To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost to Jobcentre Plus is of supporting clients on (a) Pathways to Work, (b) Workstep and (c) New Deal for Disabled People into (i) work and (ii) sustained work defined as 26 weeks in respect of clients diagnosed with (A) mental health conditions, (B) musculoskeletal diseases and (C) visual impairment. (315047)

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether people claiming employment and support allowance are counted for the purposes of meeting her Department’s objective of reducing the national incapacity benefits caseload by one million by 2015; (317623)

The Government's aim is to reduce the number of people on employment and support allowance and incapacity benefits by 1 million by 2015 from a baseline of 2.74 million in 2005. Recipients of incapacity benefits include customers receiving incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, income support (on incapacity grounds) and employment and support allowance.

We expect the further planned reforms to employment and support allowance and incapacity benefits to help us make significant progress towards our aim to reduce the numbers on employment and support allowance and incapacity benefits by 1 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent consideration she has given to the provision of Jobcentre Plus services at locations other than Jobcentre Plus offices. (313780)

The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Darra Singh:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what recent consideration she has given to the provision of Jobcentre Plus services at locations other than Jobcentre Plus offices. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

With the advances made in technology the way we deliver our services has changed and our channel strategy enables us to effectively deliver many of our services either by telephone or through the internet. However, for customers in need of tailored personal support, Jobcentre Plus continues to provide a face to face advisory service through our network of Jobcentres and a wide range of outreach locations.

We aim to make our services more accessible to customers by providing a range of support through outreach. Typically, advisory services can be delivered in partnership with Children's Centres, on Local Authority premises, or in conjunction with one of our Welfare to Work providers

To ensure these arrangements meet the challenge of the current economic climate we will keep our service delivery plans under review.

I hope this information is helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of the introduction of an additional public holiday; and if she will make a statement. (315112)

No official estimate has been made of the additional cost to the Department of an additional day's public holiday.

The actual cost would depend in particular on the degree to which work could be re-prioritised or re-scheduled as already happens, for example, at the Christmas and Easter public holidays.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he last reviewed safety arrangements for tall ships which are used for educational purposes for young people under 21; and if he will make a statement. (318938)

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) keeps the safety requirements for tall ships registered or operating in the UK under constant review. These requirements are set out in Codes of Safety published by the MCA. Tall ships registered or operating in the UK are subject to the same inspection regimes as ships of a comparable size. The agency is working with the Association of Sail Training Organisations (ASTO) on the development of an additional safety management system designed specifically for smaller sail training ships.

Through the International Maritime Organization, the MCA is actively promoting greater co-operation between maritime administrations to develop a more consistent application of safety requirements internationally.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport for how many non-departmental public bodies his Department is responsible. (314260)

Information on the number of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) sponsored by my Department is published in the annual Cabinet Office report ‘Public Bodies’. ‘Public Bodies 2009’ is available online at:

www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/ndpbs.aspx

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which projects have been allocated funding from the (a) Highways Agency Network Operations budget and (b) Technology Innovation Fund for (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12, (iv) 2012-13, (v) 2013-14 and (vi) 2014-15; and how much such funding each such project has already received. (319073)

The information requested is as follows:

(a) The Highways Agency was allocated £2.9 billion of programme expenditure in 2009-10 as presented in the Agency's 2009-10 Business Plan. The programme includes projects to maintain and operate the strategic road network.

There are over 3,000 which make up the programme allocation and it is not practicable to list each project. 2010-11 plans are being finalised and the following years are subject to the outcome of any future Spending Review.

(b) The Highways Agency was allocated funding for the A14 Corridor Traffic Management System and the Birmingham Box Phase 1 and 2 project from the Technology Innovation Fund for the periods 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Funding already allocated to the Highways Agency from the Technology Innovation Fund is as follows:

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many staff in his Department have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last three years. (316455)

Sickness absence statistics are available on the Department’s website at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/staff/sickabsence

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will publish the travel guidance issued to staff of each of his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies. (314928)

The Department for Transport does not hold this information. Agencies and NDPBs issue their own travel guidance to staff, and reference should be made to them for this information.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects the EU's Liquid Explosives Working Group to agree a standard for scanning for liquid explosives. (318904)

The EU’s aviation security regulatory committee (composed of member state experts) agreed a new package of implementing measures on aviation security on 21 October 2009. This package of measures includes standards for liquids screening technology. The timetable for introduction of this technology is currently being considered by the European Parliament.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether cars operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency have been subject to recall in the last six months. (319172)

Eleven vehicles operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency have been subject to a recall in the last six months.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) what the annual percentage change in the cost of a Senior Railcard has been in each year since 2000; (318407)

The cost and percentage increase of a Senior Railcard in each year since 2000 was as follows:

These are in line with the terms of the Senior Railcard scheme agreement through which train operators are required to provide the cards.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will extend the coverage area of the Hope Cove lifeboat up to and including Ordnance Survey points (a) 695373 to the east and (b) 605465 to the west. (318209)

There are no plans to extend the coverage of the general purpose boat operated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) at Hope Cove. The operating limits are set in the interests of the safety of the boat’s volunteer crew and the public.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will make it his policy not to override local authority contracts for the supply of salt and grit. (318905)

The Department for Transport only provides advice to salt suppliers on prioritising deliveries to ensure salt is delivered to where it is needed most. Advice is provided by the Salt Cell, comprising officials from the Department for Transport, the Devolved Administrations, the Highways Agency and local authority representatives. The Salt Cell has remained in operation since 6 January and its advice has been extremely important in ensuring that no authorities have so far run out of salt despite the worst winter weather in 30 years. The Salt Cell's advice is based upon information provided by highway authorities on their stock levels and weather forecasts. It is a matter for the salt suppliers to decide what deliveries they make.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the preparedness of local authorities for the recent severe weather conditions including the provision of salt and grit in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England. (318907)

Following the severe weather conditions in February 2009, the Government asked the UK Roads Liaison Group to identify the lessons that should be learnt regarding highway authorities’ preparedness for extreme weather events. The UK Roads Liaison Group made 19 recommendations, one of which advised that:

“in considering appropriate service standards, at least six days resilience would represent sensible good practice for determining the number of days resilience during the core winter period”.

It is for each authority to consider the recommendations and decide for themselves how best to take them forward. However, a write-round in late October 2009 by regional resilience teams (RRTs) in the Government Offices found that of those local authorities that responded (a third of local highway authorities) all but one were holding at least six days’ supply, and more than half of those responding arranged to hold 10 days’ supply or more. Northamptonshire county council reported that it had reviewed the UKRLG’s recommendations and that it held 11,000 tonnes at that time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who (a) applied for and (b) received funding through his Department's Sea Change programme in each year since its inception. (318594)

The local authorities who applied for and received funding through the Sea Change programme since it began in April 2008 are shown in the tables. A total of £38 million has been allocated over the three phrases of the programme.

Wave One (2008-09)

Wave Two 2009-10

Wave Three 2010-11

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to mark St. George's Day. (318952)

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. English Heritage plans to mark the day with events at several properties around the country, the biggest of which will be a two-day St. George's Day festival at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people have registered for Arts Council England's A Night Less Ordinary scheme. (317147)

Central registration with Arts Council England is not required.

To ask the Prime Minister what the membership is of the National Security Committee; how many times the Committee has met in the last 12 months; and what its remit is. (313546)

The Ministerial Committee on National Security, International Relations and Development exists to consider issues relating to national security and the Government's international, European and international development policies. Its membership is taken from relevant Ministers. The attendance of officials at ministerial committees is at the discretion of the chair of the committee. At NSID the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and the heads of the intelligence agencies have a standing invitation to attend meetings.

To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what recent representations the Church Commissioners have received on the effects of the scheme which rebates value added tax payable on repairs for listed places of worship. (318596)

On 11 February the General Synod made a clear statement that this extremely welcome scheme, which had by the end of January 2010 paid out over £101 million across the UK but is due to end on 31 March 2011, should be extended.

As no provision has been agreed within the EU to allow for the reduction of VAT for repairs to listed places of worship, the Church is campaigning, in partnership with other denominations and faiths, to persuade the Government to ensure the continuation of this scheme. The scheme makes a huge difference to our parish churches which are currently spending over £110 million on repairs and we are pleased that the hon. Lady and other hon. Members are actively involving themselves in this campaign and helping us to maintain a major part of the nation’s built heritage for future generations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on household staff for members of the armed forces with a rank of Brigadier or equivalent and above in each of the last 12 months. (316372)

The information requested is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the travel guidelines issued to staff of each of his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies. (315150)

The Statement of Civilian Personnel Policy on Civilian Detached Duty Expenses has been placed in the Library of the House.

Copies of the guidance in respect of the Department's Trading Funds UK Hydrographic Office, Met Office and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory have been placed in the Library of the House. The Defence Support Group is currently in the process of harmonising the existing travel guidelines of its air and land businesses and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House when the revised guidelines are complete.

The Department's non-departmental public bodies have charitable status and are independent of the Secretary of State for Defence in relation to travel guidance. Advisory non-departmental public bodies have no staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department has provided to the A400M aircraft project under each budgetary heading; and for what purposes. (319175)

The cost so far to the Department of the A400M programme has been £843 million from the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit and £5 million from the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit. This money has been spent on aircraft development and production activities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to respond to the email from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 24 November 2009 on his Department’s bonus scheme. (319248)

The hon. Member’s e-mail was not sent to the correct address. It has now been resent and a response will be provided shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid in bonuses to staff employed at the Met Office in each of the last five years. (318171)

Met Office staff are eligible to receive performance-related pay based on achievements against specific targets agreed and monitored by the Met Office Board, which are linked to the success of the Met Office at either individual, team or organisational level. Payments are non-consolidated and represent part of Met Office staff remuneration which is at risk and needs to be re-earned each year.

The following table details the amount paid in performance related pay to staff employed at the Met Office in each of the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) arrests, (b) reports, (c) de-arrests and (d) charges have been made under the RAF Fylingdales Military Land Byelaws since 1990. (318620)

The information requested is detailed in the following table:

There is no record of the Military Land Byelaws at RAF Fylingdales being used by the Ministry of Defence Police after 2000. For the purposes of this response the term ‘reports’ has been interpreted as files that were submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service for advice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to privatise the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. (318903)

We have no plans to privatise the UK Hydrographic Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been granted under Connecting Communities in each (a) local authority and (b) lower super output area in each year since 2000. (318216)

The Connecting Communities programme was launched on 14 October 2009. A table providing information on the grant funding allocated to each area to support their proposals for participating in the Connecting Communities programme has been deposited in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what timetable has been set for the first full year's data to be collected from fire authorities under the new Incident Recording System. (319305)

Fire and rescue authorities have been asked to provide incident record data for the first full year under the new Incident Record System by the end of May 2010. This is in order to produce the provisional national statistics which are published in the Fire Statistics Monitor Publication series at:

www.communities.gov.uk/fire/researchandstatistics/firestatistics/firestatisticsmonitors/

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 15 September 2008, Official Report, columns 2083-4W, on fire services: equipment, what the equivalent information is for 2008-09. (318423)

[holding answer 24 February 2010]: The number of front-line pumping appliances in each fire and rescue service in England during 2008-09 is shown in the table.

The numbers of defibrillators in each Fire and Rescue Service in 2007 as provided in the answer of 15 September 2008, Official Report, columns 2083-4W, on fire services: equipment were data collected as a one-off for the following piece of research: Current Practice and Prospects for Fire and Rescue Service Co-responding, 14/2008:

www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/frscoresponding

Information on the number of defibrillators in Fire and Rescue Services is not collected routinely and therefore data for 2008-09 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 21 July 2009, Official Report, column 1654W, on fires: domestic waste, what the (a) budget and (b) timetable is for the research into fires in wheeled refuse containers. (319324)

The 2010-11 research programme is being drawn up at this time. We anticipate that draft research programmes will be considered by Ministers and we expect the outcomes of that process will be available in spring 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the effect on local economies of the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative. (319278)

An independent national evaluation of the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) has been commissioned by Communities and Local Government which will measure and assess the outcomes and impacts of the programme; assess the strategic and operational fit of the fund within the wider policy environment; and identify innovation and good practice and work carried out by the LEGI partnerships.

The final report is scheduled to be published in summer this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether submissions from developers to planning appeals may be (a) received and (b) taken account of after the closing date for such submissions; and if he will make a statement. (319251)

The Secretary of State is able to use his discretion in determining whether to consider representations received after the close of an inquiry.

The late submission of appeal material can cause delays and late representations and evidence are therefore only accepted in exceptional circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with the Planning Inspectorate on the timing of submissions made by developers in respect of proposals to build houses at Innsworth, Gloucestershire, GL3 1EB. (319252)

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the interim pilot reports published as part of the Total Place initiative. (317804)

Many of the pilots have now made their interim reports public, by either publishing them on the Total Place website or their own websites. The decision on whether to publish the interim reports was entirely a matter for the pilots.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to include the provision of reserves of salt and grit as part of the audit requirements of local authorities. (318906)

The Department has no plans for such proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the names and addresses are of each organisation that supplied goods or services to the (a) Standards Board for England and (b) Homes and Communities Agency in 2008-09. (317573)

A list for both bodies has been deposited in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) when he plans to answer Question 314663, on households in temporary accommodation, tabled on 27 January 2010; (319588)

I replied to the hon. Member's questions on 24 February 2010, Official Report, columns 613-14W

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the name is of the (a) Governor and (b) Assistant Governor of each overseas territory. (319171)

The names of the Governors and Deputy Governor, or equivalents, in each of the UK's Overseas Territories are as follows:

Anguilla

Governor—Mr. Alistair Harrison

Deputy Governor—Mr. Stanley Reid

Bermuda

Governor—Sir Richard Gozney

Deputy Governor—Mr. David Arkley

British Virgin Islands

Governor—Mr. David Pearey

Deputy Governor—Ms Vivian Inez Archibald

Cayman Islands

Governor—Mr. Duncan Taylor

Deputy Governor—Mr. Donovan Ebanks

Falkland Islands

Governor—Mr. Alan Huckle. Mr Huckle is also Commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

Deputy Governor—There is no such position. Mr. Paul Martinez is the First Secretary in the Governor's Office and has acted as Governor during periods of substantive absence by the Governor.

Gibraltar

Governor—Sir Adrian Johns

Deputy Governor—Ms Lesley Pallett

Montserrat

Governor—Mr. Peter Waterworth

Deputy Governor—Mrs. Sarita Francis

Pitcairn

Governor—Mr. George Fergusson

Deputy Governor—Ms Ginny Silva

St. Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha

Governor—Mr Andrew Gurr

Deputy Governor—There is no such position. The Chief Secretary, Mr. Andrew Wells, has acted as Governor of St. Helena in the Governor's absence.

Ascension Island Administrator—Mr. Ross Denny.

Tristan da Cunha Administrator—Mr. David Morley.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Governor—Mr. Gordon Wetherell

Deputy Governor—Vacant

British Antarctic Territory and British Indian Ocean Territory

The Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territory and British Indian Ocean Territory is Mr. Colin Roberts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East of 7 January 2010, Official Report, column 565W, on Croatia: EC enlargement, what assessment he has made of the effect of the election of Ivo Josipovic as President of Croatia on that country's progress in its EU accession negotiations, with particular reference to efforts towards reform in the areas of judiciary and fundamental rights. (318609)

President Josipovic was elected for a five-year term on 11 January 2010. His election campaign focussed on tackling corruption, support for European norms and the rule of law.

In his inauguration speech as Head of State he set out the following vision:

"It was with a vision of a European, prosperous Croatia that I embarked on the electoral process. My key motivation was that of justice, the moral and legal foundation of a better society. We have established a state, but justice and fairness are the values yet to be materialized in their full scope."

I am confident that President Josipovic will encourage the Government of Croatia to continue vigorous efforts to meet the criteria for EU accession, particularly in the areas of tackling corruption and strengthening the judiciary and respect for fundamental rights.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the effects on levels of service of the withdrawal of management officers in the UK missions and their replacement with locally-engaged staff in (a) Iran, (b) Iraq, (c) Nigeria, (d) Russia and (e) China; and if he will make a statement. (318450)

Our missions will continue to provide appropriate levels of service for our staff whether supported by UK or locally-based staff. In Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Russia and China, there will still be senior UK-based management staff.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office tries to work very much as a single team, offering full responsibility and accountability to local as well as UK-based staff in accordance with their roles. We are privileged to attract a high calibre of local staff who deliver an excellent level of service including in the area of corporate services work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Dubai on Interpol's request concerning named suspects in a murder investigation believed to be using details from British passports; and if he will make a statement. (318684)

[holding answer 25 February 2010]: I refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe's answer to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) of 22 February 2010, Official Report, columns 22-23, namely that on 21 February 2010 my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to Abdullah bin Zayed, the Emirati Foreign Minister.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to close any overseas posts during 2010-11. (318034)

[holding answer 22 February 2010]: The Government are committed to a world-class and comprehensive diplomatic service that is a credit to the UK and reflects demands for our services and the Government's priorities. I am confident that we will continue to be able both to fulfil our historic responsibilities and to pursue our modern priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Falun Gong movement in the UK. (318462)

UK representatives of the Falun Gong movement were invited to meetings with non-governmental organisations, held by my predecessor the hon. Member for Harlow (Bill Rammell), as part of a wider discussion on Human Rights in China.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials regularly meet with the UK representatives of the Falun Gong movement. Also at the end of last year they met with international Falun Gong researchers.

We have serious concerns about the mistreatment of Falun Gong adherents and regularly raise this issue with the Chinese Government. We did so most recently at the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue, which was held in London in January 2009. We asked how many re-education through labour detainees there were and what proportion were Falun Gong. The Chinese responded saying that reforms of the system of re-education through labour were taking place. We will raise this issue again at the next available opportunity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to submit his response to the request from the UN Secretary-General under paragraph 1 of UN General Assembly Resolution 64/117 for information and observations on the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, including information on judicial practice; whether that response will include details of the arrest warrant procedure in the UK; and if he will publish the response. (317364)

The UK intends to respond to the UN Secretary-General's request before his deadline of 30 April. The content of our reply, including the question of whether or not to include details of the arrest warrant procedure, is currently under consideration. The Government will lay a copy of the response in the Library of the House at the earliest opportunity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions statute law provisions relating to domestic arrest warrants have been amended in the last 30 years; and if he will make a statement. (317729)

The statutory provision governing the issue of domestic arrest warrants is section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, which in the 30 years since it was passed has been amended by three enactments—the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the Courts Act 2003 and the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people were convicted of racist offences in (a) London, (b) each police force area and (c) England and Wales in each year since 1998; (317609)

The available information, up to 2008 (latest available), is shown in tables 1 to 6 which have been placed in the Library of the House.

The Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. These data include information on the offence and statute for the offence. The Court Proceedings Database does not hold specific information on offences beyond descriptions provided by the statutes under which prosecutions are brought nor the circumstances of each case.

There is no specific statute of ‘hijacking commercial lorries and tankers’. Defendants may be proceeded against for offences of theft or conspiracy to steal, etc. Centrally available motoring offences data do not separately identify commercial lorries and tankers from other types of motor vehicle. Data for 2009 are planned for publication in autumn, 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of staff in (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies for which he is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in (i) his Department and (ii) the executive agencies is of (A) full-time disabled staff, (B) full-time non-disabled staff, (C) part-time disabled staff and (D) part-time non-disabled staff. (317894)

The requirement to make a declaration about disability is voluntary and significant numbers of staff have chosen not to make a disclosure. Overall, within the Ministry of Justice (excluding the National Offender Management Services (NOMS)) 73 per cent. have completed a declaration. Among full-time staff 58 per cent. have completed a declaration form, with 3.9 per cent. recording that they have a disability. Among part-time staff 3.5 per cent. declared a disability.

For NOMS, 55 per cent. of directly employed staff have completed a declaration, with 6 per cent. recording that they have a disability. Among full-time staff 55 per cent. completed a declaration, of whom 6 per cent. declared a disability and among part-time staff 58 per cent. completed a declaration and 6 per cent. of those declared a disability.

2 per cent. of senior civil servants (SCS) employed within the Ministry have declared a disability. As the actual number of SCS staff involved is less than 10, any disclosure of their working patterns and average salaries may lead to individual identification.

For staff employed in grades below the SCS, insufficient numbers of employees have made any declaration of their status in relation to disability to enable the Ministry to determine, with any accuracy, average salary information.

However, during 2008-09 (the latest figures available) the average salary for full-time staff employed in the Ministry of Justice (excluding National Offender Management Services (NOMS)) was £23,986 and the average full-time equivalent (FTE) salary for part-time staff for 2008-09 was £20,717. For staff employed within NOMS, at 31 January 2010 the average full-time salary was £24,876 and the average FTE salary for part-time staff was £23,986.

Both the Ministry of Justice and NOMS encourages staff to declare relevant information to assist with diversity monitoring.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children were (a) arrested, (b) prosecuted and (c) imprisoned for (i) all drugs offences and (ii) Class A drugs offences in each of the last five years. (317770)

The arrests collection is held by the Home Office and covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery.

Information provided by the Home Office on 10 to 17-year-olds arrested for drug offences covering 2003-04 to 2007-08 (latest available) is provided in Table 1. It is not possible to separately identify arrests for Class A drugs from the information on arrests for drug offences reported to the Home Office.

Data on arrests for 2008-09 are scheduled to be published on 15 April 2010.

The number of persons aged 10 to 17 years proceeded against at magistrates courts for all drugs offences and Class A drugs offences, and those receiving a sentence of immediate custody at all courts, England and Wales, 2004 to 2008 (latest available) is given in Table 2. Court proceedings data are published on a calendar year basis.

Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of a drug trafficking offence (a) as a result of an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency and (b) in total in each year since 1998. (314751)

I have been asked to reply.

The number of defendants found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for drug trafficking offences, from 1998 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. Court proceedings statistical data held by the Ministry of Justice do not include the circumstances of each case and therefore cannot identify any investigating agency.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency was set up to reduce the harm to the UK caused by serious organised crime. Criminal prosecution is only one of a number of tools SOCA uses. With its partners, SOCA undertakes a range of activities against drug trafficking, including work to secure criminal convictions. SOCA is not able to say how many people have been convicted of a specific drug trafficking offence since its inception. However, SOCA records show that the following number of people have been convicted as a result of operations countering drug trafficking.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009, Official Report, column 84W, on drugs: crime, how many people were convicted of offences of drug (a) possession and (b) dealing in Avon and Somerset police force area in 2008. (318390)

Pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009, the number of persons found guilty at all courts for drug possession and dealing in the Avon and Somerset police force area in 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2010, Official Report, columns 490-3W, on drugs: fines, what the number of people fined for (a) possession and (b) possession with intent to supply was as a proportion of all those convicted of both offences in each year for which the data are provided. (317569)

The requested information is shown in the following tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2010, Official Report, column 493W, on drugs: rehabilitation, what proportion of offenders issued with a drug rehabilitation requirement or drug treatment and testing order completed a drug treatment programme in each of the last five years. (317834)

The drug treatment and testing order (DTTO) and drug rehabilitation requirement (DRR) completion rate for each of the last five years is shown in the following table.

The proportion of offenders successfully completing DTTOs and DRRs has risen significantly from 28 per cent. in 2003 to 47 per cent. in 2008-09. This is encouraging because we know from research that offenders who complete orders have significantly lower reconviction rates (53 per cent.) than those that do not (91 per cent.)¹, although it is not possible to attribute this difference entirely to the programme.

These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

¹ Hough, M., Clancy, A., McSweeney, T. and Turnbull, P.J. (2003) ‘The Impact of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders on offending: two year reconviction results’. Home Office Research Findings No. 184. London: Home Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) highest, (b) lowest and (c) average cost was to the public purse of a child contact case heard in the last five years. (318042)

The Ministry of Justice incurs costs in cases involving child contact issues in respect of legal aid and the administration of the courts.

Table 1 shows the highest, lowest and average legal aid cost in cases involving child contact for each of the last five years. These cases may include other issues, such as residence, as well as contact. The figures show the gross legal costs paid, and do not deduct any amounts recovered through contributions by the assisted party or otherwise.

The figures in table 2 show the average court cost for private law Children Act cases heard in the family proceedings courts and county courts for the four years since 2005-06. The costs shown are gross and do not deduct income from court fees.

It is not possible to disaggregate court costs in a way that would allow them to be attributed to individual cases. Therefore, figures for the highest and lowest case cost cannot be provided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2010, Official Report, column 498W, on firearms convictions, how many (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 10 and under, (ii) between 10 and 16, (iii) between 17 and 18 and (iv) over 18 years were convicted of possessing or distributing prohibited weapons or ammunition in each year since 1998. (317919)

Pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2010, Official Report, column 498W, the number of persons found guilty at all courts for selected firearms related offences, by age group from 1998 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.

The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years of age.

Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.