Written Questions: Government Responses
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to answer Question 94602 tabled by the hon. Member for Leeds West for answer on 8 February 2012. [96622]
Danny Alexander: I have now replied to the hon. Member.
Deputy Prime Minister
Parliamentary Constituencies
Mr Anderson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions the Boundary Commission for England has had on its decision not to publish hard copies of the representations it received in the initial stages of its consultation on changing parliamentary constituency boundaries in England. [95886]
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Mr Harper: This is a matter for the independent Boundary Commission for England. The background to this decision was set out by the Boundary Commission in the newsletter posted on its website on 1 February 2012. This can be accessed at:
http://bit.ly/AxQhfo
Elections: Fraud
Mr Scott: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to (a) prevent and (b) detect fraudulent (i) entries on the electoral roll and (ii) postal voting in the forthcoming London Mayoral and London Assembly elections; and to which public bodies he plans to devolve such responsibilities. [96853]
Mr Harper: Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in each of the London boroughs have a statutory duty to ensure that the register for the forthcoming London Mayoral and Greater London Assembly elections is accurate and complete. In taking forward this duty EROs have a number of mechanisms to help prevent and detect fraudulent entries on the electoral roll. Any specific allegations should be referred to the police and investigated thoroughly.
Any individuals who apply to vote by post for the London Mayoral and Greater London Assembly elections (as for other elections) will have to provide personal identifiers (their signature and date of birth) which are checked against corresponding identifiers on the statement which voters must submit alongside their ballot paper.
The Government take any electoral fraud very seriously and regard the integrity of the ballot as a top priority. There is no evidence that fraud is widespread on a national level, but any instance of electoral fraud is serious and we will continue to work with the Electoral Commission, police, political parties, EROs and returning officers to raise awareness and strengthen systems, to ensure that fraud is detected and prosecuted and to draw attention to existing best practice.
Cabinet Office
Cancer: North West
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people died from cancer in (a) England, (b) Leeds and (c) Leeds North West constituency in each of the last five years. [96972]
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 recent question asking how many people died from cancer in (a) England, (b) Leeds and (c) Leeds North West constituency in each of the last five years. [96972]
Table 1 as follows shows the number of deaths where cancer was the underlying cause for England, the local authority of Leeds and the Leeds North West parliamentary constituency for 2006 to 2010 (the latest year available).
Figures on cancer incidence and mortality in the United Kingdom and constituent countries are published annually and are available here:
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-21518
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| Table 1 : Number of deaths where cancer was the underlying cause of death, England, Leeds local authority and Leeds North West parliamentary constituency 2006-10 (1, 2, 3) | |||||
| Deaths (persons) | |||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| (1) Cancer is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10) using codes C00-C97. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year and exclude deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are based on boundaries as of November 2011. | |||||
Data Protection
Mr David Davis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many cases of data loss or breaches of confidentiality which did not require notification to the Information Commissioner's Office occurred in his Department in 2011. [96504]
Mr Maude: During 2011, there were no such instances of data loss or breaches of confidentiality.
Public Sector: Manpower
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were employed by (a) Government Departments, (b) executive agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies (i) in 1997, (ii) in 2010 and (iii) on the most recent date for which figures are available. [96606]
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 recent Parliamentary Question concerning, how many people were employed by (a) Government departments, (b) executive agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies (a) in 1997, (b) in 2010 and (c) on the most recent date for which figures are available. (96606)
For 1997 it is not possible to disaggregate data by Government departments and executive agencies. Data for 1997 was collected and published by Cabinet Office. Only a hardcopy publication is available which does not provide the requested breakdown of statistics. Instead, a total Civil Service employment figure (full-time equivalent) has been provided. Data for 2010 and for the most recent date for which figures are available (quarter 3 2011) has been disaggregated by Government departments, executive agencies and Crown NDPBs on a full-time equivalent basis. Crown NDPBs are included as part of Civil Service employment estimates as the staff they employ are civil servants.
For NDPBs, data for 1997 are only available on a headcount basis. As such, data for 2010 and for the most recent date for which figures are available (quarter 3 2011), for consistency, has been provided on the same basis. Most NDPBs are non-Crown, therefore any staff they employ are not civil servants. As described above, there are exceptions. These bodies are Crown NDPBs and their employees are civil servants and are counted as being in the Civil Service for the purpose of ONS sector employee headcounts.
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Crown NDPBs have been excluded from the estimate of employment for NDPBs to avoid double-counting with the Civil Service estimates. This is consistent with ONS's official estimates of Public Sector Employment that are produced on a quarterly basis.
The requested data are at Annex A.
| Annex A: Employment in Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) (1) | |||
| All e mployees | |||
| Full- time equivalents (FTE) | 1997 (2) | 2010 (3) | 2011 (4) |
| (1) Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. (2) For 1997 it is not possible to disaggregate all employees by Government Department, Executive Agencies and Crown NDPBs. (3) Figures from Q2 2010 Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (Office for National Statistics). (4) Figures from Q3 2011 Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (Office for National Statistics). (5) Figures for NDPB's for 1997 are taken from the Public Bodies Report 1997, which were collected and published by Cabinet Office. Employees in NDPBs for 1997 are all employees on a Headcount basis. Subsequent periods have been supplied on the same basis. (6) Crown NDPBs have not been included as part of non-departmental public bodies to avoid double-counting. | |||
Members: Correspondence
Mr MacShane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to reply to the letter of 30 November 2011 from the right hon. Member for Rotherham on the Action Housing charity. [96126]
Mr Hurd: I replied to the right hon. Member's letter on 23 February 2012.
New Businesses
Mr Crausby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new businesses on average are created each week; and how many new businesses on average were created each week in 2002. [96977]
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 recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many new businesses on average are created each week; and how many new businesses on average were created each week in 2002. [96977]
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, unfortunately we do not produce the statistics on a weekly basis. The following table gives the number of births for each year from 2000 to the most recent year, 2010. We have also derived a weekly average by dividing the annual figure by 52. Statistics relating to 2011 will be available in December 2012.
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| Births | ||
| Count | Count/52 | |
Third Sector
Chris White: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department has taken to implement the principles of the Best Value Statutory Guidance in respect of (a) giving at least three months' notice to voluntary and community organisations and their service users when reducing or ending funding, (b) engaging with voluntary and community organisations and service users as early as possible before making a decision on the future of the service, any knock-on effects on assets used to provide this service and the wider impact on the local community and (c) making provision for voluntary and community organisations and service users to put forward options on how to reshape the service or project. [95778]
Mr Hurd: Although the Best Value guidance does not legally apply to central Government Departments or their executive agencies, the Cabinet Office supports the fair standards set out in the guidance and has, along with other central Government Departments, re-affirmed its commitment to the national Compact. The principles of the Compact will be applied in all work with the civil society sector.
In January the National Audit Office published “Central Government's implementation of the national Compact”, a report which provides commentary on the implementation of the national Compact across Government. The Cabinet Office participated fully in the National Audit Office's review and will be following up as appropriate the recommendations within the NAO report in order to ensure that the Department continues to be a strong model of collaborative working between Government and the civil society sector.
The Office for Civil Society (OCS) in the Cabinet Office is responsible for:
acting as the sponsor Department for Compact Voice (which acts as the voice of the voluntary sector on the Compact, with a network of over 2,300 members);
hosting the Annual Compact Awards, recognising excellence in Compact working and promoting best practice; and
liaising with officials across central Government Departments on Compact-related issues, for example the inclusion of statements on the implementation of the national Compact in departmental business plans.
Volunteering
Simon Hart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people who are full-time volunteers; and how many such people volunteer for 35 or more hours per week. [96834]
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Mr Hurd: Data from the 2009-10 Citizenship Survey suggest that approximately 163,000 people in England and Wales volunteered for 140 hours or more in the four weeks prior to interview—equivalent to 35 hours a week or more.
Data are not available to determine if such individuals were full-time volunteers.
Justice
Goodyear Hearings
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Goodyear hearings there were in each of the last five years. [95883]
Mr Blunt: The information requested is not recorded centrally.
Applied Language Solutions
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) when he was made aware of problems with the provision of translators to the courts service by Applied Language Solutions; and if he will make a statement; [96653]
(2) whether (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department had any involvement in the acquisition of Applied Language Solutions by Capita; and if he will make a statement; [96654]
(3) whether providers of interpretation and translation services to the courts are required to undertake Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks on their employees; and whether Applied Language Solutions undertakes CRB checks on its interpreters; [96655]
(4) what long-term measures he plans to implement to ensure that Applied Language Solutions provides qualified interpreters to the courts service. [96656]
Mr Blunt: The information is as follows.
(1) Ministers were made aware of difficulties with the service provided by Applied Language Solutions on 14 February 2012. We are committed to ensuring that the rights and needs of those who require interpreters are safeguarded and we have asked the contractor to take urgent steps to improve performance. I am receiving regular reports on progress.
(2) Neither the Secretary of State for Justice, nor Justice Ministers or Ministry of Justice officials had any involvement in the acquisition of ALS by Capita.
(3) The contractor is required to ensure appropriate Criminal Records Bureau checks are undertaken.
(4) The Ministry have made clear to the contractor that the problems must be addressed immediately. The contractor is taking urgent steps to improve performance including providing additional staff to deal with bookings, further targeted recruitment of interpreters
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in key languages and improvements to the call handling and complaints process. The Ministry is monitoring performance on a daily basis.
Bassetlaw: Repossession Orders and Small Claims
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many county court claims, where the defendant lived in a Bassetlaw postcode area, were scheduled to be heard at (a) Worksop court and (b) Mansfield court in the last six months; [95900]
(2) how many court repossessions of private houses there were in Bassetlaw constituency in each month of the last five years. [95902]
Mr Djanogly: There were 17 county court claims, where at least one defendant lived in a Bassetlaw postcode area, that were scheduled for a trial or small claim hearing at Worksop court between April and September 2011, the latest period for which data are available. The equivalent figure for Mansfield court was 14 claims, and there were a further two claims that involved a trial or small claim hearing being scheduled at both Worksop and Mansfield courts.
The following table shows the number of claims leading to orders being made for the repossession of property by mortgage lenders and landlords in Bassetlaw constituency in each month of the last five years. The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the total number of repossessions of property (including where keys are handed back voluntarily).
These figures represent the number of claims leading to orders being made. This is more accurate than the number of orders, removing the double-counting of instances where a single claim leads to more than one order. It is also a more meaningful measure of the number of home owners who are subject to court repossession actions.
These figures do not indicate how many properties have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order, such as where borrowers hand the keys back to the lender. Also, not all possession orders result in repossession. Many orders are suspended and if the borrower or tenant complies with the repayment arrangements set out in the suspended order, the property will not be repossessed.
Claims leading to orders figures for all regions and local authority areas in England and Wales in 2011 were recently published on 9 February 2012. This statistical bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/civil-justice/mortgage-possession.htm
Claims leading to orders figures for all parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales will be placed on the above website by 8 March.
| Number of mortgage (1) and landlord (2, 3) possession claims leading to orders made (4, 5, 6) for properties in Bassetlaw constituency (7, 8) , 2007-11 | ||||||||||
| Mortgage possession | Landlord possession | |||||||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
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| (1) Includes all types of mortgage lenders. (2) Includes all types of landlord whether social or private. (3) Landlord actions include those made under both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enables the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence for shorthold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end. (4) The number of claims that lead to an order includes all claims in which the first order, whether outright or suspended, is made during the period (5) The court, following a judicial decision, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (6) Includes outright and suspended orders, the latter being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage or rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (7) All figures are rounded to the nearest five. (8) Data up until the first quarter of 2010 (January to March) will reflect Bassetlaw constituency boundaries as fixed at the 2005 general election and for the rest of 2010 and 2011 the re-fixed boundaries as of May 2010. (9) The figure is not provided as the number is either seven or less. (10) All period figures are based on provisional data. Source: Ministry of Justice. | ||||||||||
Civil Proceedings: Finance
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what estimate he has made of the potential change in the number of (a) industrial disease cases, (b) clinical negligence cases, (c) privacy and defamation cases and (d) large-scale business and human rights cases as a result of implementation of the proposals on civil litigation funding and costs in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill; [96080]
(2) what estimate he has made of the proportion of victims' (a) general damages and (b) special damages for past loss that will be taken by claimant lawyers in (i) industrial disease cases, (ii) clinical negligence cases, (iii) privacy and defamation cases and (iv) large-scale business and human rights cases as a result of implementation of the provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. [96081]
Mr Djanogly: An impact assessment on the proposals on civil litigation funding and costs was published alongside the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill and is available on the Ministry of Justice website. Once these reforms are implemented, we expect there to be a small reduction in the number of cases taken to court, but it has not been possible to quantify the reduction or assess it by case type.
In personal injury cases, the success fees which claimant lawyers may charge will be capped at 25% of general damages, excluding damages for future care and loss. General damages for non-pecuniary loss such as pain, suffering and loss of amenity will be increased by 10%.
The Government would expect a competitive market to develop among claimant lawyers as to the level of success fee that might be charged in future, with an incentive to protect claimants' damages. It is not possible to quantify these effects.
Compensation: Victims
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to implement the provisions of the Crime and Security Act 2010 on compensation for victims of terrorism overseas. [96168]
Mr Blunt: We intend to lay a statutory scheme for compensating potential future victims of terrorism overseas before Parliament later this year. Subject to approval by Parliament, we will commence the scheme soon afterwards.
Corruption: Prosecutions
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions have been brought against individuals and companies under the Bribery Act 2010 since it came into force; what the nationalities were of those subject to prosecutions; how many such prosecutions are ongoing; how many of those which have completed were successful; and if he will make a statement. [96587]
Mr Blunt: The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011; annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in May 2012.
Courts: Security
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many security staff were employed in courts in each of the last five years. [96076]
Mr Djanogly: Under the Ministry of Justice, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Services (HMCTS) has employed approximately 1,537 security staff (security guards/supervisors) annually over each of the last five years.
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Crimes of Violence: Mental Health
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of dangerous and severe personality disorder units in reducing the risk of further violent offences being committed. [96082]
Paul Burstow: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health:
It is too early to assess the long-term effectiveness of the work done on dangerous and severe personality disorder including the national health service and national offender management service pilot dangerous and severe personality disorder units which were set up from 2004. The Department of Health and Ministry of Justice's initial research and evaluation is that providing a long-term programme of interventions for offenders with severe personality disorders reduces the level of risk behaviours they present.
The Government's plans to implement the Offender Personality Disorder strategy and reconfigure the pilot services to improve service efficiency, support effectiveness, increase capacity and further develop the evidence base to reduce the overall level of risk.
Debt Collection: Regulation
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes in the law would be needed to prevent claims management companies from texting or telephoning people without their prior consent. [96078]
Mr Djanogly: It is not necessary to change the law. All companies are prohibited from sending text messages to a consumer without his or her consent under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, which are enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office. Although the regulations permit businesses to telephone consumers without their consent, consumers may opt out of receiving such calls, either by notifying the business in question or registering their details with the Telephone Preference Service. The Claims Management Regulation Unit may take action—including suspending or cancelling a claims management company's licence—if that company breaches the regulations or the claims management conduct rules. A cross regulator and telecoms industry working group has been established to help improve the techniques for tackling the growth in unsolicited SMS messages and calls seeking to generate claims. Members of the group include the major telecoms providers, the Information Commissioner's Office, the Direct Marketing Association, Office of Fair Trading, the Advertising Standards Authority and Ofcom. The Government's proposed reforms to the funding of personal injury claims and the ban on referral fees will significantly reduce the financial incentives which currently drive such marketing.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many claims management companies have had their authorisations revoked as a consequence of telephone or text message spamming since May 2010. [96079]
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Mr Kenneth Clarke: None. The Claims Management Regulation Unit has investigated and continues to investigate claims management companies suspected of receiving claims leads obtained through unsolicited approaches or other marketing techniques which may breach the requirements placed on those companies. Such investigations can lead to the companies surrendering their authorisation before formal enforcement action has been implemented. In 2010-11, 539 claims management companies surrendered their authorisation, 218 of which were subject to prior enforcement action during the same regulatory year. In 2010-11, the Claims Management Regulation Unit imposed additional conditions to the terms of 13 claims management companies’ authorisations following investigations into concerns about their use of agents and marketing.
Data Protection
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to ensure the enforcement of laws relating to data protection and use of personal information. [95831]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the independent body responsible for regulating and enforcing the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The Information Commissioner has a wide range of powers to ensure compliance with the DPA.
On 25 January 2012 the European Commission published a proposal for a new EU data protection regulation that will ultimately replace the DPA. The MoJ subsequently launched a Call for Evidence on the draft proposals, which can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/data-protection-proposals-cfe.htm
This closes on 6 March 2012. The regulation will be negotiated by EU member states and the European Parliament before becoming law. The regulatory powers of data protection supervisory authorities across Europe will be considered in detail during these negotiations.
Feltham Young Offender Institution
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on the Daedalus resettlement project at the Heron Wing HM Young Offender Institution Feltham in each year of its operation. [95628]
Mr Blunt: Funding was principally provided by the European Social Fund (ESF) and London Development Agency (LDA), with four officers paid for by the Youth Justice Board (YJB). Total amounts spent on the Daedalus programme are as follows:
| Daedalus programme (1) | |
| Total amount spent (£) | |
| (1 )The Daedalus programme, which is co-ordinated by the Mayor of London's Office, commenced operation on 29 September 2009 and will be complete at the end of May 2012. | |
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Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rate has been of those who participated in the Daedalus resettlement project at the Heron Wing, HM Young Offender Institution Feltham; and how many participants have secured employment. [95629]
Mr Blunt: A full 12-month proven reoffending analysis, in line with Ministry of Justice research standards, will form part of an in depth evaluation report of the Daedalus programme is expected to be produced in summer 2012 by Ipsos Mori. It will also contain a full outline of education, employment and training outcomes for Daedalus programme participants. A preliminary report, which will present early findings on proven reoffending rates, is due in March.
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on proven reoffending for young offenders who have been discharged from youth offending institutions, including Feltham, but the information collected does not allow those offenders held in the Heron unit to be separately identified from the rest of the offenders held in Feltham.
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2012, Official Report, column 509W, on Feltham Young Offender Institution, what criteria will be used to determine whether to continue with the Daedalus resettlement project at the Heron Wing, HM Young Offender Institution Feltham. [95813]
Mr Blunt: The Daedalus Programme will not continue beyond May 2012, when European Social Funding ends. The future of the Heron Unit, incorporating lessons learned from Daedalus, will be for the Youth Justice Board to determine, in line with its responsibility and strategy for commissioning secure places for young people under the age of 18.
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I understand that the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime is launching a new European Social Funding programme. This will target young Londoners aged between 14 and 17 years of age who have either been remanded or sentenced to custody and will enable statutory and third sector agencies to support them to re-engage with education, training or employment on release. Supporting young people on Heron Unit will also be explored as part of this new programme.
Illegal Immigrants: Employment
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were taken to court for the employment of illegal migrants in the last year for which figures are available; how many such cases resulted in a conviction; what the largest fine levied was; how many fines were levied; and how many have been paid. [96166]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences related to employing illegal immigrants in England and Wales in 2010 (latest available), can be viewed in the following table.
The largest fine levied was for the offence of employing a person knowing that they are an adult subject to immigration control at £7,515.
Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in May 2012.
Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS) data recording systems do not identify the value of fines paid for specific offences. This information could be provided only by carrying out a manual search of the 45 individual fine account databases.
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Judges: Tribunals
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many judges were assigned to the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal on the final day of each of the last five years. [96072]
Mr Djanogly: The following table sets out the number of those judges in post to the First Tier Social Entitlement Chamber on 31 of December each year from 2008 to 2011. There are no figures prior to 2008 as this Chamber was only established in November 2008.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
Legal Aid Scheme
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what changes the Government plans to make to the tendering process for criminal legal aid services in the current Parliament; [96535]
(2) what plans he has to implement his Department's 22 March 2010 proposals on restructuring the delivery of criminal legal aid; [96536]
Mr Djanogly:
We underlined our intention to restructure the delivery of criminal legal aid services, through competitive tendering, in a written ministerial statement on 1 December 2011, Official Report, columns 74-75WS. That statement set out also a revised policy development and implementation timetable, and the reasons for the
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brief delay. In summary, the plan is to consult on competitive tendering proposals in autumn 2013, with a view to the first tenders opening in autumn 2014. The consultation paper will take account of the outline proposals set out by the previous Government in March 2010.
Offenders: Rehabilitation
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people completed Accredited Offending Behaviour and Substance Misuse programmes (a) in custody and (b) in the community in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) 2011-12 to date; [96065]
(2) how many people sentenced to an indeterminate sentence for public protection completed Accredited Offending Behaviour and Substance Misuse programmes (a) in custody and (b) in the community in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) 2011-12 to date; [96066]
(3) how many people completed Accredited Offending Behaviour and Substance Misuse programmes (a) in custody and (b) in the community, by type of programme, in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) 2011-12 to date. [96067]
Mr Blunt: The following tables show the number of completions of accredited programmes completed by people in custody (Table 1) and the community (Table 2) for each of the last three full financial years. The tables show completions by programme type and overall totals.
Data are not collated centrally for the number of completions by offenders sentenced to an indeterminate sentence for public protection and can be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Data for the current financial year are scheduled for publication on 26 July 2012 in the Management Information Addendum to the NOMS Annual Report.
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.
| Table 1: Custody accredited programme delivery by programme | ||||
| Programme type | Programme | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
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| (1 )Thinking Skills Programme has been implemented as the replacement for both Enhanced Thinking Skills. (2) Becoming New Me has been implemented as the replacement for the Adapted programme. | ||||
| Table 2: Community accredited programme delivery by programme | ||||
| Programme type | Programme | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| (1 )Thinking Skills Programme has been implemented as the replacement for both Enhanced Thinking Skills and Think First. | ||||
Older People
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of his Department's expenditure was spent on services for the elderly in the latest period for which figures are available. [95643]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice works in partnership with the other Government Departments and agencies to protect the public and reduce reoffending, and to provide a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and every member of the public.
The Department's accounting systems do not record expenditure incurred in the provision of these services for any particular group or category of the public, such as the elderly. To determine the extent, if any, that they did, would incur disproportionate cost.
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Parole Board: Manpower
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff the Parole Board employed in each of the last five years. [96059]
Mr Blunt: During the past five years the Parole Board employed the following numbers of staff as at 31 March in each year indicated.
| Permanent staff | Temporary staff | Total | |
Personal Injury: Compensation
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many motor accident personal injury claims for compensation for whiplash injuries were made in each of the last five years. [96077]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice does not hold figures centrally which specifically relate to motor accident personal injury claims for compensation for whiplash injuries. This is because, even though personal injury claims for compensation are logged onto the administrative computer systems used in the county courts, no distinction is made for claims arising from motor accident whiplash injuries; and personal injury claims generally cannot be accurately distinguished from other types of cases brought for an unspecified amount of money.
Prison Sentences
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average number of previous convictions is of prisoners given an indeterminate sentence for public protection. [96058]
Mr Blunt: The average number of previous convictions for offenders serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection in England and Wales at 30 June 2010 is 10. This is the latest available figure and is a further breakdown of table A1.27 in “Offender Management Statistics Quarterly Bulletin—Annual Tables” which was published on 28 April 2011.
These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the backlog was of Parole Board cases awaiting consideration involving prisoners serving (a) an indeterminate sentence for public protection and (b) a life sentence, in each month in the last five years. [96060]
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Mr Blunt: The backlog of Parole Board cases awaiting consideration involving prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence or a life sentence for each month in the last three years is shown in the following table.
| Total case load backlog figure | |
| (1) No reported figure due to staff absence. (2) Upon move to new single management information system. | |
We are unable to provide figures prior to 2009 due to disproportionate costs.
The breakdown of cases in the backlog as at February 2012 was 52% Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) cases and 48% lifer cases. The Parole Board did not breakdown its backlog of cases by sentence type before February 2012 and as such, it cannot provide a split between IPP cases and lifer cases for previous months due to disproportionate costs. The Parole Board will be recording this breakdown as from February 2012.
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Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of extended determinate sentences as proposed in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill which will be awarded per annum; and for what offences. [96062]
Mr Blunt: Based on the proposals in the LASPO Bill, the Ministry of Justice anticipate that a similar number of offenders to those currently receiving Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPPs) or Extended Sentences for Public Protection (EPPs) would in future receive the new Extended Determinate Sentence (EDS).
Using our best available evidence, we estimate that approximately 1,100 offenders would receive the new EDS per annum, based on historical trends of IPP and EPP receptions.
EDS offenders, like IPP and EPP offenders, will have committed a Schedule 15 offence and meet the following criteria:
1. The court must be of the opinion that there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by the offender of further specified offences.
2. The court would specify an appropriate custodial term of at least four years OR (for adult offenders) at the time the offence was committed the offender had already been convicted of an offence in Schedule 15B to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (set out in Schedule 18 to the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill).
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time served in custody was by a person given (a) an indeterminate sentence for public protection, (b) a discretionary life sentence and (c) a mandatory life sentence but subsequently released from custody, in the last period for which figures are available. [96064]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the numbers of indeterminate sentence prisoners released and average time served in custody for those released by the independent Parole Board in 2010. These figures are published annually in the Offender Management Statistics annual tables, most recently for 2010. The 2011 figures will be published on 26 April 2012.
| Number | |
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.
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Prisoners: Rehabilitation
Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what support his Department is providing for the work of the Toe by Toe peer mentoring programme operated by the Shannon Trust in the prison system. [96107]
Mr Blunt: ‘Making Prisons Work: Skills for Rehabilitation. Review of Offender Learning’ (May 2011), published jointly by the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, highlights the value of peer mentoring and demonstrates our commitment to invest in offenders who display an aptitude for such roles. We will continue to support the work of the Shannon Trust in our prisons by promoting their work, integrating their staff and identifying, supporting and developing the prisoner peer mentors who facilitate the reading scheme.
Prisoners: Release
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of whether the issuing of guidance as a statutory instrument by his Department to the Parole Board on the release test for prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection or a life sentence was in conformity with the law. [96068]
Mr Blunt: On 26 October 2011 the Government tabled amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill which will reform sentencing for dangerous offenders. These include a power for the Secretary of State to amend by order the primary legislation which sets out the criteria used by the Parole Board when considering release for 1PP prisoners. The power does not enable the Secretary of State to make similar provision in respect of life sentence prisoners. This power is subject to affirmative resolution by both Houses. The exercise of the power will be lawful if agreed by both Houses: any changes made by the Order will be to primary legislation. The Ministry of Justice published a Delegated Powers Memorandum for the Bill, which was scrutinised by the House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. No comment was made on this power.
Prisoners: Pay
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much has been deducted from prisoners' earnings following his implementation of the provisions of the Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996, since September 2011; [96069]
(2) what the cost to the public purse has been of the administration of deducting money from prisoners' earnings following the implementation of the provisions of the Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996. [96070]
Mr Blunt: These figures are due to be published for the first time in April 2012. They are currently in preparation and have not yet been quality assured for public release. I will write to the hon. Member with the figures when they are published.
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There has been no requirement to identify the administrative costs of making the deductions from prisoners' earnings to date and this could be done in retrospect only at disproportionate cost.
Prisoners: Voluntary Organisations
Mrs Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which private and voluntary sector organisations (1) are working with prisoners in the high security adult prison estate; [96114]
(2) are working with prisoners in the adult prison estate in (a) the West Midlands, (b) the North East, (c) Greater London, (d) the South West, (e) the East of England, (f) the East Midlands, (g) the North West and (h) Wales. [96119]
Mr Blunt: This information is not centrally recorded as arrangements and partnerships can be established locally or nationally. Collating this information could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
Prisons: Sick Leave
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the level of staff sickness absence was in each prison in the last 12 months. [95898]
Mr Blunt: Information on the sickness absence rate, measured in average working days lost, for each Prison Service establishment is in the following table.
| Average working days lost to sickness absence—October 2010 to September 2011 | |
| Public sector establishment | Average working days lost |
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| Private sector establishment | Period (1) | Average working days lost |
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| (1) The period reported for public sector prisons (October 2010 to September 2011) corresponds with the latest contribution to published civil service sickness absence data. Private sector establishments are not subject to this publication and the latest available period has been provided by contractors. (2) HMP Birmingham transferred to private sector management in October 2011. Sickness absence for this establishment has therefore been reported within the public sector prisons table. | ||