---

Parliamentary Constituencies

Question

Asked by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to restrict access to judicial review and shorten the time available for public hearings over proposals to alter parliamentary constituency boundaries.[HL109]

10 Jun 2010 : Column WA59

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The Government have announced that legislation will be introduced to provide for the introduction of the alternative vote in the event of a positive result in the referendum, and the creation of fewer and more equal-sized constituencies. Further details will be announced in due course.

Pensions

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated annual saving if the state pension age is raised from 65 to 66.[HL216]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Increasing the state pension age overnight for both men and women from 65 to 66 in 2020 would generate around £4 billion annual net benefit saving (compared to currently legislated policies) in 2020, around £5 billion in each of 2021, 2022 and 2023, and around £3 billion in 2024. This estimate relates to benefit expenditure and does not incorporate any broader economic effects that such a policy might have.

Notes: Estimates have been rounded to the nearest £ billion, are in 2010-11 prices and relate to the UK benefit case load.

Prisoners: Personality Disorders

Questions

Asked by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale

To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the cost of the programme to treat prisoners assessed as having dangerous and severe personality disorder; and how many prisoners have undergone treatment since the programme began in 2001.[HL159]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the paper by Professor Peter Tyrer of Imperial College, London, published in Medicine, Science and the Law, that there is "scarce evidence" of improvement in outcomes of prisoners assessed as having dangerous and severe personality disorder after treatment in the four secure units in England where the programme operates.[HL160]

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will establish a review of the effectiveness of the programme to treat prisoners assessed as having dangerous and severe personality disorder.[HL161]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The Ministry of Justice and Department of Health have worked together to establish a range of services for dangerous offenders with severe personality disorder in prisons, high and medium-secure National Health Service (NHS) facilities and the community. The programme was announced in 2001 as a commitment to provide at least 300 places for offenders who fell

10 Jun 2010 : Column WA60

into the dangerous and severe personality disorder category. Across the NHS and the National Offender Management Service, the current annual revenue expenditure incurred is £60 million. This cost includes the provision of assessment, treatment, management, accommodation, a research and evaluation programme, and for the central joint policy team responsible for the development and management of the programme. The total number of admissions into the dangerous and severe personality disorder (DSPD) programme to date is 456 individuals (source: DSPD Common Data Set, as managed at Broadmoor Hospital, which excludes a small number of females held in a DSPD unit at Low Newton prison).

The DSPD programme was established to pilot methods of working with the most dangerous offenders and patients in society. The programme has considered a range of challenges in terms of the assessment, treatment and the management of this most difficult population. Its purpose has always been to improve the mental health outcomes and reduce the risk of serious harm presented by this group. Progression from the DSPD units into mainstream criminal justice and mental health services is also a core component of the programme. Services being piloted through the programme have been in full operation since 2005; treatment is expected to last between three to five years, and therefore, only a few prisoners and patients have progressed from the units. Consequently it is too early to determine improvement in outcomes for prisoners and patients across the programme.

There are two linked evaluations of the DSPD programme which are due to report shortly to the stakeholder departments; the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health. The first evaluation is being carried out by the University of Oxford and focuses on treatment offered and responses to treatment at the four DSPD sites in high secure hospitals and the high secure prison estate. The second evaluation, by Imperial College, is concerned with staffing and organisation within the four sites. These two studies will provide a preliminary assessment of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the DSPD Programme and will help inform the work to consider the strategic options for the future provision of DSPD and personality disorder services for offenders. These are due to be published in the autumn.

Prisons

Question

Asked by Baroness Stern

To ask Her Majesty's Government in how many prisons the certified normal accommodation is (a) 750-1,000, (b) 1,001-1,500, and (c) more than 1,500.[HL141]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): On 30 April 2010 there were:

25 prisons with a certified normal accommodation between 750 and 1,000 places; 12 prisons with a certified normal accommodation between 1,001 and 1,500 places; and

10 Jun 2010 : Column WA61

one prison with a certified normal accommodation of over 1,500 places (HMP Isle of Wight-a cluster prison made up of separate prison sites at Camp Hill, Parkhurst and Albany).

Refugee and Migrant Justice

Questions

Asked by Lord Avebury

To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they are making to find legal representatives for clients who will be without representation if Refugee and Migrant Justice closes, and in which areas Refugee and Migrant Justice is the sole or main provider.[HL169]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The Legal Services Commission (LSC) will implement provisions and issue further guidance to ensure the safeguarding of the legal aid fund and the client should Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) close their offices. The LSC will liaise with any appointed agents to facilitate an orderly referral to alternative quality-assured, accredited legal providers. It is expected that clients, and also caseworkers, will be able to transfer to other organisations. The LSC tender exercise for asylum and immigration contracts from October has seen significant interest in expansion by providers.

There are three areas where RMJ is currently the sole provider; these are the Kent Coast, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight and Suffolk. However, should RMJ close its offices in these areas, the LSC will seek additional providers to ensure the service that RMJ supplied continues.

Asked by Lord Crisp

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of their late payment of bills on the charity Refugee and Migrant Justice.[HL211]

Lord McNally: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not accept that payments are being made late. Standard monthly payments are received by all contracted providers which are then reconciled periodically by the LSC against bills submitted for cases that have either closed or have reached the stage where a claim may be made.

The current billing arrangements enable both immigration and asylum providers to claim costs in a reasonable period for the vast majority of their cases. The LSC analysis of claims submitted suggests that approximately 80 per cent of stage claims are made within six months of a file being opened and approximately 90 per cent are made within nine months.

10 Jun 2010 : Column WA62

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

Question

Asked by Lord Berkeley

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have issued guidance on whether it is necessary, under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/3163), to report an accident following which the person injured returns to light duties within three working days.[HL120]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Guidance on the statutory position has been issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). All injuries to workers from an accident connected with work that result in them being "unable to do their full range of normal duties for more than three days" must be reported. This advice is published in:

HSE's booklet, A Guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and DangerousOccurrences Regulations 1995 (ref L 73), that was first published in 1996;on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/riddor.htm#what andin the introductory notes to the accident book that HSE publishes for employers.

In addition, this advice is given in a range of industry and sector-specific guidance published by HSE.

If an employer is unsure whether any incident should be reported, they can telephone [phone]) HSE's Incident Contact Centre for advice.

Vehicles: Automatic Plate Recognition

Question

Asked by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prosecutions for (a) motoring offences, and (b) other categories of offences there have been in England and Wales in the last three years for which figures are available through the use of vehicle registration number-plate recognition cameras.[HL110]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The court proceedings database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, specific information on offences beyond descriptions provided by the statutes under which prosecutions are brought is not held. It is not possible to separately identify from centrally available data those offences proceeded against arising from the use of automatic number-plate recognition cameras.

---