Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits the armed forces made to (a) state secondary schools, (b) independent schools and (c) colleges in each (i) local authority area and (ii) parliamentary constituency in 2011-12. [145625]
Mr Robathan: This information is not held in the format requested.
HMS Albion
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the nature of costs incurred to keep HMS Albion on extended readiness was. [145554]
Mr Dunne: A period of work was conducted on HMS Albion from November 2011 to March 2012 to prepare the vessel to enter extended readiness in April 2012. The cost of this preparatory work was some £3 million.
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Ministerial Policy Advisers
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures are in place within his Department to deal with breaches of the code of conduct for special advisers. [145654]
Mr Philip Hammond: Matters relating to Special Advisers are handled in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Model Contract and Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
RAF Menwith Hill
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were stopped and searched by the Counter Terrorist Unit at NSA Menwith Hill between 2000 and 2012; and for what reasons such people were stopped and searched. [145638]
James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
Data on the main stop and search powers used by police in England and Wales are published by the Home Office on an annual basis in the National Statistics series ‘Police Powers and Procedures' and are only provided at police force area. Latest published data cover the period up to the financial year 2010-11 and are included in the latest internet-only release, which is available via:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/
Provisional data for 2011-12 on searches under S44/47A of the Terrorism Act 2000, are also published as a part of the Official Statistics series ‘Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation: Arrests, outcomes and stop and searches Great Britain 2011-12'. Latest published data are for 2011-12 and are included in the latest internet-only release, which is available via:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/counter-terrorism-statistics/hosb1112/
Data published in these releases are broken down to police force area level only, therefore from centrally reported data it is not possible to determine the number of persons stopped and searched at specific locations within police force areas.
Available data relating to the number of searches of persons under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, to determine whether a person is carrying articles of a kind which could be used in connection with terrorism in the North Yorkshire police force area, where Menwith Hill is located, are provided in the following table. It is not possible to determine the exact number of these searches conducted at specific locations from information held centrally.
| Stops and searches of persons under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000(1) in North Yorkshire police force area 2000-01 to 2011-12 | |
| Number of stops and searches | |
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| (1) Searches to determine whether a person is carrying articles of a kind which could be used in connection with terrorism. | |
Justice
Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations 1999
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions have been made for offences under the Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations 1999 in each year since their introduction. [144933]
Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. In this instance it is not possible to identify from centrally held information prosecutions and convictions for offences under the Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations as these data are categorised and coded together with other offences under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997 and the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1986.
Civil Partnerships
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many civil unions have been conducted to date. [146212]
Mrs Grant: There is currently no status of civil union in England and Wales. However, the total number of civil partnerships formed in the UK between December 2005 when the Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force and the end of 2011, is 53,417.
Source:
ONS, Statistical Data: Civil Partnerships in the UK, 2011.
Community Orders
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under the Government's proposals for outsourcing of probation tasks, who will be responsible for dealing with the breaching of community orders if the person is being supervised by a private provider. [139673]
Jeremy Wright:
The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper “Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage
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offenders” which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
We proposed in our consultation paper that the public sector and contracted providers will work together to handle cases where offenders breach the requirements of their community order or suspended sentence order. We proposed that providers will be obliged to report material breaches of community orders, suspended sentence requirements and licence conditions to the public sector, who will then advise the court or Secretary of State. We did, however, note that it is the case now that straightforward breach cases involving offenders serving a standalone curfew requirement are dealt with directly by the contracted provider and we undertook to consider the applicability of similar arrangements as we develop our new system.
This system will require the effective communication of information between providers and the public sector. It should be noted that it is already the case that the private, voluntary and community sectors deliver some interventions for those who have been sentenced to community orders and that such effective communication already takes place in practice.
The consultation closed on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.
Dog Control Orders
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates in England and Wales are trained to deal with dog control cases. [146514]
Mrs Grant: All magistrates have received the relevant training to deal with dangerous dog cases. Joint guidance was issued to them in February 2010 by the Justices' Clerks Society and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In 2012 the Sentencing Council issued new guidelines to provide clear guidance to judges and magistrates to encourage consistency in sentencing and appropriate sentences for owners of dangerous dogs.
Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff were employed by the Courts and Tribunals Service to deal with appeals against decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance in each month since June 2011 in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland. [146188]
Mrs Grant: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) decisions.
The SSCS Tribunal hears appeals on a range of benefits, of which ESA is one and SSCS Tribunal staff will be involved with processing the range of appeals heard by the tribunal. It is therefore not possible to supply the numbers of staff employed to deal with appeals against decisions on entitlement to ESA.
While I have previously provided information to the hon. Member on the numbers of staff employed in the
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SSCS Tribunal, increases in the number of staff working in multi-jurisdictional centres and moving between HMCTS offices supporting different jurisdictions mean that accurate data are no longer available. It is therefore not possible to supply the exact number of administrative staff employed in relation to the SSCS Tribunal without checking the specific duties of each individual member of staff, which would be at disproportionate cost. I have written to the hon. Member to explain the position in more detail.
Food: Waste
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much surplus food was thrown away by his Department in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [143457]
Jeremy Wright: There is no central record of surplus food thrown away which covers the whole of the Ministry of Justice estate and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
MOJ Headquarters constantly reviews its food use to keep waste to a minimum. All waste, including food waste, is segregated at source. All food waste is sent away to be turned into compost that is then used in the agricultural industry. This ensures that surplus food is not wasted.
G4S
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration his Department gave to the performance of G4S in delivering security for the London 2012 Olympic Games in its decision to award a contract to that company to monitor medium-risk criminals on their release from prisons. [145034]
Jeremy Wright: No consideration was given, as the decision to award the Contract to G4S for the provision of Transitional Support Service (TSS) in Wales was made in November 2011. Therefore, this decision was made prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Human Trafficking
Mrs Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 196W, on human trafficking, (1) what steps he is taking to map the local authority areas in which victims of modern slavery were discovered for the purposes of ascertaining geographical trends and trends in the type of live exploitation; and if he will make a statement; [144773]
(2) for what reasons he has concluded that providing the local authority area in which victims were discovered would put them at risk. [144774]
Mrs Grant: As Victims' Minister and a member of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking I support the Government's objective to improve the collection of data. However, under its contract with the Ministry of Justice the Salvation Army is not required to collate trend mapping data as in the majority of cases it is not directly responsible for rescuing victims from their trafficking situation.
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The Government are focusing on improving their collection of data on human trafficking victims to strengthen the UK's response to this crime. As the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), explained in his answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 196W, the safety of identified victims is of the utmost importance and publishing information on the local authority area where they were referred through to the Salvation Army could result in them being rediscovered by their trafficker. It could also endanger any other victims harboured by them.
Legal Aid Scheme
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much legal aid was paid out in (a) the case of Al-Rawi and others v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and (b) mediation associated with that case; to which legal firms and barristers those payments were made; and if he will make a statement. [145304]
Jeremy Wright: As stated by the then Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), on 16 November 2010, Official Report, column 752, details of the mediated settlement of the civil damages claims brought by detainees held at Guantanamo Bay were made subject to a legally binding confidentiality agreement; this includes any detail about legal costs. The Legal Services Commission is bound by that confidentiality agreement and is therefore unable to comment.
Protection of Badgers Act 1992
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been prosecuted for offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 in each of the last five years. [146213]
Jeremy Wright: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, in England and Wales, for the period 2007 to 2011 (the latest available), can be viewed in the table.
Court proceedings data for 2012 are planned for publication in May 2013.
| Persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992(1), England and Wales, 2007-11(2, 3) | |||||
| Outcome | 2007 | 2008(4) | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| (1 )The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 consolidated the Badgers Act 1973, the Badgers Act 1991 and the Badgers (Further Protection) Act 1991. (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. | |||||
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Reoffenders: Kent
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the reoffending rates of prisoners resident in (a) Dartford and (b) Kent. [145848]
Jeremy Wright: The following table presents the proven re-offending rates for adult offenders in Dartford and Kent who were released from custody in the 12 months ending March 2011.
| Local authority | Proportion of offenders who re-offend (percentage) |
The local authority area is based on where an offender resides when they committed their most recent offence.
A proven re-offence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
Small Claims
Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the insurance industry about increasing the small claims track limit; and if he will make a statement. [146356]
Mrs Grant: No discussions have been held with the insurance industry about increasing the small claims limit by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), or myself.
The small claims track financial threshold will increase from £5,000 to £10,000 on 1 April 2013, as announced by the then Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), in March 2012, following the publication of the Solving Disputes in the County Court consultation response. The MOJ received a number of representations on this issue during the course of the consultation process, including responses from insurers and representatives of the insurance industry.
In addition, MOJ officials have met with a wide range of stakeholders as part of the consultation process, including representatives from the insurance industry, in relation to "Reducing the number and costs of whiplash claims—A consultation on arrangements concerning whiplash injuries in England and Wales." The consultation opened on 11 December 2012 and is due to close on 8 March 2013, after which the Government's response will be published in spring 2013.
Written Questions
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the procedure and sign-off process for responding to parliamentary questions in his Department includes review by special advisers. [146089]
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Jeremy Wright: Ministers are responsible and accountable for all answers to parliamentary questions. Special Advisers may provide advice to Ministers, as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts and Culture
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the economic contribution of (a) dance organisations, (b) theatre organisations, (c) visual arts organisations, (d) museums, (e) libraries and archives, (f) music organisations and (g) the creative industries to the UK economy. [146392]
Mr Vaizey: The latest DCMS estimates show the creative industries contributed £36.3 billion to the economy in 2009, exported £8.9 billion in creative services in 2009 and employed 1.5 million people in 2010. Music, Visual and Performing Arts contributed £4 billion to the UK economy in GVA terms in 2009. However, the cultural sector delivers wider benefits in the creative industries and the wider economy by developing skills and providing a safe ground for innovation.
| Creative Industries GVA 2008-09 | ||||
| 2008 | 2009 | |||
| Sector | Gross Value Added (GVA) (£ million) | Proportion of total UK GVA (%) | Gross Value Added (GVA) (£ million) | Proportion of total UK GVA (%) |
The Arts Council England have commissioned research to produce an evidence-based understanding of the direct, indirect and wider contribution that arts and culture, including museums, make to the national economy; this is expected to be published in early summer 2013.
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Broadband: Rural Areas
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what assessment she has made of the effect of there not being regulated access to BT's ducts and poles for mobile network operators on the rollout of 4G mobile networks in rural areas; [144769]
(2) what assessment she has made of the effect of the rollout of 4G networks to rural areas of there not being regulated access to BT's poles and ducts for mobile network operators similar to that offered to fixed line broadband providers. [144770]
Mr Vaizey: I have not made any assessment of the effect of there not being regulated access to BT's ducts and poles for mobile operators. Ofcom is responsible for regulating access to BT’s network, including the network of ducts and poles, and considers this as part of the regular reviews it carries out to assess the different markets, in particular the Wholesale Local Access Review and the Business Connectivity Market Review.
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will undertake or commission research on the likely increase in rural superfast mobile broadband if charges for access to BT's ducts and poles were reduced. [144771]
Mr Vaizey: Ofcom is responsible for regulating access to BT's network, including the network of ducts and poles, which includes determining whether the price charged for access is fair and proportionate. Ofcom incorporated an indoor coverage obligation in one of the 800 MHz lots of spectrum that were recently auctioned. The winner of this lot is Telefonica UK Ltd. This operator is obliged to provide 4G mobile services for indoor coverage to at least 98% of the UK population and at least 95% of the population of each of the UK nations, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, by the end of 2017. With it being easier to provide coverage outdoors, this obligation should result in more than 99% outdoor coverage for the UK population. Towards the end of 2013, Ofcom will be publishing details of the areas and broadband speeds that each operator is providing on their 4G networks.
Defamation
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will assess the potential benefits of bringing forward amendments to the Defamation Bill to provide greater protection of the families of victims of murder or culpable homicide who have experienced falsehoods being disseminated as fact by the media. [145310]
Mrs Grant: I am replying as this matter falls within the responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice.
The issue of defamation of deceased persons, such as homicide victims, has been debated in both Houses of Parliament during the passage of the Defamation Bill. The Government opposed amendments in both Houses and does not believe that a change in the law to permit claims by the families of deceased persons is appropriate. This would undermine the long-standing legal principle that a deceased person cannot be defamed because reputation is personal.
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Defamation is a devolved matter in Scotland and the Scottish Government have separately consulted on this matter. So far as I know, they have not yet reached any conclusions.
Football: Israel
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make representations to the Football Association that the England team should withdraw from the UEFA under-21 finals in Israel as a result of the refusal of the government of Israel to co-operate with the United Nations Human Rights Council. [144395]
Hugh Robertson [holding answer 25 February 2013]: This is a matter for the Israeli Football Association and UEFA. The UK Government and the Football Association support UEFA's decision to award the Under 21 Championships to Israel.
Sports: Facilities
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to encourage individuals to use local sports and leisure facilities. [145763]
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Hugh Robertson: Sport England is investing in making facilities attractive and accessible to users through the Places People Play programme and further lottery investment for new and improved facilities. By 2017, the total investment into facilities will be over £250 million.
Tour de France
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what assessment she has made of the potential contribution to the economy in (a) Yorkshire and (b) the UK of the Tour de France in 2014; [145403]
(2) what support her Department plans to provide to ensure that the economic benefits to the UK of the Tour de France in 2014 are maximised. [145404]
Hugh Robertson [holding answer 28 February 2013]: The Government have not made any specific assessment of the impact of the 2014 Tour de France in Yorkshire. Welcome to Yorkshire submitted their bid independently, and as part of that, developed their own economic impact study. UK Sport are working with Welcome to Yorkshire to assess what support they can give to the event.