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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 3 July 2013
Wales
Foreign Investment
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with UK Trade and Investment on opportunities for increasing foreign direct investment to Wales. [162952]
Mr David Jones: I have regular discussions with UK Trade and Investment on opportunities for increasing foreign direct investment to Wales. I welcome the news from Ernst and Young's attractiveness survey that in 2012 Wales recorded its highest level of inward investment for five years.
Sick Leave
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months. [162592]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. Data on average working days lost are provided to the Department by the Ministry of Justice at quarterly intervals. The most recent data provided, which cover the 2012-13 financial year, state that the number of average working days lost was nine. As the Wales Office is a very small Department, breaking the numbers down into their specific pay grades, would risk the identification of individuals.
Staff
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months. [162624]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office spend on (a) recruitment agency fees and (c) staff training in each of the past 12 months is illustrated in the following table.
| Month | Spend on recruitment agency fees | Spend on staff training |
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The Wales Office has not paid any outplacement agency fees during the past 12 months.
Vacancies
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14. [162678]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office average vacancy rate for the financial year 2012-13 was 14%. The Wales Office does not assume an average vacancy rate for financial years.
Northern Ireland
MITIE Group
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008. [162470]
Mrs Villiers: My Department does not hold any contracts with MITIE.
Mobile Phones
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to her Department. [162692]
Mrs Villiers: Mobile telephones are supplied to my Department by BT, O2, Orange and Vodafone. Mobile data services are provided by BT and Vodafone.
Home Department
Civil Disorder
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of the 2011 summer riots on crime statistics in each of the last two years. [161429]
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Damian Green: The Home Office has previously published analysis of the crimes that took place in some urban areas between Saturday 6 August and Thursday 11 August 2011.
This analysis found that in the year to September 2011, there were a total of 4,052,866 crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, of which 344,937 were recorded in August. Through a special data collection exercise, police forces affected by the disorder supplied data on recorded crimes that were related to the disorder.
Ten forces experienced more extensive disorder (defined as where more than 20 offences were recorded related to the disorder) and together recorded a total of 5,112 disorder-related offences between 6 to 11 August, equivalent to 1.5% of the total number of crimes recorded for August. These figures show that although the disorder involved a very high level of visible criminality in some localised areas, the overall impact on national recorded crime figures was relatively small.
Due to the limited impact on the overall recorded crime figures, no additional analysis has been produced.
Further information on this analysis can be found in ‘Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly Update to September 2011’:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/116501/hosb0112.pdf
and ‘An overview of recorded crimes and arrests resulting from disorder events in August 2011’
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/116257/overview-disorder-aug2011.pdf
Counter-terrorism
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work she has undertaken to create better links between universities, colleges, local authorities and communities engaged in Prevent work. [161588]
James Brokenshire: In conjunction with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, we have recently appointed 10 Prevent regional co-ordinators across the country for the higher and further education sectors. They will bring together the universities and colleges in each area to discuss good practice, case studies and emerging issues, in conjunction with local police Prevent Engagement Officers and local authority Prevent co-ordinators, all of whom engage closely with communities.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Prevent strategy regional champions are currently in post; and what assessment she has made of their work. [161590]
James Brokenshire: 10 Prevent regional co-ordinators for the further education and higher education sectors are in post across the country.
The co-ordinators have only recently come into post and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, as the lead department for Prevent in further and higher education institutions, is currently undertaking an initial assessment of their work.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have agreed Prevent strategy programmes with universities. [161591]
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James Brokenshire: The police play a central and vital role in working alongside and within key sectors, including universities.
ACPO (Terrorism and Allied Matters) coordinate Prevent policing at a regional, force and local level, including the delivery of Prevent policing programmes with universities.
Counter-terrorism: Greenwich
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding has been provided to Greenwich Council under the Prevent programme in each of the last five years. [161585]
James Brokenshire: Under the Department for Communities and Local Government area based grant funding model for the Preventing Violent Extremism programme, since 2008-09 Greenwich council has received £453,474. In total: £125,000 in 2008-09; £168,292 in 2009-10; and £160,182 in 2010-11.
Greenwich became a Prevent priority area in April 2012. As such, Greenwich is entitled to direct funding from the Home Office for a Prevent co-ordinator. For the financial year 2012/13, Greenwich has received £38,653 from the Home Office for the funding of their Prevent Co-ordinator. As a Prevent priority area Greenwich is also entitled to apply for funding to conduct Prevent-focused projects. Greenwich has had one research project approved to date, jointly with the Redbridge council. Redbridge will receive the funding through the grant.
Counter-terrorism: Scotland
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Scottish Government have requested any meetings with her to discuss the provision of counter terrorism intelligence sharing in the event of Scottish independence. [160402]
James Brokenshire: The Scottish Government have not requested any meetings with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to discuss the provision of counter terrorism intelligence sharing in the event of Scottish independence.
Fraud
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of attempted fraud have been reported to Action Fraud in the last 12 months. [160918]
James Brokenshire: In the last 12 months, 148,150 reports of fraud have been made to Action Fraud. This figure includes confirmed and attempted frauds and cannot be broken down further.
Police: Surveillance
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the parents of children who died and whose identities were used by undercover police officers have been contacted by the police. [161949]
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Damian Green [holding answer 27 June 2013]: Operation Herne, the investigation into undercover policing in the Metropolitan police, is maintaining contact with a number of families, or representatives of families, concerned that their child's identity may have been used by undercover officers. For operational reasons, connected to the safety of the officers, no information has been given to any families of deceased children whose identities may have been used by undercover police officers.
However, as my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary informed Parliament on 24 June 2013, Official Report, column 25, chief constable Mick Creedon, who is leading Operation Herne, expects that his investigation will report on allegations about use of the identities of deceased children before the House rises for the summer recess.
Transport
Aviation
Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the costs levied against consumers who are required to make minor administration changes to flight booking information. [162427]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has made no such assessment. However, the European Commission have recently published a proposal to revise EU Regulations on air passenger rights. One of the proposals is that airlines would be required to allow passengers to make minor changes to their flight bookings free of charge.
East Coast Railway Line
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of delays to East Coast Main Line rail services were due to (a) overhead wire failures, (b) signalling failures, (c) other infrastructure failures, (d) flooding or other weather events, (e) vehicles, persons, or animals on the line, (f) train failures, (g) unavailability of staff and (h) other causes in each of the last three years for which records are available. [162428]
Norman Baker: The data requested is held by the Office of Rail Regulation. The table below shows the proportional split of responsibility for delay minutes affecting East Coast train services in the last year, as published on the following website:
http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/network_rail_monitor_1213q4.pdf
The financial year 2012/13 is the first year in which such information has been made publicly available.
| Proportional split of delay minute responsibility: East Coast 2012-13 | |||
| Percentage | |||
| Responsible party | |||
| Network Rail | East Coast | Other Train/Freight companies | |
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Great Western Railway Line
Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what steps he will take to improve flood monitoring systems on the Western route in cases of increased extreme weather disruption; [162877]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to prevent future flood damage on the Western rail route. [162879]
Norman Baker: Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan outlined high level measures to increase their expenditure in ‘Civils’ (structures, earthworks etc) including improvements to flood mitigation. Network Rail continues to develop better understanding of the relationship between safety, asset reliability and weather conditions. These include supporting systems to measure potential earthwork slip risk notifications, flood risk notification (including an Environment Agency warning service) and the Met office severe weather warnings notifications: tailored for monitoring Network Rail assets.
I have specifically asked Network Rail to liaise closely with the Environment Agency to ensure the solution to the resilience issues at Cowley Bridge are resolved in a co-ordinated manner which is suitable to all interested parties.
Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in increasing the capacity of the Western route. [162878]
Mr Simon Burns: Major investment has been committed to increase the capacity of the Great Western route. Upgrading of the Reading area will be completed by 2015. Upgrades of the Oxford and Bristol areas will be completed by 2016 and 2017 respectively. New, higher capacity electric trains will be in service on the Great Western Main Line from 2017.
Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what decisions have been made on funding for resilience works to improve the Western route, in line with the recommendations of the Network Rail resilience review. [162880]
Mr Simon Burns: Network Rail has identified the works it considers necessary to counter extreme weather and is exploring ways these might be funded within the Draft Determination published by the Office of Rail Regulation on 12 June:
http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/consultations/draft-determination.php
MITIE Group
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008. [162472]
Norman Baker: The level of expenditure by the Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies on contracts with MITIE since 2008 is shown in the table below:
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| £ | |||||||
| 08/09 | 09/10 | 10/11 | 11/12 | 12/13 | 13/14 | Total | |
Pedestrian Crossings: Accidents
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians were killed or injured while using pedestrian crossings in each of the last three years for which data are available; and how many such deaths and injuries occurred at (a) pelican and (b) puffin crossings. [162536]
Stephen Hammond: The following table gives the total number of pedestrians who were killed or injured on pedestrian crossings in road traffic accidents reported to the police in Great Britain for 2010, 2011 and 2012.
| Human controlled crossing(1) | Zebra crossing(2) | Light controlled pedestrian crossing(3) | Total | |
| (1) Includes school crossings and police officer or traffic warden controlled crossings (2) Pedestrian crossings that are not controlled by traffic lights (3) Including pelican, puffin, toucan or similar crossing | ||||
The accident report form does not distinguish between the different types of light-controlled pedestrian crossings so it is not possible to report how many of the casualties were on specifically (a) pelican or (b) puffin crossings. These are grouped together in the fourth column of the table.
Roads: Accidents
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an estimate of the total number of road traffic casualties in 2012, including those not reported to the police. [162799]
Stephen Hammond: The Department's latest estimate of the total number of road traffic casualties, including those not reported to the police, is that there was a total of 730 thousand casualties in 2011. The information required to update this estimate is not yet fully available. However, the Department plans to update this estimate for the year 2012 in its annual road safety publication, ‘Reported Road Casualties Great Britain’, scheduled for release in September 2013.
Serco
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008. [162945]
Norman Baker: The current level of expenditure by the Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies on contracts with Serco, as well as spend in each year since 2008, is shown in the table below.
| £ | |||||||
| Business Unit | 08/09 | 09/10 | 10/11 | 11/12 | 12/13 | 13/14 | Total |
International Development
Developing Countries: Family Planning
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government plans to take to encourage the promotion of family planning in developing countries. [162712]
Lynne Featherstone:
The ground-breaking London summit on family planning in July 2012, hosted by the UK Government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, mobilised policy, financing, and delivery commitments to support the rights of an additional 120 million women and girls in the world's poorest countries to use contraceptive information, services and supplies by 2020. At the summit more than 20 developing
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countries made bold commitments to address the policy, financing and delivery barriers that women face while trying to access contraceptive information, services and supplies, and more have since joined this movement. Donors pledged $2.6 billion to help fund these commitments, exceeding the summit goal.
At the summit, the UK announced its commitment to double its efforts on family planning, from an average of £90 million per year to an average of £180 million per year, (£516 million over eight years) towards achieving the summit goal. These funds are supporting governments, civil society, the UN and other partners in over 40 countries to provide family planning information, services and supplies as part of a package of essential health services, and to address the wider social and cultural barriers to access, including support for the empowerment of women and girls.
Developing Countries: Religious Freedom
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make it her policy to only deliver aid to organisations with a commitment to freedom of religion or belief. [162544]
Lynne Featherstone: The UK recognises that human rights underpin sustainable development. DFID's partnership principles require that before providing direct financial support to Governments, we assess their shared commitment to respecting the human rights of citizens, including freedom of religion and belief. In 2011, DFID developed Faith Partnership Principles outlining our approach to working with faith groups to overcome poverty.
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will identify freedom of religion or belief as a priority for her Department's work. [162545]
Lynne Featherstone: The UK recognises that human rights underpin sustainable development. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the leading Department on human rights. DFID works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in promoting freedom of religion and belief worldwide.
DFID's partnership principles require that before providing direct support to Governments, we assess their shared commitment to respecting the human rights of citizens, including freedom of religion and belief. In 2011, DFID developed Faith Partnership Principles outlining our approach to working with faith groups to overcome poverty.
International Assistance
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in what ways the Government plan to seek to ensure the recognition of often marginalised groups, such as nomadic communities or children with disabilities, in the post-2015 millennium development goals. [162725]
Justine Greening:
The UK is highly active both in the numerous United Nations fora that address the post-2015 agenda, including the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, and with partner governments in
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capitals. We are proactively building support for the High Level Panel's recommendation that the new goal framework 'leave no one behind,' and that data be disaggregated by social and income groups with no target considered 'achieved' unless it is met for all groups.
MITIE Group
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008. [162468]
Mr Duncan: The following table provides details of departmental spending with MITIE since 2008.
| Amount (£) | |
MITIE's contract since 2011-12 covers three tasks, Security, Catering and Facilities Management. Prior to this date MITIE were only contracted to do the first of these.
Palestinian Authority
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures her Department has in place to ensure that UK aid to the Palestinian Authority general budget is not used to sponsor events and activities endorsing terrorism. [162711]
Lynne Featherstone: UK aid is remitted to a World Bank multi-donor trust fund and is used exclusively to pay for the salaries of civil servants. The list of approved recipients is subject to vetting processes and does not include Palestinian Authority (PA) employees who are on international and ad-hoc sanctions lists. Independent audits of the use of DFID's funding by the PA are carried out every six months.
Press Subscriptions
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months. [162654]
Mr Duncan: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
St Helena
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what on-the-ground predator control measures were conducted in 2012 within the Airport Development Area of the St Helena Air Access project; and for which target species. [162955]
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Mr Duncan: Until June 2012, when major construction works commenced, predator control on Prosperous Bay Plain was undertaken by the St Helena National Trust Wirebird Predator Control Project. This work continues in upper Prosperous Bay Plain. Since then the Contractor monitors the airport construction site for predator species including cats, mice and rats on a daily basis in compliance with the Contractor's Environmental Management Plan. Invertebrate predators such as centipedes and brown widow spiders are also monitored. Effective waste management is implemented throughout the Airport Development Area to discourage predator species. If an increase in predators is noted, predator control specialists from the St Helena Government's Environmental Health Directorate and the St Helena National Trust are engaged for advice and practical assistance where necessary.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps were taken in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to conserve the population of the beetle Homoeodera scolytoides found in the Airport Development Area of the St Helena Air Access project; and how many such beetles are being kept in captivity. [162956]
Mr Duncan: A 2003 survey found a single specimen of the beetle Homoeodera scolytoides in the Eastern Arid Area. An invertebrate survey undertaken in the area in 2012 did not find any evidence of its presence. As surveys have not provided conclusive evidence of the continued presence of the species in the Airport Development Area no further steps were taken to conserve the population of Homoeodera scolytoides. As no specimens have been found it has not been possible to keep any Homoeodera scolytoides in captivity.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the St Helena Air Access project on the mole spider population on the area known as Southern Ridge; and whether any such spiders have been taken into captivity for conservation purposes. [162957]
Mr Duncan: An invertebrate and habitat survey of the Southern Ridge was undertaken in 2012, which established the presence of the mole spider in a limited area east of 'Creeper Hill'. A significant portion of this area has been affected by the Airport Project to comply with UK Department for Transport security requirements. Monitoring of the wider area has identified the continued presence of mole spiders on the Southern Ridge, with further significant populations found in the Central Basin and near Bradley's Camp. To date no mole spiders have been taken into captivity for conservation purposes.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the St Helena Air Access project on the crab spider Bonapruncinia sanctae-helenae. [162959]
Mr Duncan:
The crab spider Bonapruncinia sanctae-helenae has not been seen since 1967 when two juvenile specimens were found, but the exact location of these discoveries is unknown. Invertebrate surveys in 2003,
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2012 and 2013 did not find any further evidence of the presence of this species within the Airport Development Area.
Staff
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months. [162618]
Mr Duncan: In financial year 2012-13 DFID's expenditure was:
| Category of expenditure | 2012-13 figure (£) |
| (1) This figure represents the total paid to recruitment agencies. These payments were for the services of temporary staff and included both payment to the individual and a fee to the recruitment agency. It is not possible to disaggregate this figure. (2) This figure represents payments to training providers for staff training and professional development for DFID staff, including staff appointed in country (SAIC). | |
Communities and Local Government
Housing Benefit
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the likely effect of changes to the payment of housing benefit on the ability of registered landlords to borrow for housing investment; and if he will make a statement. [163077]
Mr Prisk: The Department for Communities and Local Government is working alongside the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that universal credit is designed in a way that protects social landlords' financial position. To help achieve this, we are working closely with a group of social landlords and local authorities from six areas across the country on the direct payment demonstration projects, to test the impact of paying housing benefit direct to tenants.
More information, including the payment rates for the first nine payments of the projects and further background can be found in the press package released by the Department for Work and Pensions in May 2013:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/direct-payment-demo-figures-may-2013.pdf
A key aim of the demonstration projects is to explore the best safeguards to protect tenants and social landlords from the risk of increases in rent arrears. The projects are also helping local authorities and housing associations understand how they need to prepare for the introduction of universal credit. We intend to use the evidence gathered from the projects to inform the design of universal credit, including consideration of safeguards that would best protect the financial position of social landlords and reduce the risk of tenants falling into debt.
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On 27 June, my noble Friend the Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord Freud, set out a package of measures intended to protect landlords' financial position in universal credit in a speech at the Chartered Institute of Housing annual conference. Further information, including the package of measures, can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/direct-payments-system
Universal credit is about making work pay, so that everyone becomes better off when they move into work, or when they start working longer hours. By removing the distinction between being in work and out of work, by ensuring that there is a clear financial return for each extra hour worked, and by removing the existing hours rules, Universal Credit is expected to increase the income of the poorest workers, increase employment, reduce poverty and to start to break of the cycle of workless households in succeeding generations.
Landlords: Licensing
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities in England have used the selective licensing powers as defined under section 80 of the Housing Act 2004 to date. [162838]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 2 July 2013]: This information is not held centrally.
Solar Power: Planning Permission
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the statement of 16 June 2013, Official Report, column 113WS, on onshore wind (local planning), whether the new planning guidance will apply to proposed solar parks; and if he will make a statement. [162368]
Mr Prisk: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer of 18 June 2013, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA34.
Urban Areas
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress his Department has made since the publication of the Portas review to assist retailers to report on their support of high streets in their annual reports. [163011]
Mr Prisk: In the Government's response to the Portas review in April 2012, we welcomed this recommendation and encouraged retailers to volunteer to report on their support of the local high street in their annual report. Many major retailers already report on their corporate social responsibility activities, which will often include work to support local communities.
Business in The Community (BITC) has set up a High Street Champions programme with funding from DCLG. Businesses with a commitment to town centres are being asked to provide support and encouragement for a Portas pilot to help them achieve their objectives. The High Street Champions are working with their Town Teams to deliver positive change in their towns.
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So far 20 of the 27 pilots have been matched with a champion and they are aiming to match the remaining pilots soon.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress his Department has made since the publication of the Portas review in encouraging large retailers to support and mentor local businesses and independent retailers. [163012]
Mr Prisk: The Future High Street Forum, which I co-chair with Alliance Boots executive Alex Gourlay, brings together leaders across retail, property, business, academics, third sector, civil society and government to drive forward new ideas and policies to address the challenges facing high streets. One of the challenges the forum will tackle is encouraging strong local leadership, including getting businesses involved alongside local government and communities.
As part of their support to the Portas pilots, the Government have been funding Business In The Community to co-ordinate and manage business support and engagement with the Portas pilots. This has seen them set up the High Street Champions programme, where businesses with a commitment to town centres can provide support and encouragement for a Portas pilot to help them achieve their objectives, and to deliver positive change in their towns.
Further support to small businesses from Government relating to mentoring includes supporting Mentorsme.co.uk, the national mentoring portal operated by the British Bankers Association, and funding the Get Mentoring initiative which aims to recruit and train 15,000 volunteer business mentors from small and medium-sized enterprises. The National Skills Academy for Retail is also rolling out a national mentoring scheme for retail small and medium-sized enterprises, throughout its network of over 50 Skills Shops.
Justice
Cannabis
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Vietnamese nationals have been convicted of crimes connected to cannabis cultivation since 2010. [162139]
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. It is not possible to identify from this centrally held information the nationality of offenders sentenced for criminal offences.
Courts
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which courtrooms he has visited since his appointment. [158147]
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Mrs Grant: The table provides details of visits made to courts by the Secretary of State for Justice since his appointment in September 2012:
| Institution visited | |
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the running costs of the commercial courts in England and Wales were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and how much income was generated by those courts in each such year. [158178]
Mrs Grant: The commercial court operates as part of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, but HMCTS does not record separately the costs or income for specific types of work delivered in its civil courts. We therefore cannot separately identify the specific running costs or income attributable to the commercial court.
The Government are on target to achieve their aim to recover the full cost of civil and family business by the end of 2014-15 and a statement showing the total income and expenditure is published in the HMCTS Annual Report and Accounts which can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/hmcts
Crime: Fixed Penalties
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many penalty notices for (a) disorder and (b) shoplifting goods up to the value of £200 were issued in each of the last five years; and how many such notices were not paid in each year; [156059]
(2) how many simple cautions were issued for shoplifting in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [156060]
Jeremy Wright: Information on Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) issued to persons aged 16 and over; by offence (including retail theft up to the value of £200) and outcome, is available in the public domain, in Table 3.12C of Volume 3 Part 12 of the supplementary volumes of each annual Criminal Justice Statistics publication on the MOJ website. Please follow the links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162623/volume-3-dec2011.zip.zip
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162673/volume-3.zip.zip
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162917/volume3-court-proceedings-penalty-notices-for-disorder-and-cautionsby-police-force-area-a.zip.zip
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http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110110161733/http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/criminal-statistics-2008-v3a.zip
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110110161733/http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/crim-stats-2007-vol3.zip
Once an unpaid PND is passed to Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, for enforcement action, it is not possible to identify those PNDs that remain unpaid without looking at each individual account. In the financial year to the end of December 2012, there was a £3.17 million increase in cash collection of financial penalties (excluding confiscation) on the same period in 2011-12.
The number of offenders cautioned (includes simple cautions) for ‘shoplifting’ in England and Wales from 2007 to 2011, can be viewed in the table.
On 3 April 2013, we launched a review into the use of cautions which will focus on the use of cautions for serious offences and persistent offenders. Among other things, the review will examine whether there are some offences for which the use of simple cautions is generally inappropriate, the reasons why multiple cautions are given to some criminals and the difference in the use of cautions by police force areas. The review is a significant step to ensuring that cautions are used correctly, in the interests of justice, and command the confidence of the public.
Information on the use of PNDs and cautions in 2012 is planned for publication on 30 May 2013.
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill now before Parliament includes a provision making shop theft involving property valued at £200 or less a summary-only offence (although defendants would still be able to elect to be tried in the Crown court). This means that low-value shoplifting cases would be subject to more efficient procedures, and could be added to those offences that the police can prosecute directly without the involvement of the CPS.
Crime: Victims
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated spending on support for victims of crime will be in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15. [162185]
Mrs Grant: The Government is committed to making sure that victims and witnesses get the support they need. That is why the Ministry of Justice has allocated over £50 million to organisations providing support to victims of crime in 2013-14.
From 2013-14 onwards we will raise up to an additional £50 million to fund victims' services through reforms of the Victim Surcharge, which were introduced in October 2012, and increased financial penalties such as Penalty Notices for Disorder and Fixed Penalty Notices. Total spend on support to victims of crime, in addition to the £50 million already allocated, will be dependent on the revenue raised through these reforms.
Policy officials are currently working with the sector and Police and Crime Commissioners to confirm the indicative national and local budgets for 2014-15.
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Criminal Injuries Compensation
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme have been (a) received, (b) accepted and (c) rejected since the new scheme was established, by type of injury. [160485]
Mrs Grant: 16,160 claims have been received under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme). In most cases investigations are ongoing but there have been 586 awards made and 3,589 claims rejected. The following table shows the number of awards offered by injury type.
Injury descriptions, from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme's ‘Tariff of Injuries’, are used as the primary basis for paying compensation so they are only reliably recorded once CICA have assessed someone as eligible to receive the compensation payable for that injury. Therefore, The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not hold a breakdown of received or rejected applications by type of injury. When people apply for criminal injuries compensation they are asking CICA to assess what happened to them, decide whether they are eligible for compensation and, if so, how much. I have placed a breakdown of the awards offered by injury type in the parliamentary Library.
| Short name | Count |
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Driving Offences: Sentencing
Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many drivers in (a) England and (b) Gloucester have been prosecuted for causing death while disqualified in each of the last five years; and what the average length of sentence was in each such category in each such year; [157460]
(2) how many people in (a) England and (b) Gloucester were prosecuted for dangerous driving in each of the last five years; and what the average length of sentence was in each such category in each such year. [157461]
Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court and offenders sentenced to immediate custody at ail courts, with average custodial sentence length, for the offences of causing death while disqualified and dangerous driving, in Gloucestershire police force area and England, from 2008 to 2012, can be viewed in the table. The proportion of defendants given custodial sentences in England has increased since 2010.
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Juries
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were called for jury service (a) nationally and (b) in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency in each of the last three years; and what proportion of those people were considered unfit to serve on a jury. [162221]
Mrs Grant: The number of summons issued, jurors supplied and those disqualified from serving on a jury in England and Wales for the period 2007 to 2012 can be found as part of table 3.31, ‘Chapter 3—Criminal cases’ of the Ministry of Justice statistics bulletin “Court Statistics Quarterly”.
The table can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207806/court-stats-q1-main-tables.xls
Published information is not available at the constituency level.
Members: Correspondence
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Bridgend of 29 May 2013, reference MM/LF/05013. [161993]
Mrs Grant: I can confirm that a copy of the reply has been sent via e-mail and post to the hon. Member on 25 June 2013. This is within the MOJ target deadline of 15 working days.
Michael Turner
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what dates and at which times he has met Mr Michael Turner QC in his capacity as Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association since 1 January 2012. [158035]
Jeremy Wright: The Secretary of State for Justice has met regularly with the legal profession to discuss the Transforming Legal Aid proposals. This includes meetings with the Law Society, Bar Council, Circuit Leaders and roundtable meetings with Law Society members.
The Secretary of State has not met with Michael Turner QC. However, Lord McNally, lead Minister for legal aid at the MOJ met with Mr Turner on 30 May 2013.
The Department publishes quarterly meetings between Ministers and all external organisations. Quarters from January 2013 will be published in due course. This can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports
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Offenders: Mental Health Services
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many mental health treatment requirements were issued as part of a community sentence in England and Wales in 2012; [162251]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of a mandatory punitive element in community sentences on the use of the mental health treatment requirement. [162252]
Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders starting a community order with mental health treatment requirements in England and Wales is published annually within Table A4.9 of the 'Offender Management caseload statistics'—2012 Annual tables, and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offender-management-statistics-quarterly--2
Courts are required by law to impose requirements that are the most suitable for the offender. This duty will become subject to the requirement to include a punitive element in every community order once the relevant provision in the Crime and Courts Act 2013 is commenced. It will be for the courts to determine which punitive element is appropriate and proportionate in every case. We do not expect the mandatory punitive element to impact on the use of mental health treatment requirements. Courts must still have regard to the purposes of sentencing including "the reform and rehabilitation of offenders".
In October 2012 the Government published an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) covering their response to the consultation document Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences. This said that certain punitive requirements may, with reasonable adjustment, be appropriate for offenders with various protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, which include disability. The EIA reflects the Government's view that the new duty will allow for flexibility to take account of needs related to protected characteristics.
Prison Sentences
Mr Gibb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of criminal convictions and guilty
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pleas in
(a)
magistrates' courts and
(b)
Crown courts resulted in custodial sentences in each of the last five years. [161098]
Jeremy Wright: Statistics on the total number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at magistrates courts and at the Crown court, in England and Wales, for the period 2002 to 2012, is available in the public domain. This can be found in the sentencing tables of the annual Ministry of Justice Criminal Justice Statistics publication, at the following link. Table 5.2 presents figures for volumes of offenders sentenced at magistrates courts, and Table 53 presents figures for volumes of offenders sentenced at the Crown court. Table 5.9 presents the percentage of offenders sentenced who are sentenced to immediate custody, by court type, for the period of 2002 to 2012, Table 5.26 presents offenders sentenced for indictable offences at the Crown court: Plea, immediate custody and average sentence length, for the period of 2002 to 2012.
These show that the proportion of offenders sentenced to immediate custody has increased at both magistrates courts and Crown courts over the last five years, and the average custodial sentence length for offenders sentenced at all courts has also increased. The ratio of convictions against proceedings has also increased in the same period.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203849/5-sentencing-tables-dec12.xls
Prison Service: North East
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) operational support grades, (b) prison officer grades, (c) administrative grades, (d) operational and senior operational manager grades and (e) other grades received an exceeded marking on their staff personal development record at each prison establishment in the Prison Service North East area in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [160079]
Jeremy Wright: The deadline for completing the Staff Personal Development Record exercise is 30 June. Data is therefore not yet available for 2012-13. Information relating to 2011-12 is in the following table.
| Number of staff in post in the North East receiving a exceeded marking on Staff Personal Development Record, broken down by grade and establishment, 2011-12 | |||||||
| Grade | Deerbolt | Durham | Holme House | Kirklevington Grange | Low Newton | Northumberland | North East Total |
| (1) Denotes suppressed values of 5 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed, in conjunction with the rounding policy to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998. AH figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals are formed from unrounded parts prior to rounding. For this reason, rounded totals may not equal the sum of their rounded parts. Note: HMP Frankland, which is located within the North East region but is managed with the High Security Estate is not included in the figures. | |||||||
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Prisoners on Remand
Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were on remand in May 2010. [161097]
Jeremy Wright: As at 30 April 2010, the number of prisoners on remand in England and Wales was 12,814.
The figure provided was published in Table 1 of Population in Custody April 2010 statistical bulletin:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/163128/pop-custody-april10a-table.xls.xls
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.
Prisoners' Transfers
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison-to-prison transfer movements there were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [161366]
Jeremy Wright: The following provides information on the total number of prison-to-prison transfers, other than of Category A prisoners:
| Date | Inter-prison transfers |
Category A prisoner movements are arranged locally. Information on them is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Prisoners: Foreign Nationals
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners (a) are in prison and (b) were in prison in May 2010; and what steps are being taken to send them to secure detention in their own countries. [162726]
Jeremy Wright: The number of foreign nationals in prison in England and Wales was 10,725 as at 31 March 2013 (latest available data) and 11,153 as at 31 May 2010.
Where possible we use prisoner transfer agreements to ensure that foreign national prisoners serve out the remainder of their sentence in their home countries. 14 member states have now implemented the EU Prisoner Transfer Arrangement and we are starting to see progress in the transfer of prisoners.
In January 2013 we signed a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement with Albania and we are continuing to pursue similar agreements with our other high volume countries.
Prisoners: Per Capita Costs
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the cost per prisoner was in (a) publicly run prisons, (b) privately run prisons, (c) the whole prison estate and (d) each individual prison in each year since 2010-11; [154380]
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(2) what the cost per prison place was in (a) publicly run prisons, (b) privately run prisons, (c) the whole prison estate and (d) each individual prison in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13. [154434]
Jeremy Wright: As part of the Government's Transparency Agenda, the Department routinely publishes full details of average costs per prisoner and place, based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison and in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales after the end of the financial year. The information for financial years 2011-12 and 2010-11 is published as an Addendum to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts and available on the Department's website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-2011-12
This link includes restated figures for 2010-11 to enable a more true comparison with 2011-12. Copies of these are also placed in the House Library. Figures for financial year 2012-13 have not yet been finalised and therefore not yet available.
The Government are committed to delivering reform in our public services. The Prison Competition Phase One Programme will deliver efficiency savings, in line with other public sector prisons, over the next four years.
Care must be taken in considering the comparison between private and public sector costs for the following reasons:
1. The public and private groups of prisons are not homogenous groups in terms of prison category, size, or age and these factors may have a greater impact on average costs than whether the prisons are public or private sector.
2. The private sector contracts may have different responsibilities for provision of health or education services than public sector prisons. This will affect their relative costs.
3. The different financing methods of PFI prisons mean that in an individual year the resource costs of private and public sector prisons are not directly comparable.
4. The costs are based on resource expenditure recorded in NOMS Annual Accounts. The PFI prisons are on balance sheet, which means that the element of the private contractors’ charges related to the capital cost is not included in the unit costs, while depreciation of buildings is included. Following Government accounting rules, the charge against the resource budget is not calculated in the same way.
5. The PFI prisons costs include a charge for interest on capital costs. There is no equivalent charge in the public sector costs.
Prisons
Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of new equipment and furniture purchased for HMP (a) Shepton Mallet, (b) Kingston, (c) Bullwood Hall, (d) Canterbury, (e) Gloucester, (f) Shrewsbury and (g) Camp Hill in each year since 2010. [158154]
Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the cost of new equipment at each of the prisons in the last three financial years.
The figures exclude assets under £10,000 in value. Assets valued under the £10,000 capital threshold are held locally at each establishment and are recorded on a
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Local Asset Register. These assets are not capitalised, and obtaining figures for them would incur disproportionate cost.
| £ | |||
| Establishment | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
| Note: Costs for Kingston in 2012-13 relate to the essential purchase of a printing machine which is now being used at Blundeston Prison. Costs for Shrewsbury in 2012-13 relates to a digital security radio communication system purchased several months before the decision to close the prison was taken in January 2013. This asset, which was an essential part of the prison communication system, is now in storage and will be used by another establishment in the future. | |||
The following table shows expenditure on 'Newgate' office furniture produced by the prison industries. There is no summary cost data available for in-cell and other non-office furniture. Costs for Camp Hill cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs as it is operationally combined (Camp Hill is part of Isle of Wight Cluster which includes Albany and Parkhurst Prisons).
| £ | |||
| Establishment | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
Data for new equipment has been drawn from central fixed asset database system and data for office furniture has been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the level of detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording systems.
During the decommissioning process for the above prisons, all portable and serviceable items (including equipment and furniture) were relocated whenever it was practicable and economically viable to do so.
Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on building renovations at HMP (a) Shepton Mallet, (b) Kingston, (c) Bullwood Hall, (d) Canterbury, (e) Gloucester, (f) Shrewsbury and (g) Camp Hill in each year since 2010. [158155]
Jeremy Wright: The following table shows, for each prison, capital expenditure on maintenance projects and local expenditure on building enhancements.
| £ | |||
| Establishment | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
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| Note: Costs for Kingston in 2010-11 and 2011-12 relate to the installation of a new fire and general alarm system and a subsequent upgrade to the system. Costs for Shrewsbury relate to the replacement of the fire, general and cell call alarm system. These works, to which the Ministry of Justice was contractually committed in 2011, began about a year before the decision to close the prison was taken in January 2013. They were essential requirements for compliance with British and Prison Standards and provided the prisons with safe and reliable alarm systems. | |||
Data for building enhancements has been drawn from central fixed asset database system and data for maintenance projects has been drawn from the Finance Ledger used for the Published Accounts. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the level of detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording systems.
Credit balances, such as for Bullwood Hall in 2010-11, are caused by prior year accounting adjustments. Figures are rounded to nearest 1,000.
Prisons: Catering
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the retail cost of any items available for purchase in prisons through the canteen system is subsidised from the public purse. [155634]
Jeremy Wright: I can confirm that there are no items sold through the canteen system which are subsidised from the public purse.
Prisons: Construction
Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what feasibility studies his Department has made on the construction of Titan prisons. [162259]
Jeremy Wright: I refer you to the answer given on 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 488W. As stated then we are not resurrecting the ‘Titan’ prison programme.
On 27 June my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice announced that a new prison, that could hold around 2,000 prisoners, will be built in north Wales. Decisions on size, function and exact location within the region have not been made.
Prisons: Corruption
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are available for prison service employees to report incidence of corruption to his Department's Corruption Prevention Unit. [159441]
Jeremy Wright: Corruption in prisons is unacceptable, and this Government is determined to take robust action.
Staff within prisons have a number of mechanisms available to them to report staff corruption. Staff may submit their report through Mercury—which is a new integrated intelligence management system which provides a greater level of security for those reporting concerns,
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however, staff may also report concerns to their Local Corruption Prevention Manager, their Regional Corruption Prevention Manager or the Corruption Prevention Unit directly via an internal wrongdoing hotline, a confidential address or functional mailbox address. Staff may also report any corruption to their line manager. If, however, staff feel unable to speak to someone within their establishment, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously, which is available to any member of the public.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many incidents were reported to the Corruption Prevention Unit in 2012; what the nature was of each such incident; and what the outcome was of each such report. [159442]
Jeremy Wright: It would be inappropriate for operational reasons, including implications for the integrity of security systems and to ongoing investigations and operations in to staff misconduct, to provide the information requested.
NOMS will always seek to deal robustly with any member of staff engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner and will look to use internal disciplinary and/or criminal proceedings depending on the circumstances of the case.
Prisons: Employment
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners are earning under the Prisoner Earning Act 1996; and what proportion of such prisoner earnings are levied under the 2011 changes to that system. [155565]
Jeremy Wright: This Government brought into effect the law to ensure that those prisoners who are working as part of their rehabilitation must pay a proportion of that money to support victims services.
During the 12 months from October 2011 to September 2012, there were a total of 1007 active prisoners, working out of prison on licence and subject to the Prisoners' Earnings Act levy. The total amount raised from this levy during the 12 month period was £757,906.
It is estimated that the amount raised during this time was on average around 35% of applicable earnings after the £20 allowance.
This money is being used by Victim Support to pay for new support services, help victims to recover from the trauma of crime and force criminals to take responsibility for the harm they caused.
Further information on prisoner's earnings can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162376/prisoners-earnings-act-sept-2012.pdf.pdf
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any UK prisons use non-prison workers to (a) cook, (b) serve meals, (c) perform prison maintenance and (d) clean. [159627]
Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service has responsibility for prisons in England and Wales.
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For the purposes of responding to this PQ, “prison worker” has been interpreted as an individual who is either a serving prisoner or a direct employee of Her Majesty's Prison Service.
Prisons in England and Wales do use non-prison workers for the work listed.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2013, Official Report, columns 714-5W, on prisons: employment, if he will provide a list of the essential support tasks carried out by prisoners in England and Wales. [162358]
Jeremy Wright: The Government are committed to making prisons a place of work, where prisoners have to complete a full working day.
Following is a list of activities undertaken by prisoners as currently recorded on P-NOMIS(1) (the Prison National Offender Management Information System) which can be viewed as essential support tasks—tasks which need to be completed to ensure a prison operates safely and decently.
Kitchen
Library
Orderly Cleaners
Other Occupations
Recycling Activity
Wing Cleaning
Works Department.
These tasks can include, to provide further detail, the preparation, cooking, and serving of meals; the cleaning of kitchens and utensils; the cleaning of communal areas both in prisoner living areas and elsewhere in the prison; general maintenance; supporting library providers in librarian duties and working in prison stores. Using prisoners, under appropriate supervision, to undertake these tasks provides purposeful work and saves costs in not having to procure for such services.
(1) Excludes specified industrial work.
Note:
The correct Hansard publication date was 19 June 2013, Official Report, columns 714-15W.