House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 12 Jun 2000 (pt 24)

Euro 2000

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements he has made in respect of those travelling to the Euro 2000 Football Championship. [123695]

Mr. Straw: In December 1999, I established a Euro 2000 Co-ordination Group, involving government agencies, the police and the Football Association. The aim was to ensure that comprehensive and complementary measures were put in place for minimising the risk of disorder involving England supporters during the tournament. The measures taken are outlined in the Home Office report of the Co-ordinating Group's work, a copy of which was placed in the Library on 7 June.

Global Cultural Diversity Congress

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report from the Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality on the collapse of Global Cultural Diversity Congress Ltd. [125614]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The report was submitted to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 7 June 2000.

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Home Detention Curfew

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown by ethnic group of those prisoners who were (a) eligible for release on home detention curfew in the last year and (b) released on home detention curfew in the last year. [125337]

Mr. Boateng: A breakdown by ethnic group prisoners who were eligible for release on home detention curfew and of those who were actually released on the scheme, and the release rate for each group during the period from 1 June 1999 to 31 May 2000 is shown in the table.

HDC eligibility/release figures and release rates by ethnic group between June 1999 and May 2000

Eligible Released Release rate

Total 55,175 16,108 29%

White 48,260 13,563 28%

Black 4,122 1,277 31%

South Asian 1,405 719 51%

Chinese and other 1,388 549 40%

	Eligible	Released	Release rate
Total	55,175	16,108	29%
White	48,260	13,563	28%
Black	4,122	1,277	31%
South Asian	1,405	719	51%
Chinese and other	1,388	549	40%

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Damages

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many responses he has received to his consultation document CP3/00 on the discount rate for levels of damages; how many were from (a) hon. Members, (b) the general public, (c) the legal profession and judges and (d) the insurance industry; in each case, how many favoured (i) a rate of return of 2 per cent., (ii) a rate of return of 3 per cent. and (iii) a rate of return of 4 per cent. or more; and when he plans to publish his proposals in response to the consultation. [124846]

Mr. Lock: The deadline for responses to the Lord Chancellor's damages consultation paper was 31 May. Eighty responses have been received and are being analysed. Two responses have been received from academics, one from a member of Parliament, 44 from the legal profession, 13 from the insurance industry, 11 from financial specialists and nine others. The remaining information requested by my hon. Friend will be made available to him when the analysis is complete. The Lord Chancellor expects to announce his conclusions in the early Autumn.

Reserved Judgments

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in respect of reserved judgments in the High Court for each of the last three years, (a) what was the longest period of time between conclusion of submissions and delivery of judgment, (b) what was the average period and (c) in how many cases judgment was reserved for over one month; what guidance he issues on the length of the period between the conclusion of submissions and the delivery of judgment in the High Court; what plans he has to introduce systems to ensure the prompt delivery of judgment; how much has

12 Jun 2000 : Column: 520W

been paid, earmarked, or is estimated as likely to be paid in compensation due to delayed judgments; and if he will make a statement. [124880]

Jane Kennedy: The Court Service has kept no information centrally in respect of reserved judgments over the past three years. The information could not be collected except at disproportionate cost to taxpayers.

The Lord Chancellor does not give guidance on the length of the period between the conclusion of submissions and the delivery of judgment in the High Court. He has, however, agreed with the senior judiciary that in future they will make known to him any reserved judgment which is outstanding after three months, providing an explanation of the delay and the measures which will be taken in order to ensure delivery of the judgment.

There has been no claim for compensation due to delayed judgments within the Supreme Court Group. However, the Lord Chancellor's Department expects to receive claims for compensation in respect of one case from the Supreme Court Group and one High Court case on Circuit. The amount of any compensation that may be paid for these two cases is unknown at present and no funds have been earmarked for this purpose.

Tribunal System

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the terms of reference of the inquiry by Sir Andrew Leggatt into the tribunal system. [124879]

Mr. Lock: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for Poplar and Canning Town (Mr. Fitzpatrick) on 18 May 2000, Official Report, columns 206-07W.

Magistrates Courts (Wales)

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many magistrates courts closed in Wales in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [125559]

Jane Kennedy: Three Magistrates courts closed in Wales in 1995; three in 1996; five in 1997; one in 1998; and none in 1999. Earlier data are not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The Government's policy is that the administration of magistrates courts is best decided locally. It is for each Magistrates Courts Committee to decide how best to deploy its resources, in order to carry out its statutory responsibility to provide an efficient and effective service to court users. Decisions concerning the location and number of magistrates courts in their area are for the relevant Courts Committee to determine.

Performance Indicators

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on how each of the agencies and non-departmental bodies relating to his Department performed against their key performance indicators in (a) the last year and (b) the previous two years. [125331]

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Mr. Lock: A summary of the performance in 1998-1999 and 1997-98 for those agencies and executive NDPBs for which the Lord Chancellor is responsible is shown in the table. A more detailed explanation of their achievements can be found in the respective published Annual Reports. Finalised performance figures for last year will be published in the Annual Reports for 1999-2000 which will shortly be laid before Parliament.

Summary of performance against key performance indicators

Target achieved or not achieved

1998-99 1997-98

Agency/Key performance indicator

Court Service

The average percentage of Charter standards achieved (33)n/a Achieved

The quality of service provided to Court users Achieved (33)n/a

The percentage of administrative work in the civil courts dealt with within target time Achieved Achieved

The percentage of defendants in the Crown Court whose trial begins within the waiting time target (33)n/a Achieved

The percentage of Crown Court cases that commence within target Not Achieved (33)n/a

The unit cost of an item of originating process in the Crown Court Achieved Achieved

The unit cost of an item of originating process in the civil courts Not Achieved Not Achieved

The percentage of the cost of the civil courts recovered through fees Achieved Achieved

Public Trust Office

To bring to account x per cent. of receipts and payment transactions within turnaround targets Achieved Achieved

To pay on special rate accounts an annual rate at or above the average of the agreed comparator; and to pay at least 75 per cent. of that rate on basic rate accounts Achieved Achieved

That x per cent. of all funds which have a Dedicated Investment Portfolio will have a formal investment review Achieved (33)n/a

On an annual basis, to ensure 85 per cent. of measured funds perform in line or better than their model based stock market indices (34)n/a Not Achieved

On a three year rolling basis, to ensure that 80 per cent. of all measured funds perform in line or better than their model based on stock market indices (34)n/a Not Achieved

To achieve 98 per cent. of Charter Standards Not Achieved Not Achieved

The unit per cost to be £x Not Achieved Achieved

The recovery of full costs Achieved Achieved
Key performance indicator

Public Record Office

Reduction in unit cost of selecting and preserving the public records per metre Achieved (33)n/a

Reduction in unit cost of giving access to records per information transaction Achieved (33)n/a

To reduce the backlog of records in departments reported as being over 30 years old and awaiting review Achieved Achieved

To increase the proportion of records stored to the preservation and environmental standards recommended by BS 5454 Achieved Achieved

To reduce the running costs of the Office's support services as a proportion of overall running costs Achieved Achieved

To meet Charter Standard targets for answering letters, delivering documents to users and reprographic services Achieved (33)n/a

In user satisfaction surveys: to achieve assessments of 'excellent' on 56 per cent. of survey forms returned Achieved (33)n/a

Performance in achieving specific milestone targets

To carry out the agency review of the Office and to implement its agreed recommendations to the required timetable (33)n/a Achieved

To increase revenue by 13 per cent. against the 1996-97 target (33)n/a Achieved

To extend the Office's opening hours by 29 per cent. (33)n/a Achieved

To implement the recommendations of the Scoping Study of records management in government to the timetable established Achieved (33)n/a

To increase revenue by 3.3 per cent. against the 1997-98 target Achieved (33)n/a

To produce a new edition of the PRO Guide Achieved (33)n/a

HM Land Registry

Percentage return on average capital employed Achieved Achieved

External Financing Limit Achieved Achieved

Cost per unit in real terms Achieved Achieved

Cost per unit in cash terms Achieved Achieved

Percentage of office copy and official search applications processed within two working days and Achieved Achieved

Percentage of office copies and official search applications processed within three working days Achieved (33)n/a

Time taken to process all pre-completion applications (34)n/a Achieved

Percentage of all registrations processed within 25 working days Not Achieved Achieved

Percentage of registrations processed free of any error Achieved Achieved

Percentage of customers responding to the Annual Survey who perceive the accuracy of registrations to be excellent or good Achieved Achieved

Percentage of computerised titles in the land register Achieved Achieved

Percentage of computerised title plans in the land register Not Achieved Achieved

Number of scanned pages of filed documents (millions) Achieved Achieved

Bring into force provisions of the Land Registration Act 1997 introducing new 'triggers' for compulsory first registration (33)n/a Not Achieved

Implementation of concessionary fees under the Land Registration Act 1997 Achieved (33)n/a

Number of Direct Access account holders at the end of the year Not Achieved Achieved

Implementation and evaluation of the National Land Information System Pilot Achieved (33)n/a

Executive NDPBs/Commentary on performance in 1997-98 and 1998-99(35)

Legal Aid Board(36)

The Board has 17 operational performance targets. In 1997-98 it met or exceeded 15 of its targets. In 1998-99, the Board's performance fell slightly and only 10 targets were met or exceeded. This drop in performance was expected as work in each of the Board's area offices was disrupted during the phased implementation of the Board's new computer strategy, the Corporate Information System (CIS). Prior to implementation, each area office was meeting or exceeding the targets. Following the successful implementation of CIS, performance recovered and stabilised. New and more challenging targets for some types of work were set for 1999-2000.

Information on the Legal Aid Board's performance against targets is also included in the 'Report on Executive NDPBs', published annually by the Cabinet Office.

	Target achieved or not achieved
	1998-99	1997-98
	Agency/Key performance indicator
Court Service
The average percentage of Charter standards achieved	(33)n/a	Achieved
The quality of service provided to Court users	Achieved	(33)n/a
The percentage of administrative work in the civil courts dealt with within target time	Achieved	Achieved
The percentage of defendants in the Crown Court whose trial begins within the waiting time target	(33)n/a	Achieved
The percentage of Crown Court cases that commence within target	Not Achieved	(33)n/a
The unit cost of an item of originating process in the Crown Court	Achieved	Achieved
The unit cost of an item of originating process in the civil courts	Not Achieved	Not Achieved
The percentage of the cost of the civil courts recovered through fees	Achieved	Achieved

	Public Trust Office
To bring to account x per cent. of receipts and payment transactions within turnaround targets	Achieved	Achieved
To pay on special rate accounts an annual rate at or above the average of the agreed comparator; and to pay at least 75 per cent. of that rate on basic rate accounts	Achieved	Achieved
That x per cent. of all funds which have a Dedicated Investment Portfolio will have a formal investment review	Achieved	(33)n/a
On an annual basis, to ensure 85 per cent. of measured funds perform in line or better than their model based stock market indices	(34)n/a	Not Achieved
On a three year rolling basis, to ensure that 80 per cent. of all measured funds perform in line or better than their model based on stock market indices	(34)n/a	Not Achieved
To achieve 98 per cent. of Charter Standards	Not Achieved	Not Achieved
The unit per cost to be £x	Not Achieved	Achieved
The recovery of full costs	Achieved	Achieved
Key performance indicator
	Public Record Office
Reduction in unit cost of selecting and preserving the public records per metre	Achieved	(33)n/a
Reduction in unit cost of giving access to records per information transaction	Achieved	(33)n/a
To reduce the backlog of records in departments reported as being over 30 years old and awaiting review	Achieved	Achieved
To increase the proportion of records stored to the preservation and environmental standards recommended by BS 5454	Achieved	Achieved
To reduce the running costs of the Office's support services as a proportion of overall running costs	Achieved	Achieved
To meet Charter Standard targets for answering letters, delivering documents to users and reprographic services	Achieved	(33)n/a
In user satisfaction surveys: to achieve assessments of 'excellent' on 56 per cent. of survey forms returned	Achieved	(33)n/a

	Performance in achieving specific milestone targets
To carry out the agency review of the Office and to implement its agreed recommendations to the required timetable	(33)n/a	Achieved
To increase revenue by 13 per cent. against the 1996-97 target	(33)n/a	Achieved
To extend the Office's opening hours by 29 per cent.	(33)n/a	Achieved
To implement the recommendations of the Scoping Study of records management in government to the timetable established	Achieved	(33)n/a
To increase revenue by 3.3 per cent. against the 1997-98 target	Achieved	(33)n/a
To produce a new edition of the PRO Guide	Achieved	(33)n/a

	HM Land Registry
Percentage return on average capital employed	Achieved	Achieved
External Financing Limit	Achieved	Achieved
Cost per unit in real terms	Achieved	Achieved
Cost per unit in cash terms	Achieved	Achieved
Percentage of office copy and official search applications processed within two working days and	Achieved	Achieved
Percentage of office copies and official search applications processed within three working days	Achieved	(33)n/a
Time taken to process all pre-completion applications	(34)n/a	Achieved
Percentage of all registrations processed within 25 working days	Not Achieved	Achieved
Percentage of registrations processed free of any error	Achieved	Achieved
Percentage of customers responding to the Annual Survey who perceive the accuracy of registrations to be excellent or good	Achieved	Achieved
Percentage of computerised titles in the land register	Achieved	Achieved
Percentage of computerised title plans in the land register	Not Achieved	Achieved
Number of scanned pages of filed documents (millions)	Achieved	Achieved
Bring into force provisions of the Land Registration Act 1997 introducing new 'triggers' for compulsory first registration	(33)n/a	Not Achieved
Implementation of concessionary fees under the Land Registration Act 1997	Achieved	(33)n/a
Number of Direct Access account holders at the end of the year	Not Achieved	Achieved
Implementation and evaluation of the National Land Information System Pilot	Achieved	(33)n/a

	Executive NDPBs/Commentary on performance in 1997-98 and 1998-99(35)
Legal Aid Board(36)
	The Board has 17 operational performance targets. In 1997-98 it met or exceeded 15 of its targets. In 1998-99, the Board's performance fell slightly and only 10 targets were met or exceeded. This drop in performance was expected as work in each of the Board's area offices was disrupted during the phased implementation of the Board's new computer strategy, the Corporate Information System (CIS). Prior to implementation, each area office was meeting or exceeding the targets. Following the successful implementation of CIS, performance recovered and stabilised. New and more challenging targets for some types of work were set for 1999-2000.
	Information on the Legal Aid Board's performance against targets is also included in the 'Report on Executive NDPBs', published annually by the Cabinet Office.

(33) Target not applicable to this year

(34) Not applicable as target discontinued

(35) Only active executive NDPBs are listed. Advisory NDPBs are not set Key Performance Indicators in the same way

(36) The Legal Services Commission replaced the Legal Aid Board on 1 April 2000

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