Performing Arts: Young People
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to encourage young people to become involved in (a) drama and (b) acting. [94633]
Mr Vaizey: Arts Council England supports young people to become involved in drama and acting in a number of different ways. Goal 5 of their strategic vision for the arts for the next 10 years is that all children and young people experience the richness of the arts which includes taking part in art forms such as drama.118 National Portfolio Organisations stated in their funding applications that they would be delivering against this goal.
Theatre companies such as Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre run large scale, highly successful programmes to engage young people. Arts Council England regularly funds a number of theatres whose vision and offer is entirely focused on children and young people such as Unicorn and Contact. The newly launched Strategic Fund for Touring includes a specific aim to fund a wide range of high quality work on tour including, in particular, more work by and for children and young people.
Postage Stamps
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with representatives from the philatelic industry on stamp collections. [94634]
Mr Vaizey: Neither the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), nor I have held any recent discussions specifically with representatives of the philatelic industry; however this Department continues to support the British Library that houses the National Philatelic Collections of the United Kingdom.
Public Libraries
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to increase library usage. [94639]
Mr Vaizey: The Department has supported initiatives to assist local authorities in ensuring that libraries remain engaging, relevant and exciting in the 21st century. These include the Arts Council England's ‘Libraries Development Initiative’.
We do not seek to impose or encourage a ‘one size fits all’ approach to attracting library users or specific targets on the numbers of visits to libraries; though overall levels of library visits have remained reasonably stable in the last year. Local authorities are best placed to assess the needs and wishes of local communities, and should be free to put in place the initiatives which are most relevant to local residents.
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Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the average number of people using a local library per month in each age group in the latest period for which figures are available. [94654]
Mr Vaizey: The Department's Taking Part quarterly release indicates demographic and regional breakdowns of physical library attendance. The most recent data is available in “Taking Part 2011/12 Quarter 2: Statistical Release—libraries” published on this Department's website:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/8734.aspx
This link also contains “Taking Part 2011/12 Quarter 2: Statistical Release—Digital participation” that shows headline digital engagement figures, including digital participation in libraries.
The Department and House subscribes to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's (CIPFA) annual library statistics, which include general data profiling the size and age of local populations by local authority.
Royal Family: Finance
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the budget was for the royal household in each of the last five years; and what its budget is forecast to be in each of the next five years. [95009]
Hugh Robertson: This Department pays grant in aid to the royal household for property services for the occupied royal palaces in England and royal communications and information.
The total amounts of grant in aid allocated to the royal household for these in each of the last five complete financial years and the current financial year are in the following table:
| £ million | |
From 2012-13, the Sovereign Grant will replace the civil list (paid direct from the Exchequer), and the voted grants in aid for royal travel and palace maintenance. In 2012-13 the Sovereign Grant will be £31 million. From 2013-14, the Sovereign Grant will be based on a formula related to the revenue of The Crown Estate. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced in the House of Commons on 14 July 2011, Official Report, column 536,
“.....a grant equivalent to 15% of the profits made by The Crown Estate in the financial year two years earlier”.
Details about the royal household's expenditure can be found in the royal public finances annual reports,
http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/AnnualFinancialReports/Annualfinancialreports.aspx
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S4C
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport for what reasons his Department did not issue a written ministerial statement regarding its consultation on S4C's governance arrangements; and what steps his Department is taking to promote participation in the consultation. [95460]
Mr Vaizey: On 1 February the Department opened a public consultation on proposals to amend S4C’s governance arrangements. The consultation is open until 4 May 2012. I did not make a written ministerial statement on this as the consultation is publicly available online at
http://www.culture.gov.uk/consultations
and my officials informed more than 50 key stakeholders in Parliament by e-mail when the consultation was published.
Tickets
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will take steps to prevent the resale of publicly-subsidised event tickets for profit. [94681]
Hugh Robertson: The Government have no current plans to extend existing legislation, covering the resale of tickets, including those that are publicly subsidised.
Cabinet Office
10 Downing Street: Catering
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what proportion of the (a) food and (b) drink served to its guests to 10 Downing street on official occasions is sourced from UK farmers, fisheries and food and drink manufacturers; [95057]
(2) whether his Department (a) has a policy or (b) provides guidance on the sourcing of (i) food and (ii) drink from UK farms, fisheries and food and drink manufacturers served to guests on official occasions at 10 Downing street. [95058]
Mr Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 1 December 2011, Official Report, column 1047W.
Advisory Services: Finance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many applications he has received for (a) the Social Action Fund and (b) the Advice Services Fund; when he expects to announce recipients of funding from the Advice Services Fund; and if he will make a statement. [95434]
Mr Hurd: For round one of the Social Action Fund the Social Investment Business (SIB) received just over 700 applications. Round two of the fund closed on 3 February 2012 and SIB are currently reviewing the applications that have been submitted. It is anticipated that the final figure for applications in round two will be around 600.
20 Feb 2012 : Column 596W
The Advice Services Fund (ASF) received 622 applications. BIG FUND who is administering the £16.8 million ASF grant on behalf of the Cabinet Office sent out conditional offer letters to successful applicants at the end of January. A final list of successful applicants will be published on the BIG FUND website in March 2012.
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress has been made on his Department's cross-Government review of advice funding. [95464]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office review of the advice services, announced on the 21 November 2011, is currently in progress.
Since November, Cabinet Office have been looking at the funding environment for free advice services, likely levels of demand, and how Government can play a positive role. The Cabinet Office is engaging with other Government Departments with a policy interest in free advice services.
Over the past two months, Cabinet Office officials have been gathering information from the not-for-profit advice sector through a number of meetings, round table discussions and visits.
The review will conclude with recommendations to Ministers and updates will be provided in due course.
Childbirth
Andrew George: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when (a) provisional and (b) final (i) live birth and (ii) stillbirth figures for 2011 will be published; and on what dates these figures were published in each of the last three years. [95086]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking when (a) provisional and (b) final (i) live birth and (ii) stillbirth figures for 2011 will be published; and on what dates these figures were published in each of the last three years (95086).
The Office for National Statistics is responsible for publishing statistics on the numbers of births registered in England and Wales.
Final figures on live births and stillbirths for 2011 will be published in July 2012. Provisional annual births figures are no longer published.
The dates when figures on live births and stillbirths were published for the last three years are shown in the following table. Provisional annual live birth figures have not been published since 2010 (for 2009 births). No provisional stillbirth figures have been published during this period.
20 Feb 2012 : Column 597W
20 Feb 2012 : Column 598W
| Year of birth | Date of publication of provisional figures | Date of publication of final figures | ||
| Live births | Stillbirths | Live births | Stillbirths | |
Communities First Fund
Robert Flello: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what right of appeal applies to local organisations which are refused funding by the Community First Programme’s local panel. [94427]
Mr Hurd: The decisions of the local Community First panels are final. The panels set the initial priorities for grant making in the eligible ward, based on what is already known about local issues and problems. Grant making decisions are then made in line with the identified priorities.
The panels maintain a website that will detail the priorities, the grants made and to whom. Local people and groups have the opportunity to both shape the priorities and monitor how the money is allocated and spent. The panel is formed of local people and may include a councillor—all are visible and accountable to the people in their ward.
Each panel must revisit these priorities by March 2013 by developing a Community First plan, involving the local community in this process. This provides an opportunity for all interested parties to make a contribution to shaping future funding decisions.
Community Development Fund
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he has taken to ensure transparency in the grants awarded by the Community Development Foundation. [94525]
Mr Hurd [holding answer 9 February 2012]: Community First is a small grants programme with a budget of up to £30 million over four years for funding to neighbourhood groups in targeted wards, and up to £80 million for an England-wide endowment match challenge.
The small grants money is administered by the Community Development Foundation (CDF), but the grant award decisions are made separately by a panel of local people in the eligible ward. This ensures that responsibility for decisions is taken as close as possible to the community that the grants seek to serve. More information is available from the CDF website:
http://www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/neighbourhood-matched-fund
The panel must maintain a website as a condition of the funding. This website is to be used to promote the programme and provide information to the community on funded projects and the groups that are getting grants. This provides an opportunity for more local people to get involved and also to make applications for project funding. The panel works with a local organisation as a panel partner, helping to ensure transparency and probity.
Company Finance
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many companies in each region had a turnover of over (a) £1 million, (b) £5 million and (c) £10 million in 2010-11. [94621]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many companies in each region had a turnover of over (a) £1 million, (b) £5 million and (c) £10 million in 2010-11. [94621]
Annual statistics on the number of enterprises are available from the ONS release; UK Business: Activity, Size and Location at:
www.statistics.gov.uk
These estimates relate to the count of live businesses in March of each year.
The table provides estimates for the number of companies in each region had a turnover of over (a) £1 million, (b) £5 million and (c) £10 million in 2010-11.
| Count of VAT or PAYE based companies by region and turnover size band for 2010 and 2011 | ||||||||
| Turnover (£ million) | ||||||||
| 1<5 | 5<10 | 10 + | Total | |||||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | 2011 | |
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Procurement: Capital Bonds
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what proportion of the total value of contracts issued or to be issued by his Department in 2011-12 have required successful organisations to put up a capital bond; and if he will make a statement; [94922]
(2) which contracts his Department has tendered or will tender in 2011-12 which require successful organisations to have a capital bond of more than £5 million; which contracts have not required such a bond; and if he will make a statement. [94942]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office has not awarded or tendered for any contracts during 2011-12 which require the successful supplier to have a capital bond, and has no such contracts planned.
20 Feb 2012 : Column 600W
Departmental Training
Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many away days his Department has held since May 2010; what the location was of each such away day; how many staff attended; and what the cost was of each such event. [93838]
Mr Maude: Details of events can be found in the following table. In all cases, staff are encouraged to use facilities on the Cabinet Office estate wherever possible, but in some cases it is more beneficial to hold events offsite and away from office distractions. There is a robust approvals process in place which requires sign-off at senior level in the Department's finance team. Expenditure is in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in “Managing Public Money” and the Treasury handbook on “Regularity & Propriety”.
| Event | Location | Number of staff attending | Cost (£) |
|
Charity and Social Enterprise organisation (Rich Mix) London |
|||
|
Social enterprise and charity support organisation (CAN Mezzanine) |
|||
E-mail: Department for Education
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2012, Official Report, column 63W, if he will make an exception and publish the guidance issued to the Department for Education on private e-mails and the Freedom of Information Act, given the Secretary of State's reference to that guidance to the Education Select Committee. [95095]
Mr Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 6 February. I do not feel it would be appropriate to make an exception to this long standing convention.
Exports: EU Countries
Mr Shepherd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he plans to take to ensure that statistics on exports to the European Union published by the Office for National Statistics take account of trans-shipments to non-EU countries. [95241]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he plans to take to ensure that statistics on exports to the European Union published by the Office for National Statistics take account of trans-shipments to non-EU countries. 95241
The Balance of Payments Trade in Goods data is produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data provided by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC are responsible for capturing and collating both non-EU data, using customs declarations (‘Extrastat'), and EU data, via the Intrastat survey.
For UK exports both within and outside the European Union, the ‘country of destination' is recorded on the relevant survey form as the final EU or Non-EU country the goods are destined for, even if the goods travel through other countries on the way. Therefore, goods which are exported via other Member States to non-EU countries should under EU Customs law be declared in the country of export, not the Member State from where they exit the EU. In the UK, they will be recorded as an export to the non-EU country of ultimate destination.
20 Feb 2012 : Column 601W
However, goods may quite legitimately be shipped to an EU Member State and then subsequently re-exported to destinations outside the EU but be declared as a UK export to the EU. For example, following export from the UK, subsequent changes in ownership of the goods may result in the goods being re-exported to a non-EU country. These movements will be recorded as UK exports to the other EU Member State and as a further non-EU export from the first receiving country.
Government Departments: Procurement
Sajid Javid: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how small and medium-sized enterprises can find out about government contracts. [95149]
Mr Maude: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can find out about government contracts by using Contracts Finder, a one stop shop to enable suppliers to find procurement opportunities worth over £10,000, tender documents and contracts online, free of charge. Contracts Finder includes a facility whereby suppliers can indicate in which sectors and areas they are interested and they will receive e-mail notification of relevant opportunities free of charge. Contracts Finder can be found at:
www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
For lower value Government contracts (below £100,000), SMEs since July 2011 have been able to register on the Dynamic Marketplace and provide quick quotes, enabling them to bid and compete at minimal cost alongside larger suppliers. The Dynamic Marketplace gives Government Departments, their agencies and NDPBs immediate, cost-effective access to pre-registered Government suppliers to publish bids for low value projects. Issuing and responding to bids is done electronically, making the procurement process quicker and more cost-effective. Registration is free to suppliers at:
https://register4ukgov.procserveonline.com
Mrs Moon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether there is a minimum level of turnover a third sector organisation is required to have in order to bid for a Government contract. [95544]
Mr Maude: The Government recognise the vital role that third sector organisations have to play in helping them to achieve the best possible value for money when it buys goods and services, and has initiated a series of measures to make it easier for such bodies to compete for Government contracts, by removing unnecessary barriers such as inappropriate financial requirements.
There is no standard minimum level of turnover required for a third sector organisation, turnover being just one indicator of a supplier’s financial status. The application of financial assessment should be proportionate to the value, size and risk of the requirement.
Identity Cards: Photography
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he plans to respond to the letter of 27 September 2011 and subsequent correspondence from the hon. Member for Mole Valley about the retention of the printed photo ID market; and if he will arrange a meeting to discuss the subject further. [95169]
20 Feb 2012 : Column 602W
Mr Maude: The letter was transferred to the Department for Transport in October 2011. A response was sent on 2 November 2011.
New Businesses: South East
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small businesses have commenced trading in (a) Dartford constituency, (b) Kent and (c) the south-east in the last six months. [95072]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many small businesses have commenced trading in (a) Dartford constituency, (b) Kent and (c) the South East in the last six months [95072].
Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births within a calendar year are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at
www.statistics.gov.uk
However, these statistics are only available up to the calendar year 2010. The results for 2011 will be released on 6th December 2012.
Private Sector: Employment
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many private sector jobs were lost in the North East in 2011. [95442]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many private sector jobs were lost in the North East in 2011 (95442).
Private sector employment statistics for local areas can be calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey
ONS is unable to measure the number of private sector jobs that have been lost in the North East. However, as an alternative have provided the net change in private sector employment in the North East between the 12 month APS periods ending in June 2010 and June 2011, which was an increase of 14,200.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Public Sector: Industrial Disputes
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to avoid industrial action in the public sector. [95573]
Mr Maude: This Government have demonstrated that they are committed to working with trade unions in a meaningful and constructive way, to avoid industrial action wherever possible.
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Public services have highly-developed, robust contingency plans in place to ensure that essential services are maintained during industrial action. These plans are routinely tested to improve the resilience of public services.
Public Sector: Volunteering
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what arrangements exist for public sector workers to take (a) paid or (b) unpaid leave to support (i) cadet groups, (ii) scouts and (iii) other youth and community groups. [95182]
Mr Hurd: In February 2011 the Government announced that each civil servant would be encouraged to do at least one day of volunteering each year using special leave. The civil service aims to give 30,000 days per year. Some Government Departments offer their staff more than one day's special leave a year to volunteer. Civil servants can choose which organisations they volunteer with.
Wider public sector organisations will have their own policies and procedures on employer supported volunteering.
Senior Civil Servants: Pay
John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the net value has been of non-consolidated performance-related pay awards for senior civil servants in each Government Department since May 2010. [94961]
Mr Maude: Since May 2010, non-consolidated performance-related pay (NCPRP) for senior civil servants has been cut back. This has been achieved by reducing the number of people who receive awards from 65% to 25% of senior civil servants, so that only those who have given exceptional performance over the year are rewarded. This has delivered savings of around £15 million. Total spend by each Department and agency on NCPRP awards for the performance year 2010-11 was published on departmental websites and linked to data.gov.uk in October 2011.
Student Loans Company: Pay
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the Cabinet Secretary became aware of the proposed arrangements for remunerating the Chief Executive of the Student Loans Company; and whether the Cabinet Secretary agreed to those arrangements. [94193]
Mr Maude: The former Cabinet Secretary was first notified of the proposed remuneration arrangements for the chief executive of the Student Loans Company in December 2010 and agreed to the proposals presented by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), subject to HMRC's agreement to extend their concession for the two year term which was later granted.
The current Cabinet Secretary was made aware of this issue last week.
20 Feb 2012 : Column 604W
Job Vacancies
Simon Hart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2012, Official Report, column 102W, on vacancies, what the practical difficulties were which the Office for National Statistics encountered in producing estimates of job vacancies for agriculture, fisheries and farming; [94677]
(2) whether any consideration has been given to producing the Office for National Statistics Vacancy Survey on a regional basis. [94711]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2012, Official Report, column 102W, on vacancies, what the practical difficulties were which the Office for National Statistics encountered in producing estimates of job vacancies for agriculture, fisheries and farming. (94677). Whether any consideration has been given to producing the Office for National Statistics Vacancy Survey on a regional basis. (94711)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces estimates of vacancies for the whole economy excluding agriculture, forestry and fishing.
The main reason for the exclusion of vacancies for agriculture, forestry and fishing is because of the disproportionate additional compliance cost to business of data collection as these industry sectors mainly consist of very small firms (mostly with zero vacancies).
Based on employment figures it is estimated by the ONS that this exclusion is likely to lead to an understatement of the overall vacancy figures in the UK of around 1 to 2 per cent.
The ability to provide regional data would require a larger, more complex survey to be designed and developed. The likely barriers to implementation will be the cost to develop and run the survey and the additional burden that a survey of this type would place on businesses.
As part of Triennial Review of the Vacancy Survey, we sought user's views on information they would require from the survey. Indications from latest responses suggest there is interest in estimates by regions. ONS will be investigating feasibility of producing vacancy estimates by regions whilst taking into account the cost and burden on businesses.
Voluntary Work: Young People
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reason he is no longer providing funding for a National Volunteer Service; and if he will make a statement. [95161]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office is not aware of and has never funded a programme specifically called the ‘National Volunteer Service'.
The Government are committed to supporting volunteering and are delivering programmes to create a stronger culture of volunteering in England. As outlined in the Giving White Paper published in May 2011 the Government are supporting volunteering through providing £40 million over two years for initiatives such as the Social Action Fund, Innovation in Giving Fund and the Challenge Prizes scheme.
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Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many of those who participated in National Citizen Service pilots in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 have continued to volunteer in their local community; and if he will make a statement. [95162]
Mr Hurd: The National Citizen Service pilots began in 2011. There were no 2010 pilots. The information requested is being collected as part of the independent evaluation of the 2011 NCS pilots, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research. An interim report on the 2011 NCS pilots will be published in March 2012.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many children with a registered disability participated in the National Citizen Service scheme in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and if he will make a statement. [95163]
Mr Hurd: The National Citizen Service pilots began in 2011. There were no 2010 pilots. The information requested is being collected as part of the independent evaluation of the 2011 NCS pilots, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research. An interim report on the 2011 NCS pilots, including information on how many children with a registered disability participated in the National Citizen Service scheme, will be published in March 2012.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the (a) overall cost of the National Citizen Service (NCS), (b) cost to his Department of the NCS and (c) extra income that will be raised by providers to help pay for the NCS; and if he will make a statement. [95218]
Mr Hurd: Information on the overall cost of the National Citizen Service (NCS) to the Cabinet Office in this spending review period is published as part of the quarterly data summary, on the Cabinet Office website. It can be viewed at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/business-plan-quarterly-data-summary
Information about the extra income raised by providers is being collected as part of the independent evaluation of the 2011 NCS pilots, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research. An interim report on the 2011 NCS pilots will be published in March 2012.
All providers raise extra funds to meet the forecast of NCS. The information requested is being collected as part of the independent evaluation of the 2011 NCS pilots, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research. An interim report on the 2011 NCS pilots, including information on the extra income that is raised by providers, to help pay for the NCS, will be published in March 2012.
20 Feb 2012 : Column 606W
Justice
Homicide: British Nationals Abroad
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will provide funding for families of British nationals murdered abroad for the purpose of attending trials and related court hearings abroad. [95504]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice funds the National Homicide Service to support families bereaved by homicide post-April 2010. Since November 2010 this support has also been extended to families bereaved by a murder or manslaughter abroad. In the current financial year the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has provided funding to enable the Homicide Service to commission services on behalf of families, if they judge that the family needs them, in recognition of the exceptional and additional costs they might face following a murder abroad. This may include travel to attend trials and related court hearings.
Alternatives to Prison
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on future tendering for the running of intensive alternative to custody schemes. [95032]
Mr Blunt: The Intensive Alternatives to Custody (IAC) pilot programme ran from 2008-09 to 2010/11 and there were never plans to extend central funding for IAC past the end of the pilot. Learning from the evaluation of these pilots will be considered to inform future commissioning and delivery of offender services.
Appeals: Disability Living Allowance
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average waiting time for a disability living allowance appeal to be heard was in (a) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (b) East Yorkshire and (c) Yorkshire and Humber in each of the last five years. [95616]
Mr Djanogly: The table shows the average waiting time in weeks for an appeal against a disability living allowance decision from receipt at the HM Courts and Tribunals Service to disposal from April 2007 to October 2011 (the latest period for which statistics have been published) in the tribunal venues serving Yorkshire and Humber.
The Doncaster and Hull venues serve appellants living in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency as well as other nearby locations; the Doncaster, Grimsby and Hull venues serve appellants living in East Yorkshire and the surrounding area.
The figures provided in the table include cases that were decided by a tribunal hearing and those that were disposed of by other means (such as being withdrawn, superseded or struck out).
| Disability living allowance appeals | |||||
| Average waiting times in weeks | |||||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | YTD October 2011 | |
20 Feb 2012 : Column 607W
20 Feb 2012 : Column 608W
| Notes: 1. Data are taken from management information. 2. Individual cases can have a disproportionate impact on the overall data at venue level due to the relatively low volumes involved. | |||||
Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many asylum and immigration-related cases were heard in the (a) first Tier of the Tribunal's Immigration and Asylum Chamber, (b) upper Tier of the Tribunal's Immigration and Asylum Chamber, (c) Administrative Court and (d) Courts of Appeal in England and Wales or the Court of Sessions in Scotland in the most recent year for which figures are available. [94679]
Mr Djanogly: The First-Tier of the Tribunal's Immigration and Asylum Chamber heard 130,900 cases between April 2010 and March 2011; this includes appeals determined on the papers but excludes withdrawn cases.
The Upper Tier of the Tribunal's Immigration and Asylum Chamber heard 6,700 cases between April 2010 and March 2011; this includes appeals determined on the papers but excludes withdrawn cases.
The Administrative Court received 8,076 Immigration and Asylum applications between April 2010 and March 2011, all of which went before a judge for a decision. In addition, the court held 156 substantive hearings for immigration and asylum cases over this period.
The Immigration and Asylum Chamber covers the whole of the United Kingdom. The Administrative Court and Court of Appeal Civil Division cover appeals from England and Wales. Appeals from tribunals in Scotland are dealt with by the Court of Session, part of the Scottish Courts Service.
The Court of Appeal Civil Division asylum and immigration related cases are set out in the following table. I will write separately in response to your request for information relating to the Court of Session in Scotland.
The table includes statutory appeals from the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber and appeals from the Administrative Court in immigration and asylum judicial review cases.
British Nationals Abroad: Death
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many open coroners' cases involve the death of UK nationals overseas. [95018]
Mr Djanogly: Coroners are required to provide a statistical return at the end of each year with the number of inquests ongoing as at 31 December arising from deaths outside England and Wales.
The number outstanding at the end of each year in the last four years for which figures are available were:
| Number | |
However, these figures only reflect the number of those who died abroad whose bodies have been repatriated to a coroner's jurisdiction in England and Wales. Some deceased persons, therefore, may be non-UK nationals but these cannot be segregated from the UK nationals.
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many coroners’ cases involving non-UK companies could not be completed due to non-attendance of witnesses from overseas in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011. [95019]
Mr Djanogly: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 17 January 2012, Official Report, column 693W. Information about the number of coroners’ cases that cannot be completed due to non-attendance of witnesses (including companies) that are outside of the UK’s jurisdiction is not centrally held.
Civil Disorder
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has issued any guidance to the courts handling the cases relating to the public disorder of August 2011 on issuing convicted offenders with compensation orders. [95503]
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Mr Djanogly: No guidance has been issued on the making of compensation orders in cases relating to the public disorder of August 2011. The Sentencing Council provides guidelines for the Crown and magistrates courts. Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, taking account of all the circumstances of the offender and the offence.
Coroners: Missing Persons
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has given consideration to directing a coroner to hold an inquest in the absence of a body, under the provisions of section 15 of the Coroners Act 1988, into the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam on-board the Disney Wonder Cruise Ship on 22 March 2011. [95420]
Mr Djanogly: Section 15 of the Coroners Act 1988 enables a coroner in England and Wales to report the facts to the Secretary of State if the coroner has reason to believe that a death has occurred in or near their district and that an inquest ought to be held, but there is no body. Because Rebecca Coriam disappeared outside of the jurisdiction of England and Wales during a voyage off the Pacific coast of Mexico, no coroner could make a report under section 15.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases of (a) data loss and (b) breaches of confidentiality occurred in his Department in 2011. [94884]
Mr Djanogly: There were 3,192 incidents involving information assets in 2011. This figure includes losses of data or the equipment holding it and incidents with the potential for breach of confidentiality. Of these, three were assessed as significant and were reported to the Information Commissioner.
2,606 of these incidents relate to individual cases of lost or misdirected mail. Data lost in 251 incidents involved official equipment subject to protection by encryption.
It is not possible to identify how many incidents involved breaches of confidentiality. This information is recorded locally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to encourage the use of e-mail in preference to printed correspondence for communications between his Department and hon. Members. [94853]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice has an e-mail address to which hon. Members can write. Currently replies are only sent by e-mail where an hon. Member requests this.
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European Social Fund
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding from the European Social Fund was used to support offenders in each of the last five years; and how much he expects to be provided in each of the next five years. [95499]
Mr Blunt: The majority of ESF money administered by the National Offender Management Service in England comes via the Co-Financing Programme. NOMS was granted Co-Financing status in early 2009 part way through the 2007 to 2013 ESF programme. Therefore there was no ESF expenditure for 2007 and 2008 and only a relatively small amount in 2009. The chart provided as follows details actual expenditure for 2009, 2010 and 2011. 2012 through to 2014 are based on current profiles for contracted provision. It is difficult to estimate expenditure beyond this date as negotiations for the 2014 to 2020 programme are still taking place at ministerial level.
| ESF Funds for offender support (£) | |
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what funding from the European Social Fund has been made available to support victims of crime in each of the last five years. [95500]
Mr Blunt: ESF money is not allocated for this purpose by ESFD and therefore not available for NOMS to use in the current Co-Financing Programme.
HMP Risley: Finance
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what funding in each category of expenditure his Department provided to HMP Risley in each financial year from 2008-09 to 2011-12. [94784]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows direct resource outturn expenditure figures for HMP Risley for the financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11 broken down by category of expenditure. The outturn figures more accurately represent the cost of providing services for prior years. For 2011-12 the latest forecast outturn expenditure figures are shown as at January 2012. The final figures for 2011-12 may vary from the figures provided depending on the actual expenditure incurred over the remainder of the financial year and also if there are any amendments due to changing priorities.
| Category of expenditure at HMP Risley in each financial year from 2008-09 to 2011-12 | ||||
| Cost category | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
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| Notes: 1. All figures expressed in £ million. 2. 2008-09 to 2010-11 based on direct resource expenditure at the establishment, as published in the addendum to the accounts. This excludes expenditure met at regional or national level. 2011-12 data are based on forecast outturn as at accounting period 10. | ||||
Homicide: Compensation
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons there was a £40,000 underspend in the Homicide Fund budget; how this underspend is to be distributed; and if he will make a statement. [95518]
Mr Blunt: £40,728.87 of the £250,000 2011-12 Homicide Fund was unallocated due to bids not meeting the required minimum standards set for the fund. As recommended by the Victims' Commissioner, the under spend was divided between:
a capacity building project designed to improve the capacity, and robustness of peer support organisations with the aim of improving their success rate in attracting funding. Fifteen small homicide organisations are benefitting from this project; and
piloting improvements in access to specialist legal advice for bereaved families.
Human Trafficking
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for offences related to human trafficking in each year since 2004. [95128]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for human trafficking in England and Wales, from 2004 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in May 2012.
| Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for human trafficking offences (1) , England and Wales, 2004-10 (2, 3) | |
| Number found guilty | |
| (1) Includes offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (came into force 1 May 2004) and Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants Act) 2004 section 4 (came into force 1 December 2004). (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) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services: Ministry of Justice. | |
Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes
Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support scheme operated by the Salvation Army in January 2012; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [95552]
Mr Blunt: In January 2012 there were 27 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table. In the interests of victim safety the region in which the victim was encountered is provided rather than the parliamentary constituency.
| Nationality | Gender | Region | Referring Organisation |
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Legal Aid Scheme
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent from the public purse on support for legal costs for victims of crime and witnesses in each of the last five years. [95514]
Mr Blunt: In a common law system victims do not have the legal status of a party to criminal proceedings and the provision of legal aid to enable participation in criminal proceedings is therefore not relevant.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ), and formerly the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA), has funded the costs of legal advice to families bereaved by homicide.
The DCA trialled the provision of legal advice as part of the wider Victims Advocates Scheme pilots (to explore how the criminal justice system can improve the support and information available to families in murder and manslaughter cases, and to give them a voice in court) which were completed in 2008. The evaluation recommended that access to free legal advice be made available nationally to families bereaved by homicide.
The MOJ funds the National Homicide Service to support families bereaved by homicide since April 2010. As part of this service, families have access to a free legal advice helpline that provides advice on issues such as probate, employment and state benefits that may arise from their loss.
The spend on this legal advice for families bereaved by homicide for the last five years is as follows:
| Financial year | Spend (£) |
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| (1) Legal advice costs as part of the Victims Advocates Scheme pilots. (2 )Costs (excluding VAT) of piloting the legal advice helpline prior to the establishment of the Homicide Service to bereaved families. (3 )Excluding VAT. (4) Spend on the legal advice helpline (excluding VAT) up until 31 January 2012. Also includes £20,000 to pilot additional legal support for bereaved families as recommended by the Victims' Commissioner in her report “Review into the Needs of Families Bereaved by Homicide” (July 2011). | |
Legislation
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation has been repealed since May 2010. [90593]
Mr Djanogly: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
However, the Government remain committed to the repeal of unnecessary legislation—particularly that which imposes excessive burdens on business, individuals and public bodies. Legislation to deliver this commitment will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time permits.
Magistrates Courts: Wales
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has for (a) the magistrates' court house in Ammanford and (b) the remainder of its estate in Wales. [94664]
Mr Djanogly: Ammanford magistrates court closed in December 2011. Terms have been agreed for the sale of the court, subject to contract.
As part of the work to develop its future strategy, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is reviewing its hearing estate presence across England and Wales. Our aim is to achieve an estate of appropriate capacity to meet business need, which is also efficient and less costly to run.
Manoucehr Bahmanzadeh
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2012, Official Report, columns 361-2W, on Manoucehr Bahmanzadeh, whether or not the monies levied were paid directly to the Crown Prosecution Service or into another account. [94808]
Mr Blunt: The confiscation order of £1 million in the name of Manoucehr Bahmanzadeh was paid in full, plus an additional £19,978 of accrued interest for late payment. The bulk of the assets were held in Jersey outside of the jurisdiction of England and Wales. Therefore £950,730 was enforced by Jersey within their jurisdiction and that amount was retained in full by them. The remaining £69,248 was accounted for by HMCTS and forwarded to the Home Office. Under the Asset Recovery Incentive Scheme the CPS as the Prosecution Agency would retain 18.75% of the £69,248, which equates to £12,984.
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Offenders: Mental Health Services
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding his Department has provided for counselling services for offenders in each of the last five years. [95507]
Mr Blunt: Counselling is provided to offenders in a number of ways and for a number of different reasons in both a custodial and community setting. This might be provided by prison chaplains or organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous. The type and volume of such counselling is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost by obtaining highly complex information held on offender files, or in local and national data systems, validating it, collating it in a common format in order to provide a response.
Offenders: Research
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what grants his Department has provided to third sector organisations to undertake research into offender and prisoner rehabilitation in each of the last five years. [94676]
Mr Blunt: In 2009-10 and 2010-11, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS: an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice) paid a grant to the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (Nacro). It included £610,000 per annum for provision of advice and support to REAG (then the Race Equality Action Group), and generic resettlement support. As part of this grant payment, Nacro produced a number of social research papers: mainly focusing on the needs of women with disabilities, the needs of women offenders who had been involved in prostitution, the needs of older women, and research focusing on offender accommodation.
The Ministry of Justice funds the vast majority of its research via contracts through a competitive tendering process, rather than grants. These contracts span a wide range of providers including academia, private sector, non-profit and voluntary sector organisations.
Prison: Employment Schemes
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners worked in prison industries in (a) general packing and assembly, (b) laundry, (c) assembly of electrical components, (d) general recycling, (e) printing, (f) repacking food products, (g) data entry and (h) recycling of airline headsets in 2011. [94629]
Mr Blunt: Our latest estimate (2010-11) is that, for the activities described, the following numbers of prisoners worked in NOMS public sector prisons in England and Wales:
| Type of activity | Approximate number of prisoners working (1) |
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| (1) These data have been extracted from IT systems and assumes that all transactions have been allocated and recorded correctly. As with any large-scale recording system, information is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. (2) Included in (a) above. (3) Relates to the management, reuse and recycling of prison generated waste and not generally included as part of the prison industry function. | |
In total about 9,000 prisoners per day currently work in NOMS public sector prison industries in over 400 workshops and about a further 1,000 work in private sector prison industries, representing a wide range of activities including, in addition to those listed above, furniture and textile manufacturing, engineering and land based activities.
Prisons also partly run on prison labour. These activities include about 4,400 prisoners working in catering and picking and packing services. In addition significant numbers of prisoners are involved in areas such as cleaning and maintenance—as these jobs are local to each prison numbers are not collated centrally.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what proportion of prisoners working in prison industries received an accredited qualification at (a) entry level, (b) level one, (c) level two and (d) level three or above in 2011; [94630]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of prison industries on (a) learning, (b) employability and (c) re-offending outcomes. [94631]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not collect this information.
This Government recognise the importance of learning, skills and employment in supporting prisoners to improve employment and reducing reoffending outcomes for offenders. Prison industry provides a regular working week and real work experience that develops discipline, a work structure and the habits necessary to gain employment upon release. No data are available to indicate the particular effect of prison industries on reducing reoffending, although research(1) shows that employment in general reduces reoffending.
(1 )Lipsey. M, Cook. T et al (1992) “Meta-analysis for explanation: a casebook”, Russell Sage Foundation, New York,
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what accredited qualifications prisoners can obtain whilst working in prison industries at (a) entry level, (b) level one, (c) level two and (d) level three or above. [94632]
Mr Blunt: Prisoners working in prison industries can work towards sector specific qualifications. Qualifications delivered are on the Qualification Credit Framework which accredits the achievement of learning through the award of units and qualifications.
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NOMS created an Offender Qualifications Manual that lists various employment sectors available in prison with recommended qualifications and progression opportunities that can be accessed for prisoners and for staff continuous professional development.
New offender learning delivery arrangements being put in place now as a result of the strategy set out in “Making Prisons Work: Skills for Rehabilitation” will give prison governors significantly greater control over the curriculum delivered in their establishments, including 'on the job' training in prison industries to deliver vocational qualifications.
Prisoner Escorts
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to maintain and improve the reliability of security measures when transporting high-security inmates between prisons and court. [94374]
Mr Blunt: Effective security measures are in place for the transport of highest-risk prisoners. There has only been one category A escape in the last 16 years. The circumstances of that escape, which took place on 23 January this year, are currently subject to investigation. It is my expectation that the investigation report will include detailed recommendations on how these already effective security measures might be further strengthened.
Prisoners’ Release
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders who were recalled to prison for licence breaches (a) served all of the remainder of their sentence in custody and (b) served part of the remainder of their sentence in custody prior to being released in the latest period for which figures are available. [95509]
Mr Blunt: There were 4,353 recalls recorded between July and September 2011. These figures were published in Ministry of Justice's Offender Management Statistics quarterly bulletin on 26 January 2012:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/prisons-and-probation/oms-quarterly.htm
Depending on the sentence type and/or nature of his offence(s), an offender recalled may be subject to a fixed term recall. The recall period is fixed at 28 days. There were 1,194 offenders recalled to serve a fixed term recall between July and September 2011, and by now all of these prisoners will have been re-released.
For other determinate sentence prisoners, recall can result in detention until the expiry of their sentence. In such cases, following recall and once the offender has been apprehended and returned to custody, the case must be referred to the Parole Board within 28 days. The board will consider whether the prisoner can be safely re-released into the community and may either (i) order the prisoner's immediate re-release; (ii) set a future re-release date; or (iii) fix a date for the next review of the prisoner's case.
The Secretary of State also has the statutory power to re-release a recalled determinate sentence prisoner (other than those serving an extended sentence) if he considers that it is safe to do so.
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It is not possible to provide data on how many determinate sentence prisoners recalled to custody served the whole of their custodial sentence in prison and how many were re-released back onto licence. This is because all individual recall records would need to be checked to establish how many prisoners fell into each of the above categories. This would incur disproportionate cost.
Where an offender has been released onto the Home Detention Curfew (HDC) scheme and has been recalled either for breach of their curfew conditions or because it was no longer possible to monitor their curfew compliance, he is required to complete the remainder of the HDC period in custody (ie until the halfway point of the sentence). Any such offender is re-released to serve the remainder of his sentence in the community.
There were 60 indeterminate sentenced prisoners (ISPs) recalled in the same period. As these prisoners are on life or Imprisonment for Public Protection licence, they can potentially be held for an indefinite period unless the Parole Board is satisfied they can be safely re-released. Of the 60 ISPs recalled in the most recent quarterly period, 56 were still in custody on 31 December 2011.
Prisoners: Detention
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much compensation for unlawful detention was paid to prisoners in England and Wales in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and how many individuals received such payments. [95440]
Mr Blunt: Compensation figures are recorded in financial years. In 2010-11 53 unlawful detention claims from prisoners were settled for a total of £283,509. Figures for 2011-12 will be collated at the end of the financial year.
Prisoners: Suicide
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the date of first reception into custody was for each prisoner who committed suicide in custody in England and Wales in 2011; and what the length of sentence was for each such prisoner who had been sentenced. [94558]
Mr Blunt: On 1 January the Ministry of Justice announced that there had been 57 apparent self inflicted deaths in 2011. A fuller picture on deaths is provided in the annual Safety in Custody bulletin which is produced by the National Offender Management Service and the Ministry of Justice. This publication covers deaths, self-harm and assaults among prisoners in custody; and contains statistics relating to self-inflicted deaths in custody from 2001 in England and Wales. The 2011 bulletin will be published on 24 July 2012.
Prisons: Discipline
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to his Department's Strategy for Victims and Witnesses, if he will consider introducing measures to enable victims of crime to be informed of the disciplinary records of offenders while in custody (a) where the offender has been subject to disciplinary action for making unauthorised contact with media outlets and (b) in all cases. [94705]
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Mr Blunt: There is no specific entitlement for victims, witnesses or their families to be informed of the disciplinary records of individual prisoners. There are no plans to change this. Disciplinary hearings are not public hearings; they are undertaken in compliance with prison and young offender institution rules to maintain order in prisons.
However, if a victim or witness believes there is a need for he or she to be informed of the disciplinary record of a specific prisoner he or she may request disclosure of the information. This would be considered, in the normal way, and responded to in accordance with the Ministry of Justice's obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.
Regarding the release of disciplinary records in all cases, I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 28 June 2011, Official Report, column 712W.
Prisons: Manpower
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the (a) effect on the safety of prisoners and staff and (b) changes in working practices which may be necessary if prison officers are required to work until the age of 68. [94757]
Mr Blunt: The Prison Officers' Association is involved in ongoing discussions with the Cabinet Office around pension arrangements for prison officers, which includes consideration of the appropriate retirement age for prison officers.
In respect of people in their sixties working in prisons, safe systems of work and health and safety assessments are in place across the prison estate to ensure that staff and prisoners are in an environment that is as safe as possible.
NOMS's operational security policies on issues such as use of force and escorts which involve, or have the potential to involve, physical intervention on the part of staff will be reviewed once the arrangements for prison officers' pension age have been announced.
Prisons: Mental Health Services
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what use his Department has made of mindfulness-based techniques for (a) reducing stress and (b) improving well-being among prison staff. [95065]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not use mindfulness-based techniques for reducing stress or improving well-being among prison staff.
NOMS has adopted the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) ‘Stress Management Standards’ approach for the assessment and management of work-related stress. The focus of these standards is the prevention, rather than treatment, of stress and the implementation of organisational level solutions.
NOMS improves well-being among prison staff in a variety of ways, including self referral to Workplace Support, referral to Occupational Health (which may lead to onward referral to specialist therapy) and through the implementation of the HSE's Stress Management Standards. ‘Well-being days’ are also delivered to public
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sector prisons and other NOMS' workplaces. Staff may attend these well-being days and have physical health checks including measurements of height, weight, cholesterol levels and hydration levels.
Prostitution
Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for (a) soliciting for the purposes of prostitution in a public place, (b) keeping a brothel and (c) control of prostitution in respect of offences committed in each London borough in financial year (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11; and what the equivalent figure is for 2011-12 to date. [94819]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty of offences related to prostitution at all courts in Greater London, for 2009 and 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
Centrally held court proceedings data are not available at London borough level, thus data for Greater London (including the City of London and Metropolitan police force areas) have been provided in lieu.
Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in May, 2012.