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Lost/Stolen Property
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list those items valued at less than £50 each which have been stolen or lost from the Department in each of the last four years. [34213]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Mr. Campbell) 22 January 2002, Official Report, column 805W.
Public Guardianship Office
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many complaints she has received about the performance of the Public Guardianship Office in each month since it was established. [32046]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Public Guardianship Office (PGO) was established on 1 April 2001. The number of complaints received about the performance of the PGO is as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| April 2001 | 47 |
| May 2001 | 45 |
| June 2001 | 62 |
| July 2001 | 54 |
| August 2001 | 41 |
| September 2001 | 34 |
| October 2001 | 35 |
| November 2001 | 50 |
| December 2001 | 39 |
Civil Servants
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many new entrants to the civil service were employed in her Department in each of the last five years; and how many in each year were aged 50 and over. [36493]
Ms Rosie Winterton: New entrants employed in the civil service in the Lord Chancellor's Department (including agencies), and those aged 50 years or over, in each of the last five years were as follows.
| New entrants | Aged 50 and over | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 422 | 81 |
| 1997–98 | 661 | 142 |
| 1998–99 | 1,004 | 145 |
| 1999–2000 | 689 | 120 |
| 2000–01 | 824 | 134 |
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the (a) percentage and number of rail journeys undertaken on first class tickets, (b) average cost of a first class journey by rail and (c) total cost of rail travel in each of the past four years broken down by grade of civil servant. [37500]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
25 Feb 2002 : Column 835W
Legal Aid
Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Government propose next to review fully the (a) salaries and (b) salary structure of (i) legal aid lawyers, (ii) legal aid support staff and (iii) legal aid solicitors; and if she will make a statement. [36728]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) employs a small number of lawyers (barristers and solicitors) and support staff in the Public Defender Service. The first office was opened in May 2001 and there are no immediate plans to review salary structures.
Other than this, the LSC does not pay salaries to lawyers (barristers or solicitors) or support staff carrying out publicly funded work. The Department and the Commission are, however, concerned that the levels of remuneration paid to lawyers by the Commission from the Community Legal Service Fund and the Criminal Defence Service should ensure appropriate provision of legal advice and representation.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Government last fully reviewed the legal aid system; and when they propose to do so next. [36727]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Modernising Justice White Paper, published in December 1998, set out proposals for major reforms to the legal aid system in England and Wales. These reforms, which were introduced by the Access to Justice Act 1999, were largely implemented on or after April 2000. We are confident that the system is meeting its stated objectives. We have no plans for a full review of the system, although we do keep aspects of the system under regular review.
Freedom of Information Act
Harry Cohen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he estimates all the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 will be implemented. [36938]
Mr. Wills: I announced the timetable for implementation of the Act on 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 692W. This timetable means that the Act will be fully implemented in January 2005; 11 months before the deadline set by the Act.
Asylum Appeals
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many asylum appeals to adjudicators were (a) heard and (b) adjourned in (i) 2000
25 Feb 2002 : Column 836W
and (ii) 2001 to the latest convenient date; and how many adjournments were at the request of (A) the appellant and (B) the Home Office. [36429]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Of the asylum appeals to adjudicators:
- between 1 October and 31 December 2000 (earliest reliable information available):
- 13,127 appeals were heard, of which
- 3,520 cases were adjourned at hearing.
- between 1 January and 30 June 2001:
- 25,418 appeals were heard, of which
- 6,691 cases were adjourned at hearing.
- Comprehensive information on "adjournment by reason" is only available for cases after 1 July 2001.
- and between 1 July 2001 and 31 December 2001:
- 29,881 appeals were heard, of which
- 7,914 cases were adjourned at hearing.
- 4,168 cases were adjourned by reason of the appellant or their representative.
- 1,397 cases were adjourned by reason of the Home Office.
- The remaining 1,938 cases were adjourned for other reasons.
Correspondence
Mr. Evans: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the average response time was for responding to departmental correspondence; what percentage of letters took longer than one month for a response; and what percentage took longer than three months for a response in each of the last five years. [37452]
Mr. Wills: The Department and its agencies deal with and monitor correspondence in different ways, and these involve a range of time limits and targets. Information on average response times and answering letters within target is set out in the following tables. Information on percentage of letters that took longer than one and three months to respond is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Chancellor's Department | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 9 |
| Court Service | — | — | — | — | — |
| Public Guardianship Office(62) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Land Registry | — | — | — | — | — |
| Public Record Office | — | — | — | — | — |
(62) Formerly Public Trust Office
Information from Court Service, HM Land Registry, Public Guardianship Office and Public Record Office on average response time is not readily available and could be only at disproportionate cost.
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | (Target) | Percentage | (Target) | Percentage | (Target) | Percentage | (Target) | Percentage | (Target) | |
| Lord Chancellor's Department | 77 | (20) | 72 | (20) | 88 | (20) | 84 | (20) | 85 | (15) |
| Court Service | (64)— | — | 98 | (20) | 93 | (15) | 87 | (15) | 92 | (15) |
| Public Guardianship Office(63) | 95 | (20) | 96 | (20) | 92 | (20) | 89 | (20) | 92 | (15) |
| HM Land Registry | 96 | (5) | 96 | (5) | 96 | 5 | 96 | (5) | 96 | (5) |
| Public Record Office | 99.5 | (10) | 98.5 | (10) | 98.5 | (10) | 99.6 | (10) | 99.3 | (10) |
(63) Formerly Public Trust Office
(64) Not available
25 Feb 2002 : Column 837W
Power of Attorney
Mr. Burnett: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department whether the Public Guardianship Office intends to increase the charge for registering an enduring power of attorney. [35473R]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Public Guardianship Office has recently conducted a review of all the fees charged. Some fees will need to be increased to reflect costs. The results of the review are being considered and the outcome will be announced in due course.
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