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Lloyd's of London
Mr. Cousins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what evidence concerning the operations of Lloyd's of London in 1982 has been passed by her Department to the Serious Fraud Office since the end of June 1997. [12976]
Mr. Ian McCartney [holding answer 27 October 1997]: My officials received a number of papers relating to Lloyd's which were passed to the Serious Fraud Office for their consideration.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what costs have been incurred to date by the United Kingdom Government as amicus curiae in cases involving Lloyd's of London in the United States courts. [12975]
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Mr. Ian McCartney
[holding answer 27 October 1997]: The costs of individual activities undertaken by the Government in pursuit of its regulatory responsibilities in respect of Lloyd's of London cannot be separately identified, and the resources devoted to producing them would be disproportionate.
Judicial Appointments
Ms Fiona Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what changes his Department proposes to make to the current system of judicial appointments. [13296]
Mr. Hoon: It is essential in the public interest that the judiciary at every level is of the highest possible quality. Appointments will continue to be made strictly on merit, after the independent views of the judiciary and the legal profession have been taken into consideration by the Lord Chancellor; and appointment to full time office normally made only after satisfactory service in a part time judging.
Nevertheless, improvements can be made. I intend to present an annual report to Parliament on the operation of the judicial appointments system. The first report will cover the period 1998-99. I also intend to end the system of appointment to the High Court bench only by invitation and to invite applications for appointments to the High Court bench, so that all with judicial ambitions can be assured that their cases are properly considered.
I propose to ensure appropriate flexibility in part-time sittings arrangements where, for example, women or men have taken career breaks for family reasons. My officials are developing plans to ensure that those who sit part-time may be able to concentrate their sittings into a shorter period of time than at present. By this means these career breaks will not, so far as practicable, impede career development.
I intend to increase the upper age limit for appointment as Assistant Recorder from 50 to 53 in future competition rounds. Raising the age limit to 53 will widen the pool of potential applicants. The normal period of service as an Assistant Recorder and Recorder, before appointment to the Circuit bench, is five to seven years and an appointment to the Circuit bench at or around 60 would enable the judge to serve for a minimum of 10 years before retiring at 70.
In the longer term I intend to review whether an Ombudsman should be appointed with power to examine fully complaints from anyone who feels unfairly treated by the appointments process; and to review the appointment procedures for deputy High Court judge appointments. I have recently appointed two solicitors, direct from the profession, to act as deputy High Court judges. This has not happened before. I also intend to review the scope to improve arrangements for appraisal of performance of the part-time judiciary, not least to improve the assessments of their performance which contribute to my decisions on applications for full-time office.
Since becoming Lord Chancellor I have decided to involve in the process of shortlisting judicial candidates for interviews both judges and lay members who will
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have, in advance, a summary of the views expressed in consultation about every applicant. An additional 28 lay members have been appointed to assist in the shortlisting and interviewing of candidates for a range of judicial appointments including those of Circuit judge, District judge and Assistant Recorder. I have taken steps to promote work on equal opportunities, in conjunction with the legal profession, which I will announce shortly. I have required that any allegation of misconduct made in the course of consultation about a judicial candidate must be specific and subject to disclosure to the candidate.
So far as the magistracy is concerned, I have increased for the first time the upper age limit for appointment as a lay magistrate to 65, so as to draw from the pool of the age group 55 to 65 to achieve a better social and political balance on the bench. This age group includes many who may have taken early retirement. I have also opened the magistracy to blind candidates on an experimental basis.
I believe that these positive measures will strengthen the openness, flexibility and effectiveness of the arrangements for judicial appointments. I do not rule out further measures in due course. I earlier announced (23 June 1997, Official Report, column 145), that I proposed to consult on the merits of establishing a Judicial Appointments Commission. However, in the light of the measures that I have listed above, the resources of my Department, and the other substantial priorities facing my Department, including a very heavy workload connected with legal aid and civil justice reforms, I have decided not to proceed with further work on a possible Commission, but to concentrate on making those changes I regard as most urgent.
Mr. Hope:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action his Department proposes to take in respect of the Law Commission's report on mental incapacity. [13097]
Mr. Hoon:
The Law Commission's Report on Mental Incapacity is a thorough and detailed examination of the current law. It provides a coherent framework for reform. The Government recognises, however, that the Report addresses sensitive issues on which strong personal views may be held.
The Government does not consider that it would be appropriate to legislate in this area without fresh public consultation. It therefore hopes to issue a Consultation Paper by the end of the year seeking views on the full range of the Law Commission's recommendations.
The Law Commission's Report does not make any recommendations concerning euthanasia. The Government is of the certain view, in line with the House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics, that euthanasia cannot be sanctioned in any circumstances. The Consultation Paper will therefore not seek views on this subject.
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Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons the EU Commission has placed restrictions on the size of nectarines which may be sold. [12337]
Mr. Rooker:
The EU Marketing Standard for nectarines has been in place since 1990.
There is substantial over-production of nectarines, brought about largely by the Intervention (withdrawal) system. The Commission has sought to tackle this to some extent by limiting the size of the fruit that can be marketed and thus intervened (withdrawn), thereby limiting the cost to EU taxpayers. Although the EU regime for fresh fruit and vegetables has only recently been reformed, with significant reductions in the amount of produce that may be withdrawn, ultimately we would prefer to see an end to the withdrawal system.
The establishment of minimum sizes helps to ensure that only nectarines which are sufficiently developed, and able to ripen, are available to the consumer.
Ms Shipley:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Councils held on 22 and 23 September in Brussels and on 20 and 21 October in Luxembourg; and if he will make a statement. [13295]
Dr. Jack Cunningham:
I represented the United Kingdom at meetings of the European Union Agriculture Council on 22-23 September and 20-21 October. I was accompanied at the October Council by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, Lord Sewel.
At the September Council, EU Agriculture Ministers followed up their informal discussions of early September on the Commission's proposals to reform the common agricultural policy which have been made as part of Agenda 2000. On this occasion, discussion focused in particular on rural development, environmental and structural policy. Member states reaffirmed the importance of an active rural development policy to assist the transformation of European agriculture; there were, however, differences of view in the Council on the funding of rural and structural measures in the future. I stressed the importance to the United Kingdom of setting the proposals on rural development clearly in the context of changes to the market mechanisms of the CAP, on which the Commission's Agenda 2000 proposals represented an important first step. I also emphasised the need to foster alternative rural enterprises as the source of new employment possibilities in the countryside in the future.
The Council of Ministers also heard reports from the Commission on progress in negotiations on veterinary and plant health equivalence agreements with third countries; and noted the Commission's intention to lodge an appeal in the WTO dispute concerning hormones in beef. In a brief discussion of BSE, I reported to the Council the steps I have taken in the United Kingdom, both legislative
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and administrative, to tighten up our measures to counter illegal exports of beef and beef products from the UK. These were welcomed in the Council.
I pressed the Commissioner and the Presidency to provide an early opportunity for the Council to discuss the present state of the beef market, on the basis of the Commission's promised report, to decide whether the short term market adjustment schemes agreed in 1996 were working effectively.
I also raised in the Council the UK's serious concerns about the impact of the recent WTO Appellate body ruling on the EU bananas regime in so far as its affects access by ACP Caribbean banana producers to EU markets. I urged the Commission to reach a rapid and equitable solution to the problems flowing from the WTO ruling which would not only respect WTO obligations but allow the EU to meet its commitments to the ACP and in particular on Caribbean trading partners under the Lome Agreement.
At the October Agriculture Council, discussion concentrated on the market reform proposals contained in Agenda 2000. I argued for the removal of production controls in the form of quotas and compulsory set aside and for a lowering of support levels to bring EU prices closer to world market prices and I argued that transitional arrangements should begin soon. The Council will resume its discussion on this crucial issue in November. A letter from the President of the Agriculture Council to the President of the European Council on employment policy in rural areas was approved by Ministers.
In a debate on the Commission's report on the beef and veal markets, I expressed doubts about the efficacy of the early marketing scheme for veal in reducing production on the EU market, and urged the Commission to make a further cut in the premium paid under the calf processing scheme. The Council reached political agreement upon changes to the system of support for producers of durum wheat. Under the compromise which was agreed by qualified majority (Greece, Sweden and Denmark opposing), the additional aid paid for durum wheat in
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traditional producing areas was reduced, and the maximum area eligible for aid in each member state determined. Five thousand hectares will be eligible in the United Kingdom.
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