---

Judges

Ms Keeble: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to her answer of 12 April 2000, Official Report, column 222-23W, when she will make a further statement on part-time judicial appointments to tribunals. [124542]

Jane Kennedy: On 12 April 2000, the Lord Chancellor announced that he and the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Social Security had agreed with the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, new arrangements for part-time judicial appointments. Similar arrangements have now been put in place for an additional range of part-time Tribunal appointments for which the Lord Chancellor is responsible and for appointments made by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, the Secretary of State for Health, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the President of the Council and the Home Secretary.

The Lord Chancellor has also agreed with the Lord President of the Court of Session that for those Tribunals which sit in Scotland, but where appointments remain wholly or partly the responsibility of Westminster Ministers, the Lord President will assume the role that the Lord Chief Justices have already agreed to for appointments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In practice, this will mean that the Lord President will have to concur in all decisions to remove or not to renew an appointment.

Where Scottish Ministers and the National Assembly for Wales are now consulted on appointments to Tribunals in accordance with the relevant Statutory provisions or Devolution Concordats, they will also be consulted on removals from office, and decisions not to renew appointments.

These changes will come into effect immediately.

5 Jun 2000 : Column: 150W

I am placing in the Library of the House a joint statement signed by the Lord Chancellor and the Lord President setting out the arrangements for the following Tribunals, which may sit in Scotland:

Part-time Immigration Adjudicators


Part-time members of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal


Part-time members of the Income and Corporation Taxes Tribunal


Deputy Special Commissioners for Income Tax Commissioners


Part-time members of the unified appeals service


Deputy Social Security and Child Support Commissioners


Part-time President and Chairmen of the Transport Tribunal


Deputy Traffic Commissioners.

I am also placing in the Library of the House joint statements signed by the specified Minister and by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales covering the following fixed-term appointments to Tribunals:

Lord Chancellor

Part-time President and Chairman of the Transport Tribunal

Part-time President and Vice President and Chairmen of the Rent Assessment Panels

Part-time Commons Commissioners

Arbitrators for the Motor Insurance Bureau

Part-time Agricultural Arbitrators

Part-time members of the Agricultural Land Tribunals

Part-time members of the Mental Health Review Tribunals

Part-time President and Chairmen of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal

Part-time Chairman and Deputy Chairmen National Health Service Tribunal

Legal panel Registered Homes Tribunal

Part-time Chairmen of the Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal

Part-time Chairmen of the Misuse of Drugs Tribunal

Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions

Part-time members of the Transport Tribunal

Part-time members of Rent Assessment Committees

Deputy Traffic Commissioners

Secretary of State for Education and Employment

Part-time members of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal

Secretary of State for Health

Part-time members of the National Health Service Tribunal

President of the Council

Part-time members of the Registered Homes Tribunal

Home Secretary

Part-time members of the Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal

Part-time members of the Misuse of Drugs Tribunal.

I am also placing in the Library of the House joint statements signed by the specified Minister and by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland covering the following fixed-term appointments to Tribunals:

Lord Chancellor

Part-time Chairmen and members of the Appeal Tribunals

Part-time Chairmen of the Fair Employment Tribunal

Part-time members of the Tribunal established under Section 91 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998

Part-time members of the Reserve Forces Appeal Tribunal

Part-time Chairmen and members of the Mental Health Review Tribunal

Part-time Chairmen of the Registered Homes Tribunal

Part-time President and Chairmen of the Special Needs Tribunal

5 Jun 2000 : Column: 151W

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Part-time Chairmen and Commissioners of the Sentence Review Commission.

The First and Deputy First Ministers of the New Assembly for Northern Ireland are being invited to agree that the new arrangements be brought before the Executive Committee with a view to an announcement being made to the Assembly by the relevant Northern Ireland Ministers.

Kenneth Noye

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department for what reason the Lord Chancellor has not replied to the letter of 30 April from the parents of the late Stephen Cameron about the award of legal aid to Kenneth Noye; when he plans to do so; and what the circumstances are in which such an award can be made. [124033]

Mr. Lock: The Lord Chancellor replied to Mr. and Mrs. Cameron on 1 June. An award of legal aid is made in a criminal case where the court considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so and that the defendant needs help to meet his or her legal costs.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Errol Flynn

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 May 2000, Official Report, columns 76-77W, on intelligence records, if he will make a statement on the timetable for reviewing and releasing historical records relating to the (a) inter- war period and (b) Second World War, with special reference to film stars of that era. [123825]

Mr. Straw: As stated in my reply of 2 May 2000, Official Report, columns 76-77W, the Security Service is currently reviewing and releasing records from its archive covering the Second World War. The next period to be covered by the review will be the inter-war period.

This is a systematic process of review and there are no specific procedures for particular categories of people such as film stars.

Economic Migration

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on ending specific skill shortages by permitting economic migration; and if he will make a statement. [123728]

Mrs. Roche: Equipping people in the United Kingdom through education and training is key to addressing specific skill shortages. Enhancing access for skilled people from overseas is also important. The Home Office's formal aim for immigration explicitly recognises regulation of entry to and settlement in the United Kingdom in the interests of social stability and economic growth. Within the European Union, freedom of movement means that there is in effect a free market for employment. For non-European Economic Area nationals, the Immigration Rules provide for people seeking to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for specified employment and business purposes, subject to the

5 Jun 2000 : Column: 152W

conditions in the Rules. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has responsibility for the work permit service which is specifically designed to enable employers in the United Kingdom to recruit skilled people from abroad, and recently announced measures aimed at further developing this service.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the backlog of cases awaiting examination at the Criminal Cases Review Commission; and what was the backlog on the same date in each year since its establishment. [123602]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I understand that, at the end of April this year, the Criminal Cases Review Commission had 921 cases awaiting review. The number of cases awaiting review at the end of April in 1997, 1998 and 1999 were 412, 860 and 1,198 respectively.

Criminal Assets

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) of 2 February 2000, Official Report, columns 599-600W, on criminal assets, when he plans to publish the White Paper on financial crime. [123774]

Mr. Charles Clarke: We will announce our plans when the Performance and Innovation Unit report is published.

ACPO Crime Committee Survey

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the forces which responded to the survey by the Association of Chief Police Officers Crime Committee, indicating those which (a) (i) had carried out or (ii) were then carrying out investigations into institutional child abuse during the period covered by the questionnaire and (b) had previously been involved in similar investigations. [123292]

Mr. Charles Clarke: For operational reasons the information was sought and supplied in confidence and I am therefore not in a position to answer the question to the level of detail requested. The information is now 12 months old and will be out of date because the situation is changing on a daily basis.

---