| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Stipendiary Magistrates
Mr. Malins: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to increase the number of stipendiary magistrates. [95471]
Jane Kennedy: My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor recently consulted on a proposal to increase the present ceiling of 50 provincial stipendiary magistrates. After considering the responses received to the consultation, the Lord Chancellor proposes to seek parliamentary approval to an increase in the ceiling to 56.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to increase the jurisdiction of the stipendiary bench. [95473]
27 Oct 1999 : Column: 926
Jane Kennedy:
I have no plans to increase the jurisdiction of the stipendiary bench.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the annual estimated manning costs of Derbyshire's magistrates courts will be in the three years immediately after the completion of the Private Finance Initiative for the county's courts; and what were their running costs on the same basis in 1996, 1997 and 1998. [95482]
Jane Kennedy:
Cleaning and care-taking costs for the three years mentioned are 1996-97--£114,461; 1997-98--£116,656; 1998-99--£123,572. The cost of providing security cover is separately provided by the private sector: 1996-97--£86,500; 1997-98--£92,595; 1998-99--£105,037. These costs include cash carrying duties that cannot be separated from guard duties. No information on the likely costs under the PFI project will be available until bids in response to the Invitation to Tender are received and evaluated during December. Any decision to transfer staff to the private sector will be made on a value for money basis.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the latest estimated cost of the investigation and preparation of the Private Finance Initiative for property connected with Derbyshire magistrates courts. [95527]
Jane Kennedy:
The latest estimated cost of advisers and the local authority management fees for the investigation and preparation of the Private Finance Initiative project involving Derbyshire magistrates courts is £673,582. Costs have increased because work has been undertaken to establish the feasibility of bringing back in to use a listed building as a magistrates court.
Mr. Flight:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the operation of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. [95451]
Mr. Lock:
The Lord Chancellor wrote to the President of the Law Society on 23 July. The letter set targets for the Law Society to achieve; these are that the number of unresolved cases on the Office's books should be down to 6,000 by 31 December 2000; and following this, 90 per cent. of cases should be dealt with within three months of receipt and 100 per cent. within five months. For the three months to date the backlog has been reduced by 1,700 cases ahead of target. I am encouraged with the progress that the Office has made towards reducing the backlog of complaints. I do recognise, however, that there is a long way to go for the Office to reach the targets set by the Lord Chancellor.
Sir John Stanley:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what response the Government have made to the recent request from the Secretariat for the Hague Convention on Child Abduction for an increase in funding from states who are parties to the Convention. [95479]
27 Oct 1999 : Column: 927
Jane Kennedy:
The Lord Chancellor met the Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law in The Hague on 22 October. This issue was not raised. As and when a request of this nature is made it will receive due consideration.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he (a) has established and (b) published a baseline for policy appraisal against which to measure progress on equal treatment. [94864]
Jane Kennedy:
The Government are committed to ensuring their policies are fair and inclusive, and focus on public service users, not providers. This aim is contained in guidance (published in 1998) which helps Departments consider the impact of their policies on gender, ethnicity and disability. In addition to considering impact the guidance encourages consultation with women's groups and others where appropriate and action to deal with any differential impact if this appears appropriate. My Department applies the principles enshrined in the guidance in developing its policies. For example in developing the Community Legal Service (CLS), a wide variety of views is being canvassed. For the CLS website we are investigating how access can be facilitated for people with disabilities or who do not use English as a first language. In developing the Quality Mark for
27 Oct 1999 : Column: 928
services to be provided by CLS members, we have consulted bodies representative of the interests of ethnic minority groups and of people with disabilities. Indeed bodies such as the Commission for Racial Equality and DIAL UK are members of the Task Force charged with progressing this development.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the intended use is for the funds raised from new witness summons fee of £30. [95531]
Jane Kennedy:
The fee is intended to recover the cost associated with the service for which the fee is paid. This includes not only the work involved with the issue of the witness summons but also the extra time at the trial likely to result from the witness giving evidence.
Dr. Moonie:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Government will publish its proposals for making decisions on behalf of mentally incapacitated adults. [96525]
Jane Kennedy:
The Lord Chancellor has today issued a Policy Statement, "Making Decisions" which sets out the Government's proposals. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
27 Oct 1999 : Column: 927