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Court Houses
Mr. Townend: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will review the decision of the Humberside Magistrates Courts Committee to close the court houses in east Yorkshire and change the petty sessions areas. [140562]
Jane Kennedy: The Justices of the Peace Act 1997 provides that decisions concerning magistrates courts and petty sessions areas are for the local magistrates courts committee.
I have received three appeals against proposed courthouse closures in the Humberside Magistrates Courts Committee area. When the parties have completed their representations, I will decide the appeals. I have one application to reorganise petty sessions areas in the same area. I will consider this application when it is complete.
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the impact on the number of firms that will be able to put in applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission into legal aid support following the introduction of the changes to the franchise requirements in April 2001. [140836]
Mr. Lock: In order to ensure minimum quality standards for firms providing publicly funded defence services, from 2 October 2000, only those firms with a Crime Franchise were entitled to carry out work funded by the Legal Services Commission. This includes applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). Although the number of offices of legal firms doing criminal work reduced from some 6,500 to 3,300, these 3,300 offices represented over 90 per cent. of expenditure for criminal legal aid in the previous 12 months.
In order to accommodate those firms which specialised in CCRC work, special arrangements were introduced in March 2000 to enable them to obtain a Crime Franchise.
From April 2001 all work funded by the LSC will be under contract and all firms with a Crime Franchise will be eligible. It is expected that the 3,300 quality assured firms currently working in this area will apply for a contract and continue to provide services after April 2001.
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much legal aid was paid for appeals to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in each of the past three years. [140842]
Jane Kennedy: Criminal legal advice and assistance is available to make applications before the Criminal Cases Review Commission. However, the Legal Services Commission does not keep central records at the necessary level of detail to readily identify expenditure on these cases. The information requested could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Judicial Appointments
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) barristers and (b) solicitors have been appointed Circuit Judges in the last five years who have not sat previously as recorders. [140847]
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Jane Kennedy: During the period 27 November 1995 to 28 November 2000 the total number of circuit judge appointments was 186. Out of this figure,
- (a) three barristers, and
- (b) four solicitors
- had not sat previously as recorders, although all but one had other judicial experience prior to appointment.
Lawson Case
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will place in the Library a transcript of the case of Rev. Paul Lawson and Harry Lawson, 4 August 1998 to 13 August 1998. [140838]
Jane Kennedy: Paul and Harry Lawson were acquitted and as a result no transcript of the case was ever prepared. I am therefore unable to place a copy in the Library.
Marshals
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in relation to the High Court judges marshall when on circuit (1) (a) what are the duties of the marshal, (b) who appoints the marshal, (c) who pays the wages and fees of the marshal, (d) what was the total cost of the marshal service to public funds for each of the last three years, (e) what uniform, dress code or badge of office distinguishes the marshal, (f) how many marshals there are and (g) what are the qualifications and experience required to be a marshal; and if he will make a statement; [140808]
- (2) (a) what is the selection or appointment procedure is followed in choosing a marshal, (b) what training is given to ensure the marshal is appointed in accordance with equal opportunities legislation, (c) for each of the last two years, how many marshals were (i) men, (ii) women and (iii) from ethnic minority backgrounds; and if he will make a statement. [140807]
Mr. Lock: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before prorogation. I shall write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.
Fast-track Cases
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what monitoring of costs in fast-track cases has taken place; what data relating to costs in fast track-cases have been collected; and if he will make a statement. [140816]
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to introduce benchmark costs for fast-track civil cases; and if he will make a statement. [140817]
Mr. Lock: The Government have no plans at present to introduce benchmark costs for fast-track civil cases.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consultations he has held on the issue of benchmark costs in fast-track cases; and if he will make a statement. [140822]
Mr. Lock: Following consultation with senior judiciary, my Department commissioned a scoping study to identify the existing sources and quality of data that
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could be accessed in order to assist judges to take a consistent approach when carrying out summary assessment of costs for pre-trial proceedings in fast-track cases and selected proceedings in multi-track cases, and to propose a method of gathering data and analysing it in order to provide a basis for benchmarking.
The study found that fixed and benchmarking exercise could not be developed from historical data and recommended that a sampling exercise be carried out to obtain and analyse reliable data to inform any decisions on the establishment of fixed and benchmark costs.
The findings of the study were discussed with the senior judiciary. They felt that guidelines should be developed using the expert knowledge of the judiciary and in consultation with the professions, on the basis that actual data might only produce figures reflecting the current inconsistent approach to assessment.
The Senior Costs Judge has, through consultation with designated civil judges, district judges and representatives of the legal profession, collected and published guideline rates for solicitors throughout the country, to assist judges and practitioners when carrying out summary assessment. The Senior Costs Judge, at the request of the Master of the Rolls, is consulting widely with judges, the legal profession and other groups in order to develop benchmark figures for a limited range of procedures in both the fast track and the multi-track. The senior judiciary envisage that the benchmark figures might be applied to those procedures, while at the same time retaining the discretion of the court to depart from them in out of the ordinary cases. The senior judiciary wish to see how the benchmark scheme operates in practice before it is extended to other procedures or further developed for the fast-track.
Civil Procedure Rules
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases have been issued in the County Court since the Civil Procedure Rules were introduced solely to determine the issue of assessment of costs. [140818]
Mr. Lock: The numbers of requests for detailed assessment hearings are set out in the following table.
(44) BMS Task JH75
(45) BMS Task DR55
30 Nov 2000 : Column: 912W
Legal Costs
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department for each of the last two years, what was (a) the longest, (b) the shortest and (c) the average wait for an assessment appointment before a taxing master in London; and what is the current expected time scale for obtaining an appointment. [140809]
Mr. Lock: Figures are not available in the format requested. However, over the last two years, bills up to £35,000 in value have been subject to an average wait of six to eight weeks and bills over £35,000 between three and five months. Currently, bills up to £50,000 are subject to an average delay of six weeks and bills over £50,000, five months.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, for each of the last two years how many district judges have referred, from their county courts, cost assessments to the Supreme Court Costs Office; and if he will make a statement. [140810]
Mr. Lock: Statistics are not kept in the form requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the procedures he has assessed as suitable for benchmarking of costs; and if he will make a statement. [140820]
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what arrangements are in place to collect information about summary assessments of costs after (a) interim and (b) final hearings; and if he will make a statement. [140821]
Mr. Lock: While details of these assessments should be retained on court files there are no arrangements in place at present for central collation and processing of the information they contain.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he plans to introduce benchmarking of costs; and if he will make a statement. [140819]
Mr. Lock: The Government have no plans at present to introduce benchmarking of costs.
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