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Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what were the budgets of grant-maintained schools in London on a borough basis since 1992 ; and what this was as a percentage of each borough's schools budget.
Mr. Robin Squire : The information is given in the table.
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LEA name and school |1992-93 total |Per cent. of |1993-94 total |Schools budget name |budget |LEA's schools |budget |budget ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Barnet Ashmole school |- |- |1,560,002 |1.57 Bishop Douglass RC school |- |- |782,607 |0.79 Dollis junior school |- |- |761,032 |0.77 Finchley Catholic high school |- |- |1,507,554 |1.52 Hendon school |2,439,826 |2.41 |3,028,952 |3.06 Mill Hill GM high school |798,221 |0.79 |3,476,578 |3.51 Osidge primary school |- |- |503,369 |0.51 Queen Elizabeth GM school for boys |2,793,196 |2.75 |2,802,023 |2.83 St. James Catholic high school |- |- |957,489 |0.97 St. Mary's CE high school |- |- |1,739,907 |1.75 St. Michaels Catholic grammar school |- |- |1,089,120 |1.10 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |6,031,243 |5.95 |18,208,633 |18.37 Bexley Barnehurst infant GM school |196,923 |0.26 |401,814 |0.55 Barnehurst junior GM school |286,834 |0.38 |472,137 |0.65 Bexley Erith technical GM school |- |- |1,020,078 |1.41 St. Catherines RC school for girls |- |- |1,028,617 |1.42 St. Columba's RC boys school |- |- |1,761,471 |2.43 St. Mary's and St. Joseph's GM school |- |- |1,709,573 |2.36 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |483,757 |0.65 |6,393,690 |8.83 Brent Alperton high school |- |- |1,842,781 |2.21 Cardinal Hinsley high school |- |- |1,227,373 |1.47 Claremount high school |3,161,045 |3.98 |3,454,916 |4.14 Convent of Jesus and Mary GM high school |- |- |2,697,063 |3.23 Copland community school and tech school |3,102,659 |3.91 |3,217,865 |3.85 Kingsbury high school |- |- |5,344,018 |6.40 Oakington Manor primary school |- |- |727,025 |0.87 Queens Park community school |- |- |2,532,850 |3.03 St. Gregorys RC high school |- |- |1,932,523 |2.31 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |6,263,704 |7.89 |22,976,414 |27.52 Bromley Beaverwood school for girls |2,552,722 |3.88 |2,406,809 |3.84 Bullers Wood school for girls |2,928,520 |4.45 |2,694,075 |4.30 Charles Darwin school |1,493,439 |2.27 |2,561,554 |4.09 Coopers school |2,933,762 |4.46 |3,033,314 |4.84 Crofton junior school |1,147,490 |1.74 |1,144,559 |1.83 Hayes school |3,211,434 |4.88 |3,066,028 |4.89 Holy Innocents Roman Catholic school |102,188 |0.16 |422,124 |0.67 Kelsey Park school |2,045,005 |3.11 |2,224,322 |3.55 Langley Park school for boys |2,814,775 |4.28 |2,878,257 |4.59 Newstead Wood school for girls |1,979,519 |3.01 |1,943,852 |3.10 Ravens Wood school for boys |2,280,066 |3.47 |2,333,197 |3.72 St. John Rigby school |689,498 |1.05 |2,542,122 |4.05 St. Olave's and St. Saviours grammar school |413,408 |0.63 |1,729,329 |2.76 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |24,591,826 |37.39 |28,979,542 |46.22 Camden Jews Free School |- |- |2,228,040 |3.67 La Sainte Union convent school |- |- |1,856,608 |3.06 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |- |- |4,084,648 |6.73 Croydon Edenham school |- |- |2,573,840 |2.83 Riddlesdown GM school |2,607,369 |2.52 |2,939,118 |3.23 St. Joseph's college |- |- |1,649,960 |1.81 Thomas More GM school |- |- |981,292 |1.08 Selsdon primary school |- |- |384,867 |0.42 St. James The Great RC primary school |- |- |183,652 |0.20 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |2,607,369 |2.52 |8,712,729 |9.57 Ealing Brentside high school |3,524,849 |4.15 |2,637,138 |3.34 Dormers Wells first school |- |- |182,965 |0.23 Dormers Wells Middle School |- |- |217,917 |0.28 Drayton Manor high school |3,622,547 |4.26 |3,219,216 |4.08 Greenford high school |2,468,886 |2.91 |2,916,472 |3.70 Northolt high school |2,353,786 |2.77 |2,925,776 |3.71 The Ellen Wilkinson school for girls |2,461,000 |2.90 |2,823,045 |3.58 Wood End first school |246,307 |0.29 |720,628 |0.91 Wood End middle school |187,339 |0.22 |576,885 |0.73 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |14,864,714 |17.49 |16,220,042 |20.57 Enfield Albany School |- |- |1,864,553 |1.83 Broomfield GM school |- |- |1,743,264 |1.71 Enfield grammar school |- |- |677,338 |0.67 St. Ignatius college |- |- |1,577,104 |1.55 St. Matthews CE primary school |- |- |99,625 |0.10 The Latymer school |- |- |1,859,058 |1.83 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |- |- |65,855,780 |7.69 Hammersmith The London Oratory school |4,212,304 |9.59 |4,559,637 |9.65 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |4,212,304 |9.59 |4,559,637 |9.65 Harrow Salvatorian College |- |- |790,326 |1.11 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |- |- |790,326 |1.11 Havering Abbs Cross School |- |- |1,880,323 |2.50 Sacred Heart of Mary Girls school |- |- |1,146,126 |1.53 The Coopers Company and Coborn |- |- |3,443,500 |4.58 The Frances Bardsley school for girls |- |- |2,877,329 |3.83 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |- |- |9,347,278 |12.44 Hillingdon Abbotsfield school |- |- |1,950,200 |3.48 Bishopshalt school |2,446,591 |4.40 |2,551,075 |4.56 Charville primary school |- |- |858,178 |1.53 Grange Park infant school |- |- |555,895 |0.99 Grange Park junior school |- |- |578,793 |1.03 Harlington community school |- |- |859,249 |1.53 Haydon school |2,806,117 |5.05 |3,136,670 |5.60 Hayes Park infant school |- |- |127,654 |0.23 Hayes Park junior school |- |- |160,679 |0.29 Hillside infants school |- |- |251,830 |0.45 Hillside junior school |- |- |287,213 |0.51 Mellow Lane school |2,676,541 |4.82 |2,707,249 |4.84 Northwood school |2,751,228 |4.95 |2,465,238 |4.40 Oak Farm infant school |180,818 |0.33 |568,784 |1.02 Oak Farm junior mixed school |232,110 |0.42 |729,645 |1.30 Queensmead school |2,341,554 |4.21 |2,680,510 |4.79 St. Andrews CE primary school |- |- |278,195 |0.50 St. Laurence CE junior school |- |- |292,482 |0.52 Swakeleys school |- |- |1,959,550 |3.50 The Douay Martys school |605,074 |1.09 |2,669,865 |4.77 The Hayes Manor school |1,907,312 |3.43 |1,933,220 |3.45 Uxbridge High school |1,749,175 |3.15 |2,199,164 |3.93 Vyners school |2,835,642 |5.10 |2,099,170 |3.75 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |20,532,162 |36.96 |31,900,508 |56.97 Hounslow Gumley House convent school |- |- |2,634,950 |3.22 Gunnersbury Catholic school for boys |- |- |2,551,931 |3.12 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |- |- |5,186,881 |6.35 Kensington Cardinal Vaughan Memorial school |2,277,844 |5.97 |2,729,542 |8.02 St. Charles RC primary school |- |- |277,109 |0.81 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |2,277,844 |5.97 |3,006,651 |8.84 Kingston Beverley school |- |- |1,081,348 |3.04 Holy Cross convent school |- |- |1,769,791 |4.98 Richard Challoner school |- |- |1,692,418 |4.76 St. Lukes CE primary school |- |- |165,760 |0.47 Tiffin school |724,171 |1.79 |2,289,250 |6.44 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |724,171 |1.79 |6,998,567 |19.70 Lambeth Archbishop Tenison school |- |- |1,687,063 |2.40 Bishop Thomas Grant school |- |- |2,909,556 |4.14 Corpus Christi RC primary school |- |- |228,984 |0.33 Dunraven GM school |- |- |3,753,813 |5.34 La Retraite RC girls GM school |2,595,953 |3.24 |1,929,728 |2.75 St. Bedes RC infant school |- |- |227,221 |0.32 St. Andrews RC primary school |- |- |213,273 |0.30 St. Annes RC primary school |- |- |257,674 |0.37 St. Bernadette RC junior mixed school |149,253 |0.19 |146,022 |0.21 St. Martin in the Field high school |- |- |1,196,551 |1.70 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |2,745,206 |3.43 |12,549,885 |17.86 Lewisham Turnham primary school |256,433 |0.29 |1,046,106 |1.24 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |256,433 |0.29 |1,046,106 |1.24 Newham Stratford school |1,736,276 |1.72 |2,158,996 |2.18 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |1,736,276 |1.72 |2,158,996 |2.18 Redbridge Chadwell Heath high school |- |- |2,112,265 |2.65 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |- |- |2,112,265 |2.65 Southwark Friars primary school |- |- |140,512 |0.18 Notre Dame high school |- |- |1,071,845 |1.34 Sacred Heart RC school |- |- |584,563 |0.73 St. Anthony's RC primary school |- |- |291,713 |0.37 St. Francesca Cabrini GM school |- |- |985,427 |1.23 St. Josephs RC infant school |- |- |160,086 |0.20 St. Josephs RC junior school |- |- |204,961 |0.26 St. Michaels school |- |- |1,094,571 |1.37 The London Nautical school |1,617,778 |- |1,680,059 |2.10 The St. Thomas the Apostle GM college |- |- |1,212,528 |1.52 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |1,617,778 |- |7,426,265 |9.30 Sutton All Saints (Carshalton) CE school |- |- |286,405 |0.74 Cheam high school |2,288,669 |5.15 |2,736,790 |7.11 Nonsuch high school for girls |2,796,337 |6.29 |2,407,563 |6.25 St. Philomena's catholic high for girls |- |- |2,098,339 |5.45 Stanley park infants school |- |- |143,928 |0.37 Stanley park junior school |- |- |168,212 |0.44 Sutton Grammar school for boys |1,538,913 |3.46 |1,556,234 |4.04 The John Fisher school |1,790,211 |4.03 |1,840,742 |4.78 Wallington high school for boys |- |- |1,670,559 |4.34 Wallington high school for girls |- |- |1,882,587 |4.89 Wilsons school |1,782,533 |4.01 |1,855,838 |4.82 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |10,196,663 |22.93 |16,647,197 |43.24 Tower Hamlets Raines foundation school |2,511,334 |2.12 |3,432,149 |2.76 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |2,511,334 |2.12 |3,432,149 |2.76 Waltham Forest Chingford school |- |- |1,449,403 |1.71 Highams park school |2,601,374 |3.04 |2,959,096 |3.50 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |2,601,374 |3.04 |4,408,499 |5.21 Wandsworth Burntwood school |4,252,154 |5.82 |4,487,358 |7.48 Elliott school |2,288,120 |3.13 |3,870,951 |6.45 Ethelburga primary school |138,424 |0.19 |439,828 |0.73 Graveney school |4,802,975 |6.75 |5,244,434 |8.74 Hillbrook primary school |- |- |925,909 |1.54 John Paul II RC school |- |- |1,633,050 |2.72 Salesian college |620,018 |0.85 |1,653,473 |2.76 Southfields school |- |- |3,656,378 |6.09 |------- |------- |------- |------- Total |12,101,691 |16.55 |21,911,381 |36.51 Notes: 1. For schools that became GM in 1993-94 only the budget for that year is shown. 2. The amounts shown for total budget include annual maintenance grant, special purpose grants for restructuring, development, premises, VAT, transitional grant, section 11 grant and capital grant payable to the schools in the respective years. 3. The amounts shown as total budget for 1992-93 also include special purpose grant for travellers and displaced persons payable to the schools. 4. GM schools receive support for expenditure on items such as VAT and the transition to GM status, which form no part of an LEAs overall budget. The percentage of an LEAs total schools budget that GM schools' budgets represent do not, therefore, fall for true comparison.
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Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many contracts his Department has had with consultants ; and what has been the total cost in each of the past five years.
Mr. Forth : Over the last five years, this Department has awarded 244 contracts to consultants. The total cost in each of the last five years is :
Year |£ ------------------------------ 1993 |1,629,000 1992 |1,994,000 1991 |1,517,000 1990 |974,000 1989 |555,000
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the number of children making complaints about bullying at school.
Mr. Forth : This information is not collected centrally.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of state for Education what assessment there has been of the success of the "Action against Bullying" packs issued to schools in 1992.
Mr. Forth : Head teachers are responsible in law for maintaining standards of discipline and behaviour in their schools. The "Action against Bullying" packs were issued to assist them in that task. Registered inspectors carrying out inspections under the Education (Schools) Act 1992 are required to inspect and report on disciplinary arrangements within schools, including action taken against bullying.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the average amount of time spent in schools on physical education per week for children aged under 17 years for each year since 1979-80.
Mr. Robin Squire : This information is not available in the form requested. However, recent secondary school
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staffing surveys have provided information regarding the proportion of pupil periods spent on PE in maintained secondary schools in 1984, 1988 and 1992.Proportion of pupil periods spent on PE Percentages Year group |7 |8 |9 |10 |11 -------------------------------------- 1983-84 |10.4|9.8 |9.0 |8.1 |7.5 1987-88 |9.4 |9.3 |8.3 |7.9 |7.3 1991-92 |9.1 |8.9 |8.3 |7.7 |7.2 Source: Secondary school staffing surveys. In junior classes in maintained primary schools in England in 1986-87, 10 per cent. of class time was spent on PE, games or swimming. Comparable data for other years is not available.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) boys and (b) girls aged five to 16 years had a statement of special educational need for the latest available year.
Mr. Forth : A total of 171,784 pupils aged 5 to 19 had statements as at January 1993. Data for 17 to 19-year-olds is not collected separately. Figures by gender are not available.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education which local education authorities have school re-organisation or closure proposals under consideration by his Department ; how many surplus places will be removed by each authority as a result of their proposals ; and which authorities, since the submission of their proposal to his Department, have been waiting for a decision (a) up to three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to nine months, (d) nine to 12 months and (e) in excess of 12 months.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 21 March 1994] : The table lists proposals under consideration by the Department as at 18 March 1994 for the closure, alteration or establishment of county and voluntary schools, the number of places that it is proposed will be removed as a result of the proposals--where relevant and known--and the length of time the proposals have been under consideration.
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LEA Places Proposals under consideration for: |proposed to be |removed |where known |(a) |(b) |(c) |(d) |(e) |Up to 3 |3-6 months |6-9 months |9-12 months |In excess of 12 |months |months --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon |55 |- |1 |- |- |1 Barking and Dagenham |- |- |1 |- |- |- Barnet |- |2 |- |- |1 |- Bedfordshire |- |- |- |- |1 |- Bexley |- |- |1 |- |- |- Birmingham |- |- |2 |- |- |- Bradford |- |1 |- |1 |- |- Bromley |- |- |2 |- |- |- Buckinghamshire |30 |2 |- |- |- |- Cambridge |- |3 |- |- |- |- Cornwall |- |1 |- |- |- |- Coventry |- |- |4 |- |- |- Croydon |- |7 |1 |1 |- |- Devon |- |1 |- |- |- |- Doncaster |86 |- |- |1 |- |- Dorset |- |2 |- |- |- |- Dudley |- |1 |- |- |- |- Ealing |- |- |1 |- |- |- Gloucestershire |- |1 |- |- |- |- Greenwich |420 |- |2 |- |- |- Hackney |140 |- |1 |- |- |1 Hammersmith and Fulham |- |- |1 |- |- |- Hampshire |- |- |3 |- |- |- Harrow |- |1 |2 |- |- |- Havering |- |3 |- |- |- |- Hereford and Worcester |46 |1 |- |- |- |1 Hertfordshire |- |- |- |- |- |- Humberside |- |- |1 |- |- |- Kensington and Chelsea |- |1 |- |- |- |- Kent |584 |3 |1 |- |- |- Kirklees |30 |2 |- |- |- |- Knowsley |180 |1 |1 |- |- |- Lambeth |1,381 |- |1 |- |- |- Lancashire |- |4 |1 |- |- |- Leeds |195 |8 |- |- |- |- Leicestershire |- |- |3 |- |- |- Lincolnshire |130 |- |1 |- |- |2 Manchester |- |1 |- |- |- |- Newham |- |1 |- |- |- |- North Tyneside |292 |- |- |2 |- |- North Yorkshire |114 |3 |- |1 |- |- Nottinghamshire |- |- |2 |1 |- |- Oxfordshire |60 |2 |1 |- |- |- Richmond upon Thames |- |- |1 |- |- |- Salford |- |1 |- |- |- |- Sefton |- |- |1 |- |- |- Sheffield |202 |- |1 |- |- |- Somerset |- |- |1 |- |- |- Staffordshire |- |3 |- |- |- |- Stockport |- |- |1 |- |- |- Suffolk |- |1 |1 |- |1 |- Surrey |- |3 |3 |- |- |- Sutton |- |1 |- |- |- |- Tameside |- |- |1 |- |1 |- Tower Hamlets |- |1 |- |- |- |- Trafford |- |1 |- |- |- |- Wakefield |1,483 |- |1 |- |- |- Walsall |- |1 |- |- |- |- Wandsworth |526 |1 |2 |- |- |- Warwickshire |2,382 |- |5 |- |- |- West Sussex |- |1 |1 |- |- |- Wiltshire |- |- |1 |- |- |- Wolverhampton |84 |2 |- |- |- |1
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department why applicants for the magistrates bench are invited to disclose their political leanings or affiliations.
Mr. John M. Taylor : I refer the hon. Member to a reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 17 March at column. 758.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is
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taking to ensure the political affiliations of the magistrates bench more closely reflect the views of the population in the areas in which they sit.Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor, with his advisory committees, seeks to encourage applications from suitable people of all walks of life and political affiliations through press notices and articles, posters and leaflets and contact with employers and other organisations. Appointments are made from those considered to be suitable having proper regard to the various balancing factors such as age, gender and political affiliation so that each bench broadly reflects the community it serves. Appointments can, however, be made only from those who put themselves forward for consideration.
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Mr. Alton : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what backlog of cases are awaiting trial in the Liverpool county court ; what is the average period for a case coming to trial ; what were the waiting periods compared with five years ago ; and what assessment he has made of the value for money provided by the system.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Liverpool county court operates a special listing system, under the control of the judiciary, which was introduced following consultation with the legal profession. The system is designed to ensure that the majority of defended civil cases proceed to trial within 35 weeks of a defence being filed. On 16 March 1994 trials were being listed 32 weeks ahead and the number of cases where a defence had been filed and the trial was due to take place within that period was approximately 5,120. In addition there were some 420 cases of a specialist nature, which fall outside the scope of the special listing system, listed for trial within the next 70 weeks, and some 200 cases awaiting entry into the system. The earliest available information on waiting times is from 1990 when, based only on cases disposed of by trial during the months of March and September, the average waiting time was 29 weeks compared to 32 weeks in 1993. Although no specific assessment has been made of the value for money it provides, the system was last reviewed and revised in January 1992 at which time it was considered that it continued to meet its primary objective : that of minimising delay, which the report of the Reviewing Body on Civil Justice--June 1988--identified as one of the main deficiencies in civil justice.
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Mr. Alton : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish a table of court fees in the county court and the Crown court in the years since 1964, showing the percentage increase and showing the corresponding increase in the cost of living index.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Tables of sample fees chargeable in the county courts and the Supreme Court--fees are not chargeable in the Crown court-- in the years 1964, 1982 and 1994 follow. The number of fees, the number of amendments, and alterations in fee structures over the period make a direct comparison of all fees impractical. The sample of fees shown includes those which are most significant for general court users and by volume of business. All fees orders are made and published as statutory instruments.
Comparisons are shown with 1982 because until then no attempt was made to recover allied service' costs falling on other Departments' votes-- accommodation, stationery and superannuation. From that year, following observations by the Committee of Public Accounts on this policy of limited cost recovery, the policy adopted was that fees should recover full costs except for judicial costs. The policy has now been further modified to include judicial costs among those which should be covered by fee income taken as a whole.
The rise in the cost of living index--the retail prices index--between 1964 and 1982 was 862 per cent., and between 1964 and 1994 was 1,567 per cent.
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County court fees Sample of changes to the more significant fees chargeable in the county courts in 1964, 1982 and 1994, giving percentage changes. |Change, |Change, |1964 to 1982 |1964 to 1994 Fee and (fee number) |1964 |1982 |per cent. |1994 |per cent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entering a plaint (1 in 1964, 1(i) in 1982 and 1994) |£4 maximum |£35 maximum |775 |£70 maximum |1,650 Service by a bailiff (4 in 1964, 2 in 1982 and 1994) |2/- |£4 |3,900 |£10 |9,900 Taxation of costs (20(i) in 1964, 3(i) in 1982 and 1994) |1/- for every £2 |5p for every £1 |100 |5p for every £1 |100 Enforcement of a warrant of execution against goods (37 in 1964, 4(i) in 1982 and 1964) |£3 maximum |£25 maximum |733 |£50 maximum |1,567 Issue of a judgment summons (50 in 1964, 4(vi) in 1982 and 1994) |£2 maximum |£5 maximum |150 |£20 maximum |900 Personal search of the Registry of County Court Judgments, per name (72(i) in 1964, 7(i) in 1982 and 1994) |2/- |£1 |900 |£1 |900 In 1964, the County Court Fees Order in force was that of 1959 (SI 1959/1262) as amended in 1961 (twice) and 1963, the first of those amendments (SI 1961/355) affecting the sample fees above. There was a fees Order in 1982 (SI 1982/1706). That order has been further amended six times since, most recently in 1992 (SI 1992/2762). The County Court Fees Order 1959 contained 157 separate fees, and the 1980 order 33 fees; there were 20 orders and amending orders between 1964 and 1994.
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Supreme court fees Sample of changes to the more significant fees chargeable in the Supreme Court in 1964, 1982 and 1994, giving percentage changes. |Change, |Change, |1964 to 1982 |1964 to 1994 Fee and (fee number) |1964 |1982 |per cent. |1994 |per cent. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Writ of summons (1) |£4 |£50 |1,150 |£100 |2,400 Setting down for trial (21 in 1964, 5 in 1982, 5f in 1994) |£6 |£20 |234 |£50 |734 Notice of appeal to the High Court (19 in 1964, 11a in 1982 and 1994) |£6 |£15 |150 |£20 |234 Filing a notice of appeal, Court of Appeal (62b(ii) in 1964, 27a in 1982, 27a(ii) in 1964) |£10 |£15 |50 |£100 |900 Taxation of a bill of costs: first £100 (81c(i) in 1964, 29b(i) in 1982 and 1994) |£5 |£25 |400 |£25 |400 Taxation of a bill of costs: over £100 (81c(ii) in 1964, 29b(ii) in 1982 and 1994) |1/- per £2 |5p per £1 |100 |5p per £1 |100 In 1964, the Supreme Court Fees Order in force was that of 1961 (SI 1961/2307) as amended in 1962 and 1963, though neither amendment affected the sample fees above. In 1982, the Order in force was that of 1980 (SI 1980/821) as amended in 1982 (SI 1982/1707). That order has been further amended five times since, most recently in 1993 (SI 1993/3191). The Supreme Court Fees Order 1961 contained 146 separate fees, and the 1980 order 57 fees; there were 16 orders and amending orders between 1964 and 1994.
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many contracts his Department has had with consultants ; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.
Mr. John M. Taylor : On the best information currently available, 74 external consultancy projects were completed in 1992-93 and the total expenditure was £3.455 million. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases of assessment for child maintenance have been dealt with in court since April 1993 in (a) the London borough of Newham and (b) Great Britain.
Mr. John M. Taylor : This information is readily available only for the county courts and the High Court in England and Wales. During the period April to December 1993, the number of children made subject to orders for child maintenance was :
(a) 253 in the London borough of Newham
(b) 23,235 in England and Wales.
These figures do not include lump sum and property orders which benefited children, as no separate categorisation of these cases is available.
Information relating to the magistrates courts for 1993 will not be available until May 1994.
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many potential jurors have been discharged from jury service because of a disability in the last five years ; what those disabilities were ; what equipment was available to enable them to fulfil a juror's duties ; and in which Crown courts these discharges occurred.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Section 10 of the Juries Act 1974 provides that if it appears to a member of the court staff that there is doubt as to the capacity of a person who attends for jury service to serve effectively, on the ground of physical disability, the person may be brought before a judge. The judge shall then determine whether or not the person should serve as a juror and, if not, shall discharge the summons. It is the policy of the Lord Chancellor's Department that any disabled person summoned for jury service should be given every assistance within reason to enable him/her to serve as a juror. However, the decision is ultimately one for the judge.
My Department does not collate data on the number of discharges from jury service under section 10 and such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
As to the facilities available at Crown court centres the Lord Chancellor's Department has produced a digest, "Facilities for Disabled People in the Crown and County Courts" which includes information on facilities for
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disabled jurors. I have arranged for a copy of that digest to be placed in the Library. Courts will also make special arrangements, if possible.Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what research his Department is currently undertaking to eliminate dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock in (a) London and (b) England ;
(2) what extra resources he proposes to allow local authority departments to spend in order to eradicate dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock in (a) England and Wales and (b) London ;
(3) if he will consult statutory housing authorities in England and Wales in order to agree an action plan to eliminate dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock.
Sir George Young : As part of the annual housing investment programme round, local authorities are required to produce housing strategies setting out their proposed programmes over a three-year period. In support of this process, authorities may carry out surveys of their stock, which may include establishing the prevalence of dampness and condensation. My Department takes these strategies into account when allocating HIP resources each year. £1.5 billion was allocated to local authorities under the programme for 1994-95. It is for individual authorities to decide how to use these and other resources to which they have access, including how much to dedicate to dealing with the problems of dampness and condensation. Matters affecting the public sector housing stock in Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a survey of statutory housing authority areas to determine the prevalence of dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock in (a) London and (b) England.
Sir George Young : The 1991 English House Condition
Survey--EHCS--included an assessment of dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock. The findings will be reported in the EHCS energy report due to be published later this year.
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many appeals against valuation have resulted in a movement in the valuation of a property by two bands or more (a) in total in England and (b) in each standard region since the introduction of the council tax ;
(2) how many successful appeals against valuation there have been in terms of changing the banding of a property (a) in England and (b) in each standard region of England since the introduction of the council tax.
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Mr. Baldry : This information is currently being collected by the Valuation Office Agency for the 12-month period to the end of March 1994. A copy of the information will be placed in the Library as soon as possible thereafter.
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many appeals there have been against council tax valuations since the council tax was introduced (a) in total for England, (b) in each standard region of England and (c) in each local authority area in England ;
(2) how many appeals against council tax valuations are still waiting to be heard (a) in total for England, (b) in total for each standard region and (c) in each local authority area in England.
Mr. Baldry : I am placing in the Library a table which sets out, by valuation office region, and by billing authority, the number of proposals to alter the valuation list which were received by the end of the initial appeal period, the number that had been settled by the end of February and the number outstanding.
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table setting out for each local authority in England which submits a claim for transitional relief for 1994-95, (a) the estimated amount of transitional relief each such authority has claimed, (b) the percentage of the total sum of transitional relief for England which each individual claim represents and (c) the estimated amount of transitional relief per dwelling in each authority which has submitted a claim.
Mr. Baldry : I will arrange for this information to be placed in the Library of the House once it is available.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many letters were received from, and written to, hon. Members by him and his ministerial colleagues in February.
Mr. Gummer : My Department's records show that 1,574 letters were received by me and Ministers in my Department during February 1994, while 2,199 were written to hon. Members.
Ms Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many and what proportion of the dwellings on the St. Vincent estate, Limehouse, were demolished solely for the purpose of facilitating the construction of the Limehouse tunnel road link ; and how many and what proportion of dwellings on the estate were demolished for other purposes ; with whose agreement and with whose authority demolition took place ; what was the cost of rehousing those displaced and who funded that expenditure ; and what plans there are for the future use of the land now vacant consequent on demolition.
Mr. Baldry : A total of 92 dwellings were demolished for the purpose of constructing the Limehouse link, representing 36 per cent. of the units on the estate. A further 164 units were demolished for other reasons.
A total of 314 households were rehoused at a cost to the London Docklands Development Corporation of £45 million.
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Demolition was carried out by the LDDC with the agreement of the London borough of Tower Hamlets.It is intended that the land will be redeveloped largely for residential use with some commercial and retail units.
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's assessment of safe or acceptable pollution levels ; and what are those adopted by (a) the World Health Organisation and (b) the European Union ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : As set out in the 1990 Environment White Paper it is the aim of the Government's pollution policy to minimise the risk of harm to human health and the environment. The World Health Organisation publishes guideline values, but not standards, for non-carcinogenic pollutants in drinking-water and air quality which are based on minimising health effects alone. There is no single principle by which pollution level standards have been adopted in the European Community.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to publish a periodic environment bulletin similar to those published by the Irish Department of the Environment.
Mr. Robert Atkins : My Department publishes annual reports of progress on commitments made under the Environment White Paper, "This Common Inheritance" which include detailed commitments to further action. The next report is currently at the printers.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the United Kingdom ecolabelling board will be self-financing at its current rate of progress.
Mr. Atkins : The United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board has set a target to become self financing by 1997-98. The board reviews its targets annually in the context of its corporate plan and will be discussing these with Ministers later in the year.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies have applied to the competent bodies of other EC member states for ecolabels for dishwashers and washing machines.
Mr. Atkins : As yet, no EC ecolabels have been awarded by competent bodies in other member states. All applications for ecolabels are treated in confidence until an award is made.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies have applied to the United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board for ecolabels for dishwashers and washing machines.
Mr. Atkins : In November, the United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board awarded the EC ecolabel to three washing machines in Hoover Limited's "New Wave" range. All applications for ecolabels are treated in confidence until an award is made and as yet no further awards have been made.
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Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the 10 new integrated regional offices will be established ; where they will be located ; and who in each region will be responsible for their activities.
Sir George Young : The new Government offices in the regions will open for business in April. For the foreseeable future, the functions of the new offices will continue to be carried out from the offices occupied by existing departmental regional offices. The names of nine of the 10 regional directors were detailed in the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment in his reply on 8 February at columns 145-46.
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Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many contracts his Department has had with consultants ; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.
Mr. Baldry : The information requested is not held centrally by my Department and is obtainable only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current level of debt for each local authority in Greater Manchester ; and what was the figure for each of the previous 10 years.
Mr. Baldry : The information is given in the table. Figures before 1987-88 are not readily available.
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Debt at end of year<1> £ million |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 |1991-92 |<2>1992-93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bolton |245 |241 |234 |215 |216 |146 Bury |108 |110 |118 |117 |115 |82 Manchester |1,138 |1,096 |1,129 |1,275 |1,382 |1,326 Oldham |279 |287 |292 |274 |274 |242 Rochdale |216 |228 |n/a |248 |278 |212 Salford |420 |428 |437 |450 |467 |403 Stockport |151 |160 |163 |165 |156 |116 Tameside |224 |217 |219 |248 |262 |186 Trafford |99 |118 |118 |113 |109 |81 Wigan |303 |303 |317 |276 |278 |250 Sources: <1>1987-88 to 1989-90-Outstanding loan debt, capital outturn returns. 1990-91 to 1992-93-Total external debt, borrowing and lending surveys and PWLB. <2>The debt of most housing authorities was reduced in 1992-93 as the result of the commutation of certain loan charge grants in October 1992.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many families with children are living in temporary accommodation for the last available year.
Sir George Young : The information requested is not available centrally and my Department has no estimates.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of homes occupied by families with children are deemed to be (a) damp and (b) unfit for use for the last available year.
Sir George Young : The 1991 English House Condition Survey found 1 per cent. of homes occupied by families with children in England so seriously damp that the dwelling was considered unfit for habitation in this respect. The same survey found 5.8 per cent. of homes occupied by families with children unfit on any grounds.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of United Kingdom bathing waters failed to comply with EU standards for sewage contamination for the latest available year.
Mr. Atkins : The latest bathing water results were announced on 1 December last year. They showed that in
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1993 20 per cent. of United Kingdom bathing waters did not yet comply with the mandatory coliform standards of the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC).Mr. Heald : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans there are to establish a United Kingdom refrigerant bank.
Mr. Atkins : I am pleased to announce that a United Kingdom refrigerant bank, the Refrigerant Users Group is being launched tomorrow. RUG is being set up by the refrigeration industry with the support of Government to manage the existing stocks of refrigerants efficiently and environmentally. It is being set up as part of Halon Users National Consortium Ltd. and will have the same role for refrigerants that HUNC has performed in relation to halons. It will act as a clearing house putting those who need to continue using recycled chlorofluorocarbons in touch with those who have spare CFCs for sale. This is the first refrigerant bank to be set up in Europe. The establishment of RUG is a vital step in allowing us to phase out CFC production by the end of this year. It will enable existing equipment to be serviced using recycled material and allow an orderly phaseout. It shows United Kingdom Government and United Kingdom industry commitment to phase out ozone-depleting substances as quickly and as safely as possible. RUG is a very good example of industry's willingness to support Government in achieving a common environmental goal.
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Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government will be replying to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology's report on Regulation of the United Kingdom Biotechnology Industry and Global Competitiveness.
Mr. Atkins : I am pleased to announce that we have today made a full response to the Select Committee report and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
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