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Chlormequat
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the use of chlormequat in the United Kingdom (a) over the last five years and (b) at present. [103292]
Ms Quin: Chlormequat is approved for use in the UK on various cereal and oilseed crops, beans, peas and ornamental plants. Data on pesticide usage in the UK are collected by the Pesticide Usage Survey Group (PUSG), within the Government's Central Science Laboratory.
The PUSG's data for 1995 to 1998 show that around 98 per cent. of chlormequat use in the UK is on cereal crops. This is equivalent to approximately 2.7 million hectares treated per year. The detailed figures for cereals and the other crops on which use is approved are given
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in PUSG reports numbers 136, 141, 151-153 and 159, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House. Results for 1999 are still being gathered and processed.
Government surveys of pesticide residues in food, conducted under the guidance of the Working Party on Pesticides Residues (WPPR), have suggested that there has been some unproved use of chlormequat on fruiting pear trees in the UK by a minority of growers. An enforcement programme has been put into place. Results from surveys in 1995, 1997 and 1998 can be found in the WPPR reports for those years. Results from the first six months of 1999 were published in November via a pesticides residues monitoring information sheet. A copy of this and the WPPR reports for 1995 to 1998 are available in the Libraries of the House.
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Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what written material on the Human Rights Act 1998 has been prepared for judges; and if he will place copies in the Library. [103830]
Mr. Lock:
The Judicial Studies board for Northern Ireland has held five lectures on several European Conventions on Human Rights topics since February 1998. The following material was provided:
A complete set of the material issued to date by the Judicial Studies Board for Northern Ireland has been placed in the Library.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the budget is for judicial training in Northern Ireland on the Human Rights Act 1998. [103829]
Mr. Lock:
Following the Comprehensive Spending Review allocation, the Northern Ireland Court Service received (in the 1999-2000 financial year) £100,000 to fund judicial training on the Human Rights Act 1998. The
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allocation was in addition to the Judicial Studies Board annual budget of £30,000, a substantial proportion of which has been used during the years 1998-99 and 1999-2000 to fund the Board's programme of Human Rights Act training.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in each year since 1991 how many (a) Parliamentary Counsel, (b) senior draftsmen and (c) other draftsmen have been engaged at the Law Commission on consolidation work. [105646]
Mr. Lock:
The numbers of Parliamentary Counsel on secondment to the Law Commission, other senior draftsmen employed at the Commission and other draftsmen seconded to, or employed at, the Commission engaged on consolidation in each complete year since 1991 are as follows:
Incorporation of the ECHR--The right hon. Lord Irvine of Lairg.
The Board's programme for 1999-2000 includes a series of three case study events covering civil law, family law and criminal law. A comprehensive pack of reading materials (including case studies, publications and other reading materials) have been issued, in order that the judiciary may prepare for the seminars. The materials included in the pack are as follows:
The Human Rights Bill: Its effect on Criminal Proceedings--Ben Emmerson
The European Convention on Human Rights (as amended by Protocol No. 11) booklet--European Treaty Series, No. 5.
The Human Rights Act and Commercial Law--Michael Smyth.
ECHR and Judicial Review, Briefing Public Policy--Incorporation of the ECHR--The Implications for Business--Murray Hunt.
The Margin of Appreciation, The 'Horizontal' Application of Human Rights and Proportionality--the right hon. Lord Justice Sedley.
In addition, steps are being taken to ensure the availability of European Convention on Human Rights case law and textbooks in all court offices before the Act is commenced and the Northern Ireland Court Service intranet will have a Human Rights section which will permit the judiciary access to Northern Ireland judgments, judgments from England and Wales and Scotland and access to Human Rights websites. The purchase of subscription based Human Rights internet products is also being considered.
The Human Rights Act and the Civil Courts--Richard Plender QC.
Human Rights Act 1998 (Blackstone's)--John Wadham and Helen Mountfield.
Human Rights Law and Practice--Chapters 1 & 2 of Lester and Pannick (Butterworths).
Family Law and the Human Rights Act 1998--Michael Horowitz QC, Michael Nicholls and Geoffrey Kingcote.
Archbold Chapter 16--Ben Emmerson.
Civil Law, Family Law and Criminal Law case studies and Notes of Cases relevant to the Syndicate Exercises.
| Parliamentary counsel | Other senior draftsmen | Other draftsmen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 1993 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 1994 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 1995 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 1996 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Service Discipline Acts
Mr. Key: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made in the consolidation of the three Service Discipline Acts commenced in July 1991; and when he expects the work to be completed. [105645]
Mr. Lock: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to him on 8 June 1999, Official Report, column 318W. Consideration is now being given to the approach to the consolidation of the Acts, in the light of changes to them envisaged in the current Armed Forces Discipline Bill and the probability of further change in the next Armed Forces Bill, and in the light of plans for a tri-Service Act.
Magistrates
Mr. Ennis: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the average age of the magistrates who sit on the (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster bench. [105168]
Jane Kennedy: The average age of the magistrates who sit on the Barnsley and Doncaster benches is 55 for each.
Mr. Ennis: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) women and (b) disabled magistrates sit on the (i) Barnsley and (ii) Doncaster bench. [105167]
Jane Kennedy:
There are currently 66 women on the Barnsley bench and 89 on the Doncaster bench. No formal records are kept of those who are disabled on either the Barnsley or the Doncaster benches.
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Dr. Cable:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list for the period since May 1997 the cases he has investigated involving the conduct of individual Judges and the action taken as a result. [105335]
Jane Kennedy:
The principle of judicial independence, which is central to our constitutional arrangements, means that it is not open to the Lord Chancellor or his Department to consider complaints about judicial decisions. However, as Head of the Judiciary the Lord Chancellor does consider complaints about the personal conduct of individual Judges and other judicial office holders. The names of the complainant and the Judge are confidential. However, in the period between August 1998 (when new internal arrangements for handling such complaints came into force) and December 1999, the Lord Chancellor received a total of 3,903 complaints about members of the judiciary. The majority of these related to judicial decisions. Of the remainder, 367 related to personal conduct and were taken forward for investigation by seeking the complainants's consent for the complaint to be copied to the Judge. In 282 cases, consent was received and the Lord Chancellor then approached the Judge concerned for his or her response to the allegations and relayed these to the complainant. On 13 occasions, he saw fit to take further action, either by writing to the Judge or by arranging for him or her to be seen by officials. Comparable figures for the period before August 1998 are unavailable.
Mr. Fraser:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what bodies his Department has consulted on each of its programmes since May 1997. [105242]
Jane Kennedy:
The Lord Chancellor's Department consult widely on proposals across the diverse range of policies for which it is responsible. There is no central record of consultees, and one could be assembled only at disproportionate expense.
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