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Judicial Appointments
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department of the judicial vacancies filled since May 1997 in the (a) House of Lords, (b) Court of Appeal, (c) High Court and (d) Circuit Bench, how many were filled by (i) women, (ii) people from ethnic minorities and (iii) solicitors. [100417]
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Mr. Lock:
The available information is as follows:
The figures for the number of appointments made since May 1997 and the further breakdown by gender, ethnic background and professional background are detailed in the table.
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| Post | Appointments made | Number of females | Number of ethnic minority background | Solicitors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Lords | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Court of Appeal | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| High Court | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Circuit Bench | 71 | 12 | 1 | 4 |
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many vacancies for judicial appointments there were in the (a) House of Lords, (b) Court of Appeal and (c) High Court in each of the last three years. [100418]
Mr. Lock: From the information available the number of vacancies for judicial appointments in the House of Lords, Court of Appeal and the High Court for the past three years is as follows:
| House of Lords | Court of Appeal | High Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 2 | 2(3) | 9 |
| 1997 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 1998 | 2 | 2 | 5(2) |
| 1999 | 1 | 4 | 5(1) |
Note:
The figures in brackets represent additional appointments. In 1996 there were three additional appointments to the Court of Appeal. In 1998 there were two additional appointments to the High Court and in 1999 there was one additional appointment to the High Court. These appointments were additional in that they did not arise from vacancies caused by promotion or retirement.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when Sir Leonard Peach was commissioned to conduct his inquiry into the procedures for appointing judges and QCs; by what date he was asked to report; and when the Lord Chancellor expects to receive the report. [100446]
Jane Kennedy: The Lord Chancellor announced on 27 July 1999 that he had appointed Sir Leonard Peach to provide a report on the operation of the appointments procedures. At that time Sir Leonard expected to report during the last quarter of the year. The Lord Chancellor expects to receive the report soon and for it to be published before Christmas.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to advertise for candidates for the eight new vacancies on the High Court Bench approved on 23 November. [100414]
Mr. Lock:
My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor does not advertise vacancies on the High Court Bench on an individual basis. However, the Lord Chancellor has placed advertisements indicating that he welcomes applications from practitioners who wish to put themselves forward for appointment to the High Court Bench and continues to welcome such applications.
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In the light of the statutory instrument passed in the House of Commons on 23 November, my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor is considering if it is appropriate to place further advertisements in order to encourage suitably qualified and experienced Barristers and Solicitors to put themselves forward for appointment to the High Court.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the research report, "Paths to Justice", published by the Nuffield Foundation, in respect of public confidence in the judiciary. [100445]
Jane Kennedy:
The Lord Chancellor and I are both very grateful to Professor Genn for undertaking the research in "Paths to Justice". The report reveals that the perception of judges is inconsistent with the true facts, as evidenced by the high level of satisfaction with judges which most court users report--a level of satisfaction which is remarkable, considering that in every court case there has to be a winner and a loser, and therefore a disappointed party. It is important that deserved public confidence in the judiciary is maintained.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the average cost per day of a trial in a Magistrates Court (a) at which a stipendiary magistrate presides and (b) before lay justices. [100315]
Jane Kennedy:
The information requested is not yet available. The Government have commissioned research to assess the relative costs, effectiveness and other benefits/disadvantages of Stipendiary and lay magistrates, taking into account all related costs including those of other agencies.
Departmental Transport
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what motor mileage allowance rates his Department offers to (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants using their own vehicles for official business; and what has been the cost of each in each of the last five years. [98696]
Yvette Cooper: In the Department the current motor mileage allowance rates for Ministers and civil servants who use their own vehicles are 40 pence per mile for the first 4,000 miles in a financial year and 22.5 pence per mile for mileage in excess of 4,000 miles.
Ministers, when travelling on official business, may use a private car instead of an official car, and claim mileage allowance in the same circumstances and on the same terms as civil servants in the Department.
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The cost of motor mileage allowance payments is available for each of the last three years only:
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will investigate claims that children's organs were removed following their deaths without informed parental consent, and retained by medical staff at Alder Hey Children's Hospital on Merseyside. [99402]
Mr. Denham:
In October the former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) announced he would be launching an investigation into the retention of organs, following inquiries by Alder Hey Hospital which had revealed that in a number of cases, other organs as well as hearts were retained from children who underwent post mortems. He asked the Chief Medical Officer to conduct an investigation to look into what happened not just at Alder Hey Hospital, but in the country generally and its implications for the National Health Service as a whole. This investigation is under way.
Dr. Harris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibility the Food Standards Agency will have for the health aspects of nutrition. [99282]
Yvette Cooper:
The division of responsibilities for nutrition between the Food Standards Agency and Health departments is set out in chapter 5 of the White Paper "The Food Standards Agency: A Force for Change", copies of which are available in the Library.
The White paper states:
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1996-97: £824,000
1997-98: £877,000
1998-99: £816,000
of which the following was paid to Ministers:
1996-97: £69
1997-98: £189
1998-99: £0
The Government propose that the agency will:
be responsible for monitoring and surveillance of the nutrient content of food and the nutrient content of the diet,
provide authoritative factual information about the nutrient content of individual foods and advice on the diet as a whole,
secure expert scientific advice on the relationship between diet, nutritional status and health to support the definition of a healthy diet and to inform policy from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) 1 ,
provide the definition of a balanced diet, based on COMA's 1 scientific advice, for subsequent use in health education material produced by other bodies,
where appropriate, propose legislation relating to nutritional aspects of food, including labelling and claims, dietary supplements sold as food, fortified foods and functional foods,
provide practical guidance in relation to nutritional aspects of the food chain, including production and catering,
commission food and diet research appropriate to the functions of the agency,
represent the United Kingdom in international negotiations on issues relating to nutritional aspects of food,
formulate policy and provide advice to Ministers on these issues.
The agency will share with Health departments responsibility for:
providing the joint secretariat to the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) 1 . (COMA 1 will advise Health departments and the agency),
surveillance of the nutritional status of people,
defining the health education message on nutritional issues, taking account of both food and wider health issues,
policy formulation and advice to Ministers on these issues, for example in relation to Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, and public health aspects of food fortification.
Health departments will retain responsibility for:
wider public health policy issues including conditions (such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis or obesity) where nutritional status is one of a number of risk factors,
consideration of vulnerable groups and inequalities issues,
health education on wider behavioural issues which may include but go beyond nutrition (such as smoking, drinking, physical activity),
all links with the NHS and health professionals, breastfeeding promotion in the NHS, clinical nutrition and dietetics including hospital catering and nutritional therapy,
dietary supplements which are controlled by the Medicines Act (through the Medicines Control Agency),
health surveillance of the population,
and international negotiations on health matters.
1 The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) will be succeeding the current advisory Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA).
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