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Crimes of Violence

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence of violence relating to the use of force against intruders in their homes in each of the last 10 years. [319564]

Claire Ward: The court proceedings database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. The court proceedings database does not hold specific information on offences beyond descriptions provided by the statutes under which prosecutions are brought. Information available centrally on offences of assault do not identify if the victim was an intruder.

General Elections

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any expenses incurred by returning officers in undertaking a general election count immediately following the closure of the polls are considered to be reasonable additional expenses for which they may be reimbursed by the Government. [319436]

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Mr. Wills: Returning Officers will be entitled to claim for charges necessarily incurred for the efficient and effective conduct of the election, up to the maximum recoverable amounts set out in an Order made by the Secretary of State ("the charges Order"). The maximum recoverable amounts in the charges order, which we are in the process of finalising, include an element for costs in conducting the verification and the count.

The amounts we have calculated for that element are based on estimates of the time taken to count the number of ballot papers expected to be returned in that constituency and an hourly rate of pay which takes into account the possibility of working at unsocial hours.

There is provision for the Secretary of State to authorise more than the maximum recoverable amount in a particular case provided that it was reasonable for the Returning Officer to incur the charges and the level of the charges in question is reasonable. Accordingly, any claim made by a returning officer for an additional payment above the maximum recoverable amount in connection with undertaking a count immediately after the poll has closed will need to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Isle of Man: Health Services

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect on the Sewel Convention of the decision to end on behalf of the whole of the UK the reciprocal health agreement with the Isle of Man with effect from 1 April 2010. [320154]

Mr. Wills: None. The Sewel Convention is not relevant to the UK's decision to end the reciprocal health care agreement with the Isle of Man, as it involves neither a devolved legislature nor any form of legislation.

The Sewel Convention is relevant to the relationship between the UK Parliament and the Scottish Parliament. Similar conventions apply to the relationship between the UK Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The convention provides that the UK Parliament would not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters except with the agreement of the devolved legislature.

Political Parties

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which provisions of the (a) Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, (b) Electoral Administration Act 2006 and (c) Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 have not yet commenced; and for what reasons in each case. [319612] [Official Report, 10 March 2010, Vol. 507, c. 5MC.]

Mr. Wills: I have provided a table which gives detail of the provisions that have not yet commenced, and the reasons for that, for the (a) Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, (b) Electoral Administration Act 2006 and (c) Political Parties and Elections Act 2009.

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Section	Description	Reason why not yet in force
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
6(l)(c)	Review of electoral and political matters (redistribution of Parliamentary seats)	The Government accepted the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life's Eleventh Report, 'Review of the Electoral Commission', that the Electoral Commission should no longer have any involvement in electoral boundary matters and the provisions in PPERA to allow the transfer of boundary setting functions to the Commission should be repealed. Subsequently, the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 repealed these provisions and removes from the Electoral Commission functions relating to boundary and electoral changes
14 and Schedule 3	Boundary Committees, Transfer of Functions of Boundary Commissions
17	Transfer of property etc of Boundary Commissions
Schedule 21, paragraph 6(3),6(4),6(7)(l)(a),7	Minor and consequential amendments	Will be commenced at an appropriate time taking account of status of accounts from previous elections and allowing time for other changes contained in the EAA 2006 to bed in
Electoral Administration Act 2006
1(2) and (5),2(2),(4)(9)-(12),5(10),7	CORE scheme	The CORE project has been paused to allow policy on individual electoral registration to develop first (individual registration may change the requirements for CORE and the context in which it is developed)
31(4) (as it relates to rule37(l)(d) schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983)	Replacement of counterfoils (procedure on close of poll)	Section 31 is commenced, except to the extent that it relates to sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph (1) of rule 37 of the parliamentary election rules, which remains under consideration
42-44 (as they relate to local government elections and authority elections as defined in section 203 of the Representation of the People Act 1983)	Control of documents after parliamentary election; access to election documents	Section 41 was commenced 1 January 2007. Policy changes in relation to election documents in Scotland, and secondary legislation, mean the commencement of sections 42 to 44 is, for the time being, unnecessary
59	Reporting donations to holders of certain elective offices	Commenced 1 July 2009 (so far as relates to a Member of the House of Commons). Otherwise under consideration
61(1)(2-4)(5)(6)	Regulation of loans etc.	Commenced 11 September 2006 (England, Wales, Scotland); 1 January 2007 (England, Wales, Scotland); 1 July 2008 (Northern Ireland) except so far as applies to minor parties within meaning of PPERA 2000 s160. The position of minor parties (i.e. those which do not seek to field candidates in parliamentary or local authority elections) remains under review
Schedule 1, Part 5, (75(1) amended rule 37 of the parliamentary rules set out in Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983)	Amendments (Signing in Polling stations)	Remains under consideration in particular in the context of wider reforms to electoral registration
Political Parties and Elections Act 2009
1(2),2,3(1),(3),(4),8, Schedules 1 and 2	Compliance with controls imposed by the 2000 Act etc; Investigatory powers of Commission; Civil Sanctions; Education about systems of government and EU institutions	The Electoral Commission's new powers will be commenced with effect from 1 July 2010. A statutory instrument supporting the civil sanctioning powers must be approved before section 3 and schedule 2 can be commenced
6	Number of Electoral Commissioners	The Speaker's Committee is considering proposed nominated Commissioners from party leaders. The provision will be commenced once the appointment process is complete
9-11 and Schedules 3 and 4	Declaration as to source of donation; Non-resident donors etc; Non-resident lenders etc.	As set out in the written ministerial statement of 24 November 2009, Official Report, columns 68-70'WS: "Officials have begun preliminary work on the prerequisites to implementation of these provisions. However, as stated during consideration of Lords Amendments to the Bill, we are practically unable to commence Sections 10 and 11 before the summer of 2010 due to their complex nature. Section 9, which requires donors to provide declarations as to the true origins of all donations of over £7,500, will be commenced alongside Sections 10 and 11 to ensure consistency in approach, which will be welcomed by those who make political donations, as well as parties and other recipients who will have to ensure that they comply with the additional declaration requirement."
25	Disposal of election documents in Scotland	Planned for commencement with effect from 1 July 2010
27	Returning officers for elections to the European Parliament	The intention is to commence this provision in due course in time for implementation ahead of the next scheduled European Parliamentary elections in 2014
28-29	CORE keeper	The CORE project has been paused to allow policy on individual electoral registration to develop first (individual registration may change the requirements for CORE and the context in which it is developed)
30,31,35,36	Electoral registration: Voluntary provision of identifying information; Regulations amending or supplementing section 30; Schemes for provision of data to registration officers; Schemes under section 35: proposals, consultation and evaluation	The timetable for the introduction of individual electoral registration remains as set out during the parliamentary passage of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009. During Commons Consideration of Lords Amendments on 13 July 2009, Official Report, column 99, Michael Wills said: "Our approach to individual registration is to move in two phases: a voluntary phase and a compulsory phase...The voluntary phase will not commence before July 2010...and will not finish before 2014. That period will enable us to be fully confident that the system is ready before we move to the compulsory phase...It will enable us to prepare the public for the change, and to take steps to bolster registration rates in the meantime. That will be fundamental to protecting the system against the risk of a drop in the numbers registered." A project has been established to design and implement processes for the collection and storage of personal identifiers in the voluntary phase of individual electoral registration.
32(1)-(5)-(11)	Report by Electoral Commission on provision of identifying information	This section can only be commenced once sections 30 and 31 have come into force
33 and 34	Obligatory provision of identifying information (and provision supplementing 33)	The commencement of this section is linked to the annual reports produced by the Electoral Commission under section 32. Upon a positive recommendation being made by the Electoral Commission in 2014 the commencement of sections 33 and 34 will need to be debated and approved by both Houses.
	Minor and consequential amendments	The commencement of relevant minor and consequential amendments is dependant on commencement of other sections of the Act and will be brought forward as appropriate
	Repeals

Prison Places: Expenditure

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost to the public purse was of a place in prison in each of the last three years. [319561]

Maria Eagle: The average direct prison cost per prison place in each of the last three financial years is as follows:

Financial year	£
2008-09	30,000
2007-08	31,000
2006-07	30,000

The direct prison cost is only the expenditure met locally by prisons. It does not include expenditure met at area, regional, or national level by Her Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) or the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). The figure for 2008-09 includes private prisons and is net of income from the Department of Health and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

For the last two years (2008-09 and 2007-08) an overall average cost per prison place including prison related costs met by NOMS, in addition to the direct prison cost, has been calculated as:

Financial year	£
2008-09	45,000
2007-08	43,000

The overall average cost for 2008-09 comprises the expenditure on public and private prisons (as recorded in the NOMS agency annual report and accounts), increased by an apportionment of relevant costs borne centrally and in the regions by NOMS. This involves some estimation. In addition, expenditure met centrally by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) is included. The figures do not include the cost of prisoners held in police or court cells under Operation Safeguard, nor expenditure met by other Government Departments (e.g. Health and Education). The prisoner escort service costs are included. Expenditure recharged to the YJB in respect of young people is included.

The overall cost for 2007-08 was calculated on a broadly similar basis. Cost per prison place is expressed in terms of the certified normal accommodation number of places; this gives a higher unit cost than the cost per prisoner. Figures to nearest £1,000.

Prison Places: Finance

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the cost of (a) prisoner health care, (b) prisoner education services, (c) drug addiction services and (d) dog handling are taken into account in his Department's estimates of the cost of a prison place in England and Wales. [319437]

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Maria Eagle: For 2008-09 the overall cost of a prison place was £45,000 (to nearest £1,000). This includes expenditure met by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the Youth Justice Board (YJB). It does not include expenditure met by other Government Departments (e.g. for health and education).

In general health care costs are not included. Where prisons have been contracted out to the private sector the cost to NOMS includes health care and this is included in the cost per place above. In general prisoner education services are not included. Where prisons have been contracted out to the private sector the cost to NOMS includes education and this is included in the cost per place above. In general clinical drug addiction services are not included. Services which are the responsibility of NOMS (e.g. drug testing, accredited drug treatment programmes and Counselling, Assessment, Referral advice and Throughcare services) are included. Dog handling costs are included.

Before 2008-09 Her Majesty's Prison Service Annual report and Accounts included the direct prison cost per place. This included only the expenditure met and managed locally at each prison and excluded expenditure met at area, region or national level. The reported figures included expenditure on health care and education which was recharged to the other Government Departments. It did not include that expenditure met directly by other Government Departments.

The overall average cost for 2008-09 comprises the expenditure on public and private prisons (as recorded in the NOMS Agency Annual Report and Accounts), increased by an apportionment of relevant costs borne centrally and in the regions by NOMS. This involves some estimation. In addition, expenditure met centrally by the YJB is included. The figures do not include the cost of prisoners held in police or court cells under Operation Safeguard, nor expenditure met by other Government Departments (e.g. Health and Education). The prisoner escort service costs are included. Expenditure recharged to the YJB in respect of young people is included.

Cost per prison place is expressed in terms of the Certified Normal Accommodation number of places; this gives a higher unit cost than the cost per prisoner.

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