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Costa Rica
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is the total sum now owed by the Government of Costa Rica to Her Majesty's Government under the terms of the loan agreement dated 15 February 1973, as amended; how much of this is (a) principal and (b) interest; and what future interest charges are expected. [2548]
Clare Short: Under the present schedule of repayments the total sum due to be repaid by the Government of Costa Rica to Her Majesty's Government under the terms of the loan agreement dated 15 February 1973, as amended is £1,237,845.85; of this £1,121,191.31 is principal and £116,654.54 is interest. Future interest charges are at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what was the total sum lent to the Government of Costa Rica by Her Majesty's Government under the terms of the loan agreement dated 15 February 1973, as amended. [2546]
Clare Short: The sum lent to the Government of Costa Rica by Her Majesty's Government under the terms of the loan agreement dated 15 February 1973, as amended is £3,880,441.25. Since that date repayments under this loan have been rescheduled on nine occasions and arrears of interest have been consolidated into the original loan.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what further discussions there have been between the Government of Costa Rica and Her Majesty's Government with regard to the loan agreement dated 15 February 1973, as amended, since the debt rescheduling agreement of 18 November 1993. [2542]
Clare Short: There have been no discussions of the agreement since the 18 November 1993 rescheduling. We have drawn the attention of the Costa Rican authorities to arrears whenever they have arisen, which has resulted in their being cleared.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is the total sum paid by the Government of Costa Rica to Her Majesty's Government under the terms of the loan agreement dated 15 February 1973, as amended; and how much of this is (a) principal and (b) interest. [2547]
Clare Short:
The total sum paid to date by the Government of Costa Rica to Her Majesty's Government under the terms of the loan agreement dated 15 February 1973, as amended £7,105,106.87; of this £4,828,039.28 is principal and £2,277,067.59 is interest.
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Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the current provision of aid to Jammu and Kashmir. [2730]
Clare Short:
DFID contributed £17 million from Aid and Trade Provision funds to a 480MW hydroelectric power station at Uri, which has just been completed. Since 1995 DFID has also contributed £450,000 in support of the International Committee of the Red Cross programme in Jammu and Kashmir, including a new contribution of £150,000 in March 1997.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the current provision of aid to Sierra Leone. [2729]
Clare Short:
Following the military coup on 25 May, we have suspended our bilateral aid programme pending developments.
DFID had been working closely with the democratically elected government to rebuild the country and reduce poverty.
Mr. Kirkwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in implementing the conclusions of the UN Copenhagen Conference on International Poverty; and if she will make a statement. [1193]
Clare Short:
This Government is committed to working for a safer, more decent and environmentally stable world. The elimination of poverty is at the centre of our agenda. I am currently reviewing all our programmes to ensure that resources are targeted accordingly. A White Paper will be issued in the Autumn setting out how, through more coherent policies, the Government will tackle global poverty and promote sustainable development. This strategy will embrace the commitments agreed at the Copenhagen Summit.
National Lottery
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of national lottery proceeds have been directed to the Northern region. [2147]
Mr. Banks: Regions in the North of England have received £754,542,879 from the Lottery representing a share of 21 per cent. of all Lottery money distributed to date. The details are set out in the following table.
| Region | Total £ | Total per cent.(3) |
|---|---|---|
| North West | 326,412,694 | 9 |
| North East | 143,883,667 | 4 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 210,442,746 | 6 |
| Merseyside | 73,803,772 | 2 |
| Total | 754,542,879 | 21 |
(3) Rounded to the nearest per cent.
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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Defendants (Prosecution Costs)
Mr. Malins: To ask the Attorney-General what was the total sum ordered to be paid by defendants in criminal cases in relation to the prosecution cost; and what was the total sum recovered in each of the last three years. [2955]
The Attorney-General: Information on the amounts ordered to be paid by defendants in relation to prosecution costs is not available centrally within the Crown Prosecution Service and could be collected only at disproportionate cost. The sums recovered from defendants in the last three years in relation to the CPS are as follows:
| Amount recovered | |
|---|---|
| £ million | |
| 1994-95 | 19.3 |
| 1995-96 | 20.5 |
| 1996-97 | 21.4 |
| Awarded | Recovered | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| 1994-95 | 60,000 | 154,621.50 |
| 1995-96 | 191,667 | 24,756.00 |
| 1996-97 | 6,000 | (4)172,554.66 |
(4) Unaudited figure. Please note that recovery of amounts of costs awarded do not always fall in the same financial year.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Magistrates and Justices of the Peace
Mr. Malins: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what studies he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated to indicate the relative case disposal rate of stipendiary magistrates and justices of the peace. [2947]
Mr. Hoon: In 1994, the Lord Chancellor established a working party to identify more clearly the respective roles of the stipendiary magistracy and the lay bench in the administration of justice in the magistrates' courts. The working party commissioned research from the University of Leeds on the role and appointment of stipendiary magistrates. A copy of the working party's report (published in February 1996) is available in both libraries.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many appeals against (i) conviction and (ii) sentence were successfully made from decisions of justices of the peace; and how many appeals against (1) convictions and (2) sentence were successfully made from decisions of stipendiary
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and metropolitan stipendiary magistrates in each of the last three years. [2938]
Mr. Hoon:
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 M. D. Huebner to Mr. Humfrey Malins, dated 9 June 1997:
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(5) Appeals where sentence has been reduced.
(6) Appeals sent back to magistrates' court for consideration.
(7) Appeals which have been abandoned at a hearing.
(8) Appeals which have been abandoned before a hearing.
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Mr. Hoon:
Stipendiary magistrates are appointed by the Lord Chancellor at the request of the relevant Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee in order to assist the efficient disposal of cases in magistrates' courts. Under the Justices of the Peace Act 1997 the statutory ceilings on the number of stipendiary appointments are: 60 metropolitan stipendiary magistrates; and 50 provincial stipendiary magistrates. There are no current plans to raise either ceiling. Appointments to two recently established provincial stipendiary magistrate posts in Derbyshire will be announced shortly.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many justices of the peace there are in England and Wales. [2951]
Mr. Hoon:
As at 1 January 1997 there were 30,374 active justices of the peace in England and Wales, 15,858 men and 14,516 women.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases were disposed of by justices of the peace in 1996. [2953]
Mr. Hoon:
Magistrates throughout England and Wales dealt with 2,321,475 defendants in completed criminal cases and 531,181 applications in completed family and civil cases during 1996. The Lord Chancellor's Department does not collect a breakdown of which cases were heard by justices of the peace or by stipendiary magistrates.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to change the (a) title and (b) working conditions of stipendiary magistrates. [2954]
Mr. Hoon:
A consultation paper on the titles of stipendiary magistrates was issued in 1992. The responses revealed there to be insufficient consensus on which alternative title might be adopted for stipendiary magistrates. There are no plans to change working conditions of stipendiary magistrates.
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Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to give (a) stipendiary and (b) metropolitan stipendiary magistrates sentencing or other powers greater than those exercised by justices of the peace. [2940]
Mr. Hoon:
There are currently no plans to alter sentencing or other powers of stipendiary or metropolitan stipendiary magistrates. However, this Government's commitment to a review of Youth Justice might identify the need to consider this issue further.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what has been the average cost to the Exchequer of (a) a stipendiary magistrate and (b) a justice of the peace, in each of the last three years. [2948]
Mr. Hoon:
The average cost to the Consolidated Fund of a stipendiary magistrate for the last three years was:
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many metropolitan stipendiary magistrates and stipendiary magistrates there are in England and Wales. [2950]
Mr. Hoon:
There are 50 metropolitan stipendiary magistrates and 40 provincial stipendiary magistrates in post.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases were disposed of by metropolitan stipendiary magistrates and stipendiary magistrates in 1996. [2952]
Mr. Hoon:
Magistrates throughout England and Wales dealt with 2,321,475 defendants in completed criminal cases and 531,181 applications in completed family and
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civil cases during 1996. The Lord Chancellor's Department does not collect a breakdown of which cases were heard by justices of the peace or by stipendiary magistrates.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the total sum ordered to be paid by legally aided defendants in all criminal proceedings by way of contribution to legal aid; and what was the total sum so paid in each of the last three years.[2956]
Mr. Hoon:
Information on the amount of contribution ordered to be paid by legally aided defendants in criminal proceedings is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The total amount of contributions received, net of any repayments to defendants, in each of the last three years for which information is available, was as follows:
The Parliamentary Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's Department has asked me to reply to your Question about how many appeals against convictions and sentence were successfully made from decisions of justices of the peace, stipendiary and metropolitan stipendiary magistrates in each of the last three years.
The information requested is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, I set out below information on the total number of appeals made from magistrates' courts which may be of interest to you.
Appeals Allowed Dismissed Varied (5) Remitted to mag crt (6) Abandoned in court (7) Abandoned before court (8) Other result Total
1996-97 4,312 6,198 3,259 39 1,057 3,002 166 18,033
1995-96 7,839 8,181 4,283 44 1,182 3,901 312 25,742
1994-95 8,116 7,957 4,003 42 1,132 3,901 369 25,520
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to increase (a) the number of metropolitan stipendiary magistrates and (b) the number of stipendiary magistrates. [2949]
The average cost of financial loss, travelling and subsistence allowances and training of a justice of the peace for the three most recent financial years for which such information is available was:
1994-95: £60,939
1995-96: £67,340
1996-97: £70,072
Expenditure figures for 1996-97 are not yet available.
1993-94: £418
1994-95: £471
1995-96: £452
| 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal magistrates' court | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Higher criminal courts | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Total contributions received | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
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