| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mediation
34. Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will take steps to promote the concept of mediation in the civil and family law systems in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [37961]
Mr. Streeter: In England and Wales my Department has developed a number of initiatives to encourage the use of mediation where it is appropriate. In January of this year, my Department published the guide, "Resolving Disputes Without Going to Court". It contains information on a range of alternatives to litigation and is available free from county courts. A pilot scheme has been introduced at the Central London county court to help people settle a wide range of disputes through mediation.
The Family Law Act 1996 contains measures designed to promote the use of family mediation as an alternative to litigation. The reforms of the legal aid scheme that the Lord Chancellor announced in July would allow new types of service to be provided under legal aid. Family mediation will be an early priority and, in time, the scheme could be extended to allow civil mediation services to be provided to people who qualify for legal aid.
Public Record Office Papers
35. Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which are the oldest papers in the Public Record Office which have not been placed in the public domain. [37962]
Mr. Streeter: The oldest papers in the Public Record Office which have not yet been placed in the public domain are some papers from Dublin castle records in a ledger dated 1853-1920, Public Record Office reference CO 904/6. These papers have now been cleared for release and will be available shortly.
Magistrates Courts
36. Mr. Ainger: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many magistrates courts there were in Wales in 1978; and how many are operating in 1996. [37963]
14 Oct 1996 : Column: 654
Mr. Streeter: There are at present 63 magistrates courts in Wales. No accurate record exists for the number of magistrates courts in Wales in 1978.
Sheriffs
37. Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is taking to increase the public accountability of sheriffs and under-sheriffs. [37964]
Mr. Streeter: On 2 April my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Evans) announced to the House, Official Report, column 87, the work currently planned in connection with the Lord Chancellor's review of civil enforcement agents. No decision has yet been made on the issue of the accountability of high sheriffs, under sheriffs and sheriff's officers.
Children Act 1989
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 July, Official Report, columns 18-19, if he will make arrangements for all guidance on the provisions of and procedures under the Children Act 1989 for court staff and judiciary to be placed in the Library. [39929]
Mr. Streeter: Yes. The following will be placed in the Library:
Children Act 1989--Court Staff Handbook
Children Act 1989--Judicial Information Booklet
Children Act 1989--Guidance to Listing Officers
Children Act 1989--Court User Guide.
Domestic Violence
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the report, "Domestic Violence and Child Contact Arrangements in England and Denmark" by Marianne Hester and Lorraine Radford, Policy Press 1996, a copy of which has been sent to him; and if he will make a statement. [39930]
Mr. Streeter: The findings of this report will be considered carefully in connection with the implementation of the Family Law Act 1996. Where conflict occurs in connection with child contact arrangements, remedies are available within the Act and elsewhere to deal with it in order to ensure that both children and adults are properly protected against domestic violence.
Legal Profession
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the reasons for the growth in both branches of the legal profession since 1970; and what assessment he has made of their optimum size. [37950]
Mr. Streeter: None. The legal profession is independent of Government and self-regulating. Its size is determined by the demand for legal services.
14 Oct 1996 : Column: 655
HOME DEPARTMENT
Prisoner Statistics
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest estimate of the numbers of prisoners in United Kingdom (a) open and (b) closed prisons; and what were the corresponding figures for 1991. [40053]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. Barry Jones, dated 14 October 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the latest estimate of the numbers of prisoners in United Kingdom open and closed prisons; and the corresponding figures for 1991.
On 31 July 1996, there were 4,650 prisoners in open prisons and 51,500 persons in closed prisons in England and Wales. These figures include prisoners held in young offender institutions.
Information for 30 June 1991 is published in "Prison statistics, England and Wales", table 1.7 of the 1991 edition, column 2157; annual average population figures are given in table 1.6. A copy of "Prison statistics" is available in the Library.
Information for Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Ethnic Minorities
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women from ethnic minorities are employed by his Department and its agencies; at what grade; and what measures he has taken to encourage the (a) recruitment, (b) employment and (c) promotion of women from ethic minorities with his Department and its agencies. [39897]
Mr. Howard: The Home Office and its agencies employ a total of 1,252 women known to be from ethnic minorities. Details of their grades are given in the following tables. The Directors General of the Prison Service and of the Forensic Science Service, and the chief executives of the UK Passport Agency and the Fire Service College have provided the figures for their agencies.
The Home Office follows the Cabinet Office's programmes for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for people of ethnic minority origin and for women. Recruitment advertisements, which encourage applications from people regardless of background--including ethnic origin or gender--are placed in the ethnic minority press. A number of measures are being taken to foster links with those from ethnic minorities, including substantial involvement with the Windsor Fellowship and the National Mentoring Consortium and links with community relations councils. In the Prison Service, governors have also been encouraged to make particular efforts to attract applications from women and from those of ethnic minority origin.
14 Oct 1996 : Column: 656
The Department has widely publicised procedures for combating harassment and discrimination.
| Grades(1) | Number of female staff from ethnic minorities |
|---|---|
| Grade 7 | (2)* |
| Senior executive officer (SEO) | 7 |
| Higher executive officer (HEO) | 14 |
| Executive officer (EO) | 160 |
| Administrative Officer (AO) | 378 |
| Administrative assistant (AA) | 225 |
(1) Grades given in this and the following tables include grade equivalents (except where Prison Service grades are shown separately).
(2) Asterisks denote five staff or fewer to avoid the possibility of individuals being identified.
| Grades | Number of female staff from ethnic minorities |
|---|---|
| Senior executive officer (SEO) | (3)* |
| Higher executive officer (HEO) | (3)* |
| Executive officer (EO) | 20 |
| Administrative officer(AO) | 101 |
| Administrative assistant (AA) | 53 |
| Senior officer(4) | (3)* |
| Prison officer(4) | 79 |
| Prison auxiliary(4) | 11 |
| Night patrol(4) | 12 |
| Chaplain(4) | (3)* |
| Nursing grades(4) | 35 |
| Psychologist grades(4) | (3)* |
| Medial officer(4) | (3)* |
| Professional and technical officer(4) | (3)* |
| Instructional officer(4) | (3)* |
| Pharmacist grades(4) | (3)* |
HM Prison Service is in the process of transferring to a new computer system and as a result there may be inaccuracies in the above data.
(3) Asterisks denote five staff or fewer to avoid the possibility of individuals being identified.
(4) HM Prison Service grades.
| Grades | Number of female staff from ethnic minorities |
|---|---|
| Executive officer (EO) | 7 |
| Administrative officer (AO) | 48 |
| Administrative assistant (AA) | 42 |
14 Oct 1996 : Column: 657
| Grades | Number of female staff from ethnic minorities |
|---|---|
| Senior forensic scientist | (5)* |
| Assistant forensic scientist | 12 |
| Higher executive officer (HEO) | (5)* |
| Administrative office (AO) | (5)* |
| Administrative assistant (AA) | 16 |
(5)Asterisks denote five staff or fewer to avoid the possibility of individuals being identified.
| Grade | Number of female staff from ethnic minorities |
|---|---|
| Nursing grade 1 | (6)* |
(6)Asterisks denote five staff or fewer to avoid the possibility of individuals being identified.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |