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22 Nov 2010 : Column 114W—continued
Legal Aid
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish immediately the equality impact assessment made in respect of the changes to the legal aid system announced on 15 November. [25503]
Mr Djanogly: On 15 November the Justice Secretary announced the publication of a consultation on a package of proposals for the reform of legal aid. Equality impact assessments are published alongside the consultation document on the Ministry of Justice website at:
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people received (a) criminal and (b) civil legal aid in England and Wales in 2009-10. [25740]
Mr Djanogly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 18 October 2010, Official Report, column 538W.
Legal Aid: Finance
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total cost was of (a) criminal and (b) civil legal aid in England and Wales in 2009-10. [25741]
Mr Djanogly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 18 October 2010, Official Report, columns 534-535W.
Legal Aid: Low Incomes
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to ensure that those with a low income have access to the legal system; and if he will make a statement. [25749]
Mr Djanogly: On 15 November the Justice Secretary announced the start of a consultation on a package of proposals for the reform of legal aid. The proposals set out clear choices to ensure access to public funding in those cases that really require it, the protection of the most vulnerable in society and the efficient performance of the justice system.
Proposals relating to changes to the types of civil and family proceedings for which legal aid should be available reflect the Government's commitment to ensuring that legal aid is available to those who need it most and for the most serious cases. In developing these proposals, we have taken into account the availability of alternative sources of funding and the availability of alternative routes to resolving the issue, as well as the importance of the issue in question, the individual's ability to present their own case, and our domestic and international legal obligations.
In relation to proposals for changes to the financial eligibility rules for civil and family legal aid, we want to ensure that those who can either pay for or contribute towards their legal costs, should do so, so that we ensure continued access to public funding in those cases that really require it for those who have little or no funds of their own.
We do not propose to make changes to the scope of, or financial eligibility for, criminal legal aid.
Legal Aid: Social Security Benefits
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to provide support for those involved in welfare benefit disputes after the removal of legal aid; and if he will make a statement. [25813]
Mr Djanogly: At present in welfare benefit cases legal aid is only available for advice and assistance, not for legal representation. In most cases individuals will be able to prepare their appeal to the First-tier (Social Security and Child Support) Tribunal without formal legal assistance. The appellant is required only to provide reasons for disagreeing with the decision in plain language. For those who need assistance on a welfare benefits matter, there is advice and assistance available from the voluntary sector as well as, for example, the Benefits Enquiry Line.
Ministerial Correspondence Unit: Personnel
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff are employed in the Ministerial Correspondence Unit of his Department. [25612]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministerial Correspondence Unit comprises of 11 members of staff. It has responsibility for managing correspondence received by Ministers or the Department from Members, Peers, prominent individuals and organisations and the public.
Offenders: West Midlands
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders recalled to prison in the West Midlands area have returned to prison in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [25812]
Mr Blunt: During the latest period 1 April to 30 June 2010, 244 offenders were recalled by the West Midlands area and returned to custody by 30 September 2010.
Office of the Public Guardian
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the address is of each property (a) leased and (b) owned by his Department or its agents for use by the Office of the Public Guardian; and what the annual rental costs associated with each such property were in each of the last three years. [24851]
Mr Djanogly: The Office of the Public Guardian currently operates from three leasehold buildings, the addresses of which and associated rental costs over the last three years are as follows:
Office of the Public Guardian
Archway Tower
2 Junction Road
London
N19 5SZ
| Rental costs (£) | |
| (1 )Figures represent total rental cost of the building paid by OPG. (2 )Figures represent proportion of OPG annual rental contribution after charge back to other Government tenants. | |
Office of the Public Guardian
54 Hagley Road
Birmingham
B16 8PE
| Rental costs (£) | |
Office of the Public Guardian
3 rd Floor, the Pearson Building
57 Upper Parliament Street
Nottingham
NG1 6AZ
| Rental costs (£) | |
| (1 )Rent charged from 1 April 2010 at £510,000 per annum. | |
Prison Accommodation
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he intends to announce his plans to announce the future of each prison establishment; and if he will make a statement. [24990]
Mr Blunt: The Government are developing proposals to improve the rehabilitation of offenders which will be published in a Green Paper. By the end of the spending review period these proposals are projected to reduce the prison population by 3,000. We will always ensure there are sufficient prison places for offenders sentenced to custody by courts. However, we are reviewing prison capacity to ensure that it is provided in the most economic way.
No decisions have been made about the future of individual prisons. If proposals are developed to significantly change the role, function or capacity of a prison I will write to the relevant Member of Parliament.
Prison Service: Dorset
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding was allocated to the Prison Service in Dorset in 2009-10; and how much funding will be allocated in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12. [25649]
Mr Blunt: The four Dorset prisons were allocated £46,931,000 in funding in 2009-10 and £43,692,000 in funding in 2010-11 from the Ministry of Justice. The budget for 2011-12 has not yet been set.
Prisoners on Remand
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many remand prisoners there were in prisons in England and Wales on (a) 30 April and (b) 7 May 2010; and how many of those had applied for a postal or proxy vote. [25559]
Mr Blunt: On 30 April and 7 May 2010 respectively, there were 12,814 and 12,823 remand prisoners in prisons in England and Wales.
Prisoners' applications for postal or proxy votes are a private matter between them and the Electoral Registration Officer. The National Offender Management Service does not have any record of how many prisoners applied for postal or proxy votes.
Prisoners' Release
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice at what point in a sentence a prisoner's case for day release is considered; and on what criteria such cases are determined. [24992]
Mr Blunt: Prisoners must be assessed as both eligible and suitable before release on temporary licence (ROTL) is permitted. The criteria for each test are detailed in Prison Service Order 6300, which may be accessed via:
Briefly, certain prisoners are ineligible for any form of ROTL; for example, those given the highest security
categorisation (category A). Those afforded the next highest category (B) are eligible for ROTL for a special purpose, such as a funeral, but not for resettlement day release (RDR). Eligible prisoners may be considered for RDR either two years before their conditional release or parole eligibility date, or once they have served half the custodial period less half the relevant remand time, whichever gives the later date.
ROTL will not be granted unless the purpose of the leave is one that contributes directly to the prisoner's resettlement into the community or, exceptionally, it is required to enable them to deal responsibly with unexpected family and personal events. The prisoner must additionally pass a rigorous risk assessment taking into account the risks of harm, re-offending and absconding, and the impact of the particular release upon both the victim and public confidence in the administration of justice.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many crimes were committed by prisoners on day release in each of the last three years. [25079]
Mr Blunt: Time spent on release on temporary licence affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For long-term prisoners these are essential components for successful resettlement. The most recent published statistics(1 )show that in the three year period between 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2009 there were 1,300,161 temporary release licences issued to prisoners. In this same period there were 785 failures of licence (a less than one tenth of 1 per cent failure rate).
(1) The attention of the House is drawn to the bulletin, Offender Management Caseload Statistics, 2009, which was published on 22 July 2010. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of this House and other places. I hope that this will provide additional context to the statistics supplied in the answer. Offender Management Caseload Statistics, tables 9.7 and 9.12, are available at:
To provide the information requested on crimes committed while on temporary release would involve the manual examination of all 785 individual records which could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Prisoners: Foreign Nationals
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of his Department's average annual expenditure on rehabilitation in respect of foreign national prisoners. [24991]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service delivers a broad range of activities to address the risks and needs of all offenders. An estimate of expenditure in respect of an individual offender or a particular group of offenders could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by analysing information held on local financial or data systems and offender files, validating the information, and then collating it in a common format.
Prisoners: Offences
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether sentencing guidelines include provision for an offence committed by a person on day release from prison to be considered an aggravating factor during sentencing. [25373]
Mr Blunt: The Sentencing Guidelines Council issued a Guideline on Overarching Principles of Sentencing: Seriousness in 2004. This includes advice to judges and magistrates that it should be an aggravating factor that an offence was committed whilst the offender was on licence, or while on bail. The Guideline does not distinguish between the types of licence to which offenders may be subject.
Prisons: Personnel
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prison officer 2 staff have been employed by the Prison Service in each month since September 2009; and if he will make a statement; [25341]
(2) how many prison officer 2 staff are employed by the Prison Service; and if he will make a statement; [25342]
(3) how many prison officer 2 staff have been appointed at each prison since the introduction of the grade by the Prison Service; how many such staff were employed at each prison in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [25343]
(4) what the turnover rate for prison officer 2 staff of the Prison Service was in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [25344]
Mr Blunt: Information on the number of prison officer 2s in post at the end of each month from September 2009 to 30 June 2010 (the date of the latest published staffing information) is contained in the following table. On 30 June 2010 there were 413 prison officer 2s in post.
| Prison officer 2s in post, 30 September 2009 to 30 June 2010 | |
| Date | Prison officer 2s |
Information on the number of prison officer 2s appointed to each Prison Service establishment and the number in post on 30 June 2010 is contained in the following table. The officers appointed include directly recruited staff and staff who converted from other Prison Service grades.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many staff of each grade were employed at (a) HM Prison Service Headquarters, (b) each area office and (c) each non-prison establishment operated by the Prison Service on 31 March in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [25500]
(2) which grades of staff are classified by HM Prison Service as front-line staff; and if he will make a statement; [25501]
(3) how many staff of each grade are employed by HM Prison Service in (a) prison establishments, (b) Prison Service headquarters and (c) each other Prison Service-operated (i) service and (ii) areas on the latest date for which figures are available. [25502]
Mr Blunt: Information on the number of staff employed at Prison Service or National Offender Management Service headquarters, area offices or Director of Offender Management offices and other non-prison establishments on 31 March in each year since 2006 is contained in tables placed in the Libraries of the House. A table is also included that provides staff numbers for 30 June 2010 (the date of the most recent published staffing data) which also includes figures for the number of staff in Prison Service establishments. Each of these tables breaks down the staff numbers by grade. Non-prison establishments are taken to be units where no prisoners are held and include regional based support teams and central services associated with prison clusters. Over the period being asked about certain staff who previously worked in establishments have been redesignated as headquarters staff. Direct comparisons over the period are therefore not straightforward.
The Prison Service does not define front-line posts in terms of particular grades. All staff working within Prison Service establishments deliver front-line services and these could occupy the range of grades specified in the tables.
Prisons: Recruitment
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people have passed the Prison Service recruitment assessment day to become a prison officer 2 since January 2010; and if he will make a statement; [25275]
(2) how many of those who have passed the Prison Service recruitment assessment day to become a prison officer 2 since January 2010 subsequently failed the Service's pre-employment checks; and if he will make a statement; [25276]
(3) how many prison officer 2 staff have been employed by the Prison Service since September 2009; how many such staff remain in employment with the service as a prison officer 2; and if he will make a statement. [25277]
Mr Blunt: The number of people who have passed the Prison Service recruitment assessment day to become a prison officer 2 between 1 January 2010 and 30 June 2010 (the date of the latest published staffing information) is 522. Of these, 32 failed pre-employment checks.
Between 1 September 2009 and 30 June 2010, a total of 430 staff took up post as prison officer 2s. Of these, 413 remained in that grade on 30 June 2010.
Prisons: Visits
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are made for prisoners at HM Prison Chelmsford to be advised of (a) visits by prison visitors and (b) procedures for requesting a meeting with a prison visitor. [25173]
Mr Blunt: It is assumed the hon. Member is referring to visits to prisoners by official prison visitors (OPVs). Prisoners who require such a visit make an application to the Chaplaincy who will facilitate any request. The scheme is advertised around the establishment on posters and is also advertised locally by the Chaplaincy department.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what dates prison visitors visited HMP Chelmsford in (a) August, (b) September and (c) October 2010; how many prison visitors participated in each visit; and how many prisoners were spoken to on each visit. [25174]
Mr Blunt: It is assumed the hon. Member is referring to visits to prisoners by official prison visitors (OPVs).
There have been no such visits in the period 1 August to 31 October 2010.
Probation Service: Dorset
Annette Brooke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding was allocated to the
probation service in Dorset in 2009-10; and how much funding will be allocated in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12. [25648]
Mr Blunt: The probation service in Dorset was allocated £9,200,000 funding in 2009-10 and £8,871,876 funding in 2010-11 from the Ministry of Justice. The budget for 2011-12 has not yet been set.
Probation Service: Employment
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people were employed by (a) Durham and (b) Teesside probation areas on 31 December 2009; [25259]
(2) how many people were employed by Durham Tees Valley Probation Trust on 30 June 2010. [25260] [Official Report, 13 December 2010, Vol. 520, c. 4MC.]
Mr Blunt: The total staff in post for Durham Probation Area on 31 December 2009 was 268.65 FTE (full-time equivalent), and for Teesside Probation Area this was 292.06 FTE.
The total staff in post in Durham Tees Valley Probation Trust on 30 June 2010 was 572.27 FTE (full-time equivalent).
Secure Training Centres: Restraint Techniques
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many serious injuries sustained during the use of restraint procedures required hospital treatment for (a) boys and (b) girls in each secure training centre in each month since April 2008. [25381]
Mr Blunt: There were no serious injuries sustained during the use of restraint procedures requiring hospital treatment in any month in 2008-09 in secure training centres. Data for injuries are not available by gender.
The 2009-10 figures will be available once the 2009-10 Youth Justice Board annual workload data are released. Hence only figures for 2008-09 have been looked at.
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times restraint procedures were used on (a) boys and (b) girls in each secure training centre in each month since April 2008. [25383]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of restraints used on (a) boys and (b) girls in each secure training centre for each month in 2008-09.
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many serious injuries requiring hospital treatment were sustained during use of control and restraint procedures in each young offender institution juvenile unit in each month since April 2008. [25384]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of serious injuries sustained during the use of control and restraint procedures in each month in 2008-09 in young offender institutions.
| 2008 | 2009 | |||||||||||
| Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | |
| Notes: 1. The 2009-10 figures will be available once the 2009-10 Youth Justice Board annual workload data are released. Hence only figures for 2008-09 are given. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time. 3. Cookham Wood YOI opened in May 2008. 4. Lancaster Farms closed in February 2009. | ||||||||||||
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many minor injuries resulted from the use of control and restraint procedures in each young offender institution juvenile unit in each month since April 2008. [25385]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of minor injuries sustained during the use of control and restraint procedures in each month in 2008-09 in young offender institutions.
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times control and restraint procedures have been used on girls in each young offender institution juvenile unit in each month since April 2008. [25386]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of restraints used on females in each young offender institution in each month in 2008-09.
| 2008 | 2009 | |||||||||||
| April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | January | February | March | |
| Notes: 1. The 2009-10 figures will be available once the 2009-10 Youth Justice Board Annual Workload Data is released. Hence only figures for 2008-09 are given. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time. | ||||||||||||
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions control and restraint procedures have been used on boys in each young offender institution juvenile unit in each month since April 2008. [25515]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of restraints used on males in each young offender institution in each month in 2008-09.
Sentencing
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2010, Official Report, column 237W, on sentencing, what has happened to the remaining 90 people who had been given or were awaiting another disposal. [25432]
Mr Blunt: Set out is a breakdown of the 90 offenders who were not given an immediate or suspended custodial sentence following revocation:
40 were sentenced to a new IAC
40 were sentenced to a community order
Two were fined
One received a conditional discharge
One was given a curfew
One order was incorrectly reported as revoked when it actually continued with additional requirements attached
One order was incorrectly reported as 'other' when it was a suspended sentence.
Of the four offenders who were pending sentence at the time:
One received a suspended sentence order
Two received custody
One was issued with a warrant without bail
Sexual Offences: Sentencing
Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many sex offenders have been subject to an indeterminate public protection sentence since 2003; and how many of those have since been released from custody. [25175]
Mr Blunt: The number of persons given an indeterminate sentence (known as imprisonment for public protection (IPP)) for sexual offences in England and Wales, 2005 to 2009 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
Data for 2003 and 2004 are unavailable as IPPs came into force on 4 April 2005.
Data for 2010 are planned for publication in the spring of 2011.
As at 17 November 2010, 26 offenders serving an IPP sentence for sexual offences have been released from custody, five of whom were subsequently recalled. This figure does not include offenders who have been subject to deportation and excludes eight IPP offenders where we are currently waiting for updated information.
It also excludes offenders issued with an IPP who may have had their sentence quashed or reduced on appeal, and therefore is only a subset of the figures quoted in the table.
The figures on releases 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.
| Number of persons sentenced to imprisonment for public protection (IPP)( 1) , for sexual offences, 2005 to 2009( 2,3,4) | |||||
| Offence group | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) S.225 and 226 Criminal Justice Act 2003-Detention for Public Protection in the case of offenders under 18. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence 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. (4) IPPs commenced on 4 April 2005. Source: Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice. | |||||
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