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Thanet

Answer

The Ministry of Justice's work spans criminal, civil and family justice, democracy, rights and the constitution. Every year around nine million people use our services in 900 locations across the United Kingdom, including 650 courts and tribunals and 139 prisons in England and Wales.The range of the Department's policies and actions is wide and the statistical information relating to it is not normally collected on a constituency basis. Consequently, some of the information requested in the question cannot be provided in the form requested except at a disproportionate cost."Although data on sentencing for the period are not available for the constituency of South Thanet, it is available for Kent. This shows an increase in the total number of offenders sentenced annually from 26,321 in 1997 to 34,385 in 2008, the latest period for which such information is available.""The number of offences brought to justice for the Kent area increased from 26,685 for the 12 months ending 31 March 2001 (the earliest period since which such data have been compiled) to 40,846 (provisional figures) for the 12 months ending 31 March 2009.""With regard to prosecutions, data are not available for the constituency of South Thanet. However, the total number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts in Kent increased from 32,160 in 1997 to 41,425 in 2008.""The latest data, which cover reoffending in the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, showed that the three-month reoffending rate for offenders on the probation caseload in the Kent county council area was 8.79 per cent. After controlling for changes in the characteristics of offenders on the probation caseload, there was an increase in reoffending of 9 per cent. compared to the 2007-08 baseline. Data are not available prior to 2007 on this basis.""The number of persons commencing court order supervision by the Probation Service in Kent was 3,324 in 1997and 4,633 in 2008.""33,059 civil non-family proceedings were started in the county courts of Kent HMCS area in 2008, compared to 42,319 in 1998, the first year for which these figures are available. There were also 3,082 private law applications and 105 public law applications made in the county or High Courts of this HMCS area in 2008-09, compared to 2,635 and 238 respectively in 2003-04, the first annual period for which these figures are available."In addition, at a national level:"Local communities are being better engaged in criminal justice—by giving them a say in the types of Community Payback projects offenders carry out and allowing them to see justice being done, for example through the use of high visibility jackets. Offenders have now worked more than 14 million hours, with an estimated value to the taxpayer of over £80 million.""Major constitutional reforms have been delivered, including devolution, the Human Rights Act, Freedom of Information, Lords Reform, and a new Supreme Court for the UK."

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

505 c945-8W; 315634

Session

2009-10

Subjects

Ministry of Justice Thanet

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk