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Parental Responsibility

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will place a copy of the Government's response to the EU Commission's working document "Mutual Recognition of Decisions on Parental Responsibility", when made, in the Library. [4103]

Mr. Wills: The Government have submitted to Parliament an Explanatory Memorandum in response to the European Commission's working document, "Mutual Recognition of Decisions on Parental Responsibility". This was deposited on 20 June and copies of it have been placed in the House of Commons Library. It did not contain a substantive response on issues of policy because the Commission's document did not seek views, and the Commission intends to propose a draft Regulation on this subject in early September. The Government will submit an Explanatory Memorandum on this proposal in the autumn; this will deal with the policy issues raised in that proposal, although a final view on these will only be taken after proper consultation with the judiciary and legal practitioners.

Correspondence

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the letter that her predecessor undertook to write to the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling at the conclusion of his Adjournment debate on child abduction on 3 May will be sent. [4102]

Ms Rosie Winterton: I have now written to the right hon. Member, and apologise for the delay in doing so.

Civil Enforcement

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made on phase two of the review of civil enforcement. [6178]

Mr. Wills: I am pleased to announce the publication of "Towards Effective Enforcement", a Green Paper on the structure and regulation of enforcement and a single piece of bailiff law. It explores options for the regulation of all enforcement agents.

The paper discusses what legal powers are needed to allow agents to do the job properly and proposes principles for the fees for enforcement and costs of regulation. It also examines the possibilities of improving access to information and making better use of information through clear, precise and limited powers.

The primary purpose of the Green Paper is to look at how best to achieve a fundamental improvement in warrant enforcement by opening up to public consultation a range of options and ideas for the future regulation of enforcement agents in England and Wales. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

A White Paper will be published in early 2002 setting out proposals for legislation in the light of this public consultation. It will also cover revised procedures for attachment of earnings, garnishee orders and charging orders arising from Phase One of the Review. At that stage it ought to be possible to develop a practical structure for warrant enforcement service delivery.

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Public Records Act

Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which Minister in the Lord Chancellor's Department has responsibility for the execution of the Public Records Act 1958 and for decisions about the opening of the 1911 Census records to public inspection. [4995]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Minister responsible for the execution of the Public Records Act 1958 is my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor. Under the Act, the Lord Chancellor may, with the approval, or at the request, of the Minister primarily concerned vary the closure period for a particular class of public records. In the case of the 1911 Census, the Minister primarily concerned is my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Magistrates

Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many magistrates are in post in the St. Helens and Knowsley court service. [5531]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for the appointment of magistrates in Merseyside, has provided the following information. There are 108 magistrates on the St. Helens bench and 94 on the Knowsley bench.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures are taken to make sure that people apply to be magistrates who declare themselves politically do not face discrimination. [5535]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for the appointment of magistrates in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, has asked me to say that an individual must be personally suitable for appointment as a magistrate before any other factors are considered. He will then take into account gender, residence, occupation, and political views in order to try and achieve a bench which reflects the community it serves.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the establishment figure is for magistrates in St. Helens and Knowsley. [5530]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for the appointment of magistrates in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, has asked me to say that the target number of magistrates required for the St. Helens bench is 130 and Knowsley bench 110.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action the Lord Chancellor takes to monitor the (a) political balance of magistrates court and (b) residential areas from which magistrates are recruited. [5537]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for the appointment of magistrates in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and

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Merseyside, has asked me to say that he takes into account the political balance of benches and candidates' areas of residence when considering appointments to a bench.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action the Lord Chancellor's Department takes to make sure political balance among magistrates is maintained. [5534]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for the appointment of magistrates in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, publishes Directions to Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace. The section on political balance states:

"The political views of a candidate are neither a qualification nor a disqualification for appointment. However, the Chancellor requires, in the interests of balance, that the voting pattern for the area as evidenced by the last two general elections, should be broadly reflected in the composition of the bench."

The same Directions are published by the Lord Chancellor for Advisory Committees in the remainder of England and Wales.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people applied to be magistrates in St. Helens and Knowsley in 2000. [5533]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for the appointment of magistrates in Merseyside, has provided the following information. During 2000, 13 candidates applied to become magistrates on the St. Helens bench and 14 on the Knowsley bench.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if the Lord Chancellor will make it a requirement for all people to declare their political allegiance in order to maintain the political balance in the magistrates courts system. [5536]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for the appointment of magistrates in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, has asked me to say that application forms for the magistracy require applicants to state which political party they generally support.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the current political balance of magistrates is in courts in St. Helens and Knowsley. [5532]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

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My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is responsible for the appointment of magistrates in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, has provided the following information on the political balance of the St. Helens and Knowsley benches.

	St. Helens	Knowsley
Labour	19	25
Conservative	21	30
Liberal Democrat	12	16
Other/uncommitted	56	23

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