§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the independent cross-community and lay element incorporated into the complaints mechanism available for juveniles in the criminal justice system is; what representations he has received concerning the compliance of this mechanism with the UN Rules on the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty; what the terms of reference are of his review of the complaints mechanisms and induction material; and if he will place the relevant documents in the Library. [29951]
§ Mr. BrowneExisting mechanisms for dealing with complaints within Juvenile Justice Centres are operated by an independent Juvenile Justice Board, as required by the Secretary of State. These arrangements, which are fully explained to all young people entering custody, include child protection protocols, planned and unannounced inspections by the Social Services Inspectorate and an Independent Representation Scheme provided by the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NIACRO).
The existing arrangements are broadly in accordance with the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, and as such no representations have been received by the Secretary of State in relation to their compliance. However, in line with the recommendations made in the Criminal Justice Review, they are being reviewed by a development team, 650W established by the Juvenile Justice Board, as part of a much wider brief to develop new operating policies and procedures in preparation for the closure of Lisnevin and the move to a single centre on the existing Rathgael site.
The development team's remit is currently in draft form and will be placed in the Library when it is finalised.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications have been received by the Criminal Cases Review Commission in each year since its creation; what the proportion of outcomes were; and what the average time taken for each stage in the processing of an application was compared to the equivalent times for cases in England and Wales. [29952]
§ Mr. BrowneThe following table indicates the number of applications received each year since the Commission commenced operations.
Year All applications Northern Ireland applications 1997–98 1,382 28 1998–99 1,037 8 1999–2000 777 14 2000–01 799 9 2001–021 610 5 Totals 4,605 64 1 To 31 December 2001 The status of the Northern Ireland cases at 1 January 2002 is: eight cases have been referred back to the courts, the Commission has decided not to refer 39 cases back to the courts, 11 cases are currently under review and six cases await review.
Information is not readily available on the average time taken by the Commission at each stage of it processes. However, the Commission handles all cases, regardless of their origin, according to the same set of procedures and priorities.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date the Criminal Justice Board established a Public Information and Education Sub-Group; who comprises this group; what its terms of reference are; on what dates the sub-group has met; and what its work programme is for 2002–03. [33784]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Public Information Working Group, comprising representatives from the six statutory criminal justice organisations, was established on 6 June 2001.
Since then the group has met on 6 September, 24 October and 27 November. A work programme for 2002–03 is under development.
I have arranged for a copy of the terms of reference for the Working Group to be placed in the Library of the House.