To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment the Government has made of the merits of encouraging employers to advertise posts as available for flexible working to help lone parents and carers back into the workplace; and if she will make a statement. (140850)

The benefits of advertising posts as available for flexible working are to give employers access to a bigger pool of potential employees, including lone parents and carers. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Women (Ruth Kelly) opened a debate on how to take flexible working into account in the recruitment process in a speech to employers on 16 May 2007 at the Work Wise UK Summit 2007. Many employers already advertise posts as suitable for job share or flexible hours and there are specialist recruitment agencies which bring together people looking for flexible work and the jobs that can be done flexibly, but these are still the exception.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many complaints were lodged with returning officers in respect of people not receiving their postal ballot papers in time to vote in the recent Scottish elections in May, broken down by Scottish (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) region. (145652)

Returning Officers are not required to provide this information to the Secretary of State. This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in his Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last year; and if he will make a statement on his Department’s policy on home working. (143878)

All the staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) who are both committed to achieving a work life balance for all staff. No staff in the Office have formally worked from home in the last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people granted (a) temporary part-time, (b) temporary full-time, (c) permanent part-time and (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in his Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over. (143901)

The Scotland Office does not directly employ any staff; all staff are seconded from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice, as necessary. The Office does not hold personnel records that would allow age to be determined.

The gender breakdown of the Scotland Office, and information on disabled staff, is published in the Office’s annual reports, copies of which have been placed in the House Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of staff in his Department are (a) male, (b) female, (c) registered disabled and (d) aged 55 or over. (143918)

The gender breakdown of the Scotland Office and information on disabled staff is published in the Office’s annual report, a copy of which has been placed in the House Library. The staff in the Office are seconded from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice and the Scotland Office does not hold personnel records that would allow age to be determined.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what (a) services and (b) products his Department has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost. (143789)

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has met Scottish Ministers to discuss the Electoral Commission’s statutory review of the Scottish parliamentary elections. (145653)

My right hon. Friend and I have not had any discussions with Scottish Ministers on this issue. The Electoral Commission and its statutory review are both independent of Government. The Commission is only bound by statute to report on the Scottish Parliament election but, at the request of Scottish Ministers, will also include the Scottish local government election.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he was consulted on the final ballot papers adopted for the Scottish parliamentary elections in May which were issued to voters. (145654)

Returning Officers were not required to consult the Secretary of State on the final ballot papers issued to voters for the Scottish Parliament elections in May. The Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2007 sets out the rules that Returning Officers are required to follow in printing the ballot paper.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what level of consultation was undertaken with political parties about the design and format of ballot papers used in the Glasgow and Lothian regions for the recent Scottish parliamentary elections. (145655)

There is no duty on Returning Officers to consult political parties on the design of ballot papers to be used in their area. They are required only to follow the statutory requirements for ballot papers laid out in the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2007. These statutory requirements, debated and agreed by Parliament, were finalised following a substantial consultation process, including a public consultation exercise which all political parties were invited to respond to. Many, though not all, political parties in Scotland responded to that consultation.

To ask the Solicitor-General what (a) correspondence and (b) discussions the Law Officers’ Department has had with (i) European counterparts and (ii) others to seek the earliest possible compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738, on the protection of journalists in armed conflict; and if he will make a statement. (140889)

None.

To ask the Solicitor-General what steps have been taken by the Law Officers’ Department to ensure the UK's compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738, on the protection of journalists in armed conflict; and if he will make a statement. (140890)

The United Kingdom takes seriously its obligations, under international humanitarian law, to protect journalists and other civilians in situations of armed conflict and already has in place the necessary measures to ensure compliance. The Law Officers’ departments have not been required to take additional steps following the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 (2006).

To ask the Solicitor-General what consideration the Government has given to the proposals made by the Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission in Birmingham on 10 May, with particular reference to extending the powers of the Crown Prosecution Service relating to the instigation and conduct of prosecutions to those areas currently within the remit of the Health and Safety Executive and other regulatory or enforcement bodies; and if the Government will respond to the proposals. (144215)

There are no plans, at present, to extend the powers of the Crown Prosecution Service, which are set out in the Prosecutions of Offences Act 1985.

To ask the Solicitor-General what criteria are followed by the Director of Public Prosecutions in deciding whether to give his consent pursuant to section 60 of the Data Protection Act 1998 to a prosecution for a non-notification offence under that Act. (144334)

In cases requiring the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions, specific consideration must be given to the decision to institute or continue proceedings.

A crown prosecutor can give consent on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions by virtue of section 1(7) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.

The decision to grant consent should be taken applying the principles set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the CPS’s policies. Consent cases should be reviewed at the earliest possible opportunity.

The Code for Crown Prosecutors is a publicly available document, which can be accessed from the CPS’s website at

http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/code2004english.pdf

To ask the Solicitor-General (1) which (a) advertising agencies and (b) other organisations supplied consultancy services for advertising campaigns for the Law Officers’ Departments in each of the last five years; and what the cost of these services was; (139444)

The Law Officers’ Departments advertise solely for recruitment purposes, with one exception: within the Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol) the specialist Bona Vacantia division regularly places advertisements in the press seeking kin in cases where individuals have died intestate with no apparent claimants to the estate under administration. The costs for this activity are treated as an expense on the Crown Nominee’s Account that is presented separately to Parliament.

The Law Officers’ Departments’ expenditure in the last five years on recruitment was as follows:

The Treasury Solicitor also handles recruitment advertising for the Attorney General’s Office, and for HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

The Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office was established in April 2005 and therefore has no data before this.

The Crown Prosecution Service recruitment advertising costs prior to 2005 are not available as they are not recorded centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The Serious Fraud Office uses the services of a media agency, WDAD, who are an approved supplier under a Cabinet Office framework.

The CPS uses Barkers to place its advertisements through a Central Office of Information contract.

To ask the Solicitor-General what the cost of leasing buildings and office space for the Law Officers’ Departments was in each of the last five years. (139464)

The Law Officers’ Departments’ expenditure is set out in the following table, where the figures for the Attorney-General’s Office and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate are included within the Treasury Solicitor figures:

To ask the Solicitor-General how much has been spent by the Law Officers’ Departments on public relations in each of the last five years. (139450)

The Law Officers’ Departments’ publicity and press work is conducted by its in-house Press and Communications Teams. It is not possible to distinguish the costs of their proactive public relations work from that of reactive media handling.

No external PR agencies have been used by the Law Officers’ Departments during this period.

To ask the Solicitor-General whether the annual report of the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland for 2006-07 will include statistics on (a) reported race crimes, (b) cases prosecuted, (c) cases securing convictions and (d) cases not prosecuted; and if he will make a statement. (127180)

The Public Prosecution Service published its first annual report last year and the report for 2006-07 will be published in July. The PPS does compile figures on race crimes and those figures can be made available on request. However, last year’s and this year’s report, although providing full statistics on case numbers and outcomes, does not break the figures down by individual offence. Whilst to publish race crime statistics alone in the report would be anomalous, a more detailed breakdown will be provided for the 2007-08 report.

27. To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what the Commissioners’ policy is on the use of cathedral buildings by the creative media industry. (144687)

As ‘Building Faith in Our Future’ shows, the Church is not precious about the uses to which cathedral buildings are put in serving the wider community so long as we always remember their role as centres of worship and mission and as iconic parts of the nation’s heritage.

28. To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how much the Church Commissioners received from commercial organisations from (a) advertising on church buildings and (b) using church properties for telecommunication purposes in the last 12 months. (144688)

Records are not kept centrally. In each case, agreements are formed between the individual cathedral and the church authorities and the commercial organisations in question.

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether a report has been received from Sir Kevin Tebbit’s review of the management and services of the House. (144770)

Yes. It is published today as House of Commons paper HC 685 and is available on the internet at:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmcomm/685/685.pdf.

The Commission is very grateful to Sir Kevin Tebbit and his team for their thorough analysis and recommendations. The report will be considered by the Administration, Finance and Services and Audit Committees and be debated after the summer recess. The Commission has invited the Board of Management to consider the report and prepare a programme for taking forward its proposals, subject to points made by Members in the debate. The Commission will consider the report again and decide upon its recommendations in the autumn after views from Members of the House and the House administration have been made known.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent by staff in his Department via departmental (a) credit, (b) procurement and (c) fuel cards in each of the last three years. (145303)

The Wales Office does not have fuel cards.

Corporate credit cards were introduced in the Wales Office in April 2004.

The amount spent on corporate credit cards is as follows:

Information on the Government procurement card is not kept in this format and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Increased spending on credit cards is the result of an active programme within the Wales Office to encourage their use. This has produced significant savings on processing and transaction costs. As such, the increase reflects greater usage of cards, rather than increased overall spend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of staff in his Department were over 60 years of age in each of the last three years. (145691)

This information is not systematically recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people aged (a) over 55 years of age and (b) over 60 years of age have been recruited by his Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage in each case this is of the number of new recruits in each year. (145696)

The Wales Office has only recruited existing civil servants. In accordance with good practice and anti-age discrimination, candidates for Wales Office jobs are not asked to provide their dates of birth on applications.

As such, this information is not systematically recorded, and collating it could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many public consultations his Department undertook in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each consultation. (145284)

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what (a) services and (b) products his Department has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost. (143785)

The Wales Office uses the Ministry of Justice procurement systems and the Office of Government Commerce on line procurement services.

To date Remploy have not featured in either of those sources. We are aware of the services they offer and subject to our value for money and sustainable development criteria being met would consider a Remploy tender via those procurement channels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff surveys his Department undertook in the last 12 months; and at what total cost. (145268)

In the last 12 months the Wales Office participated in one staff opinion survey conducted by the Ministry of Justice. There was no cost to the Wales Office.

26. To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission what recent reports the Commission has considered from the appointed auditor of the National Audit Office; and if he will make a statement. (144686)

The Public Accounts Commission considers each year, usually in July, the auditors’ report on the National Audit Office’s annual resource account and on the NAO’s statement on the financial impact of its work. It also considers at the same time the auditors’ annual value for money examination of an aspect of the Office’s operations. This was last done in July 2006. The Commission expects to receive the next set of reports from the auditors in July this year.

To ask the Leader of the House how much was spent by staff in his Office via departmental (a) credit, (b) procurement and (c) fuel cards in each of the last three years. (145297)

This information is not currently available in the format requested following the Machinery of Government transfer of my office from the Privy Council Office to the Cabinet Office. However, on occasion my Office has used corporate credit and procurement cards, mainly with regard to the booking of travel. Fuel cards are not used by my Office.

To ask the Leader of the House what the rate of employer contributions to the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Scheme is for 2007-08; what savings he estimates would result from capping the rate to 14 per cent. for each year from 2007-08 to 2020-22; and if he will make a statement. (144272)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 30 October 2006, Official Report, columns 20-21W.

Limiting the Exchequer contribution to 14 per cent. would, if the actuarial valuation assumptions are borne out in practice, reduce the contribution by 12.8 per cent. of pensionable pay for the period up to 2020-21. Based on an estimated total pensionable pay for 2007-08 of £44.5 million, reducing the Exchequer contribution to 14 per cent. would represent a £5.7 million per annum saving.

The PCPF is a “balance of cost” scheme whereby the Exchequer makes up the balance of cost after taking account of pension benefits and payments, Member contributions and investment returns. Reducing the Exchequer contributions until 2020-21 would increase the level of deficit, which would eventually need to be paid by the Exchequer or by increasing Member contributions, reducing the level of pension benefits or a combination of these.

To ask the Leader of the House if he will take steps to enable hon. Members to register with the Government’s cycle to work scheme; and if he will make a statement. (144810)

The cycle to work scheme is designed for the employees of participating organisations. Members of Parliament are not employees of the House of Commons but office-holders and as such are not eligible. However, Members of Parliament are entitled to claim a bicycle allowance of 20p per mile for official travel, a rate which provides an incentive to use an environmentally-friendly means of travel and is approved by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2147W, on written questions, when he expects to complete his assessment of whether to publish in the Official Report letters written to hon. Members in lieu of written parliamentary answers. (145809)

Letters sent to hon. Members from Ministers or from the heads of Executive Agencies in response to a parliamentary question are already published in the Official Report, except where there are issues of confidentiality or undue length. I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement of 21 July 2004 Official Report, column 35WS, and the written answer of 26 January 2005, Official Report, column 345W. In respect of letters from non-departmental public bodies, following the hon. Member’s earlier question I wrote to the chairman of the Procedure Committee asking that the Committee examine the issues involved.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what shared service initiatives have been completed within Government; and what assessment she has made of their effectiveness. (145068)

Shared Services is a key part of Transformational Government and there has been significant progress across central Government. MOD, DWP, HMRC, Prison Service, DfT and DEFRA have all established shared HR and Finance Services.

The NHS Shared Business Service has saved over 100 trusts an average of 34 per cent. of the cost of processing finance transactions through shared finance services. It is on track to deliver savings of more than £220 million over 10 years. The Ministry of Defence’s People, Pay and Pensions Agency is reducing costs at the same time as improving quality. Through sharing and related reforms, the Department is expecting a net benefit of over £300 million during the next 10 years. Transport for London saved approximately 30 per cent. on its human resources spend in the first year of operating its shared service centre.

Government are looking to share a variety of additional services across Government. For example, the new Cabinet Office IT contract is available to other Departments and public sector organisations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps have recently been taken by officials (a) of her Department and (b) of the Better Regulation Executive to ensure that the Government's objectives for the interpretation and implementation of the Food Supplements Directive are met. (145632)

Cabinet Office officials, including from the Better Regulation Executive, have worked closely with the Food Standards Agency to help deliver the Government’s objectives on the Food Supplements Directive, in particular on the issue of maximum permitted levels for minerals and vitamins under Article 5 of the Directive. Cabinet Office officials have also worked with the Food Standards Agency on preparing a stakeholder consultation on an initial Regulatory Impact Assessment with respect to food supplements.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the present rates of employer contributions to Civil Service Scheme pension scheme are; what estimate she has made of the cost savings for each year from 2008 to 2050 of capping the employer contribution at 14 per cent.; and if she will make a statement. (144263)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 November 2006, Official Report, columns 345-46W. The rates of employer contributions have not changed, but the salary bands referred to in the answer were revalorised from 1 April 2007 by the Scheme Actuary.

I have not made any estimates of the cost savings arising from capping the employer contribution at 14 per cent.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment she has made of the performance of the Service Transformation Board. (145032)

The Service Transformation Board—now re-constituted as the Delivery Council—consists of officials with responsibilities for business delivery of transformation. It worked in partnership with the Chief Information Officers’ (CIO) Council on the transformation of Citizen and Business Centred Services set out in the “Transformational Government (Cm 6683) report”; its initial achievements were reported in “Transformational Government: Annual Report 2006” (Cm 6970). The Delivery Council is now supporting Ministers and the Civil Service Steering Board in the next stages of the Transformational Government strategy including the implementation of Sir David Varney’s report “Service Transformation: A better service for citizens and businesses, a better deal for the taxpayer”.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2007, Official Report, column 46W, on V, what definition she uses of a volunteering opportunity. (145180)

V’s definition of a volunteering opportunity is available on their website at:

http://www.wearev.com/vlearning/index.php

a copy of which I place in the Library for the reference of Members.

To ask the Prime Minister which people who received honours in Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday honours are (a) citizens of the Irish Republic, (b) citizens of Commonwealth countries, other than the UK and (c) citizens of non-UK countries other than the Irish Republic or Commonwealth countries. (144400)

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2007, Official Report, column 1428W, on the IBM Corporation, what the cost was to the public purse of the meeting; whether he received any gifts from Mr. Gerstner; and what meetings he has had since that date with representatives of the IBM Corporation. (144998)

I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 18 June 2007, Official Report, column 1428W.

To ask the Prime Minister who accompanied him on his recent visit to Libya; and which company or organisational affiliation each person had. (145425)

Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list.

All Ministers’ travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code, and the accompanying guidance document, “Travel by Ministers”. Information for 2007-08 will be published in the normal way.

To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the contribution of Lord Birt in his role as special adviser. (145045)

I refer the hon. Member to the press notice issued by my Office on 15 December 2005. The press notice is available on the Number 10 website: http: //www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page8774.asp, and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Prime Minister by what date he expects to respond to the letter dated 17 May from the hon. Member for Lewes on the disposal of gifts he has received. (145027)

As far as I am aware, my Office had not received the letter at the time this question was tabled.

To ask the Prime Minister what representations (a) he and (b) his officials in 10 Downing street have received from (i) the Government of Saudi Arabia and (ii) its representatives on the Serious Fraud Office inquiry into defence orders for Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement. (145401)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 19 June 2007, Official Report, column 1610W, by my hon. Friend the Minister for State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Dr. Howells).

To ask the Prime Minister what advice he sought from the heads of the UK’s security and intelligence agencies in relation to the impact on national security and foreign policy objectives in the Middle East of the investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into the al-Yamamah defence sales contract; when such advice was requested; and if he will make a statement. (143715)

I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General on 14 December 2006, Official Report, columns 1119-20, and to his response during the debate on 7 February 2007, Official Report, columns 875-76.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made in co-ordinating the development of Government policy since May 2006. (145092)

I refer the hon. Member to my Department’s annual report, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what gifts he received on his recent visit to the West Indies. (145028)

The Government publish an annual list of gifts received by Ministers valued at more than £140. Information relating to 2007-08 will be published as soon as it is available at the end of the financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many flights to overseas destinations were taken by (a) civil servants and (b) Ministers in his Department in each of the last three calendar years; and what the total cost was of such flights. (144950)

All travel by civil servants or Ministers is undertaken in accordance with civil service rules and procedures, the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers. These combined figures for the years in question are set out in the following table.

Figures for January 2004 to March 2004 are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many energy saving light bulbs were purchased by his Department for use on the departmental estate in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006. (144949)

The Department has a variety of light fittings which accept a wide range of bulbs. No records are kept of the numbers or frequency of bulb replacement and the cost of obtaining these figures would be disproportionate. Energy saving light bulbs are, where practicable, the preferred type of light bulb.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people granted (a) temporary part-time, (b) temporary full-time, (c) permanent part-time and (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in his Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over. (143900)

The following table details the number of staff employed within the Northern Ireland Office granted (a) temporary part-time, (b) temporary full-time, (c) permanent part-time and (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in each of the last three years who were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people aged (a) over 55 years of age and (b) over 60 years of age have been recruited by his Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage in each case this is of the number of new recruits in each year. (145701)

The figures in relation to the Northern Ireland Office are as follows:

2004: Four staff recruited aged 55 years or over; this represents 1.7 per cent. of new recruits. Zero staff recruited aged 60 years or over.

2005: One member of staff recruited aged 55 years or over; this represents 0.5 per cent. of new recruits. Zero staff recruited aged 60 years or over.

2006: Three staff recruited aged 55 years or over; this represents 1.5 per cent. of new recruits. One member of staff recruited aged 60 years or over; this represents 0.5 per cent. of new recruits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff surveys his Department undertook in the last 12 months; and at what total cost. (145263)

The NIO undertook two staff surveys in the last 12 months at a total cost of £3,107. One was a periodical departmental staff survey which cost £3,107 and the other was a survey carried out in-house at zero costs by the Department’s community safety unit. This answer relates only to the NIO and does not include its agencies or NDPBs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of (a) women and (b) men of (i) white, (ii) Afro-Caribbean and (iii) Asian ethnicity received (A) first class, (B) upper second class and (C) lower second class degrees in Northern Irish universities in the last five years for which figures are available. (145400)

This is now the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Administration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) attempted suicides and (b) self-harm incidents were recorded for juveniles at the Juvenile Justice Centre in each of the last three years. (143300)

The threat of suicide in custody is prevalent and the Juvenile Justice Centre operates a system of risk assessment to detect and manage suicidal and self-harm tendencies in young people. There have been no serious attempts at suicide in the last three years. Information relating to incidents of self-harm is recorded on individual case files and is not centrally co-ordinated. All incidents of self-harm, whether threatened or real, are treated seriously and intervention and support procedures exist to minimise the risk of recurrence and to ensure the continuing safety of young people at the centre.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2201W, on prisoner escapes, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the fall in the number of (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions in 2005; and what steps he is taking to (i) reduce the number of escapees and (ii) achieve a higher conviction rate. (128031)

The fall in the numbers of prosecutions and convictions in relation to escape from lawful custody offences since 2005 may partly reflect a change in policy, whereby prisoners who were granted temporary leave but failed to return on the agreed date were no longer automatically charged with an offence. Only in cases where the prisoner had been unlawfully at large for longer than eight weeks was a prosecution sought.

Under new proposals, however, PSNI will be notified as soon as a person has been unlawfully at large for seven days or more, with a view to prosecution. Notification may also be made for periods less than seven days, when the Governor in question considers this is justified by the circumstances of the case.

In addition, the PSNI have recently agreed new reporting procedures with the Northern Ireland Prison Service to ensure that all such cases will now be investigated and reported to the PPS. This will increase the number of convictions being achieved.

The procedures surrounding the supervision of prisoners both within and outside of prison establishments are constantly reviewed to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness and to minimise the possibility of escapes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of sexual assault were reported in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years (a) in total, (b) in each parliamentary constituency and (c) in each council area. (145336)

I have been advised by the PSNI that statistics are collected by District Command Units which are coterminous with council areas. These statistics are set out in the following table. The data are not collated by other areas and therefore not available broken down by parliamentary constituency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of serious sexual crimes reported in Northern Ireland resulted in conviction in the courts in each of the last three years. (145462)

Data relating to the number and percentage of serious sexual crimes reported that result in a conviction are not available as figures relating to recorded crime are collected on a different basis from those of prosecutions and convictions. Recorded crime figures relate to the number of notifiable crimes reported whereas prosecutions and convictions refer to the number of offenders who have been subsequently charged for offences. In addition, recorded crime figures incorporate each offence as initially recorded and these may differ from the offence for which a suspect or suspects are subsequently proceeded against.

Table 1-3 gives the number of prosecutions and convictions for indictable sexual offences by individual offence and percentage of prosecutions that resulted in a conviction.

Data cover the calendar years 2003 to 2005, the latest available years and are collated on the principal offence rule; thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted of sexual offences in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years, broken down by offence. (145486)

Table 1 gives the number of prosecutions and convictions for sexual offences by individual offence.

Data cover the calendar years 2003 to 2005 and are collated on the principal offence rule; thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much revenue was generated through the issuing of speeding tickets in (a) each constituency and (b) each council area in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; and how many tickets were issued in each area during that period. (142632)

Fixed penalty notices fall into two categories. The first is an endorsable fixed penalty notice which means there will be points placed on the individual’s driving licence (a licence endorsement) as well as a fixed penalty fine. The second is a non-endorsable fixed penalty notice where there is only a fine. Revenue from the latter category is not paid to the PSNI.

Revenue from endorsable fixed penalty notices issued for excess speed is set out as follows.

The two tables take account of the change in policing structures from RUC sub divisions to PSNI district command units.