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21 Jun 2010 : Column 52W—continued
| Custodial episodes by age , 2001-09 | |||||||
| Total custodial e pisodes | |||||||
| Age | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Total |
Departmental Manpower
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) women and (b) men were employed by his Department on the latest date for which figures are available. [2743]
Mr Djanogly: The Office for National Statistics' Statistical Bulletin on public sector employment, published on 16 June 2010, sets out the number of staff employed by central Government Departments.
The headcount figures for the Ministry of Justice show that there were 41,060 women employed and 44,320 men employed as at 31 March 2010.
The staff numbers provided add together civil servants from the following:
Ministry of Justice HQ, NOMS Agency, HMCS, Tribunals, Office of the Public Guardian, Wales Office, Scotland Office, UK Supreme Court, Land Registry and The National Archives.
Note:
The Office for National Statistics round to the nearest 10.
Judges: Northumberland
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of court starts in Northumberland of sharing a deputy justices clerk with North Tyneside. [3137]
Mr Djanogly: The number of court starts will not be affected by an as yet unevaluated proposal to have one deputy justices clerk managing the legal advisers in both Northumberland and North Tyneside. As ever, the number of court sittings will be driven by factors such as work loads, fluctuations in the business and waiting times.
The proposal regarding the deputy justices clerks is actually about management structures and the need to standardise the ratio of legal managers to legal advisers across the country generally. The proposal from the justices clerk is merely an initial response to the publication of a service-wide activity based cost model and has not formally been considered, or approved, at any level. I should clarify that it is unlikely to take effect for some time yet. However, when it does, it will not dictate how many sittings are listed in those courts.
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reason it is proposed to appoint two additional district judges in the Northumbria area; and what estimate he has made of the likely total annual cost of the additional appointments. [3138]
Mr Djanogly: Up until recently, the Area Director for Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria was working on a business case to support the introduction of two additional magistrates' district judges to the Northumbria Area. However, given the need for all government bodies to review how they conduct their operations in the light of the current economic climate, that business case has been put on hold.
By way of background, although Northumbria already has two magistrates' district judges, that number is fewer than areas elsewhere in the country with similar workloads. The Area Director believes that additional district judges will help improve case management and increase throughput. Consequently she was considering putting forward a case to make Northumbria's numbers commensurate with those found nationally. Before any such request is submitted, formal consultation will be undertaken with the Northumbria Benches and other stakeholders, where the reasons for the business case will be set out. I can confirm that Bench Chairmen have been informed of the decision not to progress the case at this stage.
As the matter is not being advanced at present, there will be no change to the overall cost of magistrates' business in Northumbria.
Legal Aid Scheme
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to reduce delays in payments to solicitors' firms by the Legal Services Commission for legal services provided through (a) the community legal service and (b) the criminal defence service. [2973]
Mr Djanogly: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is still processing the majority of payments within its published target times.
Both civil and criminal legal aid providers receive Standard Monthly Payments for Legal Help (civil) and for criminal work in the police station and the magistrates court. Standard Monthly Payments guarantee cash flow, enabling providers to manage their finances. These monthly payments continue to be made on time. The LSC also has a target to pay all bills within six weeks (with the exception of crime litigator fees for which an eight-week target applies) and will review any claim where a bill is not paid within this timescale.
For Civil Licensed Work, the LSC acknowledges that payments are currently taking longer than in the equivalent period last year. This is due to a significant increase in numbers of claims in addition to tighter checks and controls that the LSC has put in place for the scrutiny of claims following the National Audit Office's qualification of the LSC's 2008-09 accounts. The LSC has made additional staff available to process payments with the aim of addressing the increase in volume.
The LSC has also recently reminded providers about the supporting information that they need to submit to help it to process claims as quickly as possible and ensure that public money is being spent only on those who qualify for help.
Prison Sentences
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many men had been released after serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection on the latest date for which figures are available; [2500]
(2) how many (a) women and (b) men who served an indeterminate sentence for public protection remain under supervision. [2501]
Mr Blunt: Up to 4 June 2010, 133 prisoners serving an Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP) or Detention for Public Protection (DPP) had been released, of which 124 prisoners were male and nine female. Of the total prisoners released, two male prisoners were released early for compassionate reasons. The remainder were released by the Parole Board once the offender had served the minimum custodial term (tariff).
Of the total number of prisoners (male and female) released, 34 have been subsequently recalled to custody and six have been deported. This leaves 93 offenders who remain subject to supervision in the community as of 4 June, of which 88 are men and five are women.
These figures do not include releases relating to those sentenced to an IPP that was later quashed or those prisoners who had died following release but prior to 4 June 2010.
The figures were taken from the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) in the National Offender Management Service, and, as with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing. The PPUD is a live database, updated on a regular basis.
As a result, snapshots taken in consecutive days will contain differences reflecting updates.
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people are serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection; and how many of these are former servicemen. [3239]
Mr Blunt: The number of people serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) or detention for public protection (DPP) on the 4 June 2010 was 6189. Of these, 93 are currently serving their sentence in the community under licence following their release from custody.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not hold centrally information on how many offenders serving IPPs are former servicemen.
These figures do not include releases relating to those sentenced to an IPP/DPP which was later quashed or those prisoners who had died following release but prior to 4 June 2010. The figures were taken from the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) in the National Offender Management Service, and, as with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing. The PPUD is a live database, updated on a regular basis. As a result, snapshots taken in consecutive days will contain differences reflecting updates.
Prisoners' Release: Disclosure of Information
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what his policy is on using the provisions of the Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2009 to provide information to hon. Members in respect of (a) the release from prison of certain high risk offenders and (b) the presence of such offenders in the constituencies of hon. Members; [3532]
(2) what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2009. [2958]
Mr Blunt: The Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2009, underpins the Critical Public Protection Case Notification Scheme, which allows Members who wish to be informed of the release of a dangerous offender into their constituency to sign a confidentiality agreement and receive notification of such releases. The scheme allows for Members to be reassured of the robust arrangements in place to manage those offenders on their release from custody and to make further inquiries.
As I made clear in my answer of 17 June, Official Report, column 567W, and in my letter to all MPs on 11 June 2010, I am continuing the scheme. The risk management plans for relevant offenders involve the close collaboration between the Police and Probation Trusts through the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). Offender managers will supervise
offenders to ensure that they comply with their licence conditions and, where they do not, they are liable to recall to custody.
Since the Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2009 was approved by Parliament, 16 notification letters have been sent out to 13 Members. As the vast majority of relevant offenders are released initially into Approved Premises, formerly known as probation and bail hostels, notifications will mostly be sent to Members with an Approved Premises in their constituencies.
Rape
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what recent research his Department has evaluated on the level of stigma associated with an accusation of (a) rape, (b) domestic violence, (c) murder, (d) child abuse and (e) other sexual offences; [2744]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the number of false allegations of (a) rape, (b) other violent crimes and (c) all other offences made in the last three years; [2745]
Mr Blunt: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones) on 17 June 2010, Official Report, column 569W.
The Director of Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice has been asked to compile all the available research and statistics relating to this issue into an independent report and publish this before summer recess.
Rape: Rights of Accused
Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions his Department has had with Rape Crisis on the proposals to grant anonymity to defendants in rape cases. [3069]
Mr Blunt: Ministers and officials in my Department and in the Home Office have not as yet held any discussions with Rape Crisis about the proposals.
Reparation by Offenders
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent assessment is of the cost effectiveness of restorative justice programmes and their effect on the recidivism rate. [3111]
Mr Blunt: The term 'restorative justice' is widely used to describe a range of interventions, both formal and informal. It can refer to interventions where an offender takes steps to make good their offence in some way and/or to interventions that give victims the chance to explain the impact that their experience of being a victim has had on them, or to seek an apology, or answers to any questions they may have, from an offender. A range of restorative justice approaches are in use within the criminal justice system.
The evidence base for restorative justice approaches is complex and to date, there has been no comprehensive cost benefit analysis of restorative justice approaches. I have asked officials to undertake this work.
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