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12 July 2010 : Column 588W—continued
Magistrates Courts
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were heard at (a) Retford and (b) Worksop magistrates court in each of the last 10 years. [6614]
Mr Djanogly: Information on completed cases is only available centrally at local justice area level for the last three years only. Information on completed cases in the Worksop and Retford local justice area over the last three years is provided in the following table.
| Period | Civil and family | Criminal | Means inquiries | Grand total |
| Note: The data exclude Right to Representation Orders. The data come from an internal management system, are subject to our minimal levels of quality assurance and are based on the data currently available. | ||||
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were adjourned on the day of the case being heard in (a) Retford and (b) Worksop magistrates court in 2009. [6613]
Mr Djanogly: It is not possible to provide information on the number of cases adjourned on the day of the case being heard. Information on the number of effective, ineffective and cracked trials at each of these courts in 2009-10 is shown in the following table.
| Location | Trials | Effective | Effective trial rate (percentage) | Cracked | Cracked trial rate (percentage) | Ineffective trials | Ineffective trial rate (percentage) |
| Notes: 1. A cracked trial is where on the trial date, the defendant offers acceptable pleas or the prosecution offers no evidence. An ineffective trial is where a trial cannot progress on the trial date due to an error or omission by one or more of the organisations or individuals involved. A further hearing or new trial date will be arranged. 2. These data come from an internal management system, are subject to our minimal levels of quality assurance and are based on the data currently available. | |||||||
Magistrates Courts: Closures
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect on the travelling time of (a) magistrates, (b) police and (c) lawyers attending courts of the closure of Retford and Worksop magistrates courts. [6610]
Mr Djanogly: An initial impact assessment has been produced for the consultation on proposals for the provision of court services in the east midlands. The consultation paper and the initial impact assessment can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
The initial impact assessment states there may be a travel cost impact on users of magistrates and county courts and that fewer courts could increase journey times and costs for court users such as victims, witnesses, general public, businesses, solicitors, barristers, police
and NOMS-both probation services and prisoner transfers. However, consolidation of the court estate both in terms of function as well as location could mean that some court users will make fewer trips to court, e.g. CPS officers and solicitors may have to travel to fewer courts, and so lessening the overall impact. Fewer courts may also reduce the need for duty solicitors, decreasing costs incurred by the Legal Services Commission.
The impacts, costs and benefits of court closures will be considered more fully during the consultation phase and a full impact assessment will be produced alongside the consultation responses.
Magistrates Courts: Nottinghamshire
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases he estimates will be heard in magistrates courts in Nottinghamshire in each of the next three years. [6609]
Mr Djanogly: Public consultations on the delivery of courts services in England and Wales were announced on 23 June. These proposals include the closure of a number of magistrates and county courts, five of which are in the Nottinghamshire area. Decisions on case transfer will not be made until after the Lord Chancellor makes decisions on which of these courts ought to be closed and when. Such decisions will need to take into account court workload across all of the east midlands area, No estimate has therefore been made of the number of cases likely to be heard in magistrates courts in Nottinghamshire over the next three years.
Should any court be closed, a full implementation plan will be produced to ensure the smooth transfer of work.
Offenders: Deportation
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. [6602]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: I have held general discussions about the deportation of foreign national prisoners with the Home Secretary and other ministerial colleagues. I am keen to continue to develop with ministerial colleagues plans to reduce the burden of foreign national offenders in the criminal justice system.
Offensive Weapons: Prosecutions
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been prosecuted for carrying an offensive weapon or bladed article in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years. [6845]
Mr Blunt: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts in the Kent police force area for possession of offensive weapons or having an article with a blade or point in a public place, 2004 to 2008 (latest available), is given in the following table.
Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level.
Data for 2009 are planned for publication on 21 October 2010.
| Persons proceeded against at magistrates courts in the Kent police force area for offences of possession of offensive weapons and having an article with a blade or point( 1) , 2004 - 08( 2,3) | |
| Number | |
| (1) Includes offences under the following statutes: Prevention of Crime Act 1953-section 1 Criminal Justice Act 1988-section 139(2) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996-section 4(1) Criminal Justice Act 1988-section 139 Criminal Justice Act 1988-section 139A(1) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996-section 4(1). (2) The figures given relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. | |
Prisoners
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons currently imprisoned gave addresses in Bassetlaw constituency in court at the time of the trial for the offence for which they were convicted. [6608]
Mr Blunt: Information held on prisoners does not record home addresses provided on arrival or discharge from courts but does include an address provided on first reception in to prison.
As of 14 May 2010, based on this information there were 87 prisoners serving a custodial sentence and three prisoners who were convicted awaiting sentence that have an address in the Bassetlaw constituency area. These figures include both male and female prisoners and young offenders and juveniles.
Prisons
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost to the public purse of a place in a prison at category (a) A, (b) B, (c) C and (d) D was in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [6390]
Mr Blunt: The four categories A to D are security categories related to individual prisoners and prison costs are not analysed by these categories. Prison costs are classified by the main function of the prison which does not entirely correspond with the four security categories. The following table provides the following average costs per place for 2008-09 (the last year for which figures are available).
| Total average cost per place | |
| Category | £ |
| Note: Figures to nearest £1,000 | |
The average costs given above include expenditure on public and private prisons (as recorded in the National Offender Management Service Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2008-09), increased by an apportionment of relevant costs borne centrally and in the regions by NOMS. This involves some estimation. 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.
Cost per place is based on the Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) at the prisons in these functions.
Prisons: Population
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people he expects will be in prison in each of the next three years. [6607]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice produces annual projections of the prison population in England and Wales, most recently in August 2009. These project the prison population under three different scenarios (high, medium and low), based on different assumptions about future sentencing trends. The projected populations in the next three years (at the end of June) are in the following table. Although the published prison population projections did not anticipate the change in March 2010, the figures provided here incorporate the impact of the ending of End of Custody Licence (ECL).
| Projected prison population (end of June figures) | |||
| High | Medium | Low | |
Sentencing: Knives
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on compulsory prison sentences for convictions relating to knife crime; and if he will make a statement. [6598]
Mr Blunt: No such representations have been received. But we will be looking at sentencing for knife crime as part of the comprehensive assessment of sentencing policy to ensure that it is effective in deterring crime, protecting the public, punishing offenders and cutting re-offending.
Shoplifting
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the future of penalty notices for offences related to shoplifting. [7012]
Mr Blunt: We will be considering our approach to all out of court disposals, including fixed penalty notices for shoplifting, as part of the sentencing assessment.
Under our programme for government for the next five years, we will conduct a full assessment of sentencing policy to ensure that it is effective in deterring crime, protecting the public, obtaining justice for victims and cutting reoffending.
Stop And Search: Ethnic Groups
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many stops and searches of individuals from each ethnic background, have been conducted in Walsall South constituency in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [7020]
Mr Blunt: Data are not available at constituency level. However, the accompanying tables show the number of Stop and Searches (section 1, 60 and 44) in 2008-09 for the West Midlands police force area. Statutory powers exist under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), for a police officer to search a person or vehicle without first making an arrest. Other police powers not under PACE include Stops and Searches in anticipation of violence (under section 60 of Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) and searches of pedestrians, vehicles and occupants (under sections 44(1) and 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000).
| Stop and Search of persons or vehicles under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, by self-defined ethnicity, 2008-09 | |||
| Ethnicity | West Midlands | England and Wales | |
Surcharges
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who the beneficiaries have been of the victim surcharge since it was introduced. [6654]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows how funding was committed from Victim Surcharge receipts each year from 2007-08 to 2009-10. Any shortfall has been met from savings in other areas of the Ministry of Justice.
| £ | ||||
| Recipient | Department | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
| (1) The Victims Fund provides funding for voluntary organisations supporting victims of sexual violence, murder/manslaughter and hate crime. For 2009-10 this was combined with £1 million funding from the Government Equalities Office. The fund is allocated annually via competitive tender. (2) £1.25 million Sexual violence, £250,000 Hate Crime and £250,000 Homicide. (3) £1.25 million Sexual violence, £250,000 Hate Crime and £250,000 Homicide. (4) £1.25 million Sexual violence, £250,000 Hate Crime and £270,474 Homicide. | ||||
Trespass
Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward plans to create a new criminal offence of intentional trespass to enable people occupying property without the landowner's permission to be removed without the need for a court order. [6862]
Mr Blunt: The Government are considering how the law might be strengthened, not least around intentional trespass but, as yet, no firm decisions have been made. Any change to the law in this area would need to be considered against other commitments in the coalition agreement, and we would need to investigate fully the public service resource implications of any change, taking account of the current financial situation.
Cabinet Office
Bowel Cancer
Gordon Banks: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged between 50 and 59 years were diagnosed with bowel cancer in each year since 2001. [7103]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people aged between 50 and 59 years were diagnosed with bowel cancer in each year since 2001. [7103]
The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of bowel cancer (incidence) are for the year 2007. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
Table 1 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of bowel cancer in England for persons aged between 50 and 59 years, in each year from 2001 to 2007.
Departmental Buildings
Graham Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much (a) his Department and (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on office refurbishment in each year since 1997. [7352]
Mr Maude: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Conferences
Robert Halfon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the expenditure of his Department on (a) organisation of and (b) attendance at conferences in each year since 1997. [6123]
Mr Maude: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Directors
Mr Carswell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the implications for departmental accountability to select committees of the House of the introduction of non-executive directors to the enhanced boards of Government departments. [6409]
Mr Maude: The appointment of non-executive directors does not affect the established lines of accountability to Parliament. Ministers remain accountable to Parliament for the decisions and actions of their Departments. Permanent secretaries continue to have a personal responsibility to the Public Accounts Committee for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which he or she is responsible.
Mr Carswell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what changes the Government's lead non-executive director plans to make to the enhanced role of non-executive directors on departmental boards; and on what statutory basis. [6412]
Mr Maude: The role of non-executive directors on departmental boards is set out in the enhanced departmental boards protocol, which has been published on the Cabinet Office website:
Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. There is no statutory basis for this role.
Departmental Equality
Philip Davies:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which
figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose. [5914]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office employs 3.4 FTE staff to ensure compliance with all relevant equality legislation, provide advice on employment policy and promote equality and diversity across the civil service and within the Department. Of this, a small central team of 2.6 FTE staff are responsible for working with other Government Departments to promote diversity and equality in employment in the civil service; 0.8 FTE staff are responsible for diversity and equality issues within the Cabinet Office.
Departmental ICT
Graham Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much (a) his Department and (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on information and communication technology in each year since 1997. [7333]
Mr Maude: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Internet
Graham Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much (a) his Department and (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on website design in each year since 1997. [7603]
Mr Maude: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Marketing
Graham Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his (a) Department and (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on logo design in each year since 1997. [7478]
Mr Maude: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Official Cars
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on the Government Car Service since the Government took office. [7994]
Mr Maude: Details of expenditure in 2010-11 will only be available when the Department's resource accounts are fully audited and laid before Parliament. This is expected to be before the 2011 summer recess.
Departmental Reorganisation
John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will take steps to relocate officials working in his Department from central London to Bassetlaw. [6568]
Mr Maude: There are no plans in place to relocate Cabinet Office staff to Bassetlaw.
Departmental Security
Graham Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much (a) his Department and (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on security in each year since 1997. [7370]
Mr Maude: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Utilities
Graham Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much (a) his Department and (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on (i) electricity, (ii) water, (iii) heating and (iv) telephone services in each year since 1997. [7584]
Mr Maude: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what factors determine the allocation of questions for written answer to each Minister in his Department. [6356]
Mr Maude: The List of Ministerial Responsibilities published on 1 July 2010, Official Report, column 47WS. sets out the responsibilities of Ministers within the Cabinet Office.
Electoral Register
Yvette Cooper: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to encourage (a) young people and (b) people from black and minority ethnic groups to enrol on the electoral register. [7099]
Mr Harper: Under Section 9 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, Electoral Registration Officers have a duty to maintain a register of parliamentary electors and a register of local government electors. They also have a duty to encourage participation by electors in the democratic process and to target under-registered groups in their local authority area.
The Electoral Commission promotes public awareness of registration and produces research and reports on electoral registration issues. The commission ran a campaign before the general election which was targeted at under-registered groups including:
Young people aged 16-24
Recent home movers
People living in privately rented accommodation
Certain black and minority ethnic groups
Students.
The Government are considering what further steps could be taken to boost registration rates in the context of the implementation of Individual Electoral Registration in Great Britain.
Intestacy
Mr Knight: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office in what percentage of deaths the deceased died intestate in each of the last three years. [6535]
Mr Djanogly: I have been asked to reply.
Figures are not kept on the number of people who die with or without leaving a will in England and Wales. However, figures are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the number of deaths registered each year in England and Wales and by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on the number of grants of representation issued each year in the estates of deceased persons where there is no will. A grant is the court's authority issued to the deceased's personal representatives to administer the estate. All those covered by the MoJ figures have died intestate, but there may be more people who have died intestate but no grant of representation is issued. The figures are set out in the following table.
| Death registered in England and Wales (Mortality statistics: Deaths registered for 2007 and 2008. Figures for 2009 provided by ONS) | Grants issued where there is no will (Judicial and Courts Statistics for 2007 and 2008. Figures for 2009 as before) | Intestate estates (minimum) (percentage) | |
OGC Buying Solutions: Official Hospitality
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what costs OGC Buying Solutions incurred in (a) sponsoring the procurement covered at the Local Government Chronicle Awards 2010, (b) providing publicity for such sponsorship and (c) providing travel, accommodation or subsistence payments to persons attending the awards ceremony. [5958]
Mr Maude: This event was held under the last government. The costs incurred by Buying Solutions for sponsorship of the Local Government Chronicle Awards were £21,000; publicity was included in this overall cost.
Travel, accommodation and subsistence payments to persons attending the awards ceremony amounted to £722.69.
Buying Solutions is now subject to the same marketing and advertising freeze as the rest of Whitehall and no new sponsorship contracts will be signed this year.
Payment-by-Results
Mr Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he plans to publish the terms of the Central Office of Information's consultation on payment-by-results; and if he will make a statement. [6337]
Mr Hurd: I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mark Lund, dated 12 July 2010:
As Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question 6337 regarding the terms of the Central Office of Information's consultation on payment-by-results.
A copy of the terms of the consultation on payment-by-results will be published when it has been completed.
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