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Regiments

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the (a) Queen's Lancashire Regiment and (b) King's Regiment. [135810]

Mr. Ingram: There are no plans to disband the Queen's Lancashire Regiment or the King's Regiment.

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LEADER OF THE HOUSE

September Sittings

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Leader of the House what representations he has received about the September sitting of the House. [136500]

Mr. Hain: A number of Members have raised with me their view on September sittings—both for and against—by raising it in the Chamber, at business questions and questions to the Leader of the House, and in private discussion. I have had one letter from an hon. Member on the subject, in favour of the change. I have received representations from two outside organisations on the dates of the September sittings.

In my view, the September sitting was successful in conducting important business and in allowing the Prime Minister and other Members of the Cabinet to be questioned and challenged on key issues such as Iraq for which there might otherwise have been demands for a recall of the House.

Sitting Hours

Mr. Ben Chapman : To ask the Leader of the House what recent representations he has received about the sitting hours of the House. [136499]

Mr. Hain: A number of Members have raised with me their view on the sitting hours—both for and against the change—by raising it in the Chamber, at business questions and questions to the Leader of the House, by letter and in private discussion; and I am aware of early-day motions on the subject. I have had no representations from outside Parliament in favour of the House reverting to its former hours. The House has agreed the change for the remainder of this Parliament and will need to review the matter before then.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Call Centres

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department plans to outsource call centre work to premises outside the United Kingdom. [132111]

Mr. Pearson: Northern Ireland Departments and the NIO have no plans to outsource call centre work to premises outside the United Kingdom.

Terrorism

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his assessment is of the current terrorist threat level in Northern Ireland. [135395]

Jane Kennedy: Recent activity by dissident republicans and loyalists shows that they still pose a threat to the peace process. However, the security forces continue to disrupt, intercept or thwart their operations through good intelligence-led policing and covert operations.

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CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Bailiffs

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints have been made in each year since 1997 concerning the conduct of bailiffs; how many complaints have been investigated; how many complaints have resulted in a prosecution; how many convictions there were concerning the conduct of bailiffs; and if he will publish a list of banned bailiffs. [136800]

Mr. Leslie: I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Divorced Parents

Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2003, Official Report, column 631W, on divorced parents, if he will commission research on the impact upon children of one divorced parent being given leave to remove their children from the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [136099]

Mr. Lammy: There are no plans to commission such research. Applications to remove children from the jurisdiction (of England and Wales) are made under Section 13(1)(b) of the Children Act 1989. The Section stipulates that where a residence order made under the Act is in force with respect to a child, no person may

"remove him from the United Kingdom; without either the written consent of every person who has parental responsibility for the child or the leave of the court".

However, to take a child out of the country either parent requires the written or oral consent of the other parent, even if it is for less than one month. Where there is a residence order in place, the parent in whose favour the residence order is made may remove or send the child outside the UK for up to one month, provided there are no other court orders in place, e.g. a prohibited steps order. When making a residence order, the court may grant the necessary leave to remove the child either generally or for specific purpose.

Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2003, Official Report, column 631W, on divorced parents, if he will estimate the percentage of cases in which divorced mothers are successful in obtaining leave to remove their children from the United Kingdom. [136100]

Mr. Lammy: We do not have the data available to enable such an estimate to be made. Figures are kept of the total number of orders made under section 13 of the Children Act 1989 for removal from the jurisdiction since 2000 (when figures were first collected). Separate figures are not held for mothers and fathers.

Forfeiture/Security of Tenure Inquiry

Mr. Lepper: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the scope of the inquiry by the Law Commission into forfeiture and security of tenure; and when he expects the inquiry to be completed. [135877]

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Mr. Lammy: The Law Commission is carrying out two reviews dealing with forfeiture and tenancy issues:

(1) The 'Termination of Tenancies' review addresses the whole law of forfeiture including the right of landlords to terminate a tenancy by physical re-entry. The Commission hopes to complete a consultation paper this year. A report will be published later.


(2) The 'Housing in the Rented Sector' review considers the legal basis of landlord and tenant relationships, in particular, the form of tenancies offered by local authorities, other social landlords, and by private landlords. A report will be published on 5 November followed by a further report and draft Bill next year.

Legal Representation (Deaths in Custody)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if the Secretary of State will make funding available for legal representation of families whose children have died in custody. [135787]

Mr. Lammy: An applicant who is a member of the deceased's immediate family may obtain public funding for representation at an inquest, where the deceased has died in custody, if:

(i) the applicant satisfies the standard financial eligibility tests, and


(ii) legal representation is necessary to assist the coroner to investigate the case effectively.

Ministerial Meetings

Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many meetings (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have held with (i) Lord Bingham, (ii) Lord Woolf and (iii) Lord Irvine since he took office. [127404]

Mr. Lammy: Since taking office the Secretary of State has had three meetings with Lord Bingham and five meetings with Lord Woolf. He has not met with Lord Irvine.

I have had one meeting with Lord Woolf, Christopher Leslie has met him twice and Lord Pilkin has met with him once. Don Touhig and Anne Maguire have not met with Lord Woolf.

None of the Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State has met with Lord Bingham or Lord Irvine.

Petitions

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) company winding-up petitions, (b) creditors' petitions, (c) debtors' petitions and (d) insolvency petitions were issued per quarter in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) county court, (ii) county and (iii) region. [136799]

Mr. Leslie: A copy of the figures requested has been placed in the Library of both Houses.

Public Information

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what

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requirements there are that changes in Government regulations and orders should be made publicly available before they come into force. [136171]

Mr. Alexander: I have been asked to reply.

The arrangements for production of all new regulations and orders are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 and the Statutory Instruments Regulations 1947. The Cabinet Office issues guidance to Departments in the form of the Statutory Instrument Practice manual (SIP), which can be downloaded from HMSOnline at: http://www.hmso.gov.uk/services/si practice.htm

The guidance in SIP sets out that the date chosen for the coming into force of new regulations and orders should take into account the production time for printing and publication. Where an instrument creates a new offence, Departments need to ensure that the instrument is issued in good time allowing the public to study the instrument before it comes into force.

All new instruments issued each day can be accessed on HMSOnline at: http://www.hmso.gov.uk/legislation/whatsnew.htm and in the Statutory Instruments Issue List, which is published as part of The Stationery Office (TSO) Daily List of Publications. It is good practice for Departments to ensure publicity for all new instruments before they come into force.

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