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Legal Costs
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on legal fees in each of the last three years. [105952]
Damian Green: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Northern Ireland Racial Equality Strategy
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the terms of reference are of her Department's co-ordinating group referred to in Section 3.9 of the Northern Ireland Racial Equality Strategy; what the date has been of each meeting of that group since March 2009; what agenda items were discussed at each meeting; which government departments or non-departmental public bodies attended each meeting; and which voluntary and community sector representatives attended each meeting. [105933]
Damian Green [holding answer 30 April 2012]: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 March 2012, Official Report, columns 638-39W and 30 April 2012, Official Report, columns 1079-80W answered on 30 April 2012.
The national asylum stakeholder forum (NASF) was launched on 12 July 2007. The forum was designed to promote dialogue, transparency and the ability to work in partnership between the Agency and its external partners. The group meets bi-monthly and comprises a number of voluntary sector and other government department attendees. Membership can be found in the list placed in the Library of the House.
The group has met 28 times to discuss a range of issues. The UK Border Agency is currently taking forward five joint pieces of work with NASF partners looking at the applicant journey, asylum screening reform, the quality of asylum decisions, gender issues and integration. In addition to the previous answer, there are now two additional standing items on the agenda namely: criminal casework and discussions around legal aid.
The terms of reference have been placed in the Library of the House.
Public Consultation: Internet
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations. [104092]
Damian Green: IP addresses are collected as a consequence of the software supporting our electronic consultations. It is Home Office policy not to make use of this information.
Suicide
Mrs Moon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2012, Official Report, column 788W, on suicide, what the names are of the Government-led cross-sector forums seeking to improve practice in the
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investigation of sudden deaths; what the membership of each such forum is; when she expects the forums to report; and if she will make a statement. [105794]
Mr Djanogly: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has recently set up a Coroners Working Group comprised of police, CPS and coroner representatives. The group has been established to focus on improving communications between the three parties, in the event of a suspicious death. Discussions from the group will underpin a Memorandum of Understanding between the three parties, setting out roles and responsibilities for police, prosecutors and coroners across England and Wales. I understand that this should be published by the end of the year.
In February 2012 Ministry of Justice officials convened a meeting with representatives from the Home Office, National Policing Improvement Agency, the CPS and the Coroners' Society of England and Wales to discuss non-suspicious sudden deaths.
My officials will attend the CPS group's next meeting in May 2012 to consider how best to co-ordinate the two strands of work.
Terrorism
Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, how many applications to release collected data resulted in an arrest under suspicion of terrorism since 2010. [106358]
James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not collect figures on which arrests (or subsequent prosecutions) under Terrorism Legislation are the direct result of the use of a specific communications data request. However, communications data have played a significant role in every major counter terrorist investigation over the last decade and has been used in numerous counter terrorism prosecutions.
Metal Theft
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish the (a) consultation document, (b) consultation responses and (c) economic impact assessment of her plans to ban cash payments for scrap metal. [106201]
James Brokenshire: The Government's economic impact assessment for taking legislative action to ban cash payments for scrap metal is published on the Ministry of Justice website:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legislation/bills-acts/legal-aid-sentencing/laspo-metal-theft-ia.pdf
Section A.3 of this document provides details of the those we consulted. No consultation document was produced.
Tobacco: Packaging
Ian Paisley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings she has had with the Secretary of State for Health to discuss the potential
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effect of the introduction of plain packaging for all cigarette brands on the smuggling of contraband cigarettes into the UK. [105583]
James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Official Visits
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many journeys (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department made by (i) train, (ii) coach and (iii) Government car in an official capacity in each of the last six months. [103634]
Damian Green: The table shows the number of journeys made by Ministers and officials using the Government Car Service in an official capacity in each of the last six months.
During the past six months, the Home Office also had one dedicated Government Car Service car and driver, which made a number of journeys each day as required. Information on these journeys is not included in the table.
Information on the number of train and coach journeys made by Ministers and officials in the Department is not held centrally.
| Number of journeys made by GCS by staff | Number of journeys made by GCS by Ministers | |
Victim Support: Hove
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what data her Department holds on referrals to Victim Support in Hove in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011. [103455]
Mr Blunt: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
While Victim Support is principally funded by a grant from the Ministry of Justice, it is an independent charity and is separate from Government. The Ministry of Justice holds no data on referrals to Victim Support in Hove.
Youth Custody
Dr Huppert:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2012, Official Report, column 465W, on youth custody, if she will consider raising to 18 years the age at which
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individuals can be strip searched without an adult being present under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. [100318]
Nick Herbert: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Youth Offending Teams: Finance
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the change is in the level of funding which she plans to allocate to youth offending service budgets in (a) Nottinghamshire, (b) the east midlands and (c) England in 2012-13 compared to 2011-12. [105495]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 26 April 2012]: The Home Office is providing £14 million in 2012-13 to support local youth crime and substance misuse prevention work across England and Wales. The funding is split between the Youth Justice Board (YJB), for allocation to youth offending teams, police authorities and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime in London. These are new arrangements to help local partners prepare for the introduction of police and crime commissioners.
The allocation to Nottinghamshire is £250,890, comprising £107,028 to the Nottinghamshire youth offending team (via YJB) and £143,862 to Nottinghamshire police authority. The total Home Office allocation to the east midlands is £1,021,294, comprising £588,679 to the relevant youth offending teams (via YJB) and £432,615 to the police authorities in the east midlands. The total Home Office funding for England is £13,085,241.
As these are new arrangements, it is not possible to provide direct comparisons with 2011-12 funding for individual youth offending teams. Total Home Office funding to the YJB for youth crime and substance misuse prevention work was £14.5 million in 2011-12, across the whole of England and Wales. This funding formed part of the wider youth justice grant that the YJB provided to all youth offending teams.
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Justice
Abu Qatada
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on funding arrangements in respect of Abu Qatada in each financial year from 2001 to 2010. [105492]
Mr Djanogly: The deportation proceedings against Abu Qatada are still ongoing. It would be wrong of me to comment on any administrative aspects such as legal aid until the matter has concluded.
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is the body with operational responsibility for legal aid in England and Wales. The LSC has received a number of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 seeking similar information. When it is able to do so, the LSC will publish the details of the legal aid costs for those matters that have concluded on its website.
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people were found guilty of (a) drunk and disorderly behaviour and (b) drunk and aggravated behaviour in Lancashire in each of the last five years; [106216]
(2) how many prosecutions for drunk and disorderly behaviour of people aged between 10 and 17 years old there were in Lancashire in each of the last five years. [106218]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for drunk and disorderly behaviour, by age in Lancashire police force area, from 2006 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific circumstances of each case. From centrally held data it is not possible to separately identify specific offences relating to drunk and aggravated behaviour.
Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication on 24 May 2012.
| Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts, by age, for drunk and disorderly behaviour (1) , Lancashire police force area, 2006-10 (2, 3) | ||||||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | ||||||
| Age | Proceeded against | Found guilty | Proceeded against | Found guilty | Proceeded against | Found guilty | Proceeded against | Found guilty | Proceeded against | Found guilty |
| (1) Licensing Act 1872, S.12 and Criminal Justice Act 1967, S.91. (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. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | ||||||||||
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Ashfield Young Offender Institution: Ethnic Groups: Discipline
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the ethnicity is of each child awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in Ashfield Young Offender Institute in each month in the last two years; [106331]
(2) how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to children in Ashfield Young Offender Institute by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month in the last two years; [106332]
(3) how many cases were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in Ashfield Young Offender Institute in each month in the last two years. [106333]
Mr Blunt:
Table 1 shows the ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside
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adjudicators in Ashfield Young Offender Institution in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This includes 18-year-olds at Ashfield.
The second table (Table 2) shows how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to people in Ashfield Young Offender Institution by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This includes 18-year olds at Ashfield.
The third table (Table 3) shows how many cases were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in Ashfield Young Offender Institution in each month from January 2010 to April 2012.
These data have been provided by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) from Ashfield Young Offender Institution (YOI).
These figures have been drawn from YOI records, as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time.
| Table 1: Ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in Ashfield Young Offender Institution in each month from January 2010 to April 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | W2 | W9 | M1 | M2 | M3 | M9 | A1 | A2 | A3 | A9 | B1 | B2 | B9 | O1 | O9 | Total | |
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| Notes: 1. This table also includes 18-year olds at Ashfield. 2. Ethnicity key: W1: White —British W2: White—Irish W9: White—Other White M1: Mixed—White and Black Caribbean M2: Mixed—White and Black AfricanM3: Mixed - White and Asian M9: Mixed—Other Mixed A1: Asian or Asian British—Indian A2: Asian or Asian British—Pakistani A3: Asian or Asian British—Bangladeshi A9: Asian or Asian British—Other Asian B1: Black or Black British—Caribbean B2: Black or Black British—African B9: Black or Black British—Other Black O1: Chinese—Chinese O9: Other Ethnic Group—Any Other 3. These figures have been drawn from YOI records, as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time. | |||||||||||||||||
| Table 2: Number of additional days of imprisonment awarded to people in Ashfield Young Offender Institution by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012 | |
| Total (days) | |
| (1) Prospective added Notes: 1. This table also includes 18-year olds at Ashfield. 2. These figures have been drawn from YOI records, as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time. | |
| Table 3: Number of cases referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in Ashfield Young Offender Institution in each month from January 2010 to April 2012 | |
| Number | |
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| Note: These figures have been drawn from YOI records, as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time. | |
Bill of Rights
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what meetings he has had with the Chairman or members of the Commission on a Bill of Rights since its establishment; who attended any such meeting; what the purpose of each such meeting was; and whether a record of what was said at any such meeting was made. [104988]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: With ministerial colleagues I have had two formal meetings with the Commission on a Bill of Rights since its establishment.
The first meeting took place on 1 December 2011, when the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Europe, Lord McNally and I met the Chair and all of the then Commissioners except Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC, who had another appointment. The purpose of the meeting was to provide an update on work to reform the European Court of Human Rights, following the Commission's provision of its interim advice on reform to the Government and to provide an opportunity for the Commission to provide an update on its future work plans. A short record was made of what was said at the meeting.
The second meeting took place on 22 March 2012 when the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord McNally and I met the Chair and all of the current Commissioners. The purpose of the meeting was to allow further updates on Court reform and the Commission's future work plans. As before, a short record was made of what was said at the meeting.
Separately, I have had two bi-lateral meetings on my own with the Chair of the Commission, Sir Leigh Lewis, since the Commission was established. The first took place on I2 October 2011 and the second took place on 7 March 2012. Both meetings were conversations about the Commission's progress in fulfilling its terms of reference and no records were made of what was said at these meetings.
Immediately before the Commission was established I had a meeting with Sir Leigh Lewis on I6 March 2011 to discuss its establishment.
In addition to the participants already noted, officials also attended my meetings with the Chair and Commissioners.
Burglary
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many burglaries were committed by people on bail for burglary in each of the last five years. [105949]
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Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold information regarding the offences for which an offender has been released on bail.
Civil Servants: Codes of Practice
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many investigations into breaches by civil servants of the Civil Service Code of Conduct occurred in his Department in each month from May 2010 to March 2012. [103152]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Community Orders
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who will bear the cost of the pension deficit in respect of unpaid work and the tendering process in the London probation area. [106334]
Mr Blunt: The MOJ will be taking on a direct liability with the London Probation Fund Authority in respect of the accrued pension deficit for relevant staff and the MOJ will bear authority related costs associated with the London Probation Trust Unpaid Work/Community Payback tendering process.
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the expected breach rate is of offenders placed on his proposed intensive community punishment order. [106337]
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effects on custody of the introduction of the intensive community punishment order. [106338]
Mr Blunt: The ‘Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences' consultation proposes to develop an Intensive Community Punishment Order for offenders who deserve a significant level of punishment, but who are better dealt with in the community to maintain ties with work and family. As set out in the impact assessment, the consultation asks respondents for their views on how ICPO could work, so it would be premature to provide estimates of the impact on custody. MOJ will examine the impacts when the final proposal is developed.
The impact assessment that MOJ published alongside the consultation can be found on the following webpage:
https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1
Coroners and Justice Act 2009
Mr Doran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to bring into force the provisions of section 50 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. [106245]
Mr Djanogly: Implementation of section 50, and the related provisions in sections 12 and 13 of the 2009 Act, depends on the timing of the chief coroner taking up post. I hope to be able to make an announcement shortly about the chief coroner and the timetable for implementing Part 1 of the 2009 Act.
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Crime: Victims
Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy that victims of crime should have the right to receive information about their case within a specified timeframe. [104712]
Mr Blunt: Our consultation ‘Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses' closed on 22 April. One of its key proposals is that there should be a new, clearer, Victims' Code and we have sought views on a set of principles on which we think a new code should be based. The provision of information to victims will be one of the matters to be considered in drafting a new code.
Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps he will take to ensure that the new Victims Code is monitored and enforced; [106010]
(2) if he will bring forward proposals to put the new Victims Code on a statutory footing. [106013]
Mr Blunt: A key proposal in our consultation document ‘Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses’, published on 30 January, is that there should be a new, clearer, Victims Code and we sought views on a set of principles on which we think a new code should be based. The consultation closed on 22 April and we plan to publish the Government's response to the consultation in the summer.
As we begin to draft the new code we will consider how best to monitor and enforce it. There will be a further consultation on the code before we lay it before Parliament.
There is already a statutory basis for the Victims Code. It is made under the Domestic Violence. Crime and Victims Act 2004.
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people who had previously been convicted of a crime received a payment from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in the year to 31 March 2011; how much was paid to people previously convicted under each band; and how many people previously convicted received compensation in each band. [103333]
Mr Djanogly: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) cannot say definitively how many people who had previously been convicted of a crime received a payment from the scheme, because claims officers only take unspent convictions into account when deciding payments. In the 2011 financial year 3,587 people received an award that was reduced because of unspent convictions. The breakdown of the 3,587 awards is shown in the following table, broken down by the bands mentioned in the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme as requested.
| Band | Number of awards paid | How much paid (£) |
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Crown Court: Prison Sentences
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were brought before each Crown court in each of the last two years; and how many such cases resulted in a custodial sentence. [105893]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants tried at the Crown court, by court circuit, for all offences and the number sentenced to immediate custody, England and Wales, in 2009 and 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in Tables 1 and 2.
Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication on 24 May, 2012.
| Table 1: Number of defendants tried at the Crown c ourt, by court circuit, for all offences and the number sentenced to immediate custody, England and Wales 2009 (1, 2) | ||
| Crown court circuit | Total tried | Immediate custody |
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| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice. | ||
| Table 2 : Number of defendants tried at the Crown c ourt, by court circuit, for all offences and the number sentenced to immediate custody, England and Wales, 2010 (1, 2) | ||
| Crown court circuit | Total tried | Immediate custody |
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| (1 )The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice. | ||