in each of the last 10 years. [315043]
Mr. Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that total expenditure on electoral registration initiatives in each of the last two years was as follows:
2007-08: £6,461,000
2008-09: £6,683,000
Initiatives included in these costs include guidance for electoral administrators, activity relating to the performance standards framework for electoral registration officers, research, the Commission's partnership grants programme and public awareness campaigns to promote voter registration.
Equivalent information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost as expenditure was accounted for under more than one corporate objective.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 22 October 2009, Official Report, column 1645W, on local government finance, what data sets not contained in the national indicator set local authorities are required to submit to the Electoral Commission. [314955]
Mr. Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that local authorities are not required to submit any data sets to the Commission.
However the Commission further informs me that Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers employed by the local authority are each asked to complete a self assessment return against a performance standards framework and also complete a financial information survey at the end of the financial year. Both the standards and the financial survey are available on the Commission's website:
Local Government: Suffolk
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how much had been spent on the Boundary Committee's review of the reorganisation of local government in Suffolk on the latest date for which figures are available. [314864]
Mr. Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the amount spent on the structural review of Suffolk to date is £463,950.
Northern Ireland
Criminal Justice and Policing: Devolution
10. Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of progress in the devolution of criminal justice and policing to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [314146]
Mr. Woodward: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Members for South Down (Mr. McGrady) and Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper) and my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Jeff Ennis).
Prison Estate
11. Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his most recent assessment is of the adequacy of the prison estate in Northern Ireland. [314147]
Paul Goggins: I announced in December 2007 that 400 additional adult male places would be made available by the end of 2010. 230 of these are now operational and 140 under tender for construction. In addition further accommodation is being refurbished and brought back into use at Maghaberry. A detailed business case and design for the replacement prison at Magilligan is under way. An options appraisal for a discrete women's facility has been prepared. Final decisions must take account of funding availability.
Organised Crime
12. John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he plans to take to reduce the financial assets of organised criminal gangs in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [314148]
Paul Goggins: The Organised Crime Task Force is committed to maximising the value of assets recovered from criminals. Last year £7.3 million of criminal assets were recovered in Northern Ireland against a minimum target of £6.2 million.
Power Sharing
13. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of prospects for further power sharing in Northern Ireland. [314150]
Mr. Woodward: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Members for South Down (Mr. McGrady) and Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper) and my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley East, and Mexborough (Jeff Ennis).
Departmental Billing
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the average length of time taken by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies to pay invoices from (i) small and medium-sized enterprises and (ii) all creditors in the last 12 months. [315136]
Paul Goggins: The following table shows the percentage of invoices that have been paid by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) within 10 working days during the nine month period to 31 December 2009.
| Percentage paid within 10 working days | |
| (1) Including arm's length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding Executive agencies and NDPBs | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |