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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Judges' Lodgings
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if stocked wine cellars provided for the use of judges in judges' lodgings are provided (a) free of charge, (b) at cost price or (c) at commercial price; and if he will make a statement. [139148]
Jane Kennedy: Stocked wine cellars are not provided for judges. Any wine purchased by the lodgings manager for consumption during periods of judicial occupation is purchased at retail prices and is paid for from the judges' weekly allowance.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what guidance is given to High Court judges on using judges' lodgings for (a) formal and (b) private entertaining; what budget is given to each judge for formal entertaining; and what the total amount spent on entertaining by judges using lodgings was in each of the last five years. [139227]
Jane Kennedy: Guidance agreed with the Judiciary on the use of lodgings states that entertaining should generally not exceed one formal lunch party and one dinner party per week and that
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A weekly allowance of £310 per week is made where one judge occupies a lodgings and £230 per week per judge where a lodgings is occupied by two judges or more, to cover the cost of all food and drink for judge, clerk and marshal. This sum also has to cover all formal entertaining. Should a judge exceed the allowance allocated, for whatever reason, the additional expenditure will be paid by the judge.
No separate records are held of the cost of formal entertaining.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on how many occasions judges used judges' lodgings for (a) formal lunches, (b) formal dinners and (c) other formal entertaining (i) on average and (ii) in total, indicating the lodging which had (A) the greatest and (B) the least use in each of the last five years. [139228]
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Jane Kennedy: No records are held of the number of formal lunches, dinners or other entertaining by judges at lodgings. The guidance on the use of lodgings agreed with the judiciary states that entertaining should not exceed one formal lunch party and one dinner party per week.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list for each judges' lodging (a) the number and (b) the job descriptions of staff employed to service the lodging and serve judges staying there and (c) the annual (i) staff wages and (ii) staff costs for each lodging. [139230]
Jane Kennedy: The information is contained in the table.
Because staffing numbers at the hired lodgings (and some of the permanent ones) vary depending on judicial occupation, actual staffing levels for the period 1999-2000 have been given.
The figure for other staff costs comprises staff travel and subsistence costs incurred on business related to the lodgings.
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(24) Some staff are provided as part of the overall hire charge. No split of the cost of salaries is available.
(25) This is a hired lodgings and staff are provided as part of the overall hire charge. No split of the cost of salaries is available.
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Barristers (Remuneration)
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the effect the reduction in fees paid to barristers for crime and family work from legal aid will have on the availability of experienced barristers to carry out such work on legal aid. [139152]
Mr. Lock: Our proposals for legal aid fees aim to ensure that there will be a sufficient number of good quality barristers willing to undertake criminal and family work in the future. The proposals have been the subject of extensive consultation from 4 July to 12 October. The Lord Chancellor and I will consider the responses received and representations made very carefully. We would be concerned if any significant drain of experienced barristers from these areas of practice was likely to be the result of a new fee regime; and would not have submitted any proposals for consultation which we believed would have had that effect. In view of current market circumstances, the Lord Chancellor and I are not presently persuaded that there is likely to be a lack of supply of competent barristers in either area to carry out publicly funded work.
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