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Select Committee Websites
Andrew Bennett: To ask the Chairman of the Information Select Committee how many hits there were on the website of each departmental select committee in the weeks beginning (a) 28 January and (b) 4 February; and if any website went down because of excess demand. [35102]
Michael Fabricant: The figures for hits on the website of each departmental select committee for the weeks listed are given in the following table. Totals are derived from committee pages on both the parliament server (home pages and press notices) and the publications server (committee publications). No down-time was recorded on either server during the period 28 January to 10 February 2002.
(1) Select Committee home and press notice pages are held on the Parliament server www.parliament.uk in Westminster
(2) Select Committee publications
(3) pages are held on the Publications server www.publications.parliament.uk in Norwich
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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Judiciary
39. Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is taking to encourage employers to give working magistrates sufficient time off work to fulfil their Bench duties. [32374]
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on initiatives to encourage more people on low incomes to become JPs. [32368]
Caroline Flint: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what initiatives are being taken to broaden the social mix of magistrates. [32375]
Mr. Wills: My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor is committed to producing a national strategy for recruitment. His local advisory committees undertake a range of recruitment initiatives and these have delivered a Bench that has equal numbers of men and women and increasingly reflects the ethnic composition of the population. We need to do more to improve the social composition. The national strategy will be our means of delivering this aim. It will be published in the spring.
Transsexuals
40. Lynne Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans she has for changes to the legal status of transsexual people. [32377]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Issues of concern to transsexual people were considered by the Interdepartmental Working Group on Transsexual People. The Government are sympathetic to the issues raised in the report and are considering how to take the matter further.
Child Guardians
41. Julie Morgan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been
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made in setting up an IT system that will enable child guardians to record the details of the children with whom they work. [32378]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Establishment of CAFCASS as a new, unified service provides an opportunity for improved communication and case management across the service. CAFCASS's IT project has been taken forward in two phases. Phase 1 provided a general infrastructure for CAFCASS. It is operating alongside systems inherited by CAFCASS from its predecessor services, which record case information on children who are the subject of court reports. The plans for Phase 2 provide for development of an integrated system to extend Phase 1 systems and supply improved management information, including case information, and interfaces with other organisations. CAFCASS is currently reviewing its Phase 2 IT strategy to assess immediate and longer term needs in the light of the operating experience it now has.
Criminal Courts (Reorganisation)
42. David Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations he has received about the Auld report recommendations for a middle tier court; and if he will make a statement. [32379]
Mr. Wills: A total of 365 responses were received by the end of the period for public comment on 31 January. Of the representations received, a proportion referred to the middle tier court but the exact figure is not yet known. Representations on all the recommendations in Sir Robin Auld's report are now being carefully considered and analysed in detail. Responses from the general public and the main criminal justice stakeholders, subject to their agreement, will be placed on the Lord Chancellor's website www.criminal-courts-review.org.uk. The Government will announce their conclusions by way of a White Paper in the spring.
Parking Spaces
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what car parking spaces are provided and what the average annual
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cost of providing such spaces is for (a) the Official Solicitor's Office, (b) the Council on Tribunals, (c) the Statutory Publications Office and (d) the Judge Advocate- General's Office. [33657]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is as follows:
(a) The Official Solicitor's Office does not provide car-parking spaces.
(b) The Council on Tribunals has one parking space, the cost of which is included in the rent and not calculated as a separate amount.
(c) The Statutory Publications Office does not provide car-parking spaces.
(d) The Office of the Judge Advocate General has three spaces, the cost of which is included in the rent and not calculated as a separate amount.
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what car parking spaces are provided and what the average annual cost of providing them is for the (a) Domestic Legal Services, (b) Legal Services Commission, (c) Legal Services Ombudsman and (d) Law Commission. [33658]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is as follows:
(a) It is not clear which organisation is envisaged in the term 'Domestic Legal Services'.
(b) The Legal Services Commission has a total of 169 car parking spaces over 19 sites. The estimated annual average cost for providing these spaces is £170,000, or £1,000 per space.
(c) The Legal Services Ombudsman provides six car-parking spaces at an annual cost of £1,500 each.
(d) The Law Commission provides no car-parking spaces.
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what car parking spaces are provided and what the average annual cost is for providing such spaces to (a) CAFCASS, (b) the Public Guardianship Office and (c) the Public Record Office. [33660]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is as follows:
(a) CAFCASS' headquarters at Archway Tower has seven parking spaces which cost £3,954. The number and cost of car parking spaces provided for the remainder of CAFCASS's estate is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
(b) The Public Guardianship Office's section of the car park at Archway Tower provides space for 42 cars. These spaces are for the use of contractors, visitors and staff. The Public Guardianship Office pays £25,200 per year to rent this space, which includes a secure bicycle rack.
(c) The Public Record Office provides 116 car parking spaces for members of the public using its facilities and 106 spaces for staff as its Kew site. In addition, there are four disabled spaces for use by either staff or public. The average annual total cost of providing these spaces is £121,659.
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Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many car parking spaces are reserved for judges; what the total cost is of providing such spaces; and what criteria are used for allocating car parking spaces to judges. [33682]
Mr. Wills: Data on judicial car parking spaces have been collected for 63 of the largest court buildings. These are shown in the table. These buildings represent 75 per cent. of the Court Service estate. The information for the remainder of the estate is not immediately available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The judicial car parking spaces for the above buildings form part of the site and are not paid for separately. Judges are categorised as essential users of court buildings and car parking spaces are allocated to them on that basis.
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