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SOCIAL SECURITY

Legal Services

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list (a) the London barristers' chambers and (b) the London solicitors' firms that have performed services for his Department (i) since 1 May 1997 and (ii) in the equivalent period preceding that date, indicating the remuneration paid in each particular case. [70036]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 8 February 1999]: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General appointed Philip Sales as First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law) and Jonathon Crowe as First Junior Treasury Counsel (Chancery) to advise and represent the Government in their important civil cases. In addition, the Attorney-General maintains at present two London panels of junior Counsel whom departments are expected to use for the rest of the government's civil litigation. The panels currently comprise 103 barristers from 42 different sets of chambers. The Attorney-General will shortly appoint a third panel of very junior barristers. The Attorney-General's individual nomination is required before a barrister who is not one of the approved panels can be instructed to appear for the government in litigation.

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Departments may use firms of solicitors in addition to the Treasury Solicitor and their Departmental legal advisers, for example where the relevant expertise lies in the private sector. The relationship is subject to the usual confidentiality which operates between lawyer and client.

On 1 September 1995 the DSS established framework agreements for the supply of legal services with three firms of solicitors--Bird & Bird, Dibb Lupton & Allsop, and Wansboroughs Willey Hargrave. Under that framework agreement the DSS HQ and its Agencies have used those firms for major information technology contracts, some of which are continuing. However specifying sums of money paid to them would involve disproportionate costs.

The framework agreements have recently been re-let, the successful solicitors being Bird & Bird, Dibb Lupton & Allsop, Simmonds & Simmonds and Eversheds.

Public Bodies

Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) which of the executive non- departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings, (b) hold public meetings, (c) have lay or consumer representatives on their boards and (d) operate some form of appeal or complaints procedure; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement; [69979]

Mr. Timms: This Department sponsors two executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs). The information for these bodies is set out in the table.

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DSS executive NDPBs
Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority Pensions Compensation Board (PCB)
VoluntaryStatutory requirementVoluntaryStatutory requirement
Have a statutory base?YesYes
Admit members of public to all board or committee meetings?Not practicable--(25)Not practicable--
Hold public meetings?No--No--
Have lay or consumer representatives on their boards?(26)----(26)----
Operate some form of appeal or complaints procedure?(27)Yes----(28)Yes
Subject to investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner?--Yes--Yes
Publish minutes of meetings?No--No--
Publish agendas and documents for those meetings?No--No--
Publish a register of members' interests?(29)Yes--(29)Yes--

(25) PCB meets when there is a claim for compensation and will potentially be considering commercially confidential information. The Board may hold oral hearings to gather information and these could be held publicly if parties agree.

(26) The OPRA and PCB Boards are made up of representatives nominated, according to the requirement of the legislation governing the bodies, from various parts of the pensions industry, and organisations such as the TUC and CBI. However, the Board members do not serve in any type of representative capacity, and in discharging their functions each Board member is required to set aside any vested interests.

(27) OPRA's three-stage complaints procedure is explained in their leaflet 'Putting things right--a guide to how we handle complaints'. Complaints which are not resolved either by a complaints officer (stage 1) or the chairman (stage 2) are referred to an independent complaints adjudicator.

(28) PCB's complaints procedure is explained in 'The Pensions Compensation Board (Determinations and Review Procedures) Regulations 1997'.

(29) Both the OPRA and PCB Boards have agreed codes of conduct based on the model code issued by Cabinet Office. A Register of Board members' interests is held and updated on a regular basis. Copies of the register are available from the Secretary of each Board.


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This Department sponsors five advisor NDPBs. The information for these bodies is in the table.

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DSS Advisory NDPBs

Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions (CACWP)Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board (DLAAB)Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC)Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC)War Pensions Committees (WPC)
Admit members of public to all board or committee meetings?NoNoNoNoNo
Hold Public meetings?No(30)NoNoNoNo
Have lay or consumer representatives on their Boards?(31)(32)Yes(33)Yes(34)--(35)--(32)Yes
Publish minutes of meetings?(36)YesNo(37)YesNo(38)Yes
Publish agendas and documents for those meetings?(36)YesNoNoNo(38)Yes
Publish a register of members' interests?(39)Yes(39)Yes(39)Yes(39)Yes(39)Yes

(30) DLAAB meets representatives from groups involved in working with and for people with disabilities. Through this contact the Board is able to gain a different perspective of the needs of people affected by various conditions and take into account their concerns.

(31) These activities are undertaken by a statutory requirement, all other activities are undertaken on a voluntarily basis.

(32) The legislation which governs CACWP and the WPCs requires there to be representatives of ex-service organisations or persons with ex-service experience.

(33) The legislation which governs DLAAB requires there to be at least one member with personal experience of caring for disabled person, and six or more who are disabled persons.

(34) The legislation that governs IIAC requires that the members other than the chairman shall include an equal number of persons appointed by the Secretary of State, after consultation with such organisations as he thinks fit, to represent employers and employed earners respectively.

(35) The legislation that governs SSAC requires that one member must be appointed after consultation with organisations representative of workers, one after consultation with organisations representative of employers, one after consultation with the head of DHSS Northern Ireland, and one member must have experience of work among chronically sick and disabled people and should preferably but not necessarily be a chronically sick or disabled person. However, these members do not act in a representative capacity.

(36) Both the minutes and the agenda/associated papers of CACWP meetings are publicly available. They are circulated to a wider audience than just Committee members, i.e.: all War Pensions Committees and certain ex-service organisations not represented on CACWP. Copies are also available to others on request.

(37) A summary of meetings will be made available on IIAC's website.

(38) Both the minutes and agenda/associated papers of WPC meetings are available on request.

(39) Each Board have agreed a code of conduct, and complied a register of Board members' interests that is available for public inspection.


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