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11 Apr 2003 : Column 456W—continued
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Child Contact Orders
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps are being taken by the judiciary to promote a culture of continuity in child contact cases. [105582]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A new protocol on case management in public law cases is being developed which will mean a single judge will take overall responsibility for the management of each case. We will announce plans for its introduction in due course. Once introduced, and tested, it may be possible to extend it to other children cases.
Court Closures (Kingston)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department pursuant to her oral answer of 8 April 2003, Official Report, column 121, on the Greater London Magistrates' Courts Authority consultation on court closures, if she will set out (a) the grounds for appeal submitted to her by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and (b) the reasons she upheld the appeal. [108914]
Yvette Cooper: Each appeal is decided upon its own merits, based upon evidence received from all parties to the case. In this case, the Paying Authority argued, in summary, that the court was adequate for the purpose, was conveniently located and served a town with a large population, which attracted substantial numbers of people from outside the area. The court had a high workload, which could not be accommodated at Wimbledon, and the journey to Wimbledon would inconvenience court users.
The appeal was upheld because the shortcomings at Kingston, as determined by the Greater London Magistrates' Courts Authority, were not so great as to be an overriding factor leading to closure when compared with those argued by the Paying Authority.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Assisted Suicide
Mr. Drew: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases of person assisted suicide the Crown Prosecution Service has taken up over the last five years. [97045]
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The Solicitor-General: No central records are maintained of requests for advice or prosecutions for such offences. The relevant information could be only obtained at disproportionate cost.
Child Neglect
Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General (1) how many parents or carers of children killed or non-accidentally injured while in their care were prosecuted for neglect under section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 for their role in the death or injury in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002; [97114]
- (2) how many prosecutions were (a) not commenced and (b) discontinued pre-trial of parents or carers of children killed or non-accidentally injured while in their care, in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2002 because it was not clear which of the parties was guilty of the assault or killing; [97115]
(3) in how many cases in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 in which one parent or carer was convicted of neglect for their role in the non-accidental injury or death of children in their care, the other parent was convicted of murder, manslaughter or an assault offence; [97113]
(4) how many parents or carers were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted in connection with the (i) killing and (ii) non-accidental injury of children in their care in (A) 2001 and (B) 2002. [97117]
The Solicitor-General: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what advice the CPS gives to police about charging parents or carers in whose care children have been killed or non-accidentally injured if it is unclear which of them was responsible for the injury or death. [97111]
The Solicitor-General: Cases involving death or serious injury to young children, where it is not possible to say which of two parents or carers was responsible for the injury, present particular difficulties for the prosecution. In these cases the Crown Prosecution Service recognises the importance of early involvement with the police and in most cases would seek to advise the police pre-charge.
In advising the police, the Crown Prosecution Service will apply the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Before advice is given to proceed with a particular charge, the prosecutor must be satisfied that the evidence provides a realistic prospect of conviction and that it is in the public interest to proceed.
Where two carers have been suspects the available evidence often does not go far enough to establish that they acted in concert, 'joint enterprise' or that one rather than the other inflicted the injury. If this cannot be established and there is nothing further to show that a parent foresaw a risk of injury to the child that might result in death and failed to take steps to protect the child, then neither parent or carer can be convicted of murder or manslaughter, although in some circumstances a conviction for cruelty or neglect to a child (section 1 of the Children's and Young Persons Act
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Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor General how many convicted parents or carers of children killed or non-accidentally injured while in their care were the subject of unduly lenient sentence appeals in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002. [97112]
The Solicitor-General: No convicted parents or carers of children killed while in their care were the subject of unduly lenient sentence applications in 2001 or 2002.
In 2001 no cases involving assaults by parents or carers of children in their care were the subject of unduly lenient sentence applications.
In 2002 the Court of Appeal considered the sentence imposed in one case where the offender, who was the victims' father, faced offences including cruelty to his two children. The Court of Appeal decided to make the sentences imposed in respect of the cruelty offences, run consecutive to the sentences he faced for other offences and increased the total sentence from eight years to 13 years.
Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what the CPS policy is on prosecuting a carer or parent where a child is killed or non-accidentally injured while in the care of a small group of carers of parents. [97116]
The Solicitor-General: In addition to the Code for Crown Prosecutors, crown prosecutors have national policy guidance for the prosecution of cases involving allegations of child abuse. This policy guidance covers cases involving the death of a child and requires such cases to be treated as a priority, with expedition and with sensitivity. Crown prosecutors with specialist training will generally be responsible for these cases.
The results of a consultation exercise with all Chief Crown Prosecutors, to identify good practice in the prosecution of serious child abuse cases, has stressed the importance of:
- early involvement with the police pre-charge;
the use of suitably qualified forensic experts;
the early involvement of prosecuting counsel; and
the benefits of inter-agency protocols for the investigation of these cases.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Community Interest Companies
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she plans to introduce legislation to bring into effect Community Interest Companies as proposed in the Cabinet Office's strategy unit review. [107135]
Miss Melanie Johnson: A joint DTI/HM Treasury/Home Office consultation document on proposals for a Community Interest Company (CIC) was published on 26 March. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the Houses and on the DTI website. We welcome views on all aspects of the proposals outlined in the paper by Wednesday 18 June. Following the end of the consultation, there will be legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.
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'Dad' Magazine
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the total cost to her Department of the magazine, 'Dad'. [108522]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 10 April 2003]: The Department provided £50,000 to the charity Fathers Direct to develop a business plan for 'Dad' and the pilot magazine. The support included the distribution of a copy of the magazine to each maternity unit in Great Britain and 1,000 copies each to five maternity units to be made freely available to prospective and new fathers.
Advertising Budget
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was to her Department of the advertisements in newspapers on 7 April on flexible ways of working. [108521]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 10 April 2003]: The advertisements on 7 April were part of the awareness raising activity accompanying the new laws for working parents. Their total media and production costs were £300,000.
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the budget is for advertising (a) on the internet, (b) in broadcast media and (c) in newspapers for 2003–04. [108523]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 10 April 2003]: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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