| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
8 Mar 2005 : Column 1742W—continued
Legal Costs (Traveller Encampments)
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what the total cost to public funds of providing legal advice, assistance and support in relation to planning applications and appeals in respect of Traveller encampments was in the last period for which figures are available; [216647]
(2) in how many legal cases no longer before the courts and involving a Traveller or a group of Travellers appealing against a decision by a local planning authority the Community Law Partnership has given advice. [219514]
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what the eligibility requirements for legal aid are for (a) Travellers and (b) home owners; [219917]
(2) what support the Legal Services Commission (LSC) provides to Travellers; and how much the LSC has spent on such support in each of the last five years; [219918]
(3) how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department deal with issues relating to Travellers; [219949]
(4) pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2005, Official Report, column 1296W, whether the Travellers' legal helpline provides advice in relation to (a) eviction actions and (b) planning enforcement actions; [220172]
(5) pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2005, Official Report, column 1296W, on Traveller sites, when the Government began funding the Community Law Partnership to provide legal support to Travellers; and how much funding was provided in each year. [220187]
Mr. Lammy: It is not possible to identify individual grants of legal aid to Gypsies and Travellers in some categories of law because we do not collect information to indicate whether clients are from these ethnic groups or follow any particular lifestyle.
The Community Law Partnership has held a contract with the LSC to provide publicly funded services since January 2000. It has held a contract with the LSC since April 2002 to provide telephone advice to Gypsies and Travellers on housing matters, including eviction and planning enforcement actions. Its grants have been as follows.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| April 2002-March 2003 | 131,675 |
| April 2003-March 2004 | 131,675 |
| April 2004-March 2005 | 50,000 |
In addition, Legal Help, which provides for basic advice and assistance on questions of English law including, planning applications and appeals, is available subject to satisfying the statutory tests of the
8 Mar 2005 : Column 1743W
applicant's means and the merits of the case. The LSC does not hold data on how much Legal Help is awarded to Gypsies and Travellers.
Legal Representation at planning applications and appeals is generally outside the scope of legal aid. However, since April 2000, funding can be made available in exceptional cases under section 6(8)(b) of the Access to Justice Act 1999, when the relevant criteria are satisfied, for example, where the case concerns the applicant's home. This protects the applicant's fundamental rights and ensures a fair hearing. It is not possible to give a precise figure for total costs but, since April 2000, a maximum of £45,000 plus VAT (excluding Legal Help costs) has been spent on planning applications in relation to Traveller encampments. The costs over the last five years break down as follows.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| April 2001-March 2002 | 14,600 plus VAT |
| April 2002-March 2003 | 7,000 plus VAT |
| April 2003-March 2004 | 0 |
| April 2004-March 2005 | 23,644 plus VAT |
According to our records, legal aid has been granted to the Community Law Partnership for representation in 16 such cases. We do not know whether all these cases have concluded.
The Ormiston Children and Families Trust and the Fenland Citizens Advice Bureau has received a Partnership Initiative Budget grant to pilot the provision of information and advice services on social welfare law specifically to Gypsies and Travellers in Cambridgeshire. LSC funding amounted to £5,050 in 2003–04 and £17,200 so far in 2004–05.
The eligibility criteria for legal aid for Gypsies and Travellers are the same as for other individuals in England and Wales.
Allowances are given within the financial eligibility tests for civil legal aid to disregard equity held in a homeowner's principal home up to a limit of £100,000, in addition to payments for a mortgage of up to £100,000.
No member of staff at the Department for Constitutional Affairs deals solely with issues relating to Travellers.
Population Censuses
Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Registrar General was permitted to retain the 1921 to 1971 decennial population censuses for England and Wales during the period 1997 to 2004 in his Department for renewable periods of 10 years. [220594]
Mr. Leslie:
Decennial population censuses for the period from 1921 to 1971 are approved for retention in the responsible department under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958. The Lord Chancellor's Retention Instrument number 38 (signed in 1996) approves retention of the 1921 and 1951 censuses. The Lord Chancellor's Retention Instrument number 63
8 Mar 2005 : Column 1744W
(signed in 2001) approves retention of the 1961 and 1971 censuses. There are no surviving decennial population census records for 1931 and no census was taken in 1941.
Court Disputes Targets
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce the proportion of disputes that are resolved by the courts; [219144]
(2) what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce unnecessary delay and cost in the legal system; [219145]
(3) what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to increase year on year the level of satisfaction of users by taking speedy, high quality decisions in the legal system and ensuring that outcomes are enforced effectively; [219146]
(4) what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to increase year on year the number of people who receive suitable assistance in priority areas of law involving fundamental rights or social exclusion; [219151]
(5) what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to modernise the constitution and ensure proper access to information by citizens; [219152]
(6) what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to deliver justice in partnership with the independent judiciary; [219153]
(7) whether the public service agreement target to increase value for money from the criminal justice system by 3 per cent. per year was met in 2004; [219154]
(8) whether the public service agreement target to increase efficiency in the criminal justice system by at least 2 per cent. a year, including the delivery of legal aid, was met in 2004. [219155]
Mr. Leslie: Progress against these targets is set out in the Department for Constitutional Affairs' autumn performance report (Cm 6391) which was presented to Parliament in December 2004.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to reduce public fear of crime and antisocial behaviour. [219156]
Mr. Leslie: Plans to deliver this Public Service Agreement target, which was announced as part of the 2004 Spending Review and come into effect on 1 April 2005, are currently being developed. Progress will be covered in the Departmental Report 2005 and the Autumn Performance Report 2005 both of which will be laid before Parliament later this year.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what recent assessment he has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to increase the proportion of care cases being completed in the courts within 40 weeks by 10 per cent. by 2009–10 will be met; [219159]
8 Mar 2005 : Column 1745W
(2) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to achieve earlier and more proportionate resolution of legal problems and disputes; [219160]
(3) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase advice and assistance to help people resolve their legal disputes earlier and more effectively; [219161]
(4) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase the opportunities for people involved in court cases to settle their disputes out of court; [219162]
(5) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to reduce delays in resolving those disputes that need to be decided by the courts; [219163]
(6) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to enable the development of democratic institutions of Government that command public confidence; [219164]
(7) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to create a modern, efficient and effective Department that has the capacity and capability to deliver excellent public services. [219165]
Mr. Leslie: Plans to deliver these Public Service Agreement targets and Strategic Objectives, which were announced as part of the 2004 Spending Review and come into effect on 1 April 2005, are currently being developed. Progress will be covered in the Departmental Report 2005 and the Autumn Performance Report 2005 both of which will be laid before Parliament later this year.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |