Iran: Human Rights
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent report of Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran on human rights in that country; and if he will make a statement. [78585]
Alistair Burt: We strongly support the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran. His recent report outlined the key priorities for his mandate pointing to some grave concerns shared by the UK over Iran's human rights record. We call on Iran to work with Dr Shaheed to improve its human rights record, and to allow Dr Shaheed to visit Iran.
IRG
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2011, Official Report, column 663W, on IRG, whether any civil servants were present at the meeting between the Under-Secretary of State and Stephen Crouch in Sudan in July 2010. [79817]
Mr Bellingham: Officials were present in the arrivals lounge, but were talking with South Sudanese officials during the brief conversation.
Kenya: Human Rights
Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Government of Kenya on (a) preventing the forcible return of those within its territories or at its borders into areas of insecurity and (b) ensuring punishment and prosecution of those of its agents who engage in human rights violations. [79652]
Mr Jeremy Browne:
The British Government have urged the Kenyan Government not to forcibly return
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Somali refugees in Kenya to Somalia. Most recently the British High Commission raised concerns about the refugees' situation in a meeting with Prime Minister Odinga on 28 October. The Department for International Development is providing £128 million of support in response to the humanitarian crisis.
The UK is a leading advocate of the reform of the police and the judiciary set out in Kenya's new constitution. We have funded civil society to lobby on allegations of extra-judicial killings and assisted with the process of police reform, including offering advice on new legislation that puts human rights and new oversight mechanisms at its heart. We take allegations of human rights violations extremely seriously and raise such concerns with the Kenyan Government.
Sri Lanka
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions he discussed matters relating to Sri Lanka with the right hon. Member for North Somerset when the latter was Secretary of State for Defence. [78593]
Mr Hague: I had regular discussions on a wide range of issues with my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) in the normal course of business.
House of Commons Commission
Monuments: Chartism
Jessica Morden: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the House of Commons Commission will consider marking the Chartist movement in the Palace of Westminster. [79382]
John Thurso: The Commission has no plans to do so. Such matters are usually handled by Mr Speaker, who is advised by the Advisory Committee on Works of Art.
Deputy Prime Minister
British Nationals Abroad: Elections
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he has any plans to change the right of UK citizens living abroad to vote in elections. [79632]
Mr Harper: The Representation of the People Act 1985 provided for the first time for UK citizens living overseas to be able to register to vote in general and European parliamentary elections in the UK on a time limited basis. Currently, British citizens living overseas can register to vote in these elections, provided they have been previously registered in the UK in the past 15 years.
The Government are considering whether the 15 year time limit remains appropriate, if a change is proposed, Parliament will need to reconsider the issue.
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Business, Innovation and Skills
British Chambers of Commerce Survey
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the recommendations made in the British Chambers of Commerce Workforce Survey: Small Businesses report. [79380]
Mr Davey: The Department is leading the cross-Government Employment Law Review and is looking at all evidence about the operation of the underpinning legislative framework and burdens on business, including from the British Chambers of Commerce, other business representative groups, trade unions and other stakeholders. A key objective of the review is making it easier for a business to take on staff. The review will also consider ideas that emerge from the Red Tape Challenge aimed at facilitating the recruitment of employees by businesses. Where we can make legislation easier to understand, improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, we will.
Departmental Assets
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assets with a value of £250,000 or more his Department has bought since May 2010; for what purpose; and if he will make a statement. [77353]
Mr Davey: Core BIS has commissioned eight assets with a value of £250,000 or more since May 2010 with a total value of £6,670,675. Some of these assets were previously recorded as “assets under construction” but have been commissioned for use since May 2010. Equally, during the period, expenditure was incurred on assets still under construction. This expenditure has not been included in the following response but this spend has been capitalised on the BIS balance sheet, recorded in “assets under construction”.
The following three assets relate to information technology projects:
Implementation of service enhancements to the Disaster Recovery service—£684,758
Replacement Content Management System for internet service—£266,427
New Shared Web Services for BIS and its partner organisations—£667,298.
The following five assets relate to building and estates projects:
Meeting room environmental works at 1 Victoria Street, London—£662,837
Replacement air handling and chillers at 1 Victoria Street, London—£3,172,751
Work carried out to heating and ventilation at 1 Victoria Street, London—£323,520
Replacement roof and maintenance work at 10 Victoria Street, London—£327,823
Re-fit of Europa Buildings, Glasgow prior to relocation of staff—£565,261.
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Export Credits Guarantees
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much each country owes to the Export Credits Guarantee Department. [79193]
Mr Davey: Debt owed by sovereign Governments to the Export Credits Guarantee Department is shown by country in the following table.
| Country | Total debt (£ million) |
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which countries have received loans from the Export Credits Guarantee Department in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available; and what each country received in each year. [79203]
Mr Davey: None. The Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) does not make loans to countries. It provides guarantees to banks for export credit loans used to finance exports, and provides credit insurance policies to exporters against non-payment risks.
The aggregate value of the guarantees and insurance policies issued in each of the last five years is shown in the following table by country. This information is routinely made available in ECGD's Annual Report and Accounts. ECGD would make payments under its guarantees or insurance policies in the event of a claim, typically due to a buyer default on payments due to the UK exporter.
| £ million | |||||
| Country | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
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| (1) Details not disclosed (e.g. for reasons of commercial confidentiality). | |||||
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place in the Library a list of scheduled debt repayments by sovereign states to the Export Credits Guarantee Department. [79395]
Mr Davey: The information requested will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that the new trade finance products offered by the Export Credits Guarantee Department are marketed and accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises. [79524]
Mr Davey [holding answer 8 November 2011]: The Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) has been undertaking a market awareness campaign across the United Kingdom, alongside UK Trade and Investment, banks, trade associations and professional bodies, to meet small and medium-sized exporters to inform them of the availability of its new products which it introduced earlier this year. It has an ongoing programme to raise awareness of its products to as many exporters as possible through direct contact, the media and other avenues.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reason the Export Credits Guarantee Department's short-term credit insurance policy requires a minimum contract value of £20,000; and what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing the contract value. [79525]
Mr Davey [holding answer 8 November 2011]: The Export Credits Guarantee Department's (ECGD) credit insurance policy (the Export Insurance Policy) is designed to support single export contracts, for amounts greater than £20,000, where cover from the private credit insurance markets is unavailable, with that limit set because of its administrative cost in processing business below that level. If requested by an exporter, ECGD will consider support for a contract below £20,000.
ECGD intends to carry out a review of the product early next year and, in doing so, will consider the merits of setting no minimum contract value limit.
Export Credits Guarantees: Egypt
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider commissioning an audit of the debt owed by Egypt to the Export Credits Guarantee Department. [79394]
Mr Davey: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the right hon. Member for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce) on 8 June 2011, Official Report, column 395W.
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Iron and Steel: Competition
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the request to his Department from UK Steel, what his policy is on providing Government assistance to ensure the ongoing competitiveness of the UK steel industry. [78946]
Mr Prisk: We are unaware of any specific request from UK Steel. However, this Department works closely with UK Steel and the steel sector on a range of issues related to maintaining their international competitiveness. This includes seeking to minimise unnecessary regulatory burdens by involving the sector in discussions on better regulation and taking steps to reduce the impact of Government policy on the cost of electricity to ensure that the UK steel industry remains internationally competitive.
Any Government support for the steel industry needs to be compatible with the EC State Aid rules. Regional investment or operating aid may not be granted to the steel sector, however other forms of aid including aid for research, development and innovation, training and environmental investments is permitted.
The steel industry has opportunities to participate in collaborative research and development projects funded by the Technology Strategy Board and the EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel.
Job Creation
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many jobs were (a) directly and (b) indirectly created by each successful bid in the second round of Regional Growth Fund allocations. [79190]
Mr Prisk: On the basis of information provided by applicants up to 327,000 direct and indirect jobs (127,000 in Round 1 and over 200,000 in Round 2) will be created or safeguarded by the first two rounds of successful bids to the Regional Growth Fund. Progress towards the job target specified in the grant offer letter will be monitored quarterly.
Metal Theft
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy that giving of cash purchases of metal by scrap metal merchants should not be allowed and that scrap metal merchants should document all purchases of metal, identifying from whom such metal was bought. [78586]
James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply.
Discussions are under way across Government on whether legislative changes are needed to tackle metal theft.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to creating a statutory register of scrap metal merchants. [78587]
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Mr Prisk: There is already a statutory requirement for scrap metal dealers to register with their local authority under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. Furthermore, operators of scrap metal yards require either an environmental permit or a registered exemption from the Environment Agency, under waste management legislation.
Plastics
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of efforts by the plastics industry to reduce the carbon footprint arising from manufacturing and recycling plastic. [79421]
Mr Prisk: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has made no formal assessment in this respect. However, the Government recognise the importance of the UK plastics industry and its role in the transition to a green economy, in particular through developing and supplying low carbon products and solutions which help other manufacturing sectors.
Through a close dialogue with the British Plastics Federation the Government are aware of the role of plastics in minimising greenhouse gas emissions. Plastics are increasingly used for components across business sectors. For example, in the automotive and aerospace sectors plastics usage is significantly reducing the weight of motor vehicles and aircraft, resulting in improved fuel efficiency, and corresponding reductions in emissions.
Regional Growth Fund
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what bids for the third tranche of the Regional Growth Fund have been made by applicants in the East of England; and if he will make a statement. [79381]
Mr Prisk: At this time there are no plans for a third round of the Regional Growth Fund.
Research: Expenditure
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2011, Official Report, column 757W, on research: expenditure, what assessment he has made of the relationship between the reduction in research and development in real terms and (a) future improvements to productivity in the UK economy, (b) innovation and product development from UK companies and (c) competitiveness of companies relative to other countries; and if he will make a statement. [76427]
Mr Willetts: The information is as follows:
(a) While Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) declined by 4.1% in real terms between 2008 and 2009, the economy saw a greater drop in GDP, of 4.9%. As such, the intensity of business investment in the UK—BERD as a percentage of GDP—increased slightly over the period, from 1.10% to 1.12%.
Innovation is an important driver of productivity, contributing 63% of all labour productivity growth between 2000 and 2008. Research and Development (R and D) is an important part of innovation, but many
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other factors are also crucial to this productivity growth, including process innovation and knowledge acquisition. The UK's industry and sector mix makes these other factors particularly important to productivity growth. In 2008, BERD accounted for around 10% of total investment in innovation.
(b) The next wave of the UK Innovation Survey will be released next year. This will provide details of businesses' sales of innovative goods. The last wave of the survey, covering 2006 to 2008, showed that:
there were increases in the shares of firms with a product innovation and an increase in the shares of firms with a process innovation during the three-year period compared to the period 2004 to 2006;
nearly half of product innovations and a third of process innovations were “leading edge” or novel.
Businesses invest in a wide range of innovation activities other than research and development. These include the acquisition of machinery, equipment and software, the acquisition of knowledge, design activities and training for innovative activities. In 2008 these activities accounted for over 57% of business expenditure on innovation activities.
(c) While UK BERD experienced a real terms drop of 4.1% in 2009, research and development expenditure is pro-cyclical and as such is expected to rise and fall in line with GDP. As noted above, the UK's BERD intensity rose slightly during 2009. This contrasts with a fall in BERD intensity in countries including Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands and Japan. Small rises of a similar scale to the UK were seen in Germany and France. US data is not currently available for 2009.
Despite the economic downturn, in 2009 the top 1,000 UK R&D performing firms reduced their R and D investment less than the top R and D performing firms in many major competitors, including France, Germany and the US.
Science
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department is implementing the Life Sciences Blueprint published in July 2009; and what progress he has made on any implementation. [78785]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 7 November 2011]:The “Life Sciences 2010: Delivering the Blueprint” supported by the BIS Economics Paper No. 2—Life Sciences in the UK, published on 26 January 2010, set out specific details of progress on actions in the Life Sciences Blueprint.
On 23 March 2011, as part of the Plan for Growth, the Government announced a package of actions in support of growth in the life sciences and social care sectors. A number of these build on actions from the Life Sciences Blueprint and other existing initiatives. The Healthcare and Life Sciences growth review actions include:
Clinical trials and health research:
reducing regulatory burden and improving the cost effectiveness of clinical trials;
setting up a new Health Research Authority to streamline regulation;
making National Institute for Health Research funding to Providers of NHS Services conditional on meeting benchmarks, including a 70 day benchmark to recruit first patients for trials;
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opening up information and choice about clinical trials;
building consensus on using e-health record data to create unique opportunities for research in the UK;
opening up information on clinical research to promote collaboration and innovation, and
looking to publish prescribing data at a practice level, subject to an evaluation and impact assessment by the NHS Information Centre.
Collaboration and innovation in the life sciences sector:
to establish translational research partnerships (TRPs), from its £775 million investment in NHR Biomedical Research Centres and Units. On 4 October 2011, the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my noble Friend Earl Howe, formally launched the first two National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) TRP's on Inflammatory Respiratory Disease and on Joint and Related Inflammatory Diseases;
actions to remove any barriers that limit the further development of geographical clusters for entrepreneurship and business growth;
a competition to form a Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC);
improve market signalling by bringing companies and educators together to ensure educators provide the skilled individuals the sector needs to grow;
ensure the Intellectual Property (IP) system supports life sciences businesses, and
encourage innovation in NHS procurement, including £10 million investment by the Department of Health in the Small Business Research Initiative on healthcare challenges.
Additionally, the Government asked Sir David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS, to carry out a review on how the adoption and diffusion of innovations can be accelerated across the NHS. Sir Ian Carruthers, chief executive of NHS South West, has been asked to lead the project on Sir David's behalf. Sir Ian is working in consultation with industry, academia and intermediaries to inform the report which will be submitted to Government by November 2011.
we are improving the take up of assisted living technology, including an £18 million R&D investment programme through the Technology Strategy Board, and
we are stripping out regulations that were never meant for the social care market and prevent market entry for small providers and flexible services.
Building on these initiatives the Prime Minister has asked me, together with the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my noble Friend Earl Howe, to lead on work to identify potential areas for further development in health-related aspects of the Life Sciences sector. The work is in the context of recent developments in life sciences, such as the changing research and development (R and D) business model.
Trade Promotion: Nigeria
Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what trade missions UK Trade & Investment has carried out in Nigeria in each of the last two years; and what missions are planned in the next 12 months. [79136]
Mr Prisk:
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) in Nigeria facilitates trade missions on behalf of a range of organisations. They enable UK companies to visit the country and meet potential customers, agents and
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distributors. The following list shows the missions that have taken place over the past two years and those planned for the next 12 months.
In addition the Prime Minister visited Nigeria in July 2011 accompanied by a business delegation.
London Chamber of Commerce
UKTI Information Technology sector group
Afro-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce
UKTI Defence and Security Organisation
London Chamber of Commerce
Training Gateway
Transport Scoping
‘IFSEC West Africa’ Security
London Chamber of Commerce
UKTI/BESA Education Mission
UK Mass Transport Mission.
UK Trade & Investment: Local Economic Partnerships
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will put in place protocols to ensure that UK Trade & Investment engages proactively with local economic partnerships for the purposes of increasing exports of small and medium-sized enterprises. [78551]
Mr Prisk: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), acting through its regional directors, has always worked with local businesses and other organisations with an interest in economic development, in developing international strategies, and this will continue. UKTI will be working with each local enterprise partnership to develop (where the local enterprise partnership wants to) an international strategy for the wider area, taking account of local conditions and local business base. This approach implements the Government's commitment in the Local Growth White Paper that UKTI will ensure an interface with local enterprise partnerships in relation to local delivery and priorities for international trade support.
Education
English Baccalaureate
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils (a) entered and (b) achieved the English Baccalaureate by constituency in the latest year for which figures are available. [78992]
Mr Gibb: The figures requested have been placed in the House Libraries.
Schools: Vocational Guidance
Ian Mearns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his assessment is of the finding in the paper prepared for his Department by Professor Tony Watts, entitled “The Proposed Model for Career Guidance in
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England: Some Lessons from International Examples”, that leaving it to schools to decide whether or not to commission professional career guidance for their pupils will have damaging effects. [79218]
Mr Gibb: We believe it is right to give schools greater freedom and flexibility to make decisions that are in the best interests of their pupils, including in relation to careers guidance. We do not agree with the view that to trust schools in this way will have damaging effects. We must retain a focus on outcomes that show the extent to which young people are achieving and progressing to higher levels of education or training, or into employment, rather than on specific inputs such as the amount or type of careers guidance.
Young people receive advice on their futures from many different sources but some will benefit from face-to-face support that raises their aspirations and guides them onto a successful career path. We will issue statutory guidance making it clear to schools that they should secure face-to-face careers guidance where it is the most suitable support, in particular for disadvantaged young people and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Young People: Vocational Training
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the support available in schools for young people preparing for post-16 vocational training and apprenticeships; [78495]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the support provided in schools for young people preparing for post-16 vocational training and apprenticeships. [78605]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 7 November 2011]: The Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills discuss support for young people entering post-16 education and training at Cabinet.
Evidence suggests that young people are not consistently receiving high-quality careers guidance. That is why, through the current Education Bill, we are giving schools responsibility for securing access to independent and impartial careers guidance for their pupils. This must include information on the full range of post-16 academic and vocational options, including apprenticeships. A range of high quality sources of information on apprenticeships are widely available, including those produced by the National Apprenticeship Service.
The Department for Education will issue focused statutory guidance to schools in advance of the new duty coming into force in September 2012. This will set a clear expectation that schools should secure face-to-face careers guidance where it is the most suitable support, particularly for the disadvantaged.
Justice
Adam Werritty
Mr Jim Murphy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether (a) he, (b) officials of his Department and (c) special advisers in his Department have met
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Mr Adam Werritty on official business since May 2010; and how many such meetings took place (i) on his Department's premises and (ii) elsewhere. [78868]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: Neither I, nor my ministerial colleagues or special advisers have attended meetings with Adam Werritty since May 2010.
The Ministry of Justice does not centrally record meetings attended by all officials in the department. To collate the information requested would exceed the cost limit for answering parliamentary questions.
Community Orders: Per Capita Costs
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the average annual cost to the Probation Service of supervising an individual on a community order with a programme attached for (a) domestic violence, (b) sexual offending, (c) anger management, (d) drug misuse and (e) alcohol misuse. [79250]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is currently specifying and costing activities undertaken by probation trusts. As part of the Government's commitment to provide greater transparency, to enable the public to hold services to account and assess whether they are receiving value for money from the services we provide, NOMS will publish, in autumn 2012, three probation level input indicators one of which is the cost per community order. This will be the average, fully-apportioned cost to probation of delivering a community order or suspended sentence order sentence to the service definition as detailed in the NOMS service specification. This will include both managing the sentence and delivering court-ordered requirements. The costs of the latter will be derived from the average number and type of requirements attached to a sentence for an offender on each tier.
NOMS has published costed specifications for the following court-ordered requirements:
| Programme | Estimated cost per completion (£) |
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John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the average annual cost to the Probation Service of supervising an individual undertaking unpaid work in (a) England and (b) Wales for (i) 100 hours, (ii) 240 hours and (iii) 300 hours. [79252]
Mr Blunt: The NOMS Specification, Benchmarking and Costing (SBC) programme is creating specifications to be used in commissioning the services NOMS funds. This includes work to support benchmarking by estimating how much it should cost to deliver each service.
Using fieldwork undertaken in 2009 as part of SBC's work, the average annual cost of supervising an individual sentenced to unpaid work, excluding the cost of commencing the sentence is estimated to be:
(i) for 100 hours: £826
(ii) for 240 hours: £1,982
(iii) for 300 hours: £2,478
(i) for 100 hours: £800
(ii) for 240 hours: £1,920
(iii) for 300 hours: £2,400.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is developing systems to breakdown current expenditure on a service by service basis, including unpaid work. Once the information has been reviewed and validated we will then consider how best to use it to meet commitments under the Government's Transparency Agenda.
Public Sector Pay
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many officials in his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available; [78052]
(2) how many officials in his Department received a pay rise other than by promotion in the last two years; and what the average increase was in each such year; [78130]
(3) how many officials in his Department received a bonus in each year since 2007. [78138]
Mr Blunt: The information is as follows:
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(a) As of September 2011, there are 798 members of staff currently working within the Ministry of Justice and its agencies (including NOMS) earning more than £65,000 (FTE) in the financial year 2011-12(1).
(b) As of September 2011, there are 58 members of staff currently working within the Ministry of Justice and its agencies (including NOMS) earning more than £95,000 (FTE) in the financial year 2011-12(1).
(c) As of September 2011, there are 10 members of staff currently working within the Ministry of Justice and its agencies (including NOMS) earning more than £140,000 (FTE) in the financial year 2011-12(1).
(d) As of September 2011, there is one member of staff currently working within the Ministry of Justice and its agencies (including NOMS) earning more than £175,000 (FTE) in the financial year 2011-12(1).
(1) The figures provided above are inclusive of one another, for example the 58 members of staff earning more than £95,000 are included in the 798 figure and so forth.
Ministry of Justice staff below the senior civil service (excluding NOMS)
In August 2010, the pay award for staff below the senior civil service on Ministry of Justice terms and conditions (known as the ‘Deal’) was implemented. 25,266 members of staff received consolidated increases in salary, with the average increase being £855.
On 22 June 2010, Official Report, columns 166-80, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced a two-year pay freeze in the public sector. Staff earning a full-time equivalent salary of £21,000 or less are protected from the pay freeze and must receive a minimum pay increase of £250 for each of the two years of the pay freeze. In 2011, for staff below the senior civil service, the Ministry of Justice entered the first year of the pay freeze.
The pay award 2011 for Ministry of Justice staff on ‘Deal’ terms and conditions, awarded basic consolidated increases in salary of £250 to all staff earning below £21,000 in order to protect the lowest-paid members of staff from the pay freeze. Consolidated pay increases were awarded to 15,604 members of staff on Ministry of Justice ‘Deal’ terms and conditions, with the average increase being £448. This figure is made up of 8,088 members of staff receiving consolidated increases of £250 or less and 7,516 receiving incremental progression (to the next position on the pay range) in the Ministry’s lowest pay bands, Bands E and F, where the majority of staff earn less than £21,000.
The senior civil service pay freeze became effective from 1 April 2010. As such this has meant that there have been no increases to base pay awarded to senior civil servants working at the Ministry of Justice for the performance years 2009-10, 2010-11 and neither will there be for 2011-12.
National Offender Management Service (NOMS) staff below senior civil service (SCS)
49,480 members of staff in NOMS below the senior civil service received a consolidated pay increase other than promotion in the financial year 2009-10 with an average increase of £866. The figures are based on full-time equivalent salaries.
27,809 members of staff in NOMS below the senior civil service received a consolidated pay increase in the financial year 2010-11 with an average increase of £590. The figures are based on full-time equivalent salaries.
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The 2010-11 figures include staff earning under £21,000 per annum receiving increases under the Government’s pay freeze guidelines, staff receiving increases through contractual progression and staff receiving both increases under the Government’s pay freeze guidelines and contractual progression.
Performance-related pay is awarded to senior civil servants (SCS) in line with recommendations made by the Senior Salaries Review Body. Non-consolidated performance-related payments are made as part of the SCS annual pay award to those whose performance has exceeded agreed delivery objectives during the previous performance year. There is no in-year provision.
The breakdown of senior civil servants within the Ministry of Justice and its agencies (including NOMS) who were awarded non-consolidated performance-related payments for the performance years 2007-11 inclusive is set out in the following table:
| Performance year | Number of senior civil servants awarded non-consolidated performance related payments |
| (1) The Prime Minister, in a statement made on 16 May 2010, announced that for the senior civil service in 2010-11, the top 25% of performers (those in Performance Group 1) in each Department would be eligible to be considered for a non-consolidated performance related payment hence the reduction in the number awarded compared to previous performance years. | |
Ministry of Justice staff below the senior civil service (SCS)
Ministry of Justice (including NOMS) staff below the senior civil service (SCS) are eligible for in-year and end-year non-consolidated performance related payments to award exceptional performance.
The following information regarding in-year and end-year non-consolidated performance-related payments relating to Ministry of Justice staff below the senior civil service (including NOMS) provides the number of civil servants awarded in-year and end-year payments in separate breakdowns. It should be noted that some civil servants will have received both in-year and end-year payments for the relevant performance years in recognition of exceptional performance throughout the particular year.
Ministry of Justice staff below the senior civil service (excluding NOMS)
In-year non-consolidated performance related payments (excluding NOMS)
The breakdown of staff below the senior civil service (SCS) within the Ministry of Justice and its agencies (excluding NOMS) who were awarded in-year non-consolidated performance-related payments for the financial years 2007-11 inclusive is as follows:
| Financial year | Number of staff below SCS awarded in-year non-consolidated performance related payments |
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End-year non-consolidated performance related payments (excluding NOMS)
End-year non-consolidated performance related payments awarded to staff in the Ministry of Justice and its agencies has been fixed at an amount of £1,200 since 2007.
The breakdown of staff below the senior civil service (SCS) within the Ministry of Justice and its agencies (excluding NOMS) who were awarded end-year non-consolidated performance-related payments for the financial years 2007-11 inclusive is as follows:
| Financial year | Number of staff below SCS awarded end-year non-consolidated performance related payments |
National Offender Management Service (NOMS) staff below senior civil service (SCS)
In-year non-consolidated performance related payments (NOMS)
The breakdown of staff below the senior civil service (SCS) within NOMS who were awarded in-year non-consolidated performance related payments for the financial years 2007-11 inclusive is as follows:
| Financial year | Number of staff below SCS awarded in-year non-consolidated performance related payments |
End-year non-consolidated performance related payments (NOMS)
End-year non-consolidated performance related payments are paid to staff, other than officer grades and operational support grades, who receive an ‘Exceeded’ marking on their end of year assessment. The value of end-year non-consolidated performance-related pay is set as part of the pay award and is a standard percentage of salary for all staff who receive it.
The information on end of year bonuses has been derived from performance appraisal records and assumes that all eligible staff recorded as having an Exceeded marking received a performance bonus during the following year.
The breakdown of staff below the senior civil service (SCS) within NOMS who were awarded in-year non-consolidated performance-related payments for the financial years 2007-11 inclusive is as follows:
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| Financial year | Number of staff below SCS awarded end-year non-consolidated performance related payments |
East Sutton Park Prison: Discipline
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many girls have been put on the anti-social behaviour programme in the Mary Carpenter Unit in East Sutton Park prison (a) more than once and (b) in each month in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011. [79535]
Mr Blunt: The Mary Carpenter Unit is part of Eastwood Park prison. Information on the number of young women placed on the antisocial behaviour programme on the Mary Carpenter Unit is represented in the following table. Over the period 1 January 2010 to 31 October 2011, five young women were placed on the antisocial behaviour programme more than once.
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2010 | 2011 |
Legal Aid Scheme
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on the possible effect of reform of legal aid to new entrants to the legal profession; and if he will make a statement. [R] [79328]
Mr Djanogly: A number of the responses to consultation gave views as to the impact of the reforms on new entrants to the legal profession, and similar issues have been raised since during engagement with representative bodies.
Legal Aid Scheme: Prisoners
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales for (a) murder and (b) manslaughter have received legal aid for proceedings in the family courts relating to (i) custody of children, (ii) adoption of children, (iii) contact with children and (iv) parental responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; [79474]
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(2) how many prisoners currently serving sentences in England and Wales for (a) rape, (b) sexual offences against adults and (c) sexual offences against children have received legal aid for proceedings in the family courts relating to (i) custody of children, (ii) adoption of children, (iii) contact with children and (iv) parental responsibility. [79477]
Mr Djanogly: This information is not kept by either the Ministry of Justice or the Legal Services Commission.
Prison Sentences: Human Rights
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2011, Official Report, column 850W, on prison sentences: human rights, what estimate he has made of the total amount paid to all offenders who have claimed compensation on human rights grounds in the last 12 months. [76351]
Mr Blunt: The information is not readily available to allow such an estimate to be calculated, and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Providing the information from the Ministry of Justice alone would involve the individual examination of several thousand files.
NOMS records litigation claims by the main type of allegation. Claims often make reference to alleged breaches of human rights. In some cases the claim will be brought wholly on an HRA basis. In others an HRA basis of claim will be but one of a number of alleged grounds of claim.
Prisoners: Location
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders are serving a sentence in a prison located in or near the community where the offence took place in England and Wales. [79612]
Mr Blunt: Information is not held centrally on the location in which prisoners’ offences were committed. However, information is held on the court which dealt with the initial case.
The following table shows the number of prisoners as at 30 September 2011 who were being held in a prison in the same criminal justice area as the initial sentencing court.
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Number |
In the management of the prison population the aim is to hold prisoners in establishments that provide the level of security required, are suitable for their gender, age and legal status, provide special facilities appropriate to prisoner needs as well as being near to their homes or the courts dealing with their cases.
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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.
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect on victims of crime placing offenders in a prison located in or near the community where the offence took place; and if he will make a statement. [79613]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service aims to hold prisoners in establishments that provide the degree of security they require; are suitable to their gender, age and legal status; provide special facilities appropriate to prisoner needs; and are near to their homes or the courts dealing with their cases. With respect to holding prisoners close to their homes, where appropriate, maintaining family ties and constructive links to local communities are important protective factors that increase the likelihood of successful, law abiding rehabilitation on eventual release.
Prisoners on remand and those newly sentenced prior to allocation to other establishments (typically, a training prison) are held in local prisons, whose primary function is to serve the courts.
When allocating prisoners within the closed estate, it is not practical to avoid particular locations to take account of the effect on victims unless there are specific risks that needed to be addressed. If, later in the course of the sentence, consideration is given for a move to open conditions, the location of known victims should be taken into account.
Prisoners: Per Capita Costs
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the average annual cost of a prison place in (a) England and (b) Wales including costs (i) at establishment level, (ii) at head office level and (iii) from other services provided by other Government Departments. [79248]
Mr Blunt: Prison costs are produced on the basis of expenditure met by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). It is not possible to identify expenditure met by all Government Departments, as it would incur disproportionate cost and expenditure related to prisoners is not always separately identified. The following table provides average annual cost of a prison place in England and Wales at Establishment and Head Office level for financial year 2010-11. It also shows the allocation of expenditure for education services only in 2010-11.
| 2010-11 | |||||
| £ | |||||
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Direct cost | Central cost | Overall cost | Education cost | Total cost |
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| Notes: 1. Displayed figures are subject to rounding. 2. Cost per place is expressed in terms of the baseline certified normal accommodation. 3. Establishment cost includes costs met locally by the public sector prison establishments and private sector prisons' costs. 4. Head office (central) costs include prison related costs met regionally and nationally by NOMS; for example, property costs including depreciation, major maintenance, prisoner escort and custody service (relates to transporting prisoners) and central HQ overheads. This involves some estimation. 5. Impairment charges, including the revaluation of land and buildings (£6.9 million) are not included. 6. Expenditure recharged to the Youth Justice Board in respect of young people is included. 7. The figures for 2010-11 are not directly comparable with previous years' published figures due to the change in accounting treatment arising from the Government's Clear Line of Sight initiative. This is mainly due to the exclusion of cost of capital charges in expenditure reported from 1 April 2010. 8. The education costs are funds allocated in 2010-11 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Welsh Government and the Youth Justice Board. |
Prisons: Conditions of Employment
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what (a) sick pay entitlement and (b) pension provision applies to a prison officer working in (i) a state-run prison and (ii) a privately run prison. [79417]
Mr Blunt: The information requested is as follows.
(a) (i) Prison officers in public service prisons are normally entitled to a maximum of six months sick leave on full pay during any period of 12 months followed by half pay, subject to a maximum of 12 months sick absence in any period of four years.
If the absence is as a result of an injury or illness sustained in the course of duty, the period of absence on full pay can be extended by up to a maximum of six months in any four years. If an injury is due to an assault in the course of duty (or an assault not on duty but clearly connected with official duties), the period of absence on full pay will be extended for the total period of sick leave.
(a) (ii) Information from the private sector will vary from company to company. As an example from one prison establishment, a prison custody officer in a privately run prison is paid company sick pay equal to full pay up to the following maximum amounts in any 12 month period:
Up to two years' service—six weeks
After two years' service—eight weeks
After five years' service—10 weeks
After 10 years' service—12 weeks
(b) (i) Prison officers in public service prisons are eligible to be covered by the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). The Civil Service has five different pension schemes:
Classic
Classic plus
Premium
Nuvos
Partnership
Classic, Classic Plus and Premium are defined benefit pension schemes, but were closed to new entrants from July 2007. Nuvos is a defined benefit pension scheme and Partnership is a stakeholder pension account with employer contributions.
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(b) (ii) Information from the private sector will vary from company to company. As an example from one prison establishment, a prison custody officer in a privately run prison is eligible to be covered by a Group Personal Pension Plan which is a defined contribution pension scheme with employer contributions.
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what is the average (a) gross salary and (b) annual leave entitlement of a prison officer working in a (i) state prison and (ii) privately-run prison. [79494]
Mr Blunt: Information from the private sector will vary from company to company. As an example using data from one privately run prison establishment, the average gross salary and annual leave entitlement for public service prison officers and privately run prison custody officers is:
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(a) Average gross salary (per annum) | (b) Average annual leave entitlement (days) |
| (1) Includes base pay and pensionable allowances. (2) Based on data from one privately run prison establishment. | ||
Prisons: Discipline
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners were subject to informal punishment after adjudication in each prison in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010. [79478]
Mr Blunt: Prisoners who commit offences against the prison or young offender institution rules are dealt with through an internal disciplinary system known as adjudications, and if found guilty they may receive any of the punishments allowed under the rules. Adjudications are governed by formal procedures published in Prison Service Instruction 47/2011 (which is available on the Ministry of Justice website) and there is no authority for any form of informal punishment either following adjudication or in any other circumstances.
Public Sector: Misconduct
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information his Department holds on the power of the (a) police and (b) Crown Prosecution Service to bring to prosecution the Offence of Misconduct in Public Office, following the rulings made by Judge Darlow in the case of R v. Laloi 2005; and if he will make a statement. [79227]
Mr Blunt: My Department is not aware of anything in the case of R v.Laloi which would affect the ability of the police or the Crown Prosecution Service to bring prosecutions for the offence of misconduct in public office, or that it modified the offence in any way.
The CPS reviews all cases that are referred to it by the police in accordance with the test set out in Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code). Where there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for misconduct in a public office, and it is in the public interest, the CPS will prosecute.
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Reoffenders
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what comparative assessment he has made of reoffending rates for those offenders participating in the Intensive Alternatives to Custody pilot scheme with reoffending rates of similar offenders receiving custodial sentences of less than 12 months. [78933]
Mr Blunt: To date no such comparative assessment has been made, although the MOJ is currently looking at the feasibility of conducting an evaluation of the IAC pilots which should compare reoffending rates for IAC offenders with reoffending rates for similar offenders receiving custodial sentences of less than 12 months. In July 2011, the MOJ published a short report with the main findings from a range of research exploring the learning from the Intensive Alternatives to Custody (IAC) pilot schemes. Further process evaluations of the IAC pilot sites are currently being concluded and will be published in due course.
Sentencing
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has any plans for a national roll-out of intensive alternatives to custody schemes. [79408]
Mr Blunt: There is no single model of IAC to roll out but the Government are committed to implementing the key elements of the projects. MOJ has disseminated the findings of the pilot studies with a view to good practice being incorporated into mainstream activity via intensive community orders. In addition we have recently announced a review of community sentences which we intend will lead to a formal public consultation.
Sexual Offences: Rehabilitation
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisons are running a sex offender treatment programme in England and Wales. [79604]
Mr Blunt: There are 22 sites that run an accredited sex offender treatment programme of some type. This includes provision in private prisons.
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners (a) are participating in and (b) have declined to participate in the sex offender treatment programme in England and Wales since it was first introduced. [79605]
Mr Blunt: Details of how many prisoners are participating in and who have declined to participate in the sex offender treatment programmes in England and Wales since it was first introduced are not held centrally. These figures could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost by collecting information held on offender files or on local data systems, validating it, and then collating it in a common format in order to provide a response.
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of the sex offender treatment programme on post-release outcomes. [79606]
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Mr Blunt: An outcome study (Friendship, Mann and Beech, 2003) compared the two-year reconviction rates of 647 adult male offenders who had taken part in the core sex offender treatment programme (SOTP) between 1992 and 1994, with 1,910 adult male offenders who had not taken part in the core SOTP. The two samples were matched on year of discharge and shared the same broad characteristics. The treated offenders had statistically significantly lower sexual and/or violent reconviction rates at two years than the untreated offenders (4.6% compared to 8.1%). The biggest impact on reconviction occurred with medium risk offenders. Low risk offenders were very unlikely to reconvict whether treated or not, and the core SOTP did not seem to be sufficient treatment for high risk sex offenders. Following this research, an additional treatment programme has been developed to increase the intensity of treatment with high and very high risk sexual offenders.
Translation Services: Public Expenditure
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total cost to the public purse was of providing translation services to foreign offenders supervised by the (a) National Offender Management Service and (b) Probation Service in each of the last five years. [73084]
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Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Services central accounting system does not separately record costs of providing translation services to foreign offenders either in prison or on probation. It would incur disproportionate cost to examine and collate such costs from each respective establishments and probation trusts.
Young Offenders
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to update the ASSET document used to identify the needs of young offenders in the justice pathway; and if he will make a statement. [78592]
Mr Blunt: ASSET is a structured assessment tool used by Youth Offending Teams in England and Wales on all young offenders who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The Youth Justice Board are currently developing a detailed business case for options to review and redesign ASSET.
Youth Justice practitioners and stakeholders have been consulted on a preferred option through a statement of intent consultation phase, and the outcome of this has fed into the business case development. A decision on any update of ASSET will be informed by the final business case and a decision is likely shortly.