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13 Dec 2004 : Column 875W—continued
Judges
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) Queen's Bench and (b) Family Division judges there are; how many there were in (i) 1974, (ii) 1984 and (iii) 1994; and what the percentage change was in each case. [203939]
Mr. Leslie: As at 9 December 2004 there are:
Shredding
Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much his Department has spent on acquiring shredding equipment for office use in each year since 1997. [202102]
Mr. Leslie: The amount spent on acquiring shredding equipment for office use for each year since 1997 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff hours have been spent shredding documents in each month since January. [202103]
Mr. Leslie: Information on staff hours spent disposing of records identified for destruction is not held, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will list the attributable interviews that the Department's special advisers gave to (a) newspapers, (b) journals, (c) books and (d) other media in their official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004. [201426]
Mr. Leslie: Special Advisers in my Department did not give any attributable interviews to newspapers, journals, books or any other media in their official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004. All Special Advisers' contacts with the media are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Special Advisers.
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the attributable (a) articles and (b) contributions that the Department's special advisers made to (i) newspapers, (ii) journals, (iii) books and (iv) other media in their official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004. [201451]
Mr. Leslie: Special advisers in the Department for Constitutional Affairs did not make any contributions to newspapers, journals, books and other media in their official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004.
All special advisers' contacts with the media are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the "Code of Conduct of Special Advisers".
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Witnesses (Criminal Courts)
Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Department has taken to publicise the availability of special measures for witnesses in the criminal courts. [203874]
Mr. Leslie: My Department works closely with the other Criminal Justice Departments to ensure that the availability of special measures is publicised.
Prior to attending court the Witness in Court leaflet should be sent to every prosecution witnesses, with the witness warning letter. This leaflet includes information about the availability of special measures. The Witness Walkthrough on CJS Online also has information about special measures. In addition, Home Office circulars provide information to practitioners about special measures. Technical guidance has also been issued to the judiciary as to the way the legislation should operate on special measures and the Judicial Studies Board provides training seminars for the judiciary in which special measures are covered extensively. In each Crown court centre there is a Witness Liaison Officer, who has received training for dealing with vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and the use of special measures. It is planned to extend the use of Witness Liaison Officers to all magistrates courts by spring 2005.
The 'No Witness, No Justice' programme, which is currently being rolled out nationally, introduces dedicated Witness Care Units bringing police and the CPS together for the first time to jointly meet the individual needs of victims and witnesses. They provide a range of services, including, following charge, an initial needs assessment to identify those witnesses who would qualify for special measures, and continuous review of victim and witness needs throughout the case.
My Department has also worked with the General Council of the Bar, the NSPCC and other criminal justice agencies to produce a video "A Case for Special Measures" which is aimed primarily at the legal professions.
WALES
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997. [203496]
Mr. Hain: Any speeches made by special advisers in an official capacity are conducted in accordance with the "Code of Conduct for Special Advisers".
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether departmental special advisers have written to external (a) bodies and (b) individuals in their official capacity since May 1997. [204295]
Mr. Hain:
The Wales Office was established on 1 July 1999.
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Special advisers hold meetings with a wide range of external representatives in their official capacity. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the "Code of Conduct for Special Advisers".
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether departmental special advisers have made appearances before parliamentary select committees in their official capacity since May 1997. [204315]
Mr. Hain: The Wales office was established on 1 July 1999.
Since then, departmental special advisers have made no such appearances.
Staff Training Courses
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the (a) cost to the Department, (b) title and (c) location was of each training course organised by his Department for its staff in each financial year since 1997–98. [200330]
Mr. Touhig: The Wales Office was created in July 1999 and has 57 staff.
(a) In-house training was provided by the National Assembly for Wales under a Service Level Agreement until June 2003 and is now provided by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. There is no cost to the Wales Office for such training except for travel and subsistence for trainers. The costs for travel and subsistence are nil for years 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02. In 2002–03 we spent £1,856 and in 2003–04 £2,230.
(b) and (c) Courses arranged specifically for Wales Office staff are normally held in our buildings in London and Cardiff and have included:
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what financial penalties were paid in each financial year since 1997–98 to training providers by the Department for training courses prepared for its staff which were subsequently cancelled at the Department's request. [200402]
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