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28 Jun 2005 : Column 1475W—continued
Immigration and Asylum
Graham Stringer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what studies her Department has undertaken into the effect of the new legal aid control on the immigration and asylum system. [6978]
Bridget Prentice: The reforms introduced in April 2004 addressed serious concerns about increasing costs and poor quality work. They were designed to target resources on cases with merit and to drive up the quality of publicly funded legal services in the field of asylum and immigration. Now that the reforms have been in place for a year, there is sufficient information available to commence an analysis of their impact and DCA officials will be working with the Legal Services Commission (LSC), Home Office and the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal on this. The operation of the new cost controls was subject to a review involving key stakeholders from the legal professions in July 2004.
In most areas of the country there are an adequate number of suppliers and the LSC acts to ensure that any local gaps in supply are addressed as quickly as possible. The LSC is undertaking a needs analysis exercise to further match supply to demand. Since the changes were introduced, the number of firms and organisations undertaking this work has fallen, but during 2004–05
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the net reduction was less than 10 per cent. This is in the context of a significant fall in asylum numbers from a peak of 84,000 to 32,000 in 2004–05.
Jury Service (Northern Ireland)
Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people were called to jury service in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and what the average length of time served as a juror was in Northern Ireland in each of these years. [7168]
Bridget Prentice: The number of people called to jury service in Northern Ireland is:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 17,405 |
| 2004–05 | 18,345 |
Statistics for 2002–03 and information on the average length of time served as a juror are recorded manually and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Law Society
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she has been consulted about the Law Society's Training Framework Review. [7521]
Bridget Prentice: The Law Society is currently consulting on proposed changes to the pre-qualification training framework for solicitors. Any recommendations the Law Society makes as a result of that consultation will then be considered by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, whose approval would be needed, in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990.
Magistrates
Mr. Allen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make it her policy to collect data on magistrates residency by constituency in order to identify areas where extra recruitment is required. [7386]
Ms Harman: There are no plans to collect data on magistrates residency by constituency. The Lord Chancellor's and Secretary of State's Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace are responsible for the recruitment of magistrates. There are 101 Advisory Committees covering England and Wales. Data on the number of magistrates are recorded for each bench and Advisory Committees are responsible for recruiting sufficient magistrates for each bench. The Magistrates' National Recruitment Strategy Implementation Paper published on 11 March 2005 sets the action for increasing recruitment.
Solicitors (Newly Qualified/Trainee)
Mr. Djanogly:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average salary has
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been of a one-year qualified solicitor (a) conducting civil legal aid work and (b) in non-publicly funded firms, in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region; [7955]
Bridget Prentice: The specific information requested is not collated or held centrally by this Department and therefore an answer cannot be given. The issue of salaries paid to solicitors is a matter for solicitors' partnerships/practices and the individual solicitors concerned.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average salary has been of a trainee solicitor (a) conducting civil legal aid work and (b) in non-publicly funded firms, in each of the last 10 years broken down by region. [7956]
Bridget Prentice: The specific information requested is not collated or held centrally by this Department and therefore an answer cannot be given. The issue of salaries paid to solicitors is a matter for solicitors' partnerships/practices and the individual solicitors concerned.
Tolerance Work Contracts
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she has taken to review legal aid advice under contracts for tolerance work. [7954]
Bridget Prentice: The Legal Services Commission plan to review tolerance work contracts later in the year as part of a major consultation on their supplier management strategy.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Consultants
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to issue guidance on effective commissioning for those in the public and voluntary sectors who are commissioning work from external consultants. [7032]
Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has comprehensive guidance on commissioning consultants contained within its procurement guidelines. This guidance is accessible to all staff via the FCO's own internal intranet.
European Armaments, Research and Military Capabilities Agency
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the role is of the European Armaments, Research and Military Capabilities Agency; when it was established; how it is financed; what the UK contribution was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [2879]
Mr. Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
The European Defence Agency was formally established under that title on 12 July 2004 by a unanimous decision by Heads of State and
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Government. It was established under the Council Joint Action 2004/551/CFSP according to the provisions of the treaty on European Union.
The Agency's mission is to support member states in their effort to improve the European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the ESDP as it stands and develops in the future". To fulfil this role, the Agency has been assigned four functions: the development of defence capabilities in the field of crisis management; the promotion and enhancement of European armaments co-operation; working to strengthen the defence technological and industrial base and for the creation of an internationally competitive European defence equipment market; and the enhancement of the effectiveness of European defence research and technology.
The Agency is financed by contributions from participating member states, whose share is based on assessments of gross national income. The UK contributed 17.28 percent. (equating to €308,775.51) of the budget for 2004, which covered the period from its formal establishment in July to the end of that year. For the calendar year 2005, the UK contribution is 18.07 percent., equating to €3,596,803. The 2005 budget includes non-recurring costs associated with the initial set-up of the Agency.
The Government are a strong supporter of the European Defence Agency. The Agency will drive forward work on improving European defence capabilities by encouraging and supporting the efforts of individual EU member states. By developing proposals to rationalise and harmonise capability requirements, and linking those directly to industrial and research efforts, the Agency will significantly strengthen both the European security and defence policy and Europe's contribution to NATO.
India
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Government of India regarding Sikh separatism in the Punjab. [7366]
Dr. Howells: The Government have not raised the issue of Sikh separatism in the Punjab with the Government of India. We continue regularly to raise the issue of religious minorities, at official level, with the Indian authorities.
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