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Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry what estimate the Government have made of the cost to local councils of the implementation of the waste electrical and electronic equipment directive. [7508]

Malcolm Wicks: Local authorities have no specific obligations under the forthcoming WEEE implementing regulations although their established role in relation to domestic waste collection means they will be involved in the practical implementation. The Department is encouraging local authorities to participate in the system it is establishing to implement the WEEE directive, which will build on the existing contact and awareness householders have with their local civic amenity sites.
 
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CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will (a) issue guidelines on how to increase voter registration and (b) produce a league table of the best- and worst-performing local authorities in respect of voter registration; and if she will make a statement. [8885]

Ms Harman: The Electoral Commission has previously issued guidance to electoral registration officers in the form of its 'Managing Electoral Services' documents. The Commission has informed the Government that these documents are due to be updated within the coming months.

The Government have agreed with the Electoral Commission's recommendation in its report 'Voting for Change', to introduce performance standards for electoral administrators. The Government will implement this recommendation when parliamentary time allows.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will assess the implications of the experience of the introduction of single registration in Northern Ireland for voter registration in the rest of the UK, with particular reference to those council wards that are experiencing under-registration; and if she will make a statement. [8886]

Ms Harman: We are currently considering how the electoral registration system in Great Britain might be improved both to improve security and increase access. We intend to bring forward legislation on this issue when parliamentary time allows.

We are drawing on the Northern Ireland experience as set out in the Electoral Commission's report The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002: An assessment of its first year in operation", the Commission's subsequent update reports, the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee report Electoral Registration in Northern Ireland", and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee report Electoral Registration".

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much hasbeen spent in real terms on voter registration per elector in each local authority area in each of the last 10years. [8887]

Ms Harman: As electoral registration is dealt with and funded at local level, this information would be held by individual local authorities, and is not something that is held centrally by Government.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will assess the merits of using (a) council tax registration, (b) Census and (c) Labour Force Survey data to augment the electoral register; and if she will make a statement. [8888]

Ms Harman: Under the Representation of the People Regulations 2001, Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) have access to the records of the local authority that appointed them for the purpose of their registration
 
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duties. Further, where an ERO receives an application to register under rolling registration provisions, and the applicant indicates that they are currently registered at an address outside the ERO's area but have ceased to reside there, the new ERO is required as soon as practicable to notify the former ERO that the applicant no longer resides in his area. We are currently considering whether the sources of data available to EROs should be broadened, taking into account any data protection implications, to help EROs carry out their duties.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what assessment she has made of the impact voter under-registration has on the Department's aim of the greatest possible access to democracy; [8929]

(2) if she will commission research into the reasons for low levels of voter registration; [8931]

(3) what assessment she has made of the level of under-registration in UK constituencies; and if she will make a statement. [8932]

Ms Harman: The Government are concerned that persons that are entitled to register to vote, should be included on electoral registers.

My Department has been conducting research into the attitudes of the electorate, especially those who are currently the most disengaged. A report is being prepared. In terms of registration, the variable with greatest association with non-registration is age, with younger respondents being less likely to be registered.

The Electoral Commission is also undertaking research into registration rates and will report in due course.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will seek to amend data protection legislation to allow the exchange of information between local authority departments for the compilation of the electoral register; and if she will make a statement. [8930]

Ms Harman: Under the Representation of the People Regulations 2001, Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) have access to the records of the local authority that appointed them for the purpose of their registration duties. Further, where an ERO receives an application to register under rolling registration provisions, and the applicant indicates that they are currently registered at an address outside the ERO's area but have ceased to reside there, the new ERO is required as soon as practicable to notify the former ERO that the applicant no longer resides in his area. We are currently considering whether the sources of data available to EROs should be broadened, taking into account any data protection implications, to help EROs carry out their duties.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2005 to the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Derek Wyatt), Official Report, column 181W, on the electoral register, how many prosecutions for failure to complete and return an
 
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annual registration form there were in each of the last 10years in each local authority area; and if she will make a statement. [8933]

Ms Harman: This information is not collected centrally. However, I understand that there have only been a few prosecutions for failure to complete and return an annual registration form over the last 10 years. I am aware of the following instances; Medway council have prosecuted individuals in 2003 and 2004 and East Cambridgeshire district council prosecuted a person in 2004 for putting false information on the annual registration form. In 2003, ODPM conducted a survey on turnout at local elections and reported that nine authorities replied that they had prosecuted non-responders to the annual canvass form.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether voter under-registration will be taken into account by the boundary commission when reviewing boundaries in England. [8951]

Ms Harman: In accordance with the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, the boundary commission for England will base its recommendations on the number of electors on the register in force on the date that the commission announced its review in February 2000. The boundary commission has previously indicated that its review will take account of the new wards resulting from the Periodic Electoral Reviews being conducted by the Local Government Commission for England.

Legal Aid

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make an assessment of the impact of the level of legal aid on high street solicitors' firms. [8368]

Bridget Prentice: In the civil bid round held in April 2004 for the award of new solicitor General Civil Contracts with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) over 90 per cent. of solicitor firms applied to renew their contracts. As at 31 March 2005, 2,643 solicitors' offices operated under a Criminal Defence Service contract compared with 2,669 as at 31 March 2004.

Reasons cited by those solicitors' firms that are withdrawing from legal aid work have included remuneration and profitability. However, the Department's Review of Supply, Demand and Purchasing Arrangements concluded that the legal aid market—for both civil and criminal work—could absorb a small increase in demand for services without the need for an increase in remuneration. Independent research contained in the Financial Benchmarking Survey 2004" produced by the Law Management Section of The Law Society suggests that there may be a positive correlation between the profitability of a firm and it's handling of a moderate amount of legal aid work. This indicates that the discipline of undertaking legal aid work could result in operational efficiencies, which extend across the firm.

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how barristers will be remunerated for preparatory work on criminal cases eligible for legal aid which do not proceed to trial. [8707]

 
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Bridget Prentice: For criminal cases which do not proceed to trial, advocates are currently remunerated either within the Graduated Fee scheme, or by means of an ex post facto assessment of preparation work. The choice of means depends on the amount of prosecution evidence, the number of witnesses and the estimated length of trial.

The Department has consulted with the legal professions to include all those cases that do not proceedto trial within the Graduated Fee scheme. The Lord Chancellor is considering the results of that consultation. The aim is to produce a scheme where payments reflect more accurately the amount of work undertaken at each stage until the trial.

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