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30 Mar 2010 : Column 1080W—continued
Funerals: Local Authorities
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate has been made of the number of funerals which were carried out by local authorities in the last 12 months. [324482]
Bridget Prentice: We have not made any such estimate, the information is not held centrally.
General Election 2010: Isle of Wight
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of transporting election literature for Freepost delivery from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth; and what requirements there are on candidates to declare the cost of delivering election literature. [325051]
Mr. Wills: Under section 91 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 ("the 1983 Act"), candidates at parliamentary elections are entitled to send free of charge for postage either one election communication to each elector, or one to each household, in the constituency in which they are standing, subject to any reasonable terms and conditions specified by the universal service provider (the Royal Mail). The cost of the delivery of candidates' election communications to UK addresses by the universal service provider is met by the Consolidated Fund. The Government have made no estimate of the cost of transporting election literature from one location to another for onward delivery by the universal service provider under the provisions of the 1983 Act, since these costs are not met from the Consolidated Fund.
Under the provisions of the 1983 Act, within 35 days after the day on which the result of the election is declared, the election agent of every candidate is required to deliver to the appropriate officer a statement of election expenses incurred by or on behalf of the candidate. Election expenses are those which are used for the purposes of the candidate's election and are incurred in respect of matters listed in Part 1 of schedule 4A of the 1983 Act. Under that schedule, expenses in respect of unsolicited material addressed to electors include design costs and other costs in connection with preparing, producing or distributing such material.
HM Courts Service: Debt Collection
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court enforcement officers HM Courts Service have employed in each financial year since April 2005. [323981]
Bridget Prentice: The number of court enforcement officers employed by HM Courts Service in each financial year is shown in the following table.
| Total | |
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court enforcement officers HM Courts Service employed in each HM Court Service region in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007, (d) 2008 and (e) 2009. [323982]
Bridget Prentice: The number of court enforcement officers employed by HM Courts Service by regions between 2005-09 is shown in the following table.
| Region | (a) 2005 | (b) 2006 | (c) 2007 | (d) 2008 | (e) 2009 |
House of Lords: Reform
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the annual running cost of an elected second chamber of (a) 435 and (b) 300 members; and what the estimated cost of transitional arrangements would be in each case. [324495]
Mr. Wills: The overall cost of a reformed second chamber is subject to a number of variables. As set out in the 2008 White Paper, the Government's intention is to ensure that the cost of a reformed second chamber is maintained at the current or at a lower level.
The extra support costs which full-time elected members might require will be offset by the fact that with fewer members, the reformed second chamber will be smaller than the current House of Lords. The exact cost of the reformed second chamber will depend on the pay and allowances of Members.
Housing: Sales
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many residential property transactions there were in each local authority area in England in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [324693]
Mr. Wills: Land Registry is able to provide information based on the total number of residential properties sold at full value(1) for 2009. The figures cover each local authority in England and Wales. The information has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
(1) Full value = residential property transactions where the full price has been paid. The figures exclude a number of transactions including Right to Buy sales at a discount, properties sold by way of a gift and properties sold under a compulsory purchase or court order.
Human Trafficking: Convictions
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) British and (b) non-British citizens have been (i) convicted and (ii) imprisoned in relation to human trafficking offences in each year since 1998. [314749]
Alan Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
The offences of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour were introduced under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004.
From the commencement of these Acts until the end of 2008 there were a total of 113 convictions resulting in 110 terms of imprisonment. Of those convicted and imprisoned up to the end of 2008, six were British citizens and 107 non-British citizens.
The statistics broken down by year of sentence are as follows:
| Total | British National | Foreign National | |
Figures for the full year of 2009 are not yet available.
Legal Aid: Gurkhas
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much the Legal Services Commission has paid to (a) Howe and Company and (b) each other company in respect of legal aid for ex-Gurkhas wishing to settle in the UK; [R] [321264]
(2) how many ex-Gurkhas had been granted legal aid in respect of their application to settle in the UK on the latest date for which figures are available. [R] [321265]
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much legal aid has been paid to Howe and Co. for the provision of immigration advice to former Gurkha soldiers; [322321]
(2) how much on average has been paid in legal aid for each case in which Howe and Co. has represented former Gurkha soldiers. [322322]
Bridget Prentice: The Legal Services Commission records the number of claims from providers for immigration cases but not in greater detail. There is therefore no record of the number of ex-Gurkhas granted legal aid in respect of their application to settle in the UK or the legal aid costs involved in their application.
However immigration entry clearance applications funded through legal aid are paid at a fixed fee of £260 plus any disbursements, unless they are exceptional. In the last two years Howe and Co. have made claims for 52 cases that include applications for entry clearance. As stated above it is not possible to confirm how many of these relate to ex-Gurkhas.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to monitor the standard of legal advice provided to ex-Gurkhas by (a) the Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen's Organisation and (b) Howe and Company. [R] [321266]
Bridget Prentice: The Legal Services Commission is responsible for monitoring the standard of publicly funded legal advice provided under the legal aid scheme by contracted suppliers. This includes strict contract quality standards, audit and peer review. The firm Howe and Co. holds a contract with the Legal Services Commission and would be expected to comply with requirements administered by the Law Society to ensure all advisers doing publicly funded work are properly accredited. The Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen's Organisation based in Nepal does not provide publicly funded legal advice.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the Legal Services Commission on the provision of legal aid to firms representing former Gurkha soldiers. [322320]
Bridget Prentice: Lord Bach the Minister responsible for Legal Aid in England and Wales met Legal Services Commission (LSC) officials on this subject on 10 and 25 March 2010. LSC officials interviewed staff from Howe and Co. to ensure that the firm has acted in accordance with the terms of its contract and the provisions of the Funding Code.
Local Inmate Data System IT system
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the Local Inmate Data System IT system was introduced for prisons in England and Wales; and whether his Department plans to upgrade or replace the system. [324865]
Maria Eagle: The Prison Service Local Inmate Database System (LIDS) was introduced in 1989. It is being replaced by a new case management system, called Prison-NOMIS (Prison-National Offender Management Information System). Prison-NOMIS is a national system with a centralised database. It is on schedule to be deployed to public prisons by summer 2010.
National Offender Management Service: Manpower
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people were employed by each director of offender management within the National Offender Management Service on the latest date for which figures are available; [324859]
(2) how many staff were employed in (a) Prison Service area offices and (b) Regional Offender Management offices on 1 January 2008; [324860]
(3) how many people were employed in the National Offender Management Service head office and regional offices at 31 December in each year from 2004 to 2009. [324869]
Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to answer I gave the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard) on 9 March 2010, Official Report, column 246-48W. Information on the number of staff employed in Regional Offender Management Offices in January 2008 is not available. At that time the staff reported to the Home Office but the records are no longer available and would require a substantial reactivation exercise that would entail disproportionate cost, to obtain.
The closest available data relates to October 2008, when there were 451 staff in Prison Service area offices and 119 staff in Regional Offender Management offices.
The number of staff employed within each office is provided in the following table:
| Staff employed within Director of Offender Management Offices, 31 December 2009 | |||
| Region | Staff-employed | Staff declared surplus( 1) | Vacancies |
| (1) Staff declared surplus are also included in the 'Staff employed' column. | |||
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