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9 Dec 2004 : Column 751W—continued
Legal Aid (ASBOs)
Bob Spink: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if it is his policy to make legal aid available to youths who seek to challenge anti-social behaviour orders; and if he will make a statement. [202931]
Mr. Lammy: Legal aid is already available for youths both to resist the application to make an order and to appeal an order once made.
It is our intention to streamline the use of Legal Aid in anti-social behaviour (ASBOS) cases. We intend to work with the Home Office and Legal Services Commission to introduce, by the end of 2005, a system of fixed fees for the public funding of defence solicitors in cases involving the application for anti-social behaviour orders. A fixed fee scheme will ensure swifter justice without compromising fairness. But it will also discourage the small minority who use unnecessary delaying tactics and subsequently deny the deterrence and protection that ASBO's give to our communities.
More generally, my Department has responded to concern about anti-social behaviour by establishing ASB Response Courts. These courts can make a difference at a local level by ensuring ASB cases are dealt with justly—but expeditiously—with awareness of what matters to local communities—while working in close co-operation with other local partners.
Bob Spink: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people have applied for legal aid in order to challenge anti-social behaviour orders; and how many have been granted legal aid. [202976]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested cannot be provided as the number of applications and grants cannot be readily identified from records held by the Legal Services Commission.
Prison Video Links
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many prisoners have attended court by video conferencing from prison since the introduction of Prison Video Links; how many court rooms have video link facilities; and what cost savings have been made since Prison Video Link was introduced. [201921]
Mr. Leslie:
Since December 2002, 64,944 court hearings have taken place over video links from prisons. There are currently 180 Video Courts in 154 Magistrates Courts, 76 Video Courts in 30 Crown Courts and 75 Video Courts in 57 Prisons. Escort contracts used to transport defendants from prison to court were fixed
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price contracts until 1 September 2004 thus little or no savings have been accrued for this part of the operation as yet.
Project Eagle
Ross Cranston: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on progress with Project Eagle, to make UK law more accessible to people who need advice through enhanced computer technology. [202977]
Mr. Lammy: Project Eagle is a cutting edge partnership initiative between the Legal Services Commission, two Midlands Citizens Advice Bureaux and "Citizens Advice". The system is intended as a support tool for advice givers, with the intention of enabling trained generalist advisers to deliver more specialist advice and develop the capability of a specialist, starting with the area of employment advice.
In the two years Project Eagle has been running, work has progressed to build and trial the system. Initially funding was through the Treasury's Invest to Save Budget.
HEALTH
Dentistry
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on future contractual arrangements between the primary care trusts and dentists. [200520]
Ms Rosie Winterton: With effect from next October, the Department will be delegating the commissioning of national health service dentistry to primary care trusts through new contractual arrangements that will replace the present item for service payments with a remuneration system that focuses on better meeting patients' overall oral health needs. To support these reforms, we will be allocating extra funding of £250 million a year from 2005–06—an increase of 19.3 per cent., compared with spending in 2003–04 on NHS dentistry.
Representatives from the British Dental Association (BDA) and departmental officials last met on 24 November to discuss the new contractual arrangements, and agreed the following joint statement:
"The Department of Health and the BDA are continuing discussions on the new contractual arrangements to take effect from October 2005. Both sides are conscious of the need to achieve early outcome and will be meeting again early next month"
We received a letter, via e-mail, from the BDA at 3.15pm. on 7 December stating that they did not wish to continue the discussions and would not be attending the meetings scheduled for 8 December and 20 December.
Preparations for the dentistry reforms, including new contractual arrangements, remain on course for introduction from 1 October 2005. We will continue to keep the House informed of progress.
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Departmental Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of (a) in-house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by his Department in each of the last two years. [200788]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department's canteens are a nil subsidy operation. The Department makes no direct payment to its catering contractor for the provision of its staff restaurants.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the (a) annual cost and (b) total value of the empty properties owned by (i) his Department, (ii) his agencies and (iii) other public bodies for which he has had responsibility in each of the last two years. [200791]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
None of the buildings owned by the Department has been vacant at any time during the past two years.
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Drink Driving
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was to each health authority of providing medical assistance as a result of accidents on the road in which alcohol was a contributory factor in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [202906]
Miss Melanie Johnson: This information is not collected centrally.
Expenditure (Leeds)
Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the allocations of (a) revenue and (b) capital to Leeds primary care trusts and each of their predecessor healthcare commissioning bodies have been since 1991–92. [200136]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the tables.
1999–2000 was the first year of unified allocations covering Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS), prescribing and General Medical Service cash limited. These figures are not comparable with those for previous which cover HCHS only.
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