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21 Mar 2005 : Column 609W—continued
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Congestion Charge
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme. [213823]
Mr. Lammy: My Department has spent the following amounts on congestion (a) charging and (b) penalty charge notices since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme:
The Department's policy is to recover penalty charges from the drivers who incur them.
Deaths in Custody (Legal Aid)
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list those cases in which he has (a) awarded and (b) not awarded legal aid to families in inquests into deaths in custody since taking office. [222963]
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Mr. Lammy: Since November 2001 the Legal Services Commission has been authorised by the Lord Chancellor to fund advocacy at inquests into deaths occurring in police or prison custody, or during the course of police arrest, search, pursuit or shooting, subject to the statutory financial eligibility limits.
From December 2003, Ministers have had the power to waive the financial eligibility limits for legal aid in cases that may engage Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and where it is equitable to do so. Using this power, I have authorised funding for legal representation in 21 death in custody inquests, as at 18 March 2005. I have not refused funding for any death in custody inquest. The numbers break down as follows:
| April to March | Number |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 10 |
| 2004–05 | 11 |
Domestic Property Sales
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many domestic property sales above £120,000 took place in Pendle in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what percentage of the total domestic sales in Pendle this represents. [223376]
Mr. Lammy: In the calendar year 2004, 537 domestic properties were sold in Pendle for more than £120,000. This represents 16.69 per cent. of all domestic property sales in that district.
Immigration Adjudicators
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the nature is of the training for immigration adjudicators organised and facilitated by senior judicial members of the immigration appellate authority. [221783]
Mr. Lammy: The training provided for immigration adjudicators, organised and facilitated by senior judicial members of the immigration appellate authority (IAA), is tailored to be legislatively relevant, and to reflect the changing environment of asylum and immigration decision making. In 2004 the chief adjudicator introduced a dedicated post of training adjudicator, which has improved the development, and delivery, of training packages to reflect the needs of immigration adjudicators in what is a rapidly developing jurisdiction. The training adjudicator is currently responsible for the facilitation of a series of judicial training conferences, underpinning the transition from the IAA into the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT). These recent conferences were designed to provide the immigration judiciary with the appropriate resources, and legislative knowledge, to continue to produce high quality decisions within the new tribunal.
Minority Indigenous Languages
Mr. Wilson:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on initiatives taken through the British Irish
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Council to advance minority indigenous languages in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Ireland following the discussions at the Fifth Summit. [222849]
Mr. Lammy: At the Fifth Summit of the British-Irish Council, it was agreed that members would:
Carry out an assessment of structures supporting indigenous language learning in adult education in each of the BIC administrations;
Consider together the potential benefits of co-operating on the development of language use surveys;
Share information on their experiences of the relationship between planning policy and linguistic considerations.
This work has been carried forward by the Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages Sectoral Group of the council, which is led by the Welsh Assembly Government. The group has decided to focus on three specific areas, namely language transmission within the family, the teaching of Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages in the field of education and Information and Communications Technology.
Mr. Wilson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what support has been given to Iomairt Cholm Chille in promoting co-operation through the British Irish Council on minority language issues. [222850]
Mr. Lammy: Work on minority language issues is taken forward by the Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-used Languages Sectoral Working Group of the council, which is led by the Welsh Assembly Government. It would be for members of that group to propose the involvement of non-governmental organisations. To date, such involvement has included, or will include input from various language boards, adult education providers and community-based language groups such as the Welsh Mentrau Iaith.
Non-family Civil Legal Aid
Ross Cranston: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of the population was eligible for non-family civil legal aid in each of the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement. [222729]
Mr. Lammy: We do not have precise figures for the last 20 years. Estimates of the proportion of individuals eligible for civil legal aid generally from 1986 to 2000 are set out on the following table.
| Percentage individuals eligible | |
|---|---|
| 1986 | 63 |
| 1987 | 60 |
| 1988 | 58 |
| 1989 | 59 |
| 1990 | 56 |
| 1991 | 55 |
| 1992 | 56 |
| 1993 | 52 |
| 1994 | 54 |
| 1995 | 54 |
| 1996 | 52 |
| 1997 | 52 |
| 1998 | 52 |
| 1999 | 51 |
| 2000 | 50 |
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More recent surveys estimate that the proportion of the population eligible for civil legal aid generally has remained at approximately 50 per cent. since 2000.
Nuclear Test Veterans
Mr. Todd: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what representations he has received concerning the continuance of Legal Services Commission funding for the claims of British nuclear test veterans against the Ministry of Defence; and if he will make a statement. [222551]
Mr. Lammy: I have received one letter from the hon. Member for Bournemouth, West (Sir John Butterfill) on this subject. The Department is not aware of receiving any other representations, although data on correspondence are not recorded to give a categorical answer.
I am aware that there has been a dialogue between the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the applicants' solicitors regarding the continuation of funding.
At the time of writing the LSC has recently received correspondence and enquiries from four MPs, on behalf of constituents who are members of the British Nuclear Test Victims Association.
The LSC granted limited funding in June 2002 to two firms of solicitors to undertake preliminary investigations.
The LSC made an assessment of the atomic veterans' Multi Party Action (MPA) in October 2004. This action not only includes British veterans, but nationals from New Zealand and Fiji. The LSC is currently awaiting further information from the solicitors to enable a decision to be made whether further funding should be provided. Once the information is available the Commission will first consider the merits and then whether the action is affordable from the cash limited budget, having compared it with other major group actions that are being proposed. This is the standard procedure that the Commission currently applies to any major MPA.
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