26 Apr 2011 : Column 151W

Immigration

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many immigration cases heard at tribunals required multiple sittings to determine in 2010. [51713]

Mr Djanogly: For the period 1 January to 31 December 2010, 163,903 appeals were determined by the First-tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, of which 18,095 (11%) required more than one substantive hearing.

Of the 18,095, 7,111 were ‘out of country’ immigration appeals, 6,318 were ‘in-country’ immigration appeals, 4,283 were asylum appeals, 380 were appeals against deportation and three were appeals against human rights, race discrimination or deprivation of citizenship decisions.

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate has been made of the average cost to the public purse of an Immigration Tribunal hearing. [51714]

Mr Djanogly: The length and, therefore, cost of a substantive hearing within the immigration and asylum jurisdiction of Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service depends on the type of case. For this reason, an overall average cost is not used by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service for planning purposes. However, dividing the full cost of the immigration and asylum jurisdiction by the number of oral hearings held, the average cost per hearing during the financial year 2009-10 was £687.

Judiciary: Pensions

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether he has made an impact assessment of the proposed changes to the judicial pension scheme; and what estimate he has made of the change in the opt-out rate resulting from implementation of the changes; [52270]

(2) what arrangements are in place to ensure that the changes to the judicial pension scheme are sustainable and progressive; [52271]

26 Apr 2011 : Column 152W

(3) what assessment he has made of the effects of the proposed changes to the judicial pension scheme on part-time members of staff who are members of the scheme. [52272]

Mr Kenneth Clarke: At the spending review the Government announced changes to the level of public service pension scheme members' contribution rates which would lead to total savings of £2.8 billion a year by 2014-15, to be phased in from April 2012. Discussions about how this will be implemented are ongoing with the judiciary. The Government will put forward proposals in June, and will then begin formal consultation on the necessary changes to scheme regulations.

The Government are committed to ensuring the changes are fair to pension scheme members and to taxpayers.

An impact assessment covering the judicial pensions schemes has been produced and may be found at:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/pensions-reform/

The Treasury published an estimate of likely opt-out rates at the spending review:

http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_policycostings.pdf

This estimate has been scrutinised by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, and will be reviewed when the Government put forward final designs.

Knives: Young People

Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged (a) under 19 and (b) over 18 were convicted for illegally carrying (i) knives and (ii) other weapons in each police authority area in (A) 2009 and (B) 2010; and if he will make a statement. [52401]

Mr Blunt: We assume that the question refers to under 18 and over 18-year-olds and have answered accordingly.

The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for possession of knives and possession of offensive weapons (excluding knives), by age group and police force area, England and Wales 1997 to 2009, can be viewed in tables 1 to 4 as follows.

Court proceedings data for 2010 are planned for publication on 26 May 2011.

Table 1: Number of defendants aged under 18 years of age convicted at all courts for knife possession offences (1) , by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2009 (2, 3)
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Avon and Somerset

6

7

17

7

23

28

19

28

15

30

29

27

20

Bedfordshire

1

5

3

6

6

2

5

7

11

11

19

13

12

Cambridgeshire

3

6

6

2

4

11

8

6

14

10

11

18

10

Cheshire

7

7

13

11

6

14

6

9

24

14

15

20

26

City of London

Cleveland

3

5

4

6

8

12

15

12

8

17

15

21

17

Cumbria

10

5

12

8

11

6

9

8

17

11

8

4

13

Derbyshire

8

9

8

5

8

15

17

17

12

14

21

16

17

Devon and Cornwall

9

6

5

14

11

12

22

17

31

18

19

31

27

Dorset

1

4

4

4

3

10

8

6

8

12

13

6

14

Durham

4

6

8

11

10

17

15

19

19

26

21

10

15

Essex

21

24

15

20

26

14

34

45

33

42

32

28

39

Gloucestershire

3

5

3

4

5

5

8

8

6

8

10

11

5

Greater Manchester

21

37

19

46

72

59

54

68

58

88

76

59

74

Hampshire

19

25

18

29

35

27

45

44

33

37

37

52

37

Hertfordshire

7

5

3

3

2

4

15

20

21

19

18

15

18

Humberside

7

6

12

16

15

17

10

14

23

35

27

16

26

26 Apr 2011 : Column 153W

26 Apr 2011 : Column 154W

Kent

8

12

8

16

14

4

8

1

18

25

Lancashire

12

14

13

17

21

22

24

39

29

35

24

28

27

Leicestershire

10

11

10

9

13

19

13

18

22

23

26

20

19

Lincolnshire

3

9

7

7

4

10

11

7

6

11

4

10

12

Merseyside

28

25

23

26

15

23

33

30

30

40

39

39

50

Metropolitan police

148

167

178

194

340

309

246

239

298

337

321

417

380

Norfolk

4

3

6

6

9

5

15

9

9

10

8

19

18

North Yorkshire

7

3

6

8

7

11

10

13

11

18

12

4

13

Northamptonshire

2

4

3

1

5

11

Northumbria

14

23

28

34

44

45

53

57

56

31

62

44

61

Nottinghamshire

7

5

7

13

15

13

17

20

26

31

35

36

26

South Yorkshire

12

12

15

20

22

37

25

18

33

41

31

31

36

Staffordshire(4)

5

6

5

*

6

17

13

11

11

12

21

7

14

Suffolk

4

3

8

7

6

18

15

13

16

18

17

5

15

Surrey

3

5

2

9

11

5

4

10

5

7

5

9

16

Sussex

6

9

9

20

24

15

24

23

27

30

31

25

33

Thames Valley

7

12

5

7

13

13

10

18

23

36

25

21

38

Warwickshire

2

5

4

3

3

5

4

5

5

6

6

10

9

West Mercia(5)

4

8

2

1

2

1

3

24

23

19

17

19

West Midlands

28

25

17

41

71

62

48

67

61

71

77

85

83

West Yorkshire

13

5

14

10

17

22

19

44

26

29

36

33

26

Wiltshire

4

11

4

4

4

13

7

10

12

15

11

1

9

                           

Dyfed-Powys

2

4

4

3

5

2

3

11

7

9

5

5

Gwent

5

2

6

4

4

2

4

11

10

12

13

9

10

North Wales

4

5

9

10

12

17

9

7

9

10

10

11

10

South Wales(6)

10

11

10

15

22

18

21

15

20

20

16

16

24

                           

England and Wales

482

561

546

680

947

964

925

1,019

1,113

1,265

1,230

1,272

1,359

‘—’ = Nil * = Not available (1 )Includes offences of having an article with a blade or point in a public place or on school premises. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings 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) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (5) Data have been omitted for West Mercia Police Force Area (for the offence of having an article with a blade or point on school premises) from 1999-2004 due to data quality issues. (6) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.
Table 2: Number of defendants aged 18 years and over convicted at all courts for knife possession offences (1) , by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2009 (2, 3)
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Avon and Somerset

44

62

96

80

82

116

133

118

113

138

134

118

166

Bedfordshire

23

31

20

34

26

38

52

61

67

50

43

58

71

Cambridgeshire

21

29

25

13

23

35

26

56

43

57

43

60

61

Cheshire

52

56

39

40

30

40

48

39

58

70

93

76

91

City of London

16

8

4

8

9

17

19

20

18

11

9

6

6

Cleveland

13

26

27

15

34

57

55

69

63

59

75

97

87

Cumbria

22

22

25

19

17

31

36

38

33

30

38

34

63

Derbyshire

31

22

28

35

45

53

65

83

67

63

78

57

79

Devon and Cornwall

38

72

70

56

60

98

107

109

112

102

119

112

141

Dorset

18

37

28

28

29

45

41

53

53

55

50

47

60

Durham

21

24

27

32

25

59

49

49

70

65

71

34

69

Essex

64

73

81

80

73

89

112

156

143

133

128

117

188

Gloucestershire

13

29

15

13

19

21

24

34

33

31

31

39

56

Greater Manchester

181

205

188

176

209

239

250

276

291

305

318

284

339

Hampshire

78

86

75

77

79

86

108

133

129

124

132

180

184

Hertfordshire

24

24

25

24

23

49

68

64

71

65

50

39

92

Humberside

36

39

53

39

31

52

55

92

92

90

120

112

136

26 Apr 2011 : Column 155W

26 Apr 2011 : Column 156W

Kent

24

61

76

61

62

29

27

12

12

6

5

65

116

Lancashire

93

106

84

70

85

76

112

122

121

109

127

101

147

Leicestershire

44

58

52

45

52

57

78

80

70

90

92

77

62

Lincolnshire

16

31

47

39

37

40

60

58

47

58

43

78

70

Merseyside

148

144

108

98

106

137

132

169

168

178

176

168

269

Metropolitan police

1,110

1,160

905

970

1,167

1,562

1,441

1,376

1,400

1,354

1,138

1,331

1,262

Norfolk

25

47

40

30

32

54

54

61

60

52

70

73

89

North Yorkshire

30

31

39

25

38

41

40

56

55

39

40

38

67

Northamptonshire

4

7

14

5

3

2

2

3

6

1

3

26

68

Northumbria

79

78

86

87

109

126

130

154

160

186

197

193

277

Nottinghamshire

40

36

38

34

41

55

68

95

91

113

117

109

172

South Yorkshire

41

46

48

46

92

109

122

99

136

109

107

111

154

Staffordshire(4)

18

33

37

*

28

51

50

60

49

80

65

50

76

Suffolk

27

19

18

23

25

43

37

55

53

88

72

32

63

Surrey

16

8

10

16

21

22

33

30

30

30

37

36

53

Sussex

53

57

83

64

76

112

99

91

94

108

109

125

142

Thames Valley

54

67

70

47

64

72

66

99

122

142

114

117

200

Warwickshire

14

25

20

16

15

21

14

22

18

24

26

41

39

West Mercia(5)

17

30

19

6

4

2

3

10

75

77

81

66

95

West Midlands

146

126

120

163

247

281

279

290

258

312

315

318

375

West Yorkshire

33

33

42

47

70

81

89

128

142

143

154

192

212

Wiltshire

17

24

28

24

32

24

33

40

41

55

37

21

58

                           

Dyfed-Powys

14

19

29

23

28

30

34

36

34

22

26

33

35

Gwent

19

16

14

17

16

31

19

37

26

44

53

42

60

North Wales

42

50

51

32

39

57

52

60

68

103

79

74

68

South Wales(6)

59

87

91

68

72

96

90

109

100

133

124

109

169

                           

England and Wales

2,878

3,244

2,995

2,825

3,375

4,336

4,412

4,802

4,892

5,104

4,939

5,096

6,287

‘—’( )= Nil * = Not available (1) Includes offences of having an article with a blade or point in a public place or on school premises. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings 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) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (5) Data have been omitted for West Mercia Police Force Area (for the offence of having an article with a blade or point on school premises) from 1999-2004 due to data quality issues. (6) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice
Table 3: Number of defendants aged under 18 convicted at all courts for possession of offensive weapons (excluding knives), by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2009 (1, 2, 3)
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Avon and Somerset

23

14

17

17

20

29

25

23

30

31

29

29

19

Bedfordshire

8

4

8

7

8

6

6

24

6

14

13

15

12

Cambridgeshire

8

7

4

11

14

12

7

6

19

10

11

8

13

Cheshire

18

22

12

24

21

17

11

26

27

34

20

21

14

City of London

Cleveland

17

7

14

14

20

13

16

18

12

18

15

26

21

Cumbria

10

15

9

7

10

9

13

9

10

15

16

12

6

Derbyshire

18

13

20

15

18

16

19

29

29

23

25

29

16

Devon and Cornwall

13

10

11

18

13

16

19

25

22

24

21

29

23

Dorset

5

5

8

9

6

3

5

8

9

12

11

15

5

Durham

20

17

25

23

29

19

12

23

20

30

33

20

18

Essex

35

28

22

23

35

32

28

52

29

41

43

31

35

Gloucestershire

8

16

4

9

7

9

7

10

16

7

17

10

2

Greater Manchester

64

66

86

83

121

116

95

133

123

97

125

101

73

Hampshire

31

30

28

34

50

45

33

44

55

57

58

55

47

Hertfordshire

4

7

5

22

14

6

12

20

22

18

29

26

11

26 Apr 2011 : Column 157W

26 Apr 2011 : Column 158W

Humberside

9

23

25

18

21

17

30

34

23

20

34

32

22

Kent

25

29

25

27

37

25

27

33

47

50

36

44

39

Lancashire

39

16

26

38

38

31

35

45

58

46

64

61

47

Leicestershire

21

24

16

25

22

22

30

27

18

25

40

22

10

Lincolnshire

5

18

6

8

17

7

12

20

8

11

16

6

5

Merseyside

40

46

25

31

49

40

34

57

66

56

67

74

53

Metropolitan police

187

169

169

241

339

377

304

392

384

376

415

526

350

Norfolk

12

16

6

10

11

6

14

12

13

11

15

14

8

North Yorkshire

8

5

13

8

3

9

9

15

11

13

25

16

10

Northamptonshire

3

8

15

7

4

7

5

1

4

6

15

12

Northumbria

54

75

70

69

81

96

66

81

87

69

76

74

66

Nottinghamshire

13

29

22

31

48

35

38

39

44

33

48

35

25

South Yorkshire

19

23

26

37

36

43

37

45

42

39

47

52

41

Staffordshire(3)

20

13

20

*

25

14

22

31

39

25

30

17

19

Suffolk

9

6

11

5

6

9

11

11

26

20

17

10

13

Surrey

4

5

4

11

13

7

11

12

14

12

12

10

6

Sussex

8

12

14

12

19

15

19

32

39

27

34

26

19

Thames Valley

21

20

18

16

30

26

17

18

42

39

41

40

32

Warwickshire

9

7

5

8

6

2

6

10

4

9

8

8

9

West Mercia

8

11

15

6

23

19

14

17

28

36

21

21

15

West Midlands

54

70

65

94

129

118

92

91

102

115

121

124

108

West Yorkshire

41

39

56

55

48

54

86

77

84

83

60

61

40

Wiltshire

5

7

13

5

9

16

10

9

20

19

9

12

5

                           

Dyfed-Powys

4

9

5

11

3

5

9

7

4

7

6

10

9

Gwent

10

9

14

15

15

10

13

20

13

21

12

13

8

North Wales

9

12

4

24

16

15

8

20

31

18

21

14

20

South Wales(4)

26

32

29

34

33

35

34

43

25

36

33

27

25

                           

Total

945

994

990

1,162

1,467

1,408

1,296

1,653

1,702

1,651

1,780

1,791

1,331

‘—’ = Nil * = Not available (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings 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. (2) 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. (3) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.