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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Minimum Age Requirements
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the minimum age requirements enforced by his Department. [15917]
Mr. Streeter: The statutory minimum age requirements enforced by the Lord Chancellor's Departments and the agencies for which the Lord Chancellor has ministerial responsibility are as follows.
Individuals under the age of 18 cannot act on their own behalf as plaintiffs. Proceedings are issued through a next friend or guardian ad litem. This applies in all cases unless
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the claim is being made for the recovery of wages--County Courts Act 1984, section 47. In those circumstances, minors can act for themselves.
An individual under the age of 18 cannot act on his or her own behalf as a defendant in civil proceedings. This applies in all cases save where the claim is for a liquidated amount and permission has been granted by the court allowing the minor to act for him or herself.
Jurors qualify for jury service if they are at least 18 years old on the day jury service is to start.
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Mr. Henderson:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many asylum seekers have appealed against refusals of asylum received since July 1996 for each month since July 1996. [15806]
Mr. Streeter:
The question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Huebner to Mr. Doug Henderson, dated 20 February 1997:
Mr. Hall:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the private employment agencies used by his Department and its agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available, indicating (a) the names of the agencies, (b) the numbers employed by the agencies in work for his Department, (c) the total cost to his Department of using employment agencies and the median cost paid to the agency per person recruited and (d) the average length of contract for persons recruited via such agencies. [16185]
Mr. Streeter:
This reply is given on behalf of the Court Service, the Land Registry, the Northern Ireland Court Service, the Public Record Office, the Lord Chancellor's Department headquarters and its associated offices, and the Public Trust Office. No comprehensive records are held centrally and it has not therefore been possible in the time available to supply all the information sought or to verify some of the details provided.
Total expenditure in the Court Service during 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1996-97 to date was £927,575, £2,103,273 and £1,870,237 respectively. No information is held centrally about the names of the agencies used, the number of staff employed or the length of contracts. It has not therefore been possible to determine the median cost per person recruited.
The Public Record Office has used five agencies; Blue Arrow, Brook Street, Reed, Kelly Services and Hays Accountancy. Total expenditure in 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1996-97 to date was £149,968.57, £223,260.31 and £202,034.45 respectively. No information is available about the number of staff employed or the length of the contracts. It has not therefore been possible to determine the median cost per person recruited.
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Cost information for the Public Trust Office and LCD headquarters was not kept separately during 1994-95 but total expenditure in this year was £439,462. This related to the employment of 134 agency staff in LCD headquarters and its associated offices, and 38 agency staff in the Public Trust Office.
The Public Trust Office has used six employment agencies in the last three years; Ecco Employment Agency Hays Accountancy Personnel, Eclipse, Myriad, Key Entry and Recruit Plc. In 1995-96, 125 staff were employed; and in 1996-97 to date, 127 staff have been employed, at a cost of £24,208 and £514,717 respectively.
In LCD headquarters and its associated offices, 108 agency staff were employed during 1995-96, and 113 in 1996-97 to date, at a cost of £834,534 and £565,490 respectively. A total of 12 agencies have been used; Alfred Marks, City Centre Bureau, PS Personnel, Eclipse, Workflow, Kelly Services, Excel, Dagmar Tara, Premier Ltd and Adecco UK Ltd. As neither organisation holds detailed records, it has not been possible to determine the median cost per person recruited.
The Northern Ireland Court Service has used two employment agencies during the period in question; Grafton Recruitment and Kennedy Recruitment. A total of eight, seven and six staff were employed in the last three years, at a cost of £73,946,78, £36,213.77 and £36,610.88 respectively. Based on 1966 figures, the median cost in respect of Grafton Recruitment was approximately £60 per day, £4.50 per hour in respect of Kennedy Recruitment but the average length of contract is not known, as each case varied according to staffing needs.
The Land Registry has not used private employment agencies in the last three years.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will place a copy of the transcript of the second Whitemoor escape trial in the Library. [16543]
Mr. Streeter:
The question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Huebner to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 20 February 1997:
The Parliamentary Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's Department has asked me to reply to your Question as to whether a copy of the transcript of the second Whitemoor escape trial will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what monitoring takes place by his Department of the use of external consultants by non-departmental public bodies. [16755]
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Mr. Streeter:
Five non-departmental public bodies have the budgetary power to appoint external consultants. They are all required to report to the Department at regular intervals showing expenditure on external consultants/professional fees. Guidance on best practice on the procurement and management of external consultants is contained in the efficiency unit scrutiny report, "The Government's Use of External Consultants", which is available to all NDPBs.
Mr. Ian McCartney:
To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee if he will list the cost and number of items of equipment and furniture that (a) have been stolen and (b) are otherwise unaccounted for from the House during the past 12 months, listing by name any such items valued at £5,000 or more, and showing information technology material separately. [17058]
Sir Raymond Powell:
Some 12 items valued in total at approximately £10,000 have been reported stolen or otherwise unaccounted for in the House of Commons during the past 12 months. Of these, two were IT equipment. No item was valued at £5,000 or more.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of BSE cases in Wales to date; and if he will make a statement. [15833]
Mr. Jonathan Evans:
The latest number of confirmed BSE cases in Wales is as follows:
The Parliamentary Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's Department has asked me to reply to your Question about the number of appeals received for each month since July 1996 from asylum seekers who have been refused asylum.
The number of appeals received per month by the Immigration Appellate Authority since July are as follows:
1996
July: 2,242
August: 1,656
September: 1,822
October: 2,909
November: 2,165
December: 1,552
1997
January: 2,375
The trial judge gave two rulings: one on discharging the jury, and a second on the contempt of court proceedings. A transcript has been made of these rulings and I will ensure that a copy is placed in the Library.
| Year | Cases |
|---|---|
| Pre 21 June 1988 | 54 |
| 21 June 1988 to 31 December 1988 | 131 |
| 1989 | 507 |
| 1990 | 1,083 |
| 1991 | 2,234 |
| 1992 | 3,716 |
| 1993 | 3,627 |
| 1994 | 2,296 |
| 1995 | 1,322 |
| 1996 | 600 |
| 1997 | 7 |
EU Funding
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the income, from grants, subsidies and other payments received by or on behalf of Wales from the European Union in each of his last three years. [15993]
Mr. Hague
[holding answer 14 February 1977]: Over the last three calendar years, project sponsors in Wales have received structural fund payments of over £123 million. However, since there is no obligation on direct applicants to European schemes to notify my Department, and since many EU schemes of assistance involve a direct
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approach to the Commission or use of an intermediary, the total income into Wales from all European funded sources will be somewhat greater.
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