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Delegations
Ms Keeble: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the changes in the composition of the United Kingdom Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Assembly of the Western European Union. [73079]
The Prime Minister: My hon. Friends the Members for Portsmouth, North (Mr. Rapson) and for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright) have been appointed as substitute representatives in place of my hon. Friends the Members for Bristol, North-West (Dr. Naysmith) and for Stourbridge (Ms Shipley).
Genetic Modification
Mr. Baker: To ask the Prime Minister (1) on how many occasions he or officials of his Department have (i) spoken with and (ii) received representations regarding genetic modification from Cathy McGlynn of Bell Pottinger; [72061]
- (2) what was the (a) purpose and (b) outcome of the meeting between officials in the No. 10 Policy Unit and representatives of Monsanto; and if he will make a statement; [72243]
(3) on how many occasions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have (i) spoken with and (ii) received representations regarding genetic modification from Mr. Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Research; [72246]
(4) on how many occasions he or officials in his Department have (i) spoken with and (ii) received representations regarding genetic modification from Dave Hill of Bell Pottinger. [72063]
The Prime Minister: I and my officials are in regular contact with representatives of all those with an interest in biotechnology--including environmental groups, consumer groups and biotechnology companies. It is not the normal practice of Governments to give details of specific meetings with private individuals or companies.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
County Court Closures
35. Mr. Blunt: To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on his policy on county court closures. [70856]
Mr. Hoon:
In considering the future of any county court, the Lord Chancellor must take into account a variety of factors including accommodation, workload, the number of personal callers, judicial sittings, costs, and the alternative arrangements that could be made for court users after closure.
23 Feb 1999 : Column: 234
37. Mr. Canavan:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement about the role of his Department in respect of Government proposals for the future of the House of Lords. [70858]
Mr. Hoon:
The Lord Chancellor has had a prominent role in the formulation of the Government's proposals, as chairman of the Cabinet Committee on House of Lords Reform. I am helping to steer the House of Lords Bill in its passage through this House.
38. Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on recent discussions which he has had with the Church of England bishops on proposals for a reformed House of Lords. [70859]
Mr. Hoon:
Neither I nor the Lord Chancellor has had such discussions.
39. Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will reform the system of selecting adjudicators. [70860]
Mr. Hoon:
The Lord Chancellor has no plans to change the present system of selecting Immigration Adjudicators. Immigration Adjudicator posts may be occupied on a full or part-time basis. There are no statutory qualifications for appointment as an Immigration Adjudicator. However, in practice the Lord Chancellor will normally consider only persons who hold a seven year general qualification within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, who are advocates or solicitors in Scotland, or barristers or solicitors in Northern Ireland, of not less than 7 years' standing. Part-time posts are filled by application and interview following an open advertised competition, save on a few occasions the Lord Chancellor had directly seconded serving Circuit Judges and Recorders on the recommendation of the Chief Immigration Adjudicator, His Honour Judge Dunn QC. Full-time Immigration Adjudicators are normally appointed, following application and interview, from the ranks of those who have gained sufficient experience through service as part-time Immigration Adjudicators or part-time legal members of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.
40. Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is taking to publicise his reform of the legal aid system. [70861]
Mr. Hoon:
The Government's planned reforms were first outlined in October 1997. Since then, my Department's and the Legal Aid Board's efforts to publicise them have included numerous speeches; interviews and articles in the national and legal media; consultation papers on various aspects of the reforms; and, most importantly, the White Paper "Modernising Justice", which was published last November. The full text of the White Paper is available on the Internet, and a shortened summary has been widely circulated. In addition, the Explanatory Notes for the Access to Justice Bill are publicly available, and set out details of the Government's intentions for the reformed scheme.
23 Feb 1999 : Column: 235
41. Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what is his assessment of the work of the information meeting pilot for Merseyside and North Wales. [70862]
Mr. Hoon:
The Merseyside and North Wales Information Meeting pilot is making a valuable contribution to an extensive pilot programme of information meetings. The pilots are being fully and independently evaluated by a research team from the Centre for Family Studies at the University of Newcastle.
Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made in the fast tracking of young offenders through the magistrates courts. [70857]
Mr. Hoon:
In the youth court the average number of days from charge or summons to "completion" fell from 87 days in June 1997 to 77 days in June 1998.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 December 1998, Official Report, column 724, if he will list the expenditure not included in his answer incurred (a) by task forces and review bodies, (b) by focus groups, (c) on market research and (d) for publications and publicity; and if he will list the bodies which incurred the expenditure. [71031]
Mr. Hoon:
[holding answer 15 February 1999]: I am not aware of any such expenditure by task force or review bodies. The review of civil justice and legal aid, by Sir Peter Middleton, was published by the Lord Chancellor's Department in-house print unit.
Mr. Lepper:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what discussions his Department has had with (a) Ministers in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and (b) others on the preparation of a consultation document on the introduction of commonhold. [72313]
Mr. Hoon:
I have spoken to colleagues in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to ensure that any possible overlaps between commonhold and the Government's policy on leasehold reform do not obstruct progress.
Mr. Lepper:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what timetable he has set for public consultation on the introduction of commonhold. [72314]
Mr. Hoon:
Introducing commonhold is a manifesto objective to which the Government remain strongly committed. We are at present considering how best to consult the public whether by way of a general policy paper or a draft Bill, or both. Once that decision is taken, I will set and publish a timetable for consultation.
23 Feb 1999 : Column: 236
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the average age of a QC on appointment in each of the last five years. [72612]
Mr. Hoon:
The average age of a QC on appointment in each of the last five years is as follows:
| Year | Age |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 43.8 |
| 1995 | 43.8 |
| 1996 | 43.9 |
| 1997 | 43.6 |
| 1998 | 43.5 |
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the article in The Lawyer magazine of 15 February 1999, indicating that the Bar Council is prepared to meet the cost of administration of the QC system. [72516]
Mr. Hoon: My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor has seen the article. He notes that, according to the article, the General Council of the Bar would like to see the costs of processing silk applications being recoverable from all silk applicants. He will continue to review the matter.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will (a) list the public inquiries conducted by (i) Government departments and (ii) local authorities over the last three years which were chaired by QCs, (b) list the name of the QC in each case and (c) indicate the fee paid to the QC for his or her services. [72515]
Mr. Hoon: This information is not collected centrally and, therefore, my hon. Friend's question could not be answered without incurring disproportionate cost.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department how many QCs have had that distinction withdrawn in each of the last 10 years; and in each case, for what reason. [72613]
Mr. Hoon: There has been no occasion in the last ten years when my noble and learned Friend or his immediate predecessor has advised Her Majesty to revoke the award of Queen's Counsel.
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