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9 Jun 2010 : Column 150W—continued
Justice
Defamation
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will (a) review the law on libel and (b) lay formal proposals for reform to provide that it shall not prevent media in the UK from reporting court proceedings elsewhere in the EU, in particular where this concerns UK (a) firms and (b) nationals. [883]
Mr Djanogly: We are committed to reviewing the law on defamation with a view to ensuring that freedom of speech and academic debate are protected and that a fair balance is struck between freedom of expression and the protection of reputation.
Departmental Billing
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of invoices from suppliers to his Department were paid within 10 days of receipt in (a) March and (b) April 2010. [1257]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice paid 94% of valid supplier invoices within 10 days of receipt in March 2010, and 95% of valid supplier invoices within 10 days of receipt in April 2010.
The MoJ has been collecting performance data for the MoJ and its agencies since November 2008. The data have been reported to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and are reproduced in the following table:
| Month | Percentage of invoices in 10 days |
Electoral Register
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what financial recompense chief executives of local authorities receive for assuming responsibility for electoral matters in respect of (a) local and (b) general elections. [726]
Mr Harper: I have been asked to reply.
In England and Wales, under section 8 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, each local authority must appoint an to be electoral registration officer, responsible for maintaining the electoral register in the local authority area. Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, each local authority in the UK must also appoint a returning officer for local elections in that area. Local authority chief executives are often appointed as electoral registration officer and returning officer for their local authority.
Under section 36 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, all expenditure properly incurred by a returning officer in administering local authority elections must be paid by the local authority (in so far as it does not exceed any scale fixed by the local authority).
In England and Wales, the Representation of the People Act 1983 provides for the duties of a returning officer in respect of the conduct of a UK parliamentary election to be discharged by the electoral registration officer for the constituency as "acting returning officer".
The amounts which returning officers receive for the services rendered and expenses incurred in administering UK parliamentary elections are paid from the Consolidated Fund under section 29 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. The overall maximum amount which a returning officer is entitled to recover is set out in the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officer's Charges) Order 2010. This order also sets out the maximum amount a returning officer may recover in respect of specified services and expenses.
The order provides different amounts for when a parliamentary election is conducted on its own, or when a parliamentary general election is taken together with the ordinary day of election of councillors in some constituencies in 2010. The fee which each acting returning officer may receive for his services is set out under column 2 of the table contained in schedule 1 (in the
case of a parliamentary election conducted on its own) and schedule 2 (in the case when a parliamentary general election is taken together with the ordinary day of election of councillors in some constituencies in 2010) to the order.
Prison Service: Manpower
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to reduce staffing levels in prisons in financial year 2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [1225]
Mr Blunt: Staffing levels in prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales are set on the basis of the delivery plan and budget that is agreed between the governor and the regional manager with responsibility for custodial services; it is subject to ongoing review. There are no plans to reduce staffing levels outside of this arrangement.
In line with the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 24 May 2010, a recruitment freeze has been imposed on all external recruitment to posts within the civil service. Steps have been taken not to undermine the delivery of prison services and the recruitment of key staff, such as prison officers, will continue as necessary.
Rape: Disclosure of Information
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans the Government has to grant anonymity to defendants in rape cases. [753]
Mr Blunt: The Government will come forward with proposals on defendant anonymity in rape cases once all the options have been carefully considered.
Rape: Lancashire
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of contested prosecutions for rape in Lancashire police force area have resulted in a conviction in each of the last five years. [1121]
Mr Blunt: The proportion of defendants tried at the Crown court in the Lancashire police force area for rape, who pleaded not guilty and who were found guilty, from 2004 to 2008 (latest available) is given in the following table.
Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in October 2010.
Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to make a commencement order to bring into force the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010. [987]
Mr Djanogly: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable) announced on 2 June that all regulation inherited from the last Government, including this Act, will be reviewed. No commencement date will be set until the review has been completed.
Youth Justice: Per Capita Costs
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost to the public purse of processing a case of a child through the criminal justice system from arrest to sentence was in (a) the youth court and (b) the Crown Court in the latest period for which figures are available. [415]
Mr Djanogly: The work of the Ministry of Justice spans criminal, civil and family justice, as well as democracy and rights. HM Courts Service forms only a part of the wider criminal justice system, which includes the Crown Prosecution Service, the Metropolitan Police and HM Prison Service. This answer is provided from a Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) point of view only.
It is not currently possible to identify separately and disaggregate youth court related costs. The costs to HMCS for processing children's cases in (a) the youth courts and (b) the crown court cannot currently be separately identified as the time taken to conclude cases involving children is not available.
Home Department
Borders: Personal Records
Mr Blunkett:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of adapting the e-Borders
system to take account of the use of non-biometric passports. [748]
Damian Green: There are not expected to be any cost impacts to the public purse.
There will be no need to adapt the e-Borders system which is designed to work with all types of travel documents.
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the likely effects on the operation of e-border and wider border control checks of the ending of the biometric passport scheme. [749]
Damian Green: The assessment of the UK Border Agency is that halting work on the next generation of biometric passports will have no impact on the operation of e-borders or the wider checks at ports and airports.
Departmental Billing
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of invoices from suppliers to her Department were paid within 10 days of receipt in (a) March and (b) April 2010. [1259]
Nick Herbert: The Home Department has invested in process improvement through the creation of a professional Shared Service Centre and Procurement Centre of Excellence and upgraded Procure to Pay systems. The Department has put firm focus on paying its suppliers on time on receipt of a compliant invoice. It has worked closely with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills reporting on both its legislative obligations of 30 days as well as the 10 day commitment for all suppliers.
The Home Department's and UKBA's performance information for paying suppliers within 10 days of receipt of a compliant invoice in March and April 2010 is:
| Percentage w/terms-compliant invoices | Total invoices paid | Total compliant invoices paid | Compliant invoices paid within terms | |
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