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Small and Medium Enterprises

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice has been given to procurement staff on the implications for purchasing from small to medium enterprises. [6627]

Mr. Howard [holding answer 19 December 1995]: Procurement staff are advised that the size of a company is relevant to the selection of tenderers only in so far as it affects its capability to meet our requirements. Once that capability is established, there is no discrimination between small, medium or large companies. Contracts are awarded to firms which best meet our value for money criteria, which will include skills, efficiency, experience, price, delivery and quality. Small and large firms should be equally capable of meeting these criteria.

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Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what work his Department has done to develop best practice in the publication of departmental procurement guidance material relevant to small and medium enterprises' needs; [6625]

Mr. Howard [holding answers 18 and 19 December 1995]: Although we have undertaken no formal review of measures to facilitate small firms' access to appropriate areas of procurement, the inherently devolved nature of Home Office procurement provides an excellent opportunity for small firms to establish local contact. The Home Office procurement unit has a number of staff with special responsibility for policy in relation to small to medium enterprises and for ensuring that those wishing to supply the Home Office receive all the necessary support and information. In response to the Government White Paper, "Setting New Standards", the Home Office will shortly be publishing a small business contact point in a revised booklet for new suppliers. This will contain additional information of interest to small to medium enterprises. In addition, the Home Office procurement manual, widely circulated throughout the Home Office, contains guidance on purchasing from small firms.

Prisoner Transfers

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been moved from prisons in England and Wales to prisons in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland since September 1994; and if he will make a statement. [6831]

Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 19 December 1995]: Since September 1994, 22 prisoners have been transferred from England and Wales to prisons in Northern Ireland. Ratification of the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons by the Republic of Ireland came into force on 1 November 1995. To date, no prisoners have been repatriated to the Republic.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Legal Services Ombudsman

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) if he will conduct an inquiry into the actions of Chambers and Co. solicitors of Brighouse, west Yorkshire, in relation to the case of Mrs. Daphne Turner of Huddersfield and the recommendations of the legal services ombudsman; [7417]

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Mr. Jonathan Evans: The office of the legal services ombudsman is statutorily independent from the Government and I have no powers to intervene in individual cases. The ombudsman's powers to make recommendations in his reports are set out in section 23 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. Should any persons fail to comply with a recommendation, they are required to publicise that failure. Should they not do so, the ombudsman may publicise the matter.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) if he will review legislation establishing the legal services ombudsman, with particular reference to circumstances in which solicitors fail to carry out his recommendations; [7315]

Mr. Evans: My Department will carry out its quinquennial review of the office of the legal services ombudsman next year. I do not see any need for an earlier review of this aspect of the legislation or for a discussion on it with the Law Society.

Child Witnesses (Judicial Training)

Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations he has received (a) regarding the need for more training for judges in handling child witnesses, particularly in cases of alleged child abuses, and (b) suggesting the exclusion of certain judges from sitting on cases involving child witnesses particularly in cases of child abuse. [7173]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: In the past year, the Lord Chancellor received one representation specifically on judicial training in handling child witnesses, from the shadow Minister for children and the family. Other representations primarily on other matters may also refer to judicial training, but to collate information on these would incur disproportionate cost. Two representations to exclude certain judges from sitting in such cases were considered by the Lord Chancellor in the same period, one of which was made by the hon. Member. To collate the information requested over an extended period of time would incur disproportionate cost.

Magistrates (Ethnic Minorities)

Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many members of the magistracy in England and Wales were from an ethnic minority in (a) 1989 and (b) 1995; and what in each year was the total number of magistrates. [7625]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: No figures are currently available for the total number of magistrates who are from an ethnic minority. In England and Wales, excluding the Duchy of Lancaster, 4.7 per cent. of those appointed in 1989 were from an ethnic minority; between 1 January and 31 October 1995 the figure was 8.1 per cent. At 31 December 1989, excluding the Duchy of Lancaster, there were 24,521 magistrates and at 1 January 1995 there were 25,723.

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Chauffeur-driven Cars

Mr. MacShane: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what the cost of chauffeur-driven cars used by his Department was in each of the last five years. [5866]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: Chauffeur-driven cars are used by the Lord Chancellor, Parliamentary Secretary and the permanent secretary. The Law Lords and members of the Scottish Office also use the cars on occasions. Expenditure over the last five years has been calculated as follows:


It should be noted that the figures above do not include cars used by the judiciary on the circuits.

Internet

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what web site his Department maintains on the Internet; what information is provided there; how often it is updated; what is the address; and if he or his Department answers questions and supplies additional information through the Internet. [7569]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: My Department has its own web site held on the Government information service, an Internet server maintained by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency.

The Department's home page contains extracts from the LCD strategic plan for 1995-96 to 1997-98 providing details about the Department, its aims and key challenges, plans for the future and some departmental facts and figures. It also includes a summary of the consultation paper "Legal Aid--Targeting Need". The information was published on the Internet in August and no updates have taken place.

The address of the home page is


The Department neither answers questions nor supplies additional information through the Internet and has no current plans to do so.

The Court Service agency has two sites on the Internet: the home page and the charter for court users. The home page contains information on the structure and workings of the Court Service in England and Wales. The charter site contains the substantive pages of the charter for court users published in July 1995. The sites have not been updated since they were established in October 1995; they are currently being updated and it is intended to place Court Service leaflets on the Internet by June 1996. The addresses of the site are as follows:


The Court Service neither answers questions nor supplies additional information through the Internet.

The Public Trust Office does not have a site on the Internet at present.

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