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Youth Unemployment

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 16 to 18-year-olds are not in education, employment or training; what percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds this represents; and what the figures were for each of the past 10 years. [120528]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The numbers and percentages of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) for 1992 to 2001 (as at end of calendar year) are set out in the table. The figures for end 2001 are provisional.

16 to 18-year-olds NEET in England

Year end	Number (Thousand)	Percentage
1992	197	11
1993	173	10
1994	152	9
1995	159	9
1996	169	10
1997	170	9
1998	183	10
1999	156	9
2000	172	9
2001	173	9

Note:

The percentages do not include any revisions following the 2001 census

These estimates are taken from the latest annual statistical first release, 'SFR 16/2002: Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16–18 Year Olds in England: 2000 and 2001'.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Speeding

John Barrett: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much money was raised from fines for speeding caught on speed cameras, in each year since 1997. [124073]

Mr. Leslie: The information available relates to England and Wales and only to those cameras covered by the special schemes introduced in April 2002, to facilitate investment in safety cameras. In 2003–03, the revenue from these cameras was £73 million.

Revenues are initially collected by the magistrates courts, part of which is transferred to the Department for Transport to cover the assessed cost of operating the schemes. Of the £73 million, approximately £66 million was transferred to the Department for Transport for distribution to the various partnerships of the scheme in England and Wales and approximately £7 million was paid to the Consolidated Fund.

Children (Paternal Access)

Mr. Soley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the powers of the courts to enforce paternal access to children following relationship breakdown; and if he will make a statement. [125801]

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Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.

The courts already have powers under the Children Act 1998 to respond to any refusal to obey the court order for contact. The High Court and county court may impose a fixed prison sentence, not exceeding two years (two months in the magistrates court). A fine not exceeding £2,500 may also be imposed. The court may also change the residence of the child from one parent to the other. In considering any penalty, the courts take into account its likely impact on the child's welfare. The Government acknowledges that it is unsatisfactory for contact orders to be flouted with impunity and for children to be denied contact with one of their parents, when the court has found this to be in their interests.

In response to the "Making Contact Work" report of the Children Act Sub-Committee (CASC) of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Board on Family Law, the Government have been reviewing current enforcement mechanisms. A final response to this report will be published later in the summer.

Children and Family Court Advisory andSupport Service

Julie Morgan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made by CAFCASS in Wales in tackling the waiting list for guardian ad litem cases. [120956]

Margaret Hodge: Progress is being made by CAFCASS in managing and reducing the waiting list of public law cases dealt with by Guardians in Wales. CAFCASS has developed a protocol with local Social Services to avoid delays, including a system for prioritising waiting lists, continuing to recruit frontline staff and training of its officers to work on both public and private law cases which will increase the flexibility of its workforce. If workloads do not increase above current levels, the aim is that waiting lists will be cleared by March 2004.

Departmental Costs

Mr. Flight: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost that will be incurred in departmental name changes consequent on the creation of the department; and what he estimates the total costs associated with the creation of his new Department will be. [123349]

Mr. Lammy: The Department for Constitutional Affairs estimates that the costs that will be incurred in changing the Department's name are around £40,000. This covers e-mail and website changes, stationery and signage. It is too soon to give an accurate estimate of the total costs associated with the creation of the new Department.

Departmental Policies

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what policies (a) initiated and (b) managed by his Department and its predecessor since 2001 have had an impact on Pendle; and if he will make a statement. [124092]

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Mr. Lammy: The Department for Constitutional Affairs, and before it the Lord Chancellor's Department, is responsible for the administration of the courts and tribunals, for legal services, civil and family law and for a range of constitutional matters. We are improving the management and effectiveness of the services we provide and are responding to customer needs, including working closely with other agencies to ensure the effective delivery of justice, a fair and effective system of civil and administrative law, to protect the vulnerable, to increase consumer choice in legal services, to modernise the constitution and to ensure proper access to information by citizens.

The East Lancashire with Blackburn Community Legal Service (CLS) Partnership, which includes the area covered by Pendle parliamentary constituency, has been set up to improve local access to good quality legal and advice services. In particular, funding from the second round of the Partnership Initiative Budget (£136,000) will allow Pendle Citizens Advice Bureau to develop a rural information service to communities across the Pendle area.

EU Committees

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will list (a) the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU committee on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, (b) the number of times, and the dates, on which it has met since January 2002, (c) the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, (d) the decisions it has made since January 2002 and (e) the means used to communicate the decisions to the House. [110312]

Mr. Lammy: This is the committee of representatives of EU member states' Governments that is established by Article 31 of the EC Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC). The UK representation is provided by an official from my Department. Since January 2002, the committee has met six times: on 8 February 2002, 6 and 7 June 2002, 12 December 2002, 21 February 2003, 15 and 16 May 2003 and 11 July 2003. The committee makes no decisions. Its function is to assist the European Commission in the decisions that the Commission takes relating to the adequacy of data protection in countries outside the EU. Since January 2002 the committee has given favourable opinions on draft Commission decisions that Argentina and Guernsey provide adequate data protection. The committee has also had preliminary discussions of other matters that could lead to Commission decisions, such as the Commission's current discussions with the United States' authorities about the disclosure of airline passenger information. The Commission keeps the committee informed about a wide range of matters relating to data protection. These have included: the activities of the working party of data protection supervisory authorities set up under Article 29 of the Directive; the appointment of the European Data Protection Supervisor; and the Commission's first report on the implementation of the Directive.

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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many officials in the Lord Chancellor's Department serve on EU committees or working parties. [116088]

Mr. Lammy: Membership of EU Committees, Working Parties and Working Groups is not fixed, therefore, depending on the subject matter under consideration, the most appropriate policy officials attend meetings of EU Committees, Working Parties and Working Groups. Information on the overall number of policy officials who are required to attend EU Committees, Working Parties and Working Groups is not held.

IT Contracts

Mr. Flight: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many outsourced IT contracts have been signed by his Department in each year since 1997; how much each of these contracts is worth; with whom they are signed; how many have been renegotiated; how many are still in place; and if he will make a statement. [126207]

Mr. Leslie: The Department for Constitutional Affairs came into existence on 12 June 2003. Its predecessor, the Lord Chancellor's Department, had outsourced two IT contracts since 1997 and both are on-going. The first with CSL who now trade as Liberata was let in December 1997, the second with ICL who now trade as Fujitsu Services was let in December 1998.

The estimated value of the contract with Liberata is £205 million and has not been re-negotiated. This contract is for financial and accounting services and a supported desktop service and infrastructure.

The estimated value of the contract with Fujitsu Services is £232 million and was re-negotiated in May 2000 and again in July 2002. This contract is designed to provide a modern national infrastructure to the magistrates courts service and a replacement case management system.

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