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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Staff (Ethnic Origin)
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will provide a breakdown by ethnic origin and grade of (1) the judiciary, (2) members of tribunals and (3) the magistracy. [79049]
Mr. Hoon:
The available information is as follows: (1) The Judiciary: the figures for the ethnic origin of judges are believed to be correct, but as the ethnic origin of candidates for judicial office was not sought before October 1991, the data may be incomplete. (see table).
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2. Tribunals: this information is only available for the Employment Tribunal and Social Security Appeals Tribunal where it has been collected on the same basis as for the judiciary since October 1991. It is set out below. Information in respect of other tribunals has only been collected on a consistent basis since 1998. (see table).
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3. Magistracy: complete information is not readily available. It is held on individual records and not yet collated centrally. It could therefore only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, an ethnicity questionnaire was sent out to Lay Magistrates in England and Wales (excluding the Duchy of Lancaster) in May 1997 to which there was a 93 per cent. response rate. The details are set out in the table.
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| Post | Black | Asian | Other non white | Total | % Ethnic minorities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lords of Appeal in Ordinary | -- | -- | -- | 12 | -- |
| Lords Justices of Appeal | -- | -- | -- | 35 | -- |
| High Court Judges | -- | -- | -- | 98 | -- |
| Circuit Judges | -- | 3 | 2 | 562 | 0.9 |
| Recorders | 5 | 4 | 4 | 879 | 1.5 |
| Assistant Recorders | 5 | 5 | 4 | 385 | 3.6 |
| District Judges | 2 | 7 | 3 | 741 | 1.6 |
| Stipendiary Magistrates | -- | 2 | -- | 93 | 2.2 |
| Acting Stipendiary Magistrates | 2 | -- | 2 | 96 | 4.2 |
Note:
The statistics have only been recorded since October 1991
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Note:
The statistics have only been recorded since October 1991
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Note:
There were 25,124 Lay Magistrates in post (excluding the Duchy of Lancaster) at May 1997. 1,663 did not return their questionnaire
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Dr. Tony Wright:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list all those task forces and policy reviews with external members
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established by his Department since May 1997 which have set up (a) sub-groups, (b) working parties and (c) other subsidiary committees. [79261]
Mr. Hoon:
The information requested is set out in the table.
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| Review/Task force | Other subsidiary committee |
|---|---|
| Review of Enforcement of Civil Court Judgments | Panels of Experts: |
| General cross-cutting issues | |
| Oral examinations/judgment summons | |
| Attachment of Earnings/Charging Orders/Garnishee Orders | |
| Warrants and Writs | |
| Quality Task Force |
Note: 3 working groups set up
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Dr. Tony Wright:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list for all task forces and policy reviews with external members established by his Department since May 1997 (a) their dates of establishment, (b) those which have issued final
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reports and their dates of publication, (c) those which have been terminated and their dates of termination and (d) for those bodies still in existence, expected reporting and termination dates. [79273]
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Mr. Hoon:
The information requested is set out in the table.
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Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department how much his Department spent on legal fees including those of the BEST trustees relating to the Bus Employees Superannuation Trust, (a) in total and (b) in connection with the High Court hearing of 1 March. [79541]
Mr. Hoon:
None.
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Jacqui Smith:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the key performance targets for Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office, the Public Trust Office and the Court Service executive agencies for 1999-2000. [79852]
Mr. Hoon:
The following tables set out the key performance targets that the Lord Chancellor has set for, Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office, the Public Trust Office and the Court Service for 1999-2000.
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| Indicator Financial | Target |
|---|---|
| Percentage return on average capital employed(21) | 6% |
| Efficiency | |
| Cost per unit in real terms | £25.13 |
| Cost per unit in cash terms(22) | £29.89 |
| Service First Standards Speed | |
| Percentage of office copy and official search applications handled within two working days and | 98% |
| Percentage of office copies and official searches processed in three working days | 100% |
| Percentage of all registrations processed within in 25 working days(23) | 80% |
| Accuracy | |
| Percentage of registrations processed free of any error | 98.5% |
| Percentage of customers responding to the Annual Survey who perceive the accuracy of registrations to be excellent or good | Better than 90% |
| Delivery of Electronic Services | |
| Percentage of dealings (key customer interactions) capable of electronic delivery | 30% |
| Percentage of titles in the Land Register capable of electronic delivery | 95% |
| Percentage of titles plans in the Land Register capable of electronic delivery | 60% |
| Number of scanned pages of filed documents (millions). | 8.5 |
(21) ROCE below 6% reflects agreement with HM Treasury to apply surplus income generated in 1993-95 (when ROCE exceeded 25% in each year) to fee reductions in 1996-99. The ROCE for 1999-2000 is subject to confirmation by HM Treasury.
(22) The inflation factor for the cost per unit in cash terms is derived from the GDP indices announced by HM Treasury on 9 March 1999.
(23) Denotes the aim in the Registry's Statement of 'Service First' Standards which are detailed in Annex C of the Business Plan 1999-2000.
Note:
Fuller details of the agency's targets are given in its Business Plan, which is available from Her Majesty's Land Registry.
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Note:
Full details of the Office's targets are given in its Business Plan, which is available from the Public Record Office.
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(24) A Dedicated Investment Portfolio is one which has been constructed to accommodate the specific requirements of the client and has a sufficiency of funds and duration to allow it to be adjusted in line with stockmarket or client circumstances.
(25) The formal investment review is a full consideration of the overall investment strategy being pursued for a particular portfolio. It is complemented by PTO policies of unitising smaller funds and benchmarking larger portfolios against stock exchange models. The investment media held in the funds are subject to on-going review as company announcements or relevant research material becomes available and actioned at any time.
(26) The target includes two new standards for the review of receivership accounts, they are to:
complete a review of 80% of receivers' accounts within 12 weeks of receipt;
review 80% of the Receiver's accounts within 12 weeks.
These standards will be reviewed on receipt of the Committee of Public Accounts' recommendations on the Comptroller and Auditor General's report 'Protecting the Financial Welfare of People with Mental Incapacity'.
Note:
Fuller details of the Office's performance targets will appear in the PTO Plan, which will be available from the Public Trust Office later in the year.
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