---

22 Oct 2002 : Column 250W—continued

South West Regional Development Agency

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many officials are employed by the South West Regional Development Agency on ICT and related issues. [74936]

Alan Johnson: South West of England Regional Development Agency employs a regional ICT Strategy Manager who in turn employs 3 consultants to help with the RDA's ICT strategy development. Various staff in the RDA help support ICT development in the region, for example, the Innovation team of five, the Supply Solutions Team of six and a member of the RDA's skills team. There are also other staff members within the Enterprise and Innovation Directorate and the Development Directorate who contribute to the region's ICT development and related issues.

Community Development Venture Capital Fund

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the private companies involved in the Community Development Venture Capital Fund. [75970]

Nigel Griffiths: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 2 July 2002, Official Report, column 287W, which listed the private companies investing in the fund.

22 Oct 2002 : Column 251W

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPT

Magistrates

Julian Brazier: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, when she last met representatives of the Magistrates' Courts Central Council to discuss the future of magistrates' courts. [73608]

Yvette Cooper: I last met representatives of the Central Council of Magistrates' Courts Committees to discuss the future of magistrates' courts on 9 October 2002.

Land Registry

Mr. Hugh Bayley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what plans the Government have to extend the powers of the Land Registry to adjudicate on cases of dispute of ownership on non-registered land in urban areas. [73609]

Yvette Cooper: The Government have no plans to extend the powers of the Land Registry to disputes relating to unregistered land. The Government's aim is to bring unregistered landowners within the scope of those powers by completing the land register for England and Wales.

Domestic Violence

Mr. Paul Clark: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what steps her Department is taking to alleviate the problems of victims of domestic violence. [73610]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government remain committed to tackling domestic violence.

An Inter-Ministerial Group set up last November is working across Government on five key areas for action. My Department is responsible for leading work on improving the interface between the criminal, civil and family law. We aim to identify ways to make the process less distressing for victims by working with stakeholders and voluntary organisations at local and national level to develop a more integrated approach that tackles the impacts of domestic violence as part of the justice process.

Mr. David Lepper: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what support her Department offers to voluntary organisations giving assistance to victims of domestic violence. [73611]

Ms Rosie Winterton: We work very closely with local and national organisations which support victims of domestic violence. I recently set up a new Advisory Group to help the Department to develop further its domestic violence policy and to understand better issues that concern survivors of domestic violence and those who support and represent them. We also work closely with a number of local initiatives, such as the Leeds Cluster Court Project and ''Standing Together'', offering advice and support and providing a link to the other Government Departments involved, such as the Home Office and the CPS.

22 Oct 2002 : Column 252W

Office for the Supervision of Solicitors

Mr. Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if she will make a statement on the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. [73612]

Mr. Desmond Swayne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if she will make a statement on the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. [73614]

Ms Rosie Winterton: We have serious concerns about the performance of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS), which is being monitored closely. The Lord Chancellor has warned the OSS that unless swift and substantive improvements are made across the board, he will not hesitate to implement his reserve powers which allow for the establishment of a Legal Services Complaints Commissioner.

Legal Aid

Mr Ian Lucas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of advocates carrying out criminal and legal aid work. [73613]

Ms Rosie Winterton: None. The Government are not aware of any shortages or of any solicitors or defendants having difficulty in obtaining the services of an advocate. My Department and the Legal Services Commission continue to monitor the situation.

Andy Burnham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if she will make a statement on measures his Department is taking to improve the provision of legal aid advice services. [73617]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Lord Chancellor's Department has worked with the Legal Services Commission to establish the Community Legal Service, to improve access for all to good quality civil legal and advice services. Community Legal Service Partnerships, now covering nearly all areas of England and Wales, are central to this policy and are responsible for coordinating service delivery based on local priority needs. The Community Legal Service Fund, which replaced Legal Aid, provides funding for those services now being delivered under these new arrangements.

Dispute Resolution

David Cairns: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what role her Department plays in alternative means of dispute resolution [73615]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999 imposed, for the first time, a duty on courts to encourage and facilitate the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The Rules also seek to influence the behaviour of parties in the pre-litigation period through pre-action protocols, which further encourage parties to settle their disputes by using ADR.

22 Oct 2002 : Column 253W

In March 2001 the Lord Chancellor announced that all Government Departments and their Agencies had pledged to consider and use ADR to resolve disputes involving them in all suitable cases, wherever the other party accepts it.

In addition, a number of courts in England and Wales have set up court based pilot mediation schemes, with the approval of the Lord Chancellor.

''Justice for All''

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when she next expects to meet with members of the lay magistracy to discuss the administration of justice following the publication of the ''Justice for All'' White Paper. [73616]

Ms Yvette Cooper: Following the publication of the Criminal Justice White Paper, ''Justice for All'', I met a number of Magistrates' representative bodies to discuss the White Paper, and these meetings will continue as we develop our proposals. In addition a letter was sent to all Magistrates informing them of our proposals.

Correspondence

Mr. Allen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Lord Chancellor will reply to the letter of 17 September from the hon. Member for Nottingham, North on the legality of action on Iraq. [74983]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The letter of 17 September was sent to the right hon. Harriet Harman MP, the Solicitor General, at the Law Officers' Office, and not to the Lord Chancellor nor any minister in the Lord Chancellor's Department. The Solicitor General will reply to the letter shortly.

22 Oct 2002 : Column 254W

Transsexual People

Lynne Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make it her policy to refer to transsexual people rather than transsexuals in Government documents and in material that will form parliamentary records. [75744]

Ms Rosie Winterton: My Department has already adopted this convention. In so far as I am able to ensure this, all official documents published in the future on this subject should refer to transsexual people or transsexual persons, rather than transsexuals.

Germany

Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when she next intends to visit Germany. [75653]

Ms Rosie Winterton: At present, neither I, my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor, nor my Ministerial colleagues have plans to visit Germany.

---