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25 May 2004 : Column 1480W—continued

Sitting Hours

Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Leader of the House what recent representations he has received on the working hours of the House of Commons. [175288]

Mr. Hain: In addition to the representations I described to the House on 27 April, Official Report, 27 April 2004, column 749, Members continue to raise this matter with me, from time to time—and, of course, I have read with interest the results of the Procedure Committee's Sitting Hours Questionnaire which is to be considered by the Modernisation Committee.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Supreme Court

21. Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress the Secretary of State has made in identifying a site for the proposed Supreme Court. [175301]

Mr. Leslie: Good progress is being made in evaluating a shortlist of potential locations for a new Supreme Court, but at this stage, in order to protect the procurement interests of the taxpayer, it would be unwise to disclose publicly which sites are under consideration.

Legal Services

22. Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on proposals for reform of the legal professions. [175302]

Mr. Lammy: The Government have commissioned an independent review of the regulatory framework for legal services, aimed at promoting transparency and
 
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competition in the legal services sector. Sir David Clementi is due to present his report by the end of this year.

Courthouse (Colchester)

23. Bob Russell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if the Lord Chancellor will attend the official start of building of the new courthouse in Colchester. [175303]

Mr. Leslie: A new magistrates' courthouse in Colchester is planned to open in 2008. Any decisions on who might attend the start of building works will be made nearer the time, which we expect to be mid 2006.

Justices of the Peace

24. Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary Department of Constitutional Affairs how many justices of the peace there are in England and Wales; and what the corresponding figure was for 1990. [175305]

Mr. Leslie: Our records show that, at the beginning of this financial year, there were 28,705 Justices of the Peace in England and Wales. In 1990, there were 28,677 Justices of the Peace in post.

Legal Aid

25. Hugh Bayley : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary of State Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent on legal aid for immigration and nationality cases in (a) 1997–98 and (b) 2003–04. [175306]

Mr. Lammy: Immigration and nationality legal help cases cost £35 million in 1997–98 and £203 million in 2003–04. The figure for 2003–04 is still subject to end of year adjustment.

26. Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people have received legal aid in Greater London in the last seven years; and what the criteria are for eligibility for legal aid. [175307]

Mr. Lammy: It is estimated that the number of acts of assistance, in thousands, in the London region, over the last seven years, was as follows:

	Number
1997–1998	638
1998–1999	614
1999–2000	622
2000–2001	578
2001–2002	507
2002–2003	486
2002–2004	462

Those figures are for acts of assistance and are indicative though not necessarily the same as the number of people receiving legal aid.

Since April 2000 civil cases receive funding on the basis of meeting the financial means and legal merits criteria contained in the Legal Services Commission's Funding Code.
 
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Representation is granted in criminal cases where the court considers it is in the interests of justice. Generally speaking that is where the offence is so serious that the accused could go to prison.

29. Vera Baird : To ask the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the availability of legal aid in domestic violence cases. [175310]

Mr. Lammy: Domestic violence proceedings are a priority area for legal aid funding. The Legal Services Commission's Funding Code criteria for funding domestic violence cases are wider than for most other family and non-family areas. At present those who need financial assistance are able to obtain legal aid to go to court.

Freedom of Information Act

Simon Hughes : To ask the Parliamentary under Secretary of State Department for Constitutional Affairs by what date all the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 will be in force; and if he will make a statement. [175308]

Mr. Lammy: The Act will be fully implemented by January 2005, 11 months before the deadline set out in the Act itself.

House of Lords Reform

28. Tony Wright : To ask the Parliamentary under Secretary of State Department for Constitutional Affairs when he expects to bring forward further proposals to reform the second Chamber. [175309]

Mr. Leslie: The Government are determined to proceed with further reform of the House of Lords and intends to develop proposals for its party manifesto.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Bribery

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to her answer of 10 May 2004, Official Report, column 1W, which were the other two countries referred to in her answer of 2 February 2004, Official Report,    column 613W, to the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr. Thomas). [174241]

The Solicitor-General: The originating countries of these requests were Bosnia and Norway.

Criminal Cases Review (Angela Cannings Judgment)

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what arrangements for expedition have been made with the Criminal Cases Review Commission in respect of convictions reviewed following the Angela Cannings case and forwarded to it with a view to a reference to the court of appeal. [172611]

The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General and the Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission met at an early stage in the review of infant homicide convictions following the Angela Cannings appeal to
 
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discuss the expedition of cases referred to the CCRC. The CCRC has agreed to expedite any cases referred to it as part of the review process.

In those cases where the convicted person is notified that there may be features in the case which warrant further consideration by the Court of Appeal or CCRC a copy of the letter is sent to each of the above bodies so that arrangement can be made for an early consideration of the case. The letter also offers to speed the process of referral by bringing the case to the attention of the CCRC in appropriate cases by forwarding the case papers where the convicted offender is in agreement to that.

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General how many defendants whose cases are yet to be reviewed following the Angela Cannings case are serving custodial sentences. [172612]

The Solicitor-General: As at 19 May 2004, 176 cases remain to be reviewed. Of those, 16 are shown to be cases where the offender is still serving a custodial sentence, according to Home Office lists. Those cases are being accorded the highest priority in the review process.

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General when she expects the review process following the Angela Cannings case to be completed. [172616]

The Solicitor-General: I refer the hon. and learned Member to the Attorney-General's statement on 5 May 2004.

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