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Parades: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What have been the contractual arrangements of members of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission since its creation in respect of paying their national insurance and income tax; and who paid these charges. [HL3918]
Lord Rooker: The Secretary of State, in accordance with the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998, appoints the members of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission. For the purposes of tax and national insurance contributions, commissioners were initially treated as being self-employed. Since 2006, the NIO pays all commissioners through the NIO payroll with tax deducted at source. This follows clarification of the commissioners’ status in 2006.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
On what the £37,519 allocated to other expenditure during 2006-07 in section 3 of the annual report of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission was spent. [HL3925]
Lord Rooker: The rounded breakdown of “Other expenditure” was as follows:
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why a Northern Ireland Office spokesman said in a Belfast newsletter on 31 May that the Northern Ireland Office had no knowledge whether Northern Ireland parades commissioners had paid income tax since 1997 but that the Northern Ireland Office had paid nearly £500,000 to HM Revenue and Customs to cover their taxes anyway; and, if the statement is accurate, whether the Comptroller and Auditor-General was informed. [HL3929]
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Lord Rooker: The department understood that the parades commissioners should be treated as though they were self-employed. However, following clarification from HM Revenue and Customs, the department accepted that the commissioners should have been treated as office holders and taxed at source. For this reason, the department was required to make a payment to HM Revenue and Customs. The department has no reason to believe that individual commissioners have not paid their respective tax liabilities. In accordance with the relevant legislation, the Comptroller and Auditor-General examines, certifies and reports on the accounts of the Parades Commission.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
On what the £205,224 noted in the 2006-07 annual report of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission as “Commission's expenses” was spent. [HL3955]
Lord Rooker: I have been informed by the Northern Ireland Parades Commission that the commission's expenses, as contained in the narrative to Note 2 to the Accounts, is the collective cost and is shown alongside the corresponding figure for 2005-06 for comparative purposes. The figure includes the costs of office rates, accommodation, telecommunications, car park rental, conference fees, and official cars.
Police: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people have been recruited to the Police Service of Northern Ireland since 1 January; and what is the total strength of the force presently. [HL4116]
Lord Rooker: The chief constable has advised that, to date, 191 regular officers have been appointed since 1 January. As at 5 June 2008 there were 7,358 regular officers.
Prisons: Broadmoor
Earl Howe asked Her Majesty's Government:
What structured programmes there are for the treatment of mentally disordered violent offenders at Broadmoor Hospital; and [HL4006]
How many dangerous and severely mentally disordered offenders have been (a) admitted to, and (b) held in Broadmoor Hospital in each of the past five years; and [HL4007]
What, during each of the past five years, has been (a) the complement of psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists (whether fully qualified or in training) at Broadmoor Hospital; (b) the number of such professionals who have commenced working there; and (c) the number who have ceased to work there. [HL4008]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): Information about treatment programmes at Broadmoor Hospital is not collected centrally. Decisions about treatment are a matter for the clinicians responsible for the individual patient's care.
Information about the number of dangerous and severely mentally disordered offenders admitted to and held in Broadmoor Hospital is not collected centrally. However, information is available about the number of high secure beds commissioned by the National Health Service. The latest available information is for 2006-07. The following table shows the number of high secure beds commissioned at Broadmoor Hospital from 2002-03 to 2006-07.
| Number of high secure beds commissioned by the NHS at Broadmoor Hospital | |||||
| Year | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
| Source: NHS service level agreements | |||||
Information about the complement of psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists at Broadmoor Hospital is not collected centrally. Workforce information is held at NHS trust level. Broadmoor Hospital is part of West London Mental Health NHS Trust. The following table shows numbers of qualified non-medical psychotherapy staff and numbers of medical staff within the psychiatry group of specialties, by specialty, within West London Mental Health NHS Trust.
- 2. West London Mental Health NHS Trust was created in 2001 from a merger of Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham Mental Health NHS Trust and Broadmoor Hospital Authority
Information is not available about professionals who have commenced working at Broadmoor Hospital or West London Mental Health NHS Trust and those who have ceased to work there.
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Prisons: Maghaberry
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
On what terms they gave the makers of BBC Northern Ireland's “Life Inside” programme complete freedom to interview anywhere and anyone inside Maghaberry prison; whether that decision was made on the basis of a defined and agreed social, penal or public objective or benefit; and, if so, what objective or benefit was intended; and [HL3915]
What were the additional administrative costs and the costs of guarding and escorting people arising from the making of BBC Northern Ireland's “Life Inside” programme at Maghaberry prison; and whether BBC Northern Ireland has made a contribution to defray expenses. [HL3916]
Lord Rooker: The intention of the programme-makers was to portray the normalisation of prison life in Northern Ireland after the Troubles, and to give the audience a fresh perspective on the complex and challenging issues faced on a daily basis. The series featured all three prison establishments and the Prison Service did not exercise any editorial control in relation to the programme content.
The production crew of three people scheduled their observational filming and interviews with staff and prisoners around the prison regime. This ensured that there was no adjustment in staff complements. Participation was completely voluntary and all prisoners and members of staff who were interviewed gave prior written consent. Written consent was also given by other individuals appearing on camera, and where this was not possible, their images were pixilated.
The Prison Service incurred no additional administrative costs through the making of the production.
Prosecution: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the target for the length of time between case papers being received by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service from the police and a decision being made on prosecution; whether this target differs for different types of case; and whether it is being met. [HL4001]
The Attorney-General (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): In order to reduce avoidable delay in the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland, Ministers have required the Criminal Justice Board to develop performance standards to be achieved by 31 March 2011. These were announced in June 2007 and comprise three of the five KPI targets contained in the Government's Justice for All Public Service Agreement. These standards commenced in April 2008 but a shadow trial was carried out for the year 2007-08. The achievement of targets is kept under close supervision by the Criminal Justice Board and Ministers. The figures given refer only to the Public Prosecution Service and are provisional. The periods allowed by the standards reduce over the next three years and will be kept under review to ensure that they continue to challenge the agencies further to improve performance. The desired standard for 2011 is also shown. The figures shown are in days.
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| Crown Court: Charge Cases | |||
| Stage | “Shadow” CJSNI Standard 2007-08 | Achieved | 2010-11 Desired Standard |
| Rates' Courts: Charge Cases—Adult Defendants | |||
| Stage | “Shadow” CJSNI Standard | Achieved | 2010-11 Desired Standard |
| Youth Courts: Charge Cases—Youth Defendants | |||
| Stage | “Shadow” CJSNI Standard | Achieved | 2010-11 Desired Standard |
| Youth Courts: Summons Cases—Youth Defendants | |||
| Stage | “Shadow CJSNI” Standard 2007/08 | Achieved | 2010/11 Desired Standard |
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
On how many occasions the Attorney-General has intervened in prosecution cases in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; in respect of which cases; whether they intend to remove that facility in the draft constitutional renewal Bill; and, if so, for what reasons. [HL4016]
The Attorney-General (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Under the provisions of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland discharges his functions under the superintendence of the Attorney-General for Northern Ireland and is subject to the directions of the Attorney-General. It is through the power of supervision that I am responsible to Parliament for the actions of the director and, through him, the Public Prosecution Service. It is in the nature of supervision that I am kept informed of difficult, complex or sensitive cases and of matters relating to the effective functioning of the service. The director may seek my advice on individual cases and I may offer advice but the decision to prosecute, or not to prosecute, remains the director's unless I direct, in which case the decision becomes mine. The power to direct a prosecution decision has never been used since the creation of the office of director in 1972.
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