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Claim Management Companies

Mr. Greenway: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans he
 
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has to implement the Better Regulations Task Force's recommendation to strengthen consumer protection against claim management companies. [187668]

Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to my hon. Friend, the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore).

Court Dress

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on progress with the proposed reforms of court dress. [186587]

Mr. Leslie: The consultation paper "Court Working Dress in England and Wales" set out a range of possible options for changing court working dress. It attracted 3,406 responses. My right hon. friend the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor is considering in the light of these responses whether changes would be beneficial and expects to make an announcement in due course.

Government Information

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what action his Department is taking to deal with delays experienced by applicants under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. [186608]

Mr. Leslie: The Government take any delays experienced by applicants under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information seriously.

The Government regret that delays do unavoidably occur in a minority of complex cases. However, the Ombudsman's review of the first nine months of the Memorandum of Understanding (September 2003 to May 2004) shows that in most cases the requirements of the Memorandum of Understanding were met.

In all cases, Departments endeavour to ensure that the time limit of 20 working days for Departments to respond to requests for information is met.

Compliance with the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information is monitored annually and published in the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information Monitoring Report.

Government Premises

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the arrangements for access to government premises for (a) physically disabled persons and (b) allergy sufferers, with particular reference to latex allergy. [186959]

Mr. Leslie: As of the 31 July 2004 319 of the 377 properties that currently make up the Court Service estate are fully accessible to physically disabled persons.

There has been no recorded incident in respect of latex allergies within the Department for Constitutional Affairs. In the event that a member of staff or a visitor to one of our buildings were to suffer from an allergy to latex, we would seek the advice of the Department of Health as to an appropriate course of action to ensure that they suffer no discomfort.
 
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Law Commission

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the outstanding reports for the Law Commission recommending legislation and in relation to which no Bill has been put before Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [186489]

Mr. Leslie: The outstanding reports are set out in the following tables. Following recommendations made in the recent quinquennial review of the Law Commission my Department, with the support of the Law Commission, is exploring ways in which Departments could implement more accepted Law Commission recommendations. A Ministerial Committee is to consider the Law Commission's draft programme every two years. In addition, Departments are being encouraged to consider, where appropriate, the use of regulatory reform orders and other ways of implementing recommendations. My Department already seeks from other Government Departments six monthly reports on their progress in deciding on published Law Commission recommendations, and when they propose to implement them. However, it is for individual Departments to decide which recommendations to accept and when to implement them.
Law Commission Reports awaiting Government response

Year	Number	Title
1995	229	Intoxication and Criminal Liability
1996	238	Landlord and Tenant: Responsibility for State and Condition of Property
1998	249	Liability for Psychiatric Illness
1999	257	Damages for Personal Injury: Non-Pecuniary Loss
1999	262	Damages for Personal Injury: Medical, Nursing and other Expenses
1999	263	Claims for Wrongful Death
2003	283	Partnership Law
2003	284	Renting Homes
2003	286	Towards a Compulsory Purchase Code: (1) Compensation
2004	287	Pre-Judgment Interest on Debts and Damages
2004	289	In the Public Interest: Publication of Local Authority Reports

Law Commission Reports awaiting legislation

Year	Number	Title
1991	194	Distress for Rent
1993	218	Offences Against the Person and General Principles
1994	222	Binding Over
1994	226	Judicial Review and Statutory Appeals
1996	237	Involuntary Manslaughter
1997	246	Shareholder Remedies
1997	247	Aggravated, Exemplary and Restitutionary Damages
1998	248	Corruption Offences
1998	251	The Rules Against Perpetuities and Excessive Accumulations
1998	255	Consents to Prosecution
1999	261	Company Directors Duties and Conflicts of Interest
2001	270	Limitation of Actions
2001	272	Third Parties' Rights Against Insurers
2002	276	Fraud
2002	277	The Effective Prosecution of Multiple Offending
2003	282	Children: Their Non-Accidental Death or Serious Injury (Criminal Trials)

Law Commission Reports currently under consideration by Parliament

Year	Number	Title
1995	231	Mental Incapacity

 
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Legal Rights

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans he has to propose changes to the legal principle of volenti non fit injuria in cases involving sport or outdoor pursuits; and if he will make a statement. [186485R]

Mr. Leslie: The Government have no plans to change the law in this area.

Magistrate Training

Andy Burnham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what training is available to magistrates on access rights for grandparents in cases of family breakdown. [187661]

Mr. Leslie: Statutory responsibility for the training of magistrates currently rests with the 42 independent magistrates courts committees (MCCs). In court lay magistrates sit with their justices' clerk or a legal adviser. The justices' clerk has a statutory duty to provide advice to the magistrates on questions of law, practice and procedure. This will include advice on applying any case law and relevant Court of Appeal judgments when making decisions. Cases concerning contact (access) arrangements are therefore considered by magistrates on individual merit and with appropriate advice on law and procedure. In each case the child's welfare shall be the court's paramount consideration.

The Children Act 1989 introduced the legal framework for contact (access) arrangements for children in cases of family breakdown. A grandparent is entitled to apply to the court under s.10 of the Act for permission to make an application for contact.

Only magistrates who sit on the Family Panel can hear cases that involve contact arrangements. The recently updated Magistrates' National Training Initiative (MNTI 2) sets out (and confirms the current practice) that magistrates should only be invited to sit on the Family Panel after successfully demonstrating the competencies required to sit in the adult court. Magistrates have been using a competence framework since 1998 for appraisal and training. Under MNTI 2 there are new competence frameworks for both the adult and family courts. These competence frameworks set out the knowledge, understanding, and skills magistrates need to demonstrate to perform their role.

Applications for contact arrangements can also be heard in family proceedings in the county court.

National Debt Helpline/Consumer Direct

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the Government grant to (a) the National Debt Helpline and (b) Consumer Direct is for the next financial year. [185927]

Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.

The DTI grant for the National Debtline for financial year 2005–06 has yet to be decided and will be considered as part of the Department's forthcoming business planning exercise.
 
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The DTI's settlement under the Spending Review 2004 included a ring-fenced provision of £16 million in respect of Consumer Direct for financial year 2005–06.

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