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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Solicitors (Convictions)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will introduce legislation to ensure that solicitors convicted of a crime are struck off. [62850]
Mr. Hoon:
Section 47 of the Solicitors Act 1974 gives the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal the power to strike a solicitor off the roll if it thinks fit. The Government have no plans to amend this provision.
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Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if additional resources will accompany reform of the legal aid system to assist those who cannot afford basic legal services. [62910]
Mr. Hoon:
We will be spending £248 million more on legal aid over the next three years than the previous Government intended. In addition, we will refocus those resources on areas of greatest need, such as social welfare and public interest work, and will achieve the maximum value for the resources available. Removing legal aid where a suitable alternative exists, and the greater control of cost that the reforms will bring, will enable us to devote more funds to these areas. As a first step, the Lord Chancellor recently announced the allocation of a minimum of £20m for the expansion of advice and assistance services provided by the not-for-profit sector. In addition, more people in future will be able to get advice and assistance, by allowing in people who can afford to pay a contribution but who are entirely excluded now on financial grounds. The extension in July of conditional fee agreements to all civil cases will also greatly improve access to justice for people who cannot themselves afford legal help and do not qualify for legal aid.
Mr. Robert Jackson:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the special advisers in his Department and the issues on which they specialise; and to what level they have been security cleared. [62835]
Mr. Hoon:
Garry Hart is the only special adviser in this Department. He advises on the full range of issues for which the Lord Chancellor is responsible, with the explicit exception of the following areas:
Mr. Robert Jackson:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list (a) the (i) task forces, (ii) review panels and (iii) advisory groups his Department has, (b) the remit of each and (c) the members of each together with their principal employment and their level of remuneration. [62802]
Mr. Hoon:
A list has been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Robert Jackson:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people in his Department are currently on secondment from private companies; and if he will list them, their companies and their current responsibilities within Government. [62828]
Mr. Hoon:
No one within the Lord Chancellor's Department Headquarters is currently on secondment from a private company.
14 Dec 1998 : Column: 358
Jacqui Smith:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct intends to publish its Seventh Annual report. [64007]
Mr. Hoon:
The Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct has today published its seventh annual report, and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for routine appointments at ENT clinics in (a) England and Wales and (b) Portsmouth. [62489]
Mr. Milburn:
Information on average waiting times for an outpatient appointment are not collected centrally. However, in England during the second quarter of 1998-99, 72 per cent. of patients were seen within 13 weeks of a general practitioner written referral for a first outpatient appointment at an ear nose and throat clinic, with 95 per cent. of patients seen within 26 weeks.
During the same period, in Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health Authority 93 per cent. of patients were seen within 13 weeks of a GP written referral for a first outpatient appointment at an ENT clinic, with 97 per cent. seen within 26 weeks.
Waiting times at ENT clinics in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his e-mail address. [62555]
Ms Jowell:
The Secretary of State for Health does not currently have an e-mail address.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to regulate the practice of aromatherapy. [63043]
Ms Jowell:
The Department does not directly regulate any professional practice. Our policy is to encourage responsible, accountable self-regulation. Our main concern is to help health care professions who have statutory basis for their self-regulation to modernise and strengthen it. Other professions may want to put their self-regulation onto a statutory basis. This is a laudable ambition, but there is much to be done and we must give priority to the professions which provide the majority of services to National Health Service patients.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of aromatherapists who are currently practising in the UK. [63086]
Ms Jowell:
The Department does not routinely collect statistics on the number of complementary therapy practitioners in the United Kingdom. A survey
14 Dec 1998 : Column: 359
carried out for the Department by the University of Exeter in 1997 estimated that there were approximately 5,900 aromatherapists practising in the UK at that time.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Medical Control Agency has to review the status of soft licence herbal remedies. [63085]
Ms Jowell:
There is no category of soft licensed herbal remedies in the United Kingdom. Herbal remedies require marketing authorisation, unless exempted from the requirement for a product licence under the terms of Section 12 of the Medicines Act 1968.
Mr. Grogan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made with the independent and fundamental review of the current operations of the five statutory bodies created by the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979. [62689]
Mr. Milburn:
We are considering the report of the review. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.
Mr. O'Hara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been undertaken by his Department on the effects of recent changes to Social Security Fund payments on the numbers of section 46 funerals. [62790]
Ms Jowell:
None. Payments have been made from the Social Fund for some years for a funeral service and burial or cremation. Certain additional expenses have been met since 1997, but these are unlikely to affect the number of funerals paid for by local authorities.
Mr. O'Hara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued to local authorities regarding the manner in which section 46 funerals should be conducted. [62791]
Ms Jowell:
Guidance on the detailed interpretation of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, including guidance on section 46, was issued by the Public Health Legal Information Unit in 1994.
Mr. O'Hara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost is of a section 46 funeral; and what is the average level of payment made by the Social Fund. [62789]
Ms Jowell:
The Department does not record local authority payments for funerals carried out under section 46 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984. Questions on payments from the Social Fund are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security.
Mr. O'Hara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many funerals were provided by local authorities in England and Wales under section 46 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 in each year since 1990. [62792]
Ms Jowell:
The information requested is not available centrally.
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Mr. Cann:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his policy on emergency treatment fees in the NHS for road accidents. [63163]
Mr. Hutton:
We intend to end collection of the Emergency Treatment Fee by National Health Service trusts. An amendment to section 158 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, removing the right of NHS trusts to the Fee, is contained in the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Bill which was introduced in the House on 27 November 1998.
the appointment, deployment and terms and conditions of individual judges (and papers relating to these matters); and
Departmental staff matters.
Garry Hart's appointment is subject to the usual security clearance arrangements.
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