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Post Office

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many (a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices in London have been (i) closed and (ii) subject to formal consultation prior to closure since 31 March; [182351]

(2) how many post offices and sub-post offices in London subject to formal consultation pending closure since 31 March have subsequently been reprieved. [182353]

Mr. Timms: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Office Urban Reinvention Programme

Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Business Transaction Hours (BTH) were allocated to individual post offices which have closed under the Urban Reinvention programme in the Wakefield area, broken down by post office; and how many BTHs have been allocated to each post office receiving the business from closed post offices. [183015]

 
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Mr. Timms: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Statutory Paternity Pay

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 1 July 2004, Official Report, column 400W, on statutory paternity pay, if she will place the information her Department receives in the Library; [183076]

(2) if she will place in the Library the initial information on the take-up of statutory paternity pay that the Inland Revenue has provided to other Government Departments. [183075]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 13 July 2004]: The information will be deposited in the Libraries of the House.

Working Time Masterclasses

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funds she has allocated to the nine masterclasses to reduce the working time of employees organised by her Department. [183770]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 13 July 2004]: A strategic partnership project on long hours working has been set up with the CBI and TUC to identify practical ways of implementing change management practices in the workplace. This is to help those organisations who are looking for ways to maximise or maintain productivity levels while moving away from routinely relying on employees working long hours.

A series of nine masterclasses will be held at various regional locations between July 2004 and March 2005. 'Business champions' who have been successful at managing such change will share their learning outcomes with small groups of relevant organisations, promoting discussion and the formation of action plans. There will be no charge to participants. Each of the case studies will be written into a final report as a way of disseminating the project's outputs to a wider audience.

The EOC is managing the project, and have a budget of approximately £70,000 from the DTI's strategic partnership initiative.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

European Constitutional Treaty

Mr. Hood: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the measures adopted under Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community within his Department's areas of responsibility which the UK has notified its intention to participate in. [183434]

Mr. Leslie: The measures adopted under Title IV which fall within the responsibility of my Department which the UK has notified its intention to participate in are:
 
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Council Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 of 29 May 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgements in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility for children of both spouses.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1348/2000 of 29 May 2000 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters.

Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgements in civil and commercial matters.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 of 28 May 2001 on co-operation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil and commercial matters.

Council Regulation (EC) No 2001/470/EC of 28 May 2001 establishing a European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters.

Council Regulation (EC) No 743/2002 of 25 April 2002 establishing a general Community framework of activities to facilitate the implementation of judicial co-operation in civil matters.

Council Regulation (EC) No 2002/8/EC of 27 January 2003 to improve access to justice in cross-border disputes by establishing minimum common rules relating to legal aid for such disputes.

Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgements in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility , repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000.

Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 if the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims.

Legal Aid

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the Department's policy is on the granting of legal aid to those who have dismissed their legal team. [183709]

Mr. Leslie: Any grant of legal aid, whether civil or criminal, is made to an individual's solicitor or solicitors' firm and, as appropriate, assigned counsel. Where an individual dismisses their legal team, and assigns a new legal team, they must re-apply for legal aid (either through the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission for civil legal aid, or through the court for criminal legal aid).

If the individual does not assign a new legal team, legal aid cannot be granted.

Neighbourly Quarrels

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what record is kept by the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission of regular users of the scheme in pursuing neighbourly quarrels. [183710]

Mr. Leslie: The Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission does not keep any specific record of regular users of the civil legal aid scheme in pursuing disputes between neighbours.

Privy Council (Accounts)

Mr. Bacon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs who the Finance Director for the Privy Council is; what accountancy
 
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qualifications the Director holds; and in which of the last five years there has been a qualified opinion on (a) the resource accounts and (b) other accounts of the Privy Council. [183580]

Mr. Leslie: The Finance Director is the Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council, who is a Chartered Secretary. In view of the very small size of the Department it has been agreed with the Treasury and the National Audit Office that specialist accountancy advice is provided through a consultancy arrangement with a qualified accountant. The Department's resource accounts were qualified in 2002–03 owing to a very small amount of resource expenditure (£9,000) in excess of voted provision. The excess expenditure was due to factors outside the Department's control, which are explained in the resource accounts for that year.

Voting Age

Brian Cotter: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if the Government will bring forward proposals to enfranchise 16 and 17-year-olds in the near future. [183916]

Mr. Leslie: The Government are currently considering the independent Electoral Commission's 'Age of electoral majority' report, which makes recommendations on the minimum age of voting and candidacy in elections.

The Government will not rush their consideration of the recommendations, given the importance of the issues at hand.

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