---

Prisoners: Length of Sentence

Baroness Quin asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many prisoners currently in prisons in England and Wales have served longer than their tariff. [HL2559]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Complete information on the total numbers of all life and other indeterminate sentence prisoners held in custody beyond their tariff period is not currently available centrally. To provide the information requested would require manual checking of individual records which could be carried out only at disproportionate cost. However within the Public Protection Unit of the National Offender Management Service, the Pre-Release Section (PRS) maintains a limited database on those offenders sentenced to imprisonment for public protection (IPP). This indicates that, as at 1 March 2008, 635 such offenders were being held in prison beyond their tariff expiry date.

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.

The department is developing a new database that will allow it to accurately capture the information requested. The database is nearing completion and it is expected to go live this spring.

25 Mar 2008 : Column WA87

Questions for Written Answer: Unanswered Questions

Lord Tebbit asked the Leader of the House:

Why the Question for Written Answer tabled by Baroness Valentine on 8 November 2007 remained unanswered on 25 February. [HL2159]

The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): An Answer was given on 17 March (Official Report, col. WA 1).

Robert Burns: 250th Anniversary

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have asked or will ask the Royal Mail and the Bank of England to celebrate in January 2009 the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. [HL2586]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Baroness Vadera): I understand that Royal Mail does intend to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns by issuing a special stamp and miniature sheet in January 2009.

There are currently no plans for issuing in 2009 a Bank of England bank note including Robert Burns as an historical character. The Bank of England regularly receives representations to include historical figures on the back of its new bank notes. The Governor of the Bank of England makes the final decision on the historical figure to be represented on the back of their new bank notes.

Visas: Georgia

Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many applications made in Tbilisi, Georgia, for visas for entry into the United Kingdom by Georgian citizens have been considered by an asylum

25 Mar 2008 : Column WA88

and immigration appeals tribunal; how many have been granted an appeal; and how many have been refused. [HL2359]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): For the period January to December 2007 the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal received 30 appeals against refusal of entry clearance to the United Kingdom by Georgia nationals who applied at the UK embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia. In the same period, 24 Georgian appeals were decided: immigration judges allowed eight, dismissed nine, and six were withdrawn or abandoned. One appeal was allowed after reconsideration.

Waste Management: Brofiscin Quarry

The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the written answer by the Baroness Crawley to the Countess of Mar on 28 January (WA 98), when the 38-page witness statement and the accompanying evidential material including maps, plans and signed affidavits sent to Lord Mills of the Environment Agency Wales, and receipted by him on or about 9 May 2007, were returned to Mr Gowan; what evidence they have that the documents were dispatched, and what evidence they have that they were received by Mr Gowan. [HL2008]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Environment Agency has no record of having received an original sworn 38-page witness statement and accompanying material. An electronic unsigned version of the witness statement was e-mailed by Mr Gowan to Chris Mills, regional director of the Environment Agency Wales, on the 9 May 2007. Chris Mills has acknowledged receipt of that e-mail.

---