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Appointments (Age Limits)

Tony Wright: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what age limit is placed on appointments to public bodies in his Department; if this limit is mentioned in advertisements for such posts; and what the basis for this limit is. [158130]

Jane Kennedy: For appointments as members of the Law Commission in England and Wales, no mention is made of any age limit in the advertisement, but in the information pack sent to applicants it states that the Lord Chancellor will consider applications from candidates up to the age of 65. Law Commissioners work full-time and this is the normal age of retirement.

For the Lord Chancellor's non-departmental public bodies administered by the Northern Ireland Court Service, there is no age limit for appointment to the Legal Aid Advisory Committee. For the other advisory

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committees, save in exceptional circumstances, a member will not be appointed over the age of 65 and the retirement ages are as follows:

Chairman and members of Advisory Committees on General Commissioners of Income Tax (GCIT) in Northern Ireland: 75 if a Lord Lieutenant, if not a Lord Lieutenant 75 if appointed prior to 1996, 70 if appointed after then.

Chairman of an Advisory Committee on JPs in Northern Ireland: 75.

For the other appointments in Northern Ireland the retirement age is 70.

For the equivalent advisory committees on JPs and on GCITs in England and Wales, appointments cannot normally extend beyond a person's 70th birthday.

Otherwise, no age limit is placed on the non-judicial appointments the Lord Chancellor makes to his non- departmental public bodies. However, where the appointment is to be held by someone who is a serving member of the judiciary, including JPs, the retirement ages for judges will be borne in mind.

Tony Wright: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department for what reason his Department advertises part-time appointments with an age limit for applicants of 62. [158061]

Mr. Lock: A normal upper age limit of 62 for applicants to part-time judicial posts is principally set to take account of the retirement age for judicial offices, which for part-time judicial office holders is 65. In setting the upper age limit at 62 the Lord Chancellor has taken into account the expectation that office holders should be able to complete a reasonable period of service before reaching the compulsory retirement age.

However, in exceptional circumstances the age limits set for appointment may be relaxed at the Lord Chancellor's discretion. The Lord Chancellor's discretion may be invoked, for example, where an otherwise well-qualified candidate has had a career break or started his or her career later than usual. Other factors that the Lord Chancellor would take into account, in considering whether or not to exercise his discretion, would include evidence of a previous judicial appointment, or that the applicant was particularly well qualified for the post applied for.

Homelessness (Appeals)

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what recent representations he has received in relation to the time limit for homeless applicants to appeal to the county court under section 204 of the Housing Act 1996; what research his Department has commissioned relating to this issue; what its findings were; and if he will make a statement. [158071]

Mr. Lock: I have received correspondence from both Shelter and the Law Society about this. Although this research has not been specifically undertaken into this issue, it was considered in this Department's Research Report No. 9/99, "A Regional Study of Local Authority and Court Processes in Homelessness Cases", which was published in 1999 and recommended that further consideration should be given to the time limit. We are considering issues arising out of the research in the context of the Homes Bill, which is currently in another place.

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Adults with Learning Difficulties

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what specific assistance is available within the legal system to adults with learning difficulties. [158079]

Jane Kennedy: Court Service staff have been given training on helping people with learning difficulties. This includes explaining terminology and jargon in simpler terms; and advising the judge of any known effect the learning difficulty may have on a hearing. The Court Service also operates a free helpline providing advice on how disabled customers can be helped to use the courts.

Training seminars for judges include dedicated sessions and case studies on disability issues, of which learning disabilities form a part. A new section of the Equal Treatment Bench Book for judges, entitled "Disability", was published in January 2001. This section includes material on learning disabilities and a chapter on the provisions of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 relating to witnesses with learning disabilities.

These measures in this Act include new powers to clear the court when the witness is giving evidence. The timetable for implementation in the Crown court and the magistrates courts is under consideration.

The criminal law recognises that those with severe mental impairment require protection from sexual offences. The report of the Review of Sexual Offences makes several recommendations to Government for changes in the law to improve this protection. Responses to public consultation on this report are now being analysed.

The Police and Criminal Act 1984, and Code of Practice C made under that Act, also provide specific protections for adults with learning difficulties who may be suspected of committing a criminal offence. The interests of justice test for determining applications for criminal legal aid takes account of the inability of the defendant to understand proceedings.

The Official Solicitor provides assistance in litigation for an adult with such severe learning disabilities as to be unable to manage his or her property and affairs and there is no other person suitable or able to do so.

Departmental Policies (Ribble Valley)

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Ribble Valley constituency, the effects on Ribble Valley of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [157853]

Mr. Lock: The Lord Chancellor's Department is responsible for the administration of the courts and for legal services. We have taken steps to improve the management and effectiveness of the services we provide and to meet customer needs, including working closely with other agencies to provide a fair, swift and effective system of justice, improve the availability of affordable and good quality legal services and to improve the lives of children and help build and sustain strong families.

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In particular, Ribble Valley constituency is covered by the East Lancashire Community Legal Service Partnership. As at 11 April 2001 the Legal Services Commission had let Community Legal Service contracts to 42 solicitors' offices and three Not for Profit (NfP) organisations. The expected expenditure value in the financial year 2001-02 of solicitor-type contracts is £1,385,000; for the NfP-type contracts it is £290,000. The contracts cover a range of categories, including family, welfare benefits, debt and immigration.

As at 18 April 2001, 25 firms in Ribble Valley had signed Criminal Defence Service contracts for 2001-02. During the year, the total value of payments for work done under these contracts is expected to be approximately £4,633,000.

Departmental Policies (Tiverton and Honiton)

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Tiverton and Honiton constituency, the effects on Tiverton and Honiton of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [157815]

Mr. Lock: The Lord Chancellor's Department is responsible for the administration of the courts and for legal services. We have taken steps to improve the management and effectiveness of the services we provide and to meet customer needs, including working closely with other agencies to provide a fair, swift and effective system of justice, improve the availability of affordable and good quality legal services and to improve the lives of children and help build and sustain strong families.

In particular, Tiverton and Honiton constituency is covered by the Devon Community Legal Service Partnership. As at 11 April 2001 the Legal Services Commission had let Community Legal Service contracts to 17 solicitors' offices and one Not for Profit (NfP) organisation in the constituency. The expected expenditure value in the financial year 2001-02 of the Solicitor-type contracts is £315,000; for the NfP-type contracts it is £45,000. The contracts cover a range of categories, including family, housing, consumer issues and mental health.

As at 18 April 2001, 10 firms in the constituency had signed Criminal Defence Service contracts for 2001-02. During the year, the total value of payments for work done under these contracts is expected to be approximately £744,000.

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