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Racial Discrimination

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to tackle racial discrimination in employment; and if she will make a statement. [176732]

Fiona Mactaggart: I have been asked to reply.

The Race Relations Act 1976 prohibits racial discrimination in employment (as well as education and the provision of goods and services) and established the Commission for Racial Equality to enforce the Act and provide advice and support to victims of discrimination. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 strengthened the Race Relations Act by prohibiting racial discrimination in almost all public functions not covered by the Race Relations Act and by placing a statutory duty on public authorities to promote racial equality, including in the field of employment. We have further strengthened the law on discrimination by transposing the EU Race Directive into domestic law in the Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment) Regulations 2003. These improve the protection to employees by, for example, reversing the burden of proof in race discrimination cases, introducing a definition of harassment and narrowing the permissible exemptions to the employment provisions of the Race Relations Act 1976.

In addition to the legislative changes, the Government are also implementing the recommendations of the Strategy Unit report—Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market. This report makes 11 recommendations to improve equal opportunities in the workplace which are being taken forward by the Home Office and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), but also by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). Implementation of these recommendations will result in better advice and support for employers; increased effectiveness of existing mechanisms to ensure race equality; and increased transparency and awareness.

Radio Frequency Identifier Devices

Mr. Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to commission research into the use of radio frequency identifier devices in retail goods. [177390]

Jacqui Smith: The Department of Trade and Industry has no plans to commission research specific to the use of radio frequency identifier devices (RFID) in retail goods. However, DTI supports research into commercially and socially useful applications of RFID as an increasingly significant business technology.

DTI's response to the IT and Retail Crime Adjournment debate, 27 January 2004, Official Report, column 284 outlined the steps we are taking with industry and organisations such as the National Consumers Council to keep abreast of developments.
 
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CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Disability Discrimination Act

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the training provided to judges in understanding and correctly applying part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [179673]

Mr. Leslie: Judicial training is the responsibility of the Judicial Studies Board (JSB), an independent body chaired by Lord Justice Keene.

The JSB provides guidance to judges, via its Equal Treatment Bench Book, on all aspects of fair treatment in courts and tribunals. The Equal Treatment Bench Book contains a section on the needs of people with disabilities and includes the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. It is publicly available on the JSB's website. In addition, the JSB provides training on the Disability Discrimination Act and proceedings brought under part 3, for District Judges who sit in the county court. The most recent training session on this topic was in March 2004. The supporting training materials are available to judges in hard copy and electronic form. The JSB keeps all of its training under regular review.

Environmental Cases

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs on how many occasions interim relief has been (a) applied for and (b) granted in cases relating to environmental matters in (i) the High Court, (ii) the Court of Appeal, (iii) the House of Lords and (iv) the Privy Council in each year since 1997. [179530]

Mr. Leslie: The Administrative Court Office (High Court), the Court of Appeal and Privy Council do not keep statistical information on applications for interim relief relating to environmental matters.

The House of Lords does not receive applications for interim relief on environmental issues.

Uncollected Fines

Chris Ruane: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of fines are uncollected, broken down by magistrate area, in descending order, according to region. [180033]

Mr. Leslie: Information on fines imposed and collected is provided by the 42 Magistrates's Courts Committees (MCCs) in England and Wales. The attached table shows the number of live accounts outstanding as at the end of March 2004 and the payment rates for the last quarter of 2004. The figures for the number of live accounts are shown by descending order.
 
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Number of live accounts as at end of March 2004, in descending order

MCC	Number of live accounts as attend of March 2004 1,2	Payment rate for quarter 4 (January–March 2004) 2 (Percentage)
Greater London	250,000	82
Merseyside	113,518	51
West Midlands	105,422	54
West Yorkshire	85,816	69
Greater Manchester	78,690	72
Northumbria	77,330	81
South Wales	67,061	76
Lancashire	64,724	90
Thames Valley	59,659	63
Devon and Cornwall	52,539	55
Avon and Somerset	52,252	77
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	49,147	68
Cheshire	49,110	78
Leicestershire	41,577	73
Staffordshire	39,348	67
South Yorkshire	38,942	101
Cleveland	36,027	114
North Wales	35,816	75
Gwent	35,396	84
Humberside	34,018	87
Kent	32,309	78
Derbyshire	31,583	89
Lincolnshire	31,297	75
Nottinghamshire	27,316	68
Dyfed Powys	26,644	102
Cambridgeshire	25,127	110
Dorset	23,265	69
Suffolk	22,699	71
Surrey	19,366	77
Essex	18,385	109
West Mercia	18,211	74
Wiltshire	18,156	92
Hertfordshire	14,865	63
Northamptonshire	14,421	81
Cumbria	11,086	91
Gloucestershire	10,993	61
Bedfordshire	10,721	84
Durham	8,885	93
Warwickshire	8,871	80
North Yorkshire	8,569	138
Norfolk	8,002	85
Sussex (d)	—	95
England and Wales	1,757,163	76

Notes:
1. The number of Accounts may include more than one fine per offender. MCCs have the option of consolidating a number of fines for the same person under one fine account. Those MCCs (and it can vary within that MCC) that choose this facility are unable to state how many fines are held in total under each consolidated account.
2. This includes Fines, Legal Aid, Costs, Community Penalty Costs and Compensation.
3. Sussex MCC operate a unique collection system and are consequently unable to provide this information.
NB: The payment rate can not be directly compared to number of live accounts to show what percentage of fines is uncollected. The number of accounts provides a snapshot of the number of live fines on a given day, and can include outstanding accounts from previous years. The payment rate shows the amount of money collected by an MCC as a percentage of that imposed within the time period. All figures shown are inclusive of Fines, Legal Aid, Costs, Community Penalty Costs and Compensation.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Government-owned Land (Chorley)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much land is owned by the Government in the Chorley constituency; and what its present use is. [180053]

 
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Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.

Other than by approaching each individual government department in the Chorley constituency, it is not possible to provide information on the amount of unregistered land owned by them. Land Registry holds information on land ownership relating to registered titles but, under Rule 11 of the Land Registration Rules 2003, it is only possible to search for ownership by name if the applicant can satisfy the registrar that he is interested generally (for instance, as trustee in bankruptcy or personal representative). Land Registry does not hold information on land use.

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