Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 22 January 2009
Leader of the House
Government Policy Statements
My right hon. and learned Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues when deciding whether an oral statement should be made to announce Government policy. This is done against the general principle set out in the ministerial code that when Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance, in Parliament, and taking into account the importance of the issue and the other business before the House.
The hon. Gentleman may wish to know that there were 88 oral statements last Session, more than one every other sitting day, and already this Session there have been 14 statements in just 18 sitting days.
Programme Motions
My right hon. Friend has made no formal assessment of the operation of programming, but it has a number of advantages, including greater certainty about the timing of debates on specific areas of a bill and the timing of bills.
The introduction of programming is one of a number of recent reforms to the legislative process such as pre-legislative scrutiny and evidence-taking public Bill committees.
Governance of Britain Green Paper
The House has agreed proposals for regional select and Grand Committees and we expect the committees to be nominated soon. In response to the Modernisation Committee's recommendations on revitalising the Chamber, we have introduced topical questions and debates.
Government Bills
In 2006-07, the last Session for which published figures are available, the House sat for a total of 1,118 hours and 52 minutes. It spent 298 hours and 11 minutes on Government Bills, around a quarter of the total.
This does not include time spent in Committee off the floor of the House, nor on pre-legislative scrutiny of draft Bills for future Sessions.
This compares with around 188 hours on private Members' business, around 17 per cent. of the total sitting time, and 118 hours and 35 minutes on Opposition business, around 10 per cent. of the total.
Members’ Expenses
The Government brought forward proposals to exempt information about payments made to hon. Members from the provisions of the Act in the belief that they would command general support in all parts of the House. When it became clear that they did not, we withdrew the proposals.
We are still proposing a new publication scheme, with more categories of voluntary publication than ever before, and a rigorous system of audit and assurance of hon. Members' allowances.
(2) how many letters she has received from hon. Members requesting exemption or partial exemption from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000;
(3) which external bodies she consulted on her proposal to exempt hon. Members from provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to hon. Members’ claims for expenses.
My right hon. Friend has frequent private communications with Members from all parts of the House on a range of issues relating to her ministerial responsibilities.
No external bodies were consulted about the tabling of the draft Freedom of Information (Parliament) Order 2009.
Ministerial Statements
My right hon. and learned Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues when deciding whether an oral statement should be made to announce Government policy. This is done against the general principle set out in the Ministerial Code that when Parliament is in Session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance, in Parliament, and taking into account the importance of the issue and the other business before the House.
Written Questions
None. The situation described has not arisen. We aim to publish as much information as possible and would consider providing an answer, despite it exceeding the disproportionate cost threshold, if it was deemed to be in the public interest.
Olympics
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
No expert advisers have been commissioned by my Office.
Departmental Pay
Both temporary and permanent staff are placed on the appropriate pay band for their grade. The same bands apply equally to permanent and temporary staff.
Olympic Games 2012: Construction
The Olympic Delivery Authority completed construction of the new sidings at Orient Way in May 2008. This was announced on 7 July 2008. The completion of Orient Way allowed work to begin early on the clearance of the Thornton’s Field site. That in turn was completed on 31 October 2008.
The Olympic Delivery Authority selected the British company ISG Interior Exterior in May 2008 for the Velodrome contract, with the contract being signed on 10 June 2008. ISG will set up on the Olympic Park site next month and the project remains firmly on track.
Church Commissioners
Churches: Listed Buildings
The Church of England is responsible for approximately 13,000 listed buildings. This represents about 45 per cent. of all the grade I listed buildings in England.
Transport
Aviation: Carbon Emissions
The period over which the data underlying Figures 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 of 'UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts 2009' were collected is set out in Chapter 2 of the same report, with further detail in Annexes A-D.
Box 2.2 (p. 16) explains that the forecast shown in Figure 1.1 is based on data from the period 1984-2004. Page 26 explains that the airport choice model used in producing the forecast shown in Figures 1.2 and 1.3 is based on cross-sectional data for 2005.
Figure 1.3 illustrates the forecasting model's success in predicting movements in passenger demand since 2005.
Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
For the period of the Extension Agreement—between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003— the Highways Agency records show annual revenue of £68,363,698.02. Records of annual revenues before this date are not held centrally by the Department for Transport.
Details of the annual total revenues from the Dartford Crossing from 2003-04 onwards are placed in the House Library (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme—Annual Accounts).
Departmental Catering
The requested information, where recorded, has been placed in the Library of the House.
Driver Information Systems: Licensing
The following table shows the number of licences issued since 1997.
Number of licences 1997 1 1998 0 1999 0 2000 1 2001 0 2002 1 2003 1 2004 2
Driving Under Influence
I would refer my hon. Friend to section 3 of the Department for Transport’s Road Safety Compliance Consultation document, published on 20 November 2008, which sets out the Government’s latest proposal to deal with drink driving. A copy of the document is in the Library of the House and it can also be found on the Department’s website.
Driving: Licensing
The Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency, in conjunction with the Department for Transport, has been reviewing the system in place in Great Britain for ensuring that all drivers are fit to drive.
The review on health and driver licensing has been used to inform a public consultation.
I can confirm that the Department for Transport is currently preparing for a public consultation.
Railways: Bus Services
[holding answer 19 January 2009]: Mindful of the requirements of relevant legislation, the Department for Transport is currently funding a rail replacement bus service between Ealing Broadway station and Wandsworth Road station. This service, which is a temporary measure until the Department can arrange a replacement rail service in this area, has been operating since 14 December 2008 at a four-weekly cost of £1,880 to the Department for Transport.
The Department for Transport does not recoup any revenue from this service. As a rail replacement bus service, a rail ticket has to be purchased for travel on the bus, therefore revenue will be directed to the appropriate train operator for that area.
The Department for Transport intended the bus service to be advertised from 14 December 2008. Following a contractual delay, the bus service has been advertised, from this week, at the stations it is contracted to call at which are Ealing Broadway, Kensington Olympia and Wandsworth Road.
Road Traffic Offences: Elderly
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold this information.
Road Traffic Offences: Fixed Penalties
This information is not collected centrally by the Government, but the available figures for the number of appeals made against the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices and the number of appeals upheld for each local authority are set out in the annual reports of the traffic adjudicators: the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) for London; and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) for outside London.
The reports of the PATAS are available at:
www.parkingandtrafficappeals.gov.uk
The reports of the TPT are available at:
www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk
Roads: Accidents
The information requested is not held centrally.
The Department for Transport publishes the number of drivers of different age groups involved in reported personal injury road accidents in table 38a of the publication "Road Casualties Great Britain - annual report 2007". Fault is not assigned to participants in these collisions. However, information on the contributory factors is collected and published in article 4 of the same report. Table 4h of this article provides the most frequently recorded contributory factors for car drivers by age group.
Copies of the report have been deposited in the Libraries of the House. The report is also published on the Department for Transport web site at the following link:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/roadcasualtiesgreatbritain20071.
Shipping: Lost Property
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) does not have a separate database to record the loss of containers. The MCA operates databases to record incidents, including recording where containers are lost overboard.
The MCA relies on ships reporting loss of containers in accordance with national and European legislation.
To give a specific number would require a manual interrogation of the incident recording system and that would incur disproportionate costs.
Speed Limits: Schools
The Department for Transport encourages local authorities to introduce 20 mph zones in areas where vulnerable road users are present, including the roads around school premises.
This view is reflected in the Department for Transport guidance to local authorities on setting local speed limits, published in August 2006. In addition, Traffic Advisory Leaflet 9/99 provides best practice guidelines on setting 20 mph speed limits and 20 mph zones. Copies of the leaflet are in the Library of the House.
Vehicle Certification Agency
Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) staff are based in the United States and Japan to carry out their operational duties as a United Kingdom (UK) type approval (TA) authority to conduct and witness tests to European Community (EC) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) directives and regulations on vehicles coming into Europe from those countries.
VCA does not have any official residences anywhere.
Culture, Media and Sport
Advertising: Economic Situation
The Government are committed to supporting the creative industries, including the advertising industry. Last year this Department launched Creative Britain, a strategy setting out in 26 commitments the Government's determination to move the creative industries from the margins to the mainstream of the UK economy. The commitments cover education and training, research and innovation and intellectual property.
The Government also provide targeted support to help companies start, survive and succeed. This is available to all businesses, including those in the advertising sector, via Business Link
www.businesslink.gov.uk.
On 14 January the Government launched a support package which consists of loan guarantees and a new Enterprise Fund aimed at helping companies struggling to access finance for working capital and investment.
Arts: Local Government Finance
The Department for Communities and Local Government collects data on revenue and capital expenditure by local authorities. Expenditure on the arts by local authorities is only available on a consistent basis since 2004-05. The net current expenditure for ‘arts development and support’ is set out in the following table.
Net current expenditure (£ million) 2004-05 121 2005-06 118 2006-07 118 2007-08 120
Arts: Schools
The baseline position of the Find Your Talent pathfinder areas is currently being established. An independent evaluation team of SQW Consulting and Ipsos MORI will measure baseline participation in a representative sample of young people in the 10 areas and the results of this survey will be available in May 2009.
Charities
The Department provides funding to charities and voluntary organisations through grant in aid, specific grants, strategic commissioning and the procurement of services, but it does not record the status of all bodies that it makes payments to, and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Department does record the charitable status of those bodies that it provides substantial financial support to, and I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) on 15 December 2008, Official Report, columns 353-54W, which includes a table of payments to charities where the charity received more than £100,000 in any one year.
Churches: Conservation
The Heritage Lottery Fund provides funding to places of worship, including historic churches, through its Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme. The allocation for this scheme over the last five years is set out in the following table. Historic churches have also been eligible to apply to the fund’s other grants programmes if they met the criteria, and provided that any application for outstanding repair works could not be tackled via the Places of Worship scheme.
Financial year Heritage Lottery Fund Repair Grants for Places of Worship budget (£) 2004-05 20,000,000 2005-06 20,000,000 2006-07 20,000,000 2007-08 20,000,000 2008-09 18,000,000
The Secretary of State relies on the advice of English Heritage in relation to the condition and sustainability of historic buildings. In 2005, English Heritage and the Council for the Care of Churches commissioned a Fabric Needs Survey, which aimed to establish the cost of all major repairs needed to bring all listed places of worship in England into good repair. The survey concluded, based on a sample of buildings, that £925 million over five years was necessary.
As part of its Heritage at Risk programme, English Heritage is undertaking an assessment of the condition and level of use of listed places of worship, the results of which are due to be published in 2010. This research will to give a national perspective on the physical condition of these buildings and inform DCMS, English Heritage and all partners across the sector, regarding the current and future prospects for sustainability.
Churches: Grants
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has always recognised that places of worship are a very special part of the United Kingdom’s heritage, and it therefore continues to ring-fence funds for them. Although the Fund’s grant budgets will reduce from 2009-13, a higher proportion of its overall budget has been set aside in recognition of the role these buildings play in community life.
The Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage remain committed to providing grants to historic places of worship. The joint Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage funding scheme has offered over £133 million for the repair of historic places of worship since it began in 2002. In 2009, £25 million will be offered to listed places of worship: £17.5 million will go to Grade I and II* buildings, and £7.5 million to Grade II buildings. £15 million of this is provided by the HLF, and £10 million by EH. Both bodies anticipate continuing this grant scheme at its current level until 2010-11.
Churches: Repairs and Maintenance
On 12 December 2008, English Heritage launched a scheme to provide funding for Support Officers for historic places of worship. To date, six Support Officer posts have been established in Brighton and Hove, Exeter, Coventry, Carlisle, the North-West region and Worcester. Posts are established in response to applications from dioceses; denominations; faith groups and other organisations or partnerships which have a role in the care of historic places of worship anywhere in England. The response to the scheme has been very positive and all nine English Heritage regions are now in discussion with potential partners. A wide geographical, denominational and multi-faith coverage is expected.
The Churches Conservation Trust is launching its Community Regeneration Task Force to work with the congregations of vulnerable church buildings where the building might end up vested in the Trust were it to become redundant.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides grant-in-aid to English Heritage, the Government’s statutory adviser on all matters concerning the conservation of England’s historic environment.
The schemes in the Church of England dioceses of Gloucester and London are two of three pilot maintenance projects, which English Heritage has supported with funds and advice, the third being in the Church of England diocese of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich. A model scheme will be developed from the lessons learnt from the pilot projects, which other dioceses and organisations will be encouraged to adopt, with funding from English Heritage for the set-up costs where possible.
Crown Lands and Estates
The royal household receives £15 million a year from my Department to meet the costs of property maintenance; utilities; telephones and related services at the occupied royal palaces in England. As given in the Royal Public Finances Annual Reports 2007-08, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House (http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page3954.asp), the maintenance costs of the occupied royal palaces for the year to 31 March 2008 (the most recent year for which there are figures) were:
Maintenance costs (£ million) Buckingham Palace 5.9 Buckingham Palace Mews and Gardens 2.1 St. James's Palace 1.5 Clarence House and Marlborough House Mews 0.8 Kensington Palace 0.7 Hampton Court Mews and Paddocks 0.3 Windsor Castle 3.7 Windsor Castle Royal Mews 0.7 Windsor Home and Great Parks 0.7
Most of these costs were met from the grant in aid, the remainder from income from a facilities management charge paid by the Royal Collection Trust, £1.8 million in 2007-08.
Departmental Official Hospitality
The annual DCMS staff Christmas party is self-funded by staff at no cost to the public purse. No expenditure has been incurred on staff entertainment in the last three years. All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on gifts and hospitality, based on principles set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Departmental Public Appointments
(2) what progress has been made in appointing a research consortium to review his Department’s participation research; when he expects the consortium to have been appointed; and what time frame will be set for its deliberation.
We recently announced that the university of London’s EPPI-centre and Matrix Knowledge Group have been appointed to conduct the first phase of the research. This phase is due to last one year. For further details on the new ‘Culture and Sport Evidence Programme’ (CASE, formerly referred to as the ‘joint research programme’) please see the new webpage at:
www.culture.gov.uk/case
Departmental Public Bodies
During the course of 2008, DCMS delivered a 9 per cent. reduction in the number of reports required of public bodies. We are pursuing further reductions with the aim of meeting the 20 per cent. target during 2009. Our oversight of each body is linked to a thorough risk assessment, so that a report should not be requested if the degree of risk does not justify it.
Departmental Surveys
The ‘Taking Part’ survey is a continuous household survey providing national data on participation in culture, leisure and sport by adults aged 16 and over.
The following table shows the percentage of adults who participated in an active sport in the four weeks prior to interview.
Percentage 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 % +/- % +/- % +/- Adults (16 and over) 53.7 0.8 53.4 0.9 53.6 0.8
This information has been extracted from the report published in December 2008, ‘Final assessment of progress on PSA3’. The full report is available at
<http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5653.aspx>
Horserace Totalisator Board: Recruitment
For the Independent Strategy Board of the Gambling Commission, nine vacancies were advertised and 50 applications were received. Appointments are expected to be made in time for the first board meeting on 4 March 2009.
For the non-executive directors of the Horserace Totalisator Board, two vacancies were advertised and 72 applications were received. I anticipate making these appointments by February 2009.
Listed Buildings: Liverpool
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides no direct Exchequer funding for the maintenance of listed buildings. Government funding is provided as grant in aid to English Heritage.
English Heritage advises that they have offered the following grants to grade I listed buildings in Liverpool in the last two years. English Heritage’s grant schemes are primarily for major urgent structural repair projects rather than ongoing maintenance.
Grade I building Grant type Date grant offered Amount of grant offered (£) St. John the Baptist Church, Tuebrook Repair Grant for Places of Worship 19 December 2008 112,000 Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool Grants for Cathedrals 19 December 2008 50,000 Princes Road Synagogue Repair Grant for Places of Worship 21 December 2007 112,000 St. Georges Church, Everton Repair Grant for Places of Worship 28 November 2007 73,000
National Lottery: Voluntary Organisations
This is a matter within the operational responsibility of the Heritage Lottery Fund. The fund has advised that it is committed to providing efficient and simple ways of funding voluntary organisations throughout the UK, and it produces a range of guidance, including some designed to help groups carrying out heritage projects for the first time.
The Government have encouraged all lottery distributors, including the Heritage
Lottery Fund, to ensure that the application process is as simple as possible. The lottery distributors have set up a website
http://www.lotteryfunding.org.uk
which has proved very successful in letting potential applicants know about the relevant lottery programmes, including those run by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Sports: Clubs
DCMS officials have discussed the Central Council of Physical Recreation's (CCPRs) ‘Subs for Clubs’ proposal to allow community amateur sports clubs (CASC) to claim gift aid on junior subscriptions with HMT.
A decision was made against implementing this proposal at the current time. DCMS officials are in discussion with CCPR to identify ways of encouraging more clubs to register for the CASC scheme and to maximize the use of the existing benefits that CASCs enjoy.
To date the CASC scheme has now registered over 5,000 clubs receiving rate relief and other benefits. As of December 2009 Deloittes estimate that it has saved grassroots sports more than £48 million since its inception. This money has gone back into sport and has enabled clubs to spend it on everything from facilities to kit. Additionally, all community sports clubs will benefit over the next year from the reduction in VAT from 17.5 per cent. to 15 per cent. which will help to increase the funds available to clubs, and moreover provide more money in the pockets of potential donors.
Sports: EC Action
I have met with my European counterparts to discuss the White Paper at two EU Informal Sports Ministers’ meetings on 16-17 March 2008 and 27-28 November 2008.
The Secretary of State has had no such discussions.
Sports: North East
Sport England have provided the following figures, based on Exchequer data held for the last five financial years from 2003-04 to the second quarter of 2008-09:
£ Financial Year Per capita based on 2001 census 2003-04 0.33 2004-05 0.46 2005-06 0.52 2006-07 0.69 2007-08 0.76 2008-09 0.18 Total 2.94
£ Financial Year Per capita based on 2001 census 2003-04 0.86 2004-05 0.00 2005-06 0.00 2006-07 0.28 2007-08 0.00 2008-09 0.89 Total 2.03
The constituency and region will also have benefited from lottery funding for sporting infrastructure during this period.
Sports: Public Participation
The ‘Taking Part’ survey is a continuous household survey providing national data on participation in culture, leisure and sport by adults aged 16 and over.
The following table shows the percentage of all adults, and those from each priority group, who participated in an active sport in the four weeks prior to interview.
Percentage 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 % +/- % +/- % +/- Black and minority ethnic 53.3 2.2 51.9 2.4 52.6 2.3 Limiting disability 32.3 1.3 31.2 1.5 30.1 1.3 Lower socio-economic 43.4 1.1 42.2 1.3 43.8 1.2 Females 47.7 1.0 46.2 1.1 46.1 1.0 All adults 53.7 0.8 53.4 0.9 53.6 0.8
This information has been extracted from the report published in December 2008, “Final assessment of progress on PSA3”. The full report is available at:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5653.aspx.
St George's Day
As at 13 January we have identified 14 items of correspondence from the last 12 months which have St. George’s Day as the main subject and one item of correspondence that has St. Patrick’s Day as the main subject.
It is possible that further correspondence could mention St. George’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day as secondary issues, but this correspondence could be identified only at disproportionate cost.
On 23 April, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will fly the St. George’s Flag alongside the Union Flag to celebrate St. George’s Day.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no public funding available to groups wishing to celebrate St. George’s Day.
DCMS has had no specific discussions with tourism agencies about marking St. George's Day in 2009. However VisitEngland and some individual regions will have celebrations to mark St. George's Day in 2009. For example VisitEngland will highlight St. Georges Day events on enjoyengland.com as well as hosting Enjoy England Awards for Excellence on this date.
Taking Part Survey
The term ‘standard deviation’ refers to the variance, or spread, of data around the mean (standard deviation is the square root of the variance). Standard deviations can be calculated for individual estimates from Taking Part, rather than the overall dataset.
Confidence intervals are derived from the variance and the sample design, and are published for all Taking Part estimates. These indicate the range in which true percentages could fall.
To see an example, please refer to the latest report at:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5653.aspx
Taxis
All official travel is undertaken in accordance with rules set out in the Department's staff guide under Travel and Subsistence and is consistent with the Civil Service Management Code.
The expenditure on taxis by the Department in each year since 2005 is set out in the following table. These figures represent expenditure on taxis and black cabs. In addition, some expenditure on black cabs and taxis is included in general travel and subsistence account and cannot be separately identified except at disproportionate cost.
Amount (£) 2007-08 36,359 2006-07 38,421 2005-06 21,759
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Biofuels: Wood
Estimates of the availability and use of wood have been published by the Forestry Commission over a number of years. DEFRA has not undertaken an assessment of this information. The Forestry Commission publishes on its website the details of the methodologies used to compile the figures so that those using the information can make their own assessment of its accuracy.
Carbon Emissions: Rural Areas
My Department is undertaking further work to understand the realistic potential of the natural environment to act as a sink or store of carbon dioxide and also the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from management of the land. This takes account of the role of forests, soils, land-use and agriculture. My Department also supports a Rural Climate Change Forum to consider the ways in which rural areas can help mitigate and adapt to climate change. We will take all of this information into account as part of the Government’s approach to meeting their commitments under the Climate Change Act.
Common Fisheries Policy
(2) what the estimated cost is of implementing and enforcing Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy in the UK;
(3) what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the provisions of Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy on the marine environment; and if he will make a statement;
(4) what his estimate is of the number of people who will require a licence under the terms of Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy;
(5) what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposals under Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy on tourism; and if he will make a statement;
(6) what assessment he has made of the effects of the proposals in Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy on compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if he will make a statement;
(7) what his assessment is of the likely effects on (a) the economy, (b) jobs and (c) the number of recreational sea anglers of the provisions of Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if he will make a statement.
In England there are some 400 charter angling vessels that would require an authorisation under Article 47 of the proposal as currently drafted, plus an as yet unquantified number of privately owned vessels. As part of the process of negotiating this proposal we shall be seeking clarification from the Commission on a number of issues relating to Article 47. Until we have that clarification it is difficult accurately to assess its potential impact in the areas referred to in these questions. We shall be seeking stakeholders views on these points and considering them in more detail in the impact assessment that my officials are drawing up and which we shall publish as part of the formal consultation procedure.
(2) when he expects Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy to be (a) (i) discussed in and (ii) approved by the Council of Ministers and (b) implemented and transposed; and if he will make a statement.
Neither I nor my officials were consulted before the Commission published the current proposal on 17 November. The proposal is scheduled for initial discussion by Ministers at the June Fisheries Council although I would not expect it to be approved then. The proposal has an envisaged implementation date of 1 January 2010, subject to negotiation.
Construction: Thames Gateway
Consents to undertake dredging to develop and subsequently maintain navigational areas within the London Gateway Port are given by the London Gateway Port Harbour Empowerment Order 2008 and issued by the Department for Transport. They came into force on 16 May 2008.
The timing of the proposed dredging is a commercial decision for the Harbour Authority, London Gateway Port Ltd.
Departmental Data Protection
The information is not available in the form requested. Since 1 July 2008 the DEFRA delivery network has been using the standard OGC security clauses for all new contracts and has also checked the compliance of its strategic IT partner with all the mandatory requirements of the Data Handling Review. In addition we have asked all information asset owners, responsible for assets containing personal protected information across the DEFRA network, to seek assurances from any other contractors or suppliers handling information on their behalf. Assurances have been received from all bar one of the owners in core DEFRA, and in respect of all executive agencies, except the Rural Payments Agency. In both cases the process of confirming assurances is under way but not yet complete.
Departmental Public Consultation
DEFRA was formed in June 2001. However, inquires with policy leads have revealed the following examples of where DEFRA has convened a Citizen’s Jury since 2001:
In December 2005-January 2006, the Air and Environment Quality Division (now Atmosphere Quality and Industrial Pollution programme) ran a Citizen’s Jury to explore public views on air quality in order to inform the development of future policies and strategies. Members of the jury were paid to participate in the event.
In November 2007, a DEFRA-funded research project (WU0112) employed a Citizen’s Jury approach to explore people’s understanding of risk associated with the microbial pollution of water courses; public attitudes to culpability given the current scientific and policy evidence base, particularly as this related to the role of livestock farming; where public priorities were in terms of appropriate level and types of policy intervention and mitigation; and views regarding responsibilities for taking action to reduce microbial risks. Members of the jury were paid to participate in the event.
When used carefully and appropriately, Citizens’ Juries can be a helpful way of eliciting public preferences to factor into policy decision making.
Departmental Telephone Services
From information held centrally, there are 38 telephone numbers for which callers are charged at the rate(s) applicable to 0845 numbers—four for core-DEFRA, 14 for DEFRA's executive agencies and 20 for non-departmental public bodies. None of the numbers are revenue sharing.
Members of the public using these numbers are charged by their telephone providers at their agreed rates. On 8 January 2009, BT announced that its consumer customers will no longer pay these charges from 16 January 2009. As from this date 0845 numbers will be included in their calls packages. Those not on a calls package and business customers will continue to pay the applicable or agreed 0845 rates.
Fishing Catches
The live weight and value of fish landed into the UK for domestic consumption in 2007 are shown in the following table:
Vessel nationality Live weight (Thousand tonnes) Value (£ million) UK 439.8 535.0 Faroes 22.1 14.0 Norway 21.6 6.1 Irish Republic 17.6 10.9 France 17.0 19.0 Denmark 12.4 5.4 Russia 6.4 7.1 Belgium 4.6 12.7 Spain 3.5 5.5 Netherlands 1.1 2.0 Poland 1.0 0.6 Germany 1.0 1.0 Sweden 0.9 0.3 Belize 0.7 1.0 Total 549.6 620.8
Information on the tonnage of fish landings by EU vessels from the North sea as a whole for 2006, the latest year for which such information is available, is provided in the following table.
Landings by EU member states of fish caught in the North sea (ICES area IV):
Member state Landings in 2006 (tonnes live weight) Belgium 9,728 Denmark 593,375 Germany 83,758 Ireland 7,280 France 50,653 Lithuania 6,989 Netherlands 152,185 Poland 2,093 Portugal 1,060 Sweden 48,491 United Kingdom 250,796 EU total 1,206,406 Source: Eurostat.
The value of the fish involved and details of those caught in UK territorial waters is not readily available. Such information can be made available only by contacting the individual member states and third countries concerned. This would include requesting information on the value of catches by vessels of other member states and third countries that fish within that part of the North sea bounded by the UK's 200 mile fisheries limit. However, such information is only available in terms of the totals for the sea areas involved, and only for the quantities of fish involved rather than value. As such, the information requested is not available.
Fishing Catches: North Sea
To produce the requested information would require information on the value of catches by vessels of other member states and third countries that fish within that part of the North Sea bounded by the UK's 200 mile fisheries limit. However, such information is only available in terms of the totals for the sea areas involved, not at the level of the individual rectangles that make up this area, with these totals only being available for the quantities of fish involved rather than value. As such, the information could only be made available by contacting the individual member states and third countries concerned.
Fishing Catches: Shellfish
Live weight landings of shellfish into the UK and abroad by UK registered fishing vessels for 2007 are shown in the following table.
Species Live weight (Thousand tonnes) Lobster 2.8 Shrimps 1.4 Other shellfish 141.6 Total 145.8
Fishing Grounds
No fishing vessels from EU Eastern European Baltic accession countries that prior to accession fished in the Baltic Sea are operating in UK territorial waters (within the 12 mile limit).
Three Polish vessels have fished within the UK 200 mile fishery limit since January 2008.
A copy of the map of the UK 200 mile fishery limits showing the statistical rectangles covered either fully, or partially, by the limit will be placed in the Library of the House.
Fishing Vessels
The number of foreign registered fishing vessels operating in the UK 200 mile fishery limit is very fluid and constantly changing in response to fishing opportunities. Their presence is recorded through a combination of obligatory satellite monitoring systems and through sightings of vessels made during aerial and naval reconnaissance activity carried out by, or on behalf of, UK fisheries administrations.
Based on the information collected as above, it is estimated that the number of foreign fishing vessels that operated in the UK 200 mile fishery limit in 2008, produced from sightings and satellite data, was 2,886. Of these, the vast majority (2,321 vessels) were registered fishing vessels from other member states. This includes fishing vessels identified as present within UK fishery limits but not carrying out fishing activities (e.g. Russian registered vessels).
The tonnage of those vessels involved is not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
Hague Preferences
(2) what extra total allowable catch accrues to UK fishing vessels through his Department's use of the Hague Preferences in this year.
For some time, the Government have been concerned that the Hague Preference mechanism does not provide the necessary support to coastal communities in the UK and Ireland that it was intended to do. We have, therefore, sought to open discussions with the Irish on suitable replacement arrangements. To date, they have been reluctant to engage. We will, however, continue to press them on this, and plan to explore options with the Commission and other member states in due course.
In recent years, we have limited our actions to offsetting the impacts of Irish invocation in the Irish Sea and adjacent areas to ensure the UK fleet is not put at a disadvantage. However, in the December 2007 EU Fisheries Council, we also invoked on both North Sea haddock and whiting, in recognition of the particular importance of these stocks to UK fishermen, and the concerns expressed within the industry that the scientific advice (on which the quotas were based) was somewhat at odds with fishermen's experience on the ground. For the same reasons, we repeated these invocations last December. In both years however, we restricted the scale of our invocations, recognising the concerns of other member states who lose out as a result of our actions.
The effects of the December 2008 EU Fisheries Council invocations on the scale of UK quotas for the stocks in question, are included in the following table:
UK Quota Pre-HP UK Quota Post-HP Gain/Loss Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and West of Scotland Area Via cod Counter-invocation 159 181 +22 Area Vila cod Counter-invocation 384 259 -125 Area Via haddock Counter-invocation 3,701 2,737 -964 Area Via saithe Counter-invocation 2,312 3,617 1,305 Area Vila whiting Counter-invocation 111 81 -30 Area Vila plaice Counter-invocation 731 432 -299 North Sea Area IV haddock Invoke 30 (%) 25,371 27,507 2,136 Area IV whiting Invoke 30 (%) 6,647 8,426 1,779
Litter: Fast Food
Keep Britain Tidy (also known as ENCAMS) surveys show that fast food related litter is found in approximately a quarter of sites surveyed across England, with incidences increasing year-on-year.
For this reason, the voluntary code of practice for ‘Food on the Go’ was developed by Keep Britain Tidy on behalf of DEFRA, recognising that industry has an important role to play in tackling litter issues. In January 2009, Keep Britain Tidy published results of a survey into the most frequently found brands among fast food litter as part of its latest litter campaign. The results of the survey are available on their website:
www.encams.org.
DEFRA currently grant-aids £5 million per annum to Keep Britain Tidy to help meet the Government's aim of an improved local environment. DEFRA officials meet regularly with colleagues in Keep Britain Tidy, and Lord Hunt, Minister for local environmental quality, is planning to meet with them in the near future. Each year Ministers also agree priorities for the grant spend.
Rural Areas: Employment
Evidence shows that the economic downturn is likely to affect urban and rural areas. DEFRA is working closely with the regional development agencies and the Commission for Rural Communities, as well as with those Departments with policy responsibility, i.e. BERR and DWP, to make sure that the National Economic Council has access to high quality intelligence regarding the economic situation in rural areas.
Total Allowable Catches: North Sea
The information requested is not available. The process for the production of estimates of total allowable catch (TAC) for each stock involves the scientific assessment of the state of the stock at the level of the overall sea areas covered by each stock definition. As such, the process does not incorporate any apportionment, or derivation, of the TAC at the level of detail of the individual fisheries rectangles within the sea areas involved.
Water Charges
The Government are aware of the problem of affordability faced by some customers as a result of the switch to site area charging for surface water drainage and are looking at what can be done.
Ministers have received a range of representations from sports clubs about the move from charging based on rateable value to site area charging for surface water drainage. The Government are aware of the affordability issues faced by some customers as a result of the switch to site area charging and are currently reviewing their position. While the issue is under consideration, letters will continue to be acknowledged, and I will respond in full in due course.
Water Companies: Flood Control
This issue is being considered as part of the forthcoming draft Floods and Water Bill, due to be published in spring 2009.
Prime Minister
Departmental Official Hospitality
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Kevin Brennan), Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, on 13 January 2009, Official Report, column 582W.
Justice
Antisocial Behaviour: Penalty Notices
The number of persons against whom a fine was registered following the issue of a penalty notice for disorder (PND), by offence, in England and Wales for the years 2004 to 2007 can be viewed in the following table. Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Significant improvements are being achieved by the courts in the collection of fines. The Courts Act 2003 introduced a series of measures aimed at improving fine collection including deduction from earnings and benefits, seizure of goods and clamping of vehicles. We do not identify separately the payment rate of fines arising from PNDs, but the latest enforcement rate for all financial penalties is 85.2 per cent. for the period April to December 2008. The payment rates for the last four years are shown in the following table.
Payment rate (Percentage) 2004-05 80 2005-06 83 2006-07 92 2007-08 95
Fine registered Office description 2004 2005 2006 2007 £80 tickets issued Wasting police time 579 1,161 1,787 1,807 Misuse of public telecommunications system 58 140 319 431 Giving false alarm to fire and rescue authority 22 38 52 37 Causing harassment, alarm or distress2 13,125 26,754 35,154 33,021 Throwing fireworks 80 271 264 223 Drunk and disorderly 11,035 14,459 16,919 18,161 Criminal Damage (under £500)2 481 211 8,492 7,979 Theft (retail under £200)2 1,128 60 21,157 24,344 Breach of fireworks curfew 2 23 16 13 Possession of category 4 firework 6 70 15 10 Possession by a person under 18 of adult firework 7 4,702 21 31 Sale of alcohol to drunken person 0 11,927 9 9 Supply of alcohol to person under 18 0 14 7 11 Sale of alcohol to person under 18 10 8 390 405 Purchase alcohol for person under 18 21 15 122 211 Purchase alcohol for person under 18 for consumption on premises 0 6 20 22 Delivery of alcohol to person under 18 or allowing such delivery 10 1 99 138 £50 tickets issued Trespass on a railway 45 115 463 675 Throwing stones at a train/railway 25 5 6 10 Drunk in a highway 1,166 1,339 1,158 788 Consumption of alcohol in public place 349 499 749 1,090 Depositing and leaving litter 25 325 536 589 Consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises 4 16 17 16 Allowing consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises 2 12 4 1 Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by person under 18 0 8 20 35 All offences 28,180 62,179 87,796 90,057 1 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 2 Penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme commenced in November 2004. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence and Analysis Unit.
Compensation: Enforcement
Information on the costs of collection of compensation orders is not collected. Data on the costs of collection of compensation orders is not held by either the Ministry of Justice or HMCS. Information on the enforcement rate of financial penalties imposed by courts is held but cannot make the distinction between compensation orders and other financial penalties and to use this figure to estimate the collection of compensation orders would be misleading.
It is therefore not possible to establish the average cost of collecting compensation orders.
The payment rate for financial impositions that includes compensation, costs, fines and the victims surcharge was 95 per cent. in 2007-08.
Coroners
Statistics on the number of open verdicts returned by coroners in England and Wales in each year between 2002 and 2007, broken down by area, have been placed in the Library of the House. Figures for 2008 are not yet available, but are due to be published on the Ministry of Justice website in May.
Coroners: Ethnic Groups
At present coroners do not collect data on the ethnicity of the deceased in deaths which are referred to them. As part of our work to implement the coroner reforms included in the Coroner and Justice Bill we will be reviewing the statistical data currently collected by coroners and considering whether any changes are required.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Lord Lester acted as the Secretary of State’s expert adviser on constitutional reform between July 2007 and November 2008, and made a declaration of political activity prior to his appointment.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of all expert advisory appointments made by it and its agencies since 1997. The Department makes a number of appointments to public bodies, including advisory non-departmental public bodies, and compiling such a list would incur disproportionate cost. Since 2003 the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each pay band.
Written Questions
In the last 12 months, the Ministry of Justice has answered one written parliamentary question for which the cost of answering the question exceeded the disproportionate cost threshold as the Minister responsible believed it to be in the public interest to do so.
Freedom of Information Act
The public consultation on section 5 of the Freedom of Information Act concluded on 1 February 2008. The Government continue to assess the merits of designating additional public authorities under the Act and will publish their response to the section 5 public consultation by the summer.
Offender Group Reconviction Score System
The Offender Group Reconviction Scale (OGRS) calculates the probability that a convicted offender will be convicted at least once within two years of their release from custody or from the start of their community sentence for any type of offence. The latest version (OGRS 3) is based on:
age at the date of the current caution, non-custodial sentence or discharge from custody;
gender;
the type of offence for which the offender has currently been cautioned or convicted;
the number of times the offender has previously been cautioned and convicted; and
the length in years of their recorded criminal history.
Guidance for practitioners emphasises the strengths and limitations of OGRS and reminds them that while research shows OGRS to be a strong predictor of proven re-offending it is an aid. not a substitute for judgment.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation assess whether likelihood of reoffending is comprehensively and accurately assessed as part of their Offender Management inspections and their reports are made public.
Prisoners: Childbirth
Women in prison have a right to the same medical provision as women in the community and do not give birth in prison as a matter of course.
The number of babies born to mothers in custody since November 2006, when the Prison Service began collecting the relevant information centrally, is as follows:
Number of babies born April 2006 to March 2007 37 April 2007 to March 2008 102 April 2008 to December 2008 75
The figures by establishment are as follows.
Establishment MBU Places 2006-071 2007-08 2008-092 Askham Grange 10 0 3 1 Bronzefield 12 7 18 13 Cookham Wood — 0 0 3n/a Downview — 2 0 0 Drake Hall — 1 0 1 East Sutton Park — 0 0 0 Eastwood Park 12 3 21 5 Foston Hall — 0 2 2 Holloway 13 5 35 16 Low Newton — 3 4 4 Morton Hall — 0 0 0 New Hall 9 3 2 9 Peterborough 12 8 11 8 Send — 0 0 0 Styal 7 5 6 7 Total 75 37 102 66 1 November 2006 to March 2007 2 April to November 2008 3 Changed function to male juvenile establishment in 2007.
Prisoners: Education
Race and Equalities Action Group (REAG) have been developing a twin-track approach the primary focus of which has been tackling racial intolerance. The first stage consists of detection and disruption measures. Guidance provided asks staff to risk assess and subsequently categorise the offender. The second stage moves from detection to intervention. REAG has developed an education set accredited through the Open College Network, available to education departments within establishments.
The education sessions have piloted in three establishments, the complete scheme will be piloted this year
Probation Service for England and Wales: Finance
The Ministry of Justice has not produced any projections of demand for services provided by (a) the Probation Service, (b) HM Courts Service and (c) HM Prison Service as a result of the economic downturn. However, the Department's Ministers and Corporate Management Board are supplied with regular statistical information about both the downturn itself, and areas of that Department's business where demand for services might be affected. This ensures that timely action can be taken where necessary.
Changes in demand for services are taken into account when agreeing allocations to departmental business groups, along with other factors such as policy considerations, inflationary pressures and the potential for efficiency savings.
The Department remains committed to living within its budget as set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. We are currently looking hard at the services we provide in order to find new ways to improve how we deliver them, while ensuring that we focus on our frontline services. We aim to drive out inefficiencies, overlap and duplication and to reduce our overheads, especially in our headquarters areas. This work should help the Department to ensure that we are able to redeploy staff to the frontline as and where appropriate.
Probation Service: Manpower
The National Offender Management Service does not produce statistics on the average caseload of probation staff. However, data are collected on the number of offenders supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) and, separately, on the number of staff in post.
The total number of offenders supervised by the NPS on 31 March 2006 was 227,654, on 31 March 2007 it was 237,796 and on 31 December 2007 it was 242,722. This information is taken from the Probation Statistics Quarterly Brief, which can be found at the following website:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/probationquarterly.htm
The number of NPS staff in post at 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007 and 31 December 2007 are set out in the following table. Data for the quarter ending 31 March 2008 are not yet available as they are still being validated.
Number 2007-081: Quarter 3 31 December2007 Probation Officers2 8,257.54 Probation Services Officers3 6,221.76 Other Staff 6,415.04 Total 20,894.34 2006-071: Quarter 4 31 March 2007 Probation Officers 8,265.35 Probation Services Officers 6,506.78 Other Staff 6,473.53 Total 21,245.66 2005-061: Quarter 4 31 March 2006 Probation Officers 8,262.50 Probation Services Officers 6,544.28 Other Staff 6,296.67 Total 21,103.45 1 Figures provided are Full Time Equivalent. Figures for Quarter 3 2007-08 have yet to be published and may be subject to minor amendment upon publication. Figures for Quarter 4 2007-08 are unavailable as they currently being validated. 2 Includes Senior Practitioners, Probation Officers, Practice Development Assessors, Trainee Probation Officers and Senior Probation Officers. 3 Includes Probation Services Officers and Treatment Managers.
Rape: Prosecutions
The number of proceedings at magistrates courts not leading to a finding of guilt, and the number of defendants found guilty at all courts, for rape offences, from 1997 to 2007 (latest available), are given in the following table.
The figures relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Centrally collected data are available at police force area level which are given in the table.
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Avon and Somerset 51 9 52 14 60 9 44 13 Bedfordshire 18 5 26 2 27 5 24 5 Cambridgeshire 15 5 15 2 32 4 23 4 Cheshire 11 8 19 9 17 11 17 11 City of London — — — — — — — 2 Cleveland 5 7 13 5 8 8 12 5 Cumbria 11 — 7 4 10 4 3 3 Derbyshire 30 7 30 6 29 10 25 11 Devon and Cornwall 40 11 10 23 16 17 15 12 Dorset 23 4 13 4 14 7 7 13 Durham 7 7 16 9 18 5 34 3 Essex 27 17 45 13 47 8 27 4 Gloucestershire 7 2 10 2 9 4 12 7 Greater Manchester 118 25 99 44 97 26 70 41 Hampshire 39 26 48 21 59 25 61 21 Hertfordshire 16 8 10 6 13 7 22 4 Humberside 6 8 17 7 12 8 16 6 Kent 17 12 32 9 18 14 28 17 Lancashire 42 13 38 16 30 28 49 13 Leicestershire 36 9 25 17 12 12 27 6 Lincolnshire 16 6 21 5 16 3 14 7 Merseyside 7 14 39 17 34 10 53 8 Metropolitan Police 200 95 209 94 268 88 212 97 Norfolk 14 2 16 2 20 2 9 4 North Yorkshire 12 3 9 6 13 7 8 6 Northamptonshire 0 3 9 4 7 8 4 5 Northumbria 59 24 96 21 83 20 71 16 Nottinghamshire 48 11 42 14 29 21 38 16 South Yorkshire 27 17 26 11 12 14 38 6 Staffordshire 27 10 17 9 12 13 — 14 Suffolk 12 4 22 4 11 8 8 5 Surrey 9 3 12 4 10 2 16 2 Sussex 6 13 31 13 26 8 34 7 Thames Valley 48 13 39 9 21 16 24 13 Warwickshire 4 — 6 1 4 1 5 1 West Mercia 15 10 23 10 16 8 13 5 West Midlands 65 36 99 44 103 31 113 29 West Yorkshire 66 23 58 43 102 41 91 38 Wiltshire 21 3 23 2 11 1 4 4 Dyfed-Powys 14 6 14 2 26 5 20 4 Gwent 24 11 30 3 23 8 17 7 North Wales 23 6 22 9 18 6 19 4 South Wales 41 21 54 31 46 28 43 20 Total 1,277 517 1,441 571 1,425 561 1,346 519
Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Avon and Somerset 74 14 68 12 57 20 49 22 Bedfordshire 15 10 22 5 13 5 20 12 Cambridgeshire 24 7 14 8 14 2 20 4 Cheshire 25 6 18 9 18 10 20 11 City of London — — 3 — — — 1 — Cleveland 14 5 21 11 25 9 14 10 Cumbria 26 6 18 4 9 8 6 10 Derbyshire 31 4 37 7 39 13 37 19 Devon and Cornwall 18 10 0 15 5 14 2 15 Dorset 33 3 22 6 13 3 15 4 Durham 33 3 30 4 21 1 24 8 Essex 35 8 47 5 43 6 41 9 Gloucestershire 13 — 28 2 5 7 20 — Greater Manchester 117 37 149 32 156 31 152 27 Hampshire 78 20 77 21 81 10 70 14 Hertfordshire 18 5 23 8 25 10 37 11 Humberside 10 8 22 9 15 10 23 8 Kent 26 17 51 16 40 7 43 10 Lancashire 64 16 76 14 49 20 50 16 Leicestershire 42 4 47 8 33 15 30 12 Lincolnshire 14 5 24 9 21 4 22 5 Merseyside 55 24 79 15 82 13 45 20 Metropolitan Police 339 76 432 96 477 113 376 103 Norfolk 16 5 13 8 12 5 1 9 North Yorkshire 16 6 18 8 15 6 31 12 Northamptonshire 3 9 5 8 2 8 2 14 Northumbria 50 21 38 22 55 20 35 18 Nottinghamshire 51 25 48 13 52 13 53 11 South Yorkshire 40 15 39 17 32 19 36 23 Staffordshire 51 7 42 11 36 9 30 16 Suffolk 23 1 25 7 18 6 24 3 Surrey 19 5 21 5 27 5 10 5 Sussex 35 7 39 11 21 17 38 12 Thames Valley 42 15 31 15 42 12 35 16 Warwickshire 2 2 7 1 7 1 3 3 West Mercia 35 7 33 12 25 9 29 10 West Midlands 155 37 205 27 169 52 151 51 West Yorkshire 144 21 119 15 101 30 51 48 Wiltshire 17 2 18 9 20 6 22 4 Dyfed-Powys 12 2 19 2 10 2 23 4 Gwent 28 7 33 16 38 9 35 6 North Wales 23 2 22 5 6 6 19 6 South Wales 63 10 77 20 50 17 64 23 Total 1,923 494 2,150 548 1,967 583 1,809 644
Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt Number found guilty Avon and Somerset 44 11 47 17 41 18 Bedfordshire 16 8 14 5 8 8 Cambridgeshire 17 9 16 6 19 6 Cheshire 29 10 15 17 14 11 City of London — — — — — — Cleveland 33 8 16 16 11 20 Cumbria 9 6 10 5 9 9 Derbyshire 52 12 28 20 35 14 Devon and Cornwall 1 19 10 18 8 21 Dorset 16 4 13 8 19 3 Durham 25 8 25 7 22 4 Essex 38 11 17 12 9 8 Gloucestershire 12 3 14 13 26 5 Greater Manchester 134 46 122 47 127 44 Hampshire 71 27 32 30 65 25 Hertfordshire 41 6 46 8 10 12 Humberside 27 16 19 26 1 22 Kent 35 17 44 17 33 26 Lancashire 87 13 49 29 57 23 Leicestershire 37 10 27 7 18 11 Lincolnshire 19 13 7 7 6 6 Merseyside 18 23 26 15 19 15 Metropolitan Police 462 104 404 133 367 138 Norfolk -6 10 11 14 1 11 North Yorkshire 19 11 21 11 16 10 Northamptonshire 12 7 0 12 7 9 Northumbria 43 11 40 19 31 21 Nottinghamshire 38 18 37 13 22 18 South Yorkshire 26 35 38 25 23 24 Staffordshire 32 13 38 8 p 20 20 Suffolk 24 7 24 12 14 5 Surrey 20 4 15 5 14 4 Sussex 53 11 44 11 17 24 Thames Valley 60 21 59 17 31 23 Warwickshire 2 8 6 5 8 2 West Mercia 35 11 20 14 15 9 West Midlands 95 62 113 48 104 55 West Yorkshire 62 48 24 37 32 42 Wiltshire 27 3 10 11 13 7 Dyfed-Powys 7 4 9 3 7 5 Gwent 28 7 35 7 21 14 North Wales 15 3 15 3 3 10 South Wales 51 16 43 16 54 15 Total 1,864 694 1,581 754 1,361 777 1 Includes Rape of a female aged under 16—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1. Rape of a female aged 16 or over—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1. Rape of a male aged under 16—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1. Rape of a male aged 16 or over—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1. Rape of a female child under 13 by a male—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 5. Rape of a male child under 13 by a male—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 5. 2 “Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt” covers defendants tried and found not guilty as well as proceedings that were discontinued or cases where no evidence was offered, charges were withdrawn or the judge ruled that there was no case to answer. 3 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher order of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (See also footnote 5) 4 These data are on the principal offence basis. 5 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit.
Repossession Orders: Chelmsford
Although figures for the West Chelmsford constituency are not available, the following tables show the number of mortgage and landlord possession orders made in Chelmsford county court from 2003 onwards.
The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, Chelmsford county court covers areas other than West Chelmsford and therefore not all possession actions at this court will relate to this constituency.
Court level statistics on mortgage and landlord repossession actions from 1987 to 2007 are available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/mortgatelandlordpossession.htm
These figures do not indicate how many homes have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made, while not all court orders result in repossession.
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 (January-September) Chelmsford 175 226 355 381 383 381 HMCS South East Region 8,201 10,050 15,220 17,693 17,870 16,169
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 (January-September) Chelmsford 347 337 266 313 332 274 HMCS South East Region 20,336 19,834 19,157 18,093 19,177 16,044 1 Mortgage possession data include all types of lenders whether local authority or private. 2 Landlord possession data include all types of landlord whether social or private. 3 Includes orders made through both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enables the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence and shorthold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end. 4 Includes outright and suspended orders, the later being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage or rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. 5 The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. * Figures for 2008 are provisional Source: Ministry of Justice
Royal Family: Wills
(2) if he will review his policy on the practice of allowing Royal wills to be sealed.
The power to seal and unseal all Wills is exercised by the court. The decision whether or not to permit inspection of a Will of a senior member of the Royal Family that has been sealed by the court is a matter for the President of the Family Division upon application.
The President is currently considering setting up a committee to review the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, which will include consideration of the current rules relating to the inspection and/or publication of Wills. The power to make new rules is vested in the President with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor.
Sentencing
The information requested on length on time served prior to release on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) could be provided by examining individual prisoner records only at disproportionate cost. However information is available on the number of prisoners released on HDC in each year from 1999-2007 by sentence length band, as shown in the following tables. These figures can be found in Prison Statistics England and Wales, 1999-2002 and Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003-07, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons Library, and also on the Ministry of Justice website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm.
Eligible prisoners are not released on HDC unless they have served a minimum of one quarter of their sentence in custody, subject to a minimum of 30 days.
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.
1999 2000 2001 Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Total 49,530 14,820 30 55,344 15,513 28 54,064 13,664 25 All cases to less than 12 months 27,558 7,440 34 31,382 7,927 25 30,646 6,747 22 3 months to less than 4 months 6,256 1,370 27 7,177 1,553 22 6,791 1,205 18 4 months to less than 6 months 9,612 2,354 22 11,116 2,338 21 11,239 2,067 18 6 months to less than 8 months 7,023 2,061 24 8,047 2,304 29 8,110 1,952 24 8 months to less than 12 months 4,667 1,655 29 5,042 1,732 34 4,506 1,523 34 12 months to less than 4 years 21,972 7,380 34 23,962 7,586 32 23,418 6,917 30
Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Total 55,370 20,525 37 57,551 21,223 37 55,810 19,294 35 All cases to less than 12 months 30,574 10,680 35 32,098 10,533 33 32,012 10,205 32 3 months to less than 4 months 6,439 1,695 26 6,605 1,619 25 6,592 1,419 22 4 months to less than 6 months 11,876 4,055 34 13,228 4,299 32 13,293 4,210 32 6 months to less than 8 months 7,843 2,956 38 7,606 2,679 35 7,568 2,659 35 8 months to less than 12 months 4,416 1,974 45 4,659 1,936 42 4,559 1,917 42 12 months to less than 4 years 24,796 9,804 40 25,453 10,690 42 23,798 9,089 38
Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Population in sentence length band Released Release rate (%) Total 54,616 17,296 32 52,987 13,666 26 53,835 11,428 21 All cases to less than 12 months 30,273 8,507 28 29,389 6,114 21 29,372 4,545 15 3 months to less than 4 months 6,440 1,068 17 6,474 722 11 6,613 358 5 4 months to less than 6 months 12,426 3,452 28 11,722 2,243 19 11,178 1,430 13 6 months to less than 8 months 7,158 2,336 33 6,915 1,777 26 6,788 1,442 21 8 months to less than 12 months 4,249 1,651 39 4,278 1,372 32 4,793 1,315 27 12 months to less than 4 years 24,343 8,789 36 23,598 7,552 32 24,463 6,883 28
Trade Unions
(2) what plans he has to consult the relevant trades unions on (a) his Department's budget and (b) planned alterations to that budget for 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Planning work has been underway since September 2008 to determine how the Ministry of Justice will live within its spending review settlement, secure £1 billion of savings by 2010-11. Regular meetings have been held with the unions throughout this period, with the next planned meeting at the corporate level provisionally scheduled for 22 January 2009. Regular engagement has also been maintained at the business group and business area levels, where business area specific issues have been consulted, including HM Courts Services (HMCS).
The budgets for business groups for 2009-10 will be published in the MOJ Corporate Plan on 19 January 2009, a copy of which together with other performance and efficiency related communications to staff will be shared with the unions ahead of wider circulation. The Corporate Plan will also be available in the Library of the House.
Following issue of the Corporate Plan, business groups will work in earnest to develop their own business plans. These plans will address in detail how the Department will meet the performance and efficiency challenges. Going forward consultation will take place with the unions at a local level or, when appropriate, at a corporate level. For example the chief executive of HMCS plans to discuss budgetary allocations with the unions on 17 February.
The recent pre-Budget report contained an announcement of an additional £5 billion value for money saving to be delivered in 2010-11 across the public sector. Decisions have yet to be made as to how those savings will be allocated between Departments but once this is clear we will need to consider the implications for us. This means it will be a little while before we can publish figures for that year. Once they have settled, we will share again details of the allocations with union colleagues.
Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
There have been several consultations by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) relating to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The consultation “Transforming Tribunals Implementing Part 1 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007” ran from November 2007 to February 2008. Responses were published on the 19 May 2008. A copy of the response document was placed in the Library of both Houses.
The consultation “Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007— Eligibility for judicial appointment” ran from February to April 2008 and responses were published on the 27 August. The response document is available on the MoJ website at:
http://www.iustice.gov.uk/publications/consultations-with-response.htm.
A copy of the response document will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
The consultation “Administration and Enforcement Restriction Orders: setting the parameters” ran from January to April 2008 and a response paper will be published shortly.
As with most MoJ consultations, all of these consultation papers contained a standard confidentiality clause. The individual responses of consultees, that did not indicate to the contrary, would therefore be available in an anonymised version from the MoJ for the first two consultations mentioned above. The response paper for the “Administration and Enforcement Restriction Orders: setting the parameters” consultation has not yet been published.
Victim Support Schemes
(2) which specialist services for victims of particular types of crime have received funding from the Government in each of the last five years; and how much was granted in each case.
Organisations providing specialist services for victims of crime receive resources from a wide range of funding streams. Information on this funding is not collated or held centrally.
The Victims Fund was established in 2004 to help top-up local funding for specialist services for victims of crime. The following table shows the total distribution since its commencement:
£ 2008-09 1.25 million Sexual Violence Third Sector 286,000 to date Hate Crime and Homicide initiatives Total 1.535million 2007-08 1.25 million Sexual Violence Third Sector 550,000 Hate Crime and Homicide initiatives Total 1.8 million 2006-07 1.25 million Sexual Violence and Abuse Third Sector 2005-06 to 2004-05 4 million Sexual Assault Referral Centres and Sexual Violence Third Sector
Young Offenders: Reoffenders
There has been an 18.7 per cent. reduction in the frequency rate of youth reoffending between 2000 and 2006. The Youth Crime Action Plan, published in July 2008 details the cross-Government approach to reducing youth crime, including youth reoffending. It sets out a ‘triple track’ approach of enforcement and punishment where behaviour is unacceptable, non-negotiable support and challenge where it is most needed, and better and earlier prevention. The Youth Justice Board leads on the target of a 10 per cent. reduction by 2011 of the frequency rate of youth reoffending against the 2005 baseline, and is working with Departments, to influence the key services to ensure young people have access to mainstream and specialist services before, during and after justice.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Information is not available in the format requested. Data are available for treatment of alcohol-related health problems, the number of admissions to hospital for alcohol and alcohol-related health problems. An individual may account for more than one admission.
While it is possible to analyse the admissions data to determine the number of individuals aged 11-18 years admitted to hospital for alcohol and alcohol-related health problems, this could be done only at disproportionate cost.
The following table gives the number of alcohol-related finished admissions for patients aged 11-18 by primary care trust (PCT) in the Hertfordshire area for each year from 2002-03 to 2006-07. 2006-07 is the latest year for which data are available. The figures relate to the number of admissions rather than the number of individuals: an individual may account for more than one admission.
Number of alcohol-related finished admissions for patients aged 11 to 18 resident in HertfordshirePCT2002-032003-042004-052005-062006-07East and North Hertfordshire 1049410499102West Hertfordshire10711011482122 Notes:Includes activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.Small numbersTo protect patient confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with “*” (an asterisk). Where it was possible to identify numbers from the total due to a single suppressed number in a row or column, an additional number (the next smallest) has been suppressed.Alcohol-related admissionsThe number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) “Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions”.Figures for under-16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under-16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol—that is, those with an attributable fraction of one. They are:Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6)Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2)Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1)Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1)Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing’s syndrome (E24.4)Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2)Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10)Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45)Ethanol poisoning (T51.0)Methanol poisoning (T51.1)Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9).Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosisThese figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.Finished admission episodesA finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.Primary diagnosisThe primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.Secondary diagnosesAs well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.Data QualityHES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.Source:Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
Antidepressants
The following table provides the net ingredient cost (NIC) of anti-depressant drugs prescribed in the community listed in British National Formulary (BNF) section 4.3 for the latest available 12 month period. Information is only available by health area and the information provided best fits the areas requested.
£000 Stockton on Tees Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) 1,087.7 Middlesbrough PCT 1,179.9 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 941.1 North East Strategic Health Authority 16,814.4 England 245,556.7 Source: Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool (ePACT) system
Aphasia: Research
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has funded the following current or recently completed projects of relevance to aphasia:
assessing the effectiveness of communication therapy in the North West (Dr. Audrey Bowen, university of Manchester);
the phoneme factory: producing a multimedia screening and therapy system for children with phonological disorders (Professor Sue Roulstone, North Bristol NHS Trust);
speech-driven environmental control systems: new assistive technologies for disabled and elderly people (Professor Mark Hawley, university of Sheffield and Barnsley Hospitals NHS Trust); and
evaluating communication impairment using technology-based transcriptionless discourse analysis measures: a demonstration of reliability and validity (Dr. Marian Brady, Glasgow Caledonian university).
The NIHR clinical research network is also supporting a number of related studies. Details are available on the network’s portfolio database at:
www.ukcrn.org.uk/index/clinical/portfolio_new.html
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is an independent body that receives its grant in aid from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Over the last five years, the MRC has funded four projects relevant to aphasia:
finding the right words: predicting, and treating, spoken language production deficits after aphasic stroke (Dr. J. Crinion, University college London);
normal and disordered language comprehension: a cognitive science approach (Professor L. Tyler, Birkbeck college);
neural basis of words, meaning and syntax (Professor F. Pulvermuller, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit); and
stroke recovery (Professor R. Wise, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre).
Chronic Disease Management
Expert Patients Programme Community Interest Company was established in April 2007. For the period April 2007 to March 2008 they report that the number of course places delivered was 24,660. Figures for 2008-09 are not yet available. The Expert Patients Programme is a generic course and is open to anyone with a long term condition. Details are not available relating to the specific conditions that course participants live with, however Expert Patients Programme Community Interest Company estimate that 25 per cent. of course places are taken by people with musculoskeletal conditions.
Chronically Sick: Pupils
In March 2005, the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) published “Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings” with contributions from Department of Health. However, that guidance was for teachers rather than primary care trusts (PCTs). The National Service Framework for Children, Families and Maternity (Children’s NSF), published in 2004 included guidance for health and social care professionals as well as parents and children on managing long term conditions. For children with diabetes, the report ‘Making every young person with diabetes matter’ included a generic specification for children and young people. This included a section on managing diabetes in schools and early years settings. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library.
Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
(2) how many and what proportion of those considered to be potentially at risk of having contracted vCJD after using infected blood products under the NHS have been informed of their at risk status; and if he will make a statement;
(3) how many haemophiliacs are estimated to be potentially at risk of having contracted vCJD after using infected blood products under the NHS; and if he will make a statement;
(4) how many people are estimated to be potentially at risk of having contracted vCJD after using infected blood products under the NHS; and if he will make a statement.
There are between 4,000 and 5,000 people, mostly haemophiliacs, currently considered at risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease because of exposure or potential exposure via blood products. The haemophiliacs have been informed of their risk status by the haemophilia doctors managing their care, and the general practitioners of those who are not haemophiliacs have been informed of the need to advise their patients appropriately. The cost of testing this group, should suitable tests become available, has not been estimated.
Dental Services: Fees and Charges
(2) if he will initiate an investigation into the practice of dentists charging patients for descaling, cleaning and polishing following the first-tier check up; and if he will make a statement;
(3) how many NHS dental patients (a) were charged for and (b) received free under the NHS descaling, cleaning and polishing following the first-tier treatment in the latest period for which information is available.
The information is not available in the format requested. However, the number of courses of treatment delivered to charge payers and non-charge payers by treatment band in 2007-08 is available in Table 25 of “NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007-08”. This publication has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0708.
National health service dental contracts require dentists to provide all proper clinically necessary dental care and treatment that the patient is willing to undergo. A band 1 course of treatment (diagnosis, treatment planning and maintenance) includes examination, diagnosis (for example x-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, and scaling and polishing if clinically needed. Fee paying NHS patients will be charged £16.20 for a band 1 course of treatment. Those exempt from NHS charges receive treatment without charge.
Patients who are assessed as not clinically needing a scale and polish are free to obtain it privately. As with any treatment if there is no clinical need for the patient to receive a scale and polish it is entirely appropriate that it is provided, if at all, outside the NHS.
We take very seriously the need to ensure that all NHS patients receive clinically appropriate treatment. A dentist who identified a clinical need for a scale and polish under NHS treatment and then refused such care would be potentially in breach of contract. The NHS Business Services Authority is enhancing the role of the dental reference service to ensure that primary care trusts (PCTs) have the tools to check that dental care provided is appropriate to patients’ needs. Patients who have concerns about any aspect of their dental care should in the first instance raise this with the practice and then if not satisfied, with the PCT.
The independent review of NHS dentistry chaired by Professor Jimmy Steele will also look at how we can ensure that NHS dentists deliver consistently high quality care and provide the right level of preventative work. Professor Steele is due to publish his findings later in the year.
Direct Payments
Since 2003, councils have had a duty to offer direct payments to people found eligible for social services support. During 2007-08, around 1.75 million people of working age and older people used social care services either provided by their local council or commissioned on their behalf from private and voluntary organisations. As at March 2008, 73,540 people, including carers, used direct payments to buy the help they wanted.