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Palace of Westminster
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what estimate he has made of the costs of maintaining and repairing the Palace of Westminster in the current financial year. [101266]
Sir Sydney Chapman: Repair and maintenance costs exclusively charged to the Palace of Westminster are forecast to be some £27 million this financial year.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Shrewsbury County Court
38. Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the progress made in refurbishing the Shrewsbury county court. [101256]
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Jane Kennedy:
Plans to refurbish Shrewsbury county court are now well advanced. The only matter, which remains to be resolved, is the arrangements for payment of the agreed contribution of £40,000 to the Court Service by the local authorities.
39. Mr. Ruffley:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations he has received regarding McKenzie friends. [101257]
Mr. Lock:
I have received representations from Families Need Fathers, the Equal Parenting Party and from 10 Members of this House.
40. Mr. Jack:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to increase the total number of magistrates in England and Wales. [101258]
Jane Kennedy:
I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the oral answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson).
43. Angela Smith:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what actions his Department is taking to ensure that the magistracy reflects the socio-economic balance of the community it serves. [101261]
Jane Kennedy:
My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor requires his local Advisory Committees to do more than simply reflect the socio-economic balance of the community. He wishes to ensure that benches broadly reflect the communities they serve in terms of social background, gender, ethnic origin, geographical spread and occupation. Social background is currently defined in terms of political affiliation, which is unsatisfactory, and an alternative is being sought.
41. Dr. Cable:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the Lord Chancellor's Department's role in representing the United Kingdom in discussions on e-commerce. [101259]
Mr. Lock:
E-commerce falls within the area of ministerial responsibility of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Various Departments, including the Lord Chancellor's Department, have interests in the policy implications of e-commerce and there has been full consultation and co-ordination between them.
42. Mr. Woodward:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much judicial time in the Crown court the Government estimate will be taken up hearing appeals on the venue of trials. [101260]
Jane Kennedy:
If defendants wish to test magistrates' decisions to try a case instead of sending it for jury trial, they will be able to lodge a written appeal in the Crown court. The judicial time needed to deal with these appeals in the Crown court is estimated to be 148 days a year.
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45. Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many magistrates courts there were in 1979; what the current figure is; and if he will make a statement. [101263]
Jane Kennedy:
There were 435 magistrates courthouses, containing a total of 1,570 courtrooms, at 30 September 1999. There were 516 courthouses containing 1,735 courtrooms in September 1995. There are no earlier figures held centrally. Under the Justices of the Peace Act 1979, the provision of magistrates courthouse accommodation is a matter for the courts committee for the area concerned to determine, in conjunction with the local paying authority.
47. Mr. Blunt:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what account the Lord Chancellor takes of the views of the Council of Circuit Judges on proposed changes in the work of the courts. [101265]
Jane Kennedy:
The views of Her Majesty's Council of Circuit Judges are sought on a wide range of policy and operational issues. Its responses receive the same careful consideration as those of other consultees.
Mr. Viggers:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what recent consultations he has had with the Council of Circuit Judges on efficient allocation of judicial resources. [101264]
Jane Kennedy:
The Court Service meets regularly with representatives of the Council of Circuit Judges, most recently on 2 December. I understand that resources and allocations were discussed then.
Mr. Leslie:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans the Government have for a review of the criminal courts. [102975]
Jane Kennedy:
My noble and learned Friend, the Lord Chancellor, has appointed the right hon. Lord Justice Auld to conduct a review of the criminal courts. The terms of reference of the review are as follows:
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many Justices of the Peace were appointed in England and Wales in the last 12 months; and how many were (a) from an ethnic minority background, (b) men and (c) women. [102404]
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Jane Kennedy:
In the 12 months ending 30 November 1999, 1,564 Justices of the Peace were appointed in England and Wales (including the Duchy of Lancaster) of whom 802 were men and 762 were women; 123 were from an ethnic minority background, 59 men and 64 women.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will review the procedures for the enforcement of court orders relating to access by non-resident parents to their children; and if he will make a statement. [102242]
Jane Kennedy:
We have no current plans to review the law in this area. The courts have their usual powers in relation to the enforcement of contact orders, including the powers to fine or imprison those who wilfully disobey or obstruct an order. However, in considering whether to use these powers in child contact cases, the courts rightly regard the best interests of the children as being their paramount concern. Consequently the courts are unlikely to fine or imprison a parent with whom a child is resident, for breaching a contact order, if they conclude that to do so would adversely affect the child concerned. Another possibility in cases where contact is denied would be for the non-resident parent to apply to the court for the residence of the child to be changed, but, again, the court would rightly regard the interests of the child as its paramount concern in determining such an application.
Mr. David Davis:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what arrangements (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have put in place for the taking and keeping of minutes of meetings between Ministers and people outside his Department. [102361]
Mr. Lock:
Decisions on the format of minutes of meetings will depend on the nature of the discussion.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department for each of the buildings under his Department's control how many rooms are set aside for (a) ethnic minority religious use, (b) pregnant and nursing mothers and (c) smokers. [102325]
Jane Kennedy:
This information is not collected or held centrally. If customers require specific facilities they can normally be supplied on a local basis.
Mr. Hawkins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what discussions have taken place with the senior management of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors concerning the need for communication to all hon. Members on the progress regarding the backlog of outstanding cases, following the report of the Legal Services Ombudsman. [102720]
Mr. Lock:
I met the President of the Law Society on 20 October when we discussed the position at the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. We also discussed the possibility of a meeting taking place at which all hon. Members could be advised as to the progress being made in respect of the timetable for improvements at the OSS. A meeting has now been arranged by my hon. Friend the
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Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) and will take place on 26 January 2000. Representatives from the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors will be present at this meeting and will be able to discuss fully with Members the concerns about the progress being made with regard to the backlog of outstanding cases.
"An inquiry into the practices and procedures of, and the rules of evidence applied by, the criminal courts at every level, with a view to ensuring that they deliver justice fairly, by streamlining all their processes, increasing their efficiency and strengthening the effectiveness of their relationships with others across the whole of the criminal justice system, and having regard to the interests of all parties including the victims and witnesses, thereby promoting public confidence in the law".
The review is expected to last for twelve months. Copies of the terms of reference of the review have today been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
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