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6 Jul 2005 : Column 490W—continued
Court Apparel
Mr. Purchase: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will issue guidance to the courts regarding acceptable dress for barristers appearing in court in order to discourage barristers from wearing wigs and gowns. [9371]
Ms Harman: The wearing of wigs and gowns in court by barristers is already governed by guidance in the form of Practice Directions made by the Lord Chancellor.
The Lord Chancellor has no immediate plans to make further directions, prior to the implementation of Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the Concordat planned for April of next year.
Legal Aid
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether it is her intention that decisions on means-testing for criminal legal aid can be made on the day of the relevant court appearance, under the provisions of the Criminal Defence Service Bill. [9774]
Bridget Prentice: Under the proposed scheme empowered by the Criminal Defence Service Bill, a decision on means testing may be made at any time from the commencement of the case onwards, including on the day of appearance in court.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans to introduce a test for compliance with means-testing for criminal legal aid similar to that used for civil legal aid. [9775]
Bridget Prentice:
Along with the means test for civil legal aid, the criminal means test proposed under the Criminal Defence Service Bill would be subject to a declaration that the evidence supplied is true and complete. Claims may be investigated by the Legal Services Commission that given information is indeed
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truthful, complete and accurate. This investigation would take a similar form to that of the investigation for claims for civil legal aid.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans to give solicitors responsibility for (a) processing claims for legal aid and (b) obtaining documentary evidence under the means-testing provisions in the Criminal Defence Service Bill. [9776]
Bridget Prentice: Under the new scheme proposed by the Criminal Defence Service Bill, solicitors would not be responsible for processing claims for legal aid. This will be the responsibility of the Legal Services Commission. In practice however, the Commission would delegate this authority to grant teams within the courts who will carry out this function under a service level agreement between Her Majesty's Court Service and the Legal Services Commission. Solicitors may wish to assist their clients in completing the application forms, as defendants will be covered for this under the Advice and Assistance scheme.
Evidentiary requirements would be simplified under the proposed scheme. It would be the responsibility of the defendant to produce no more than a single wage slip or bank statement confirming their income. The new scheme will be transparent and administratively simple.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Child Support Agency
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the operation of the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland. [9526]
Mr. Hanson: The agency produces an annual report and accounts, which provides detailed information on its performance against both ministerial and internal targets. The agency's report for 2004–05 will be laid in both the House of Commons and the Northern Ireland Assembly on 14 July 2005. Following this, the report will be available in the public domain.
Driving Standards
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what qualifications are required to be an examiner of those who are approved driving examiners; and what plans he has to review those requirements. [9829]
Angela E. Smith: Initial assessment of driving examiners is carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency's (DVTA) Supervising Examiners (SEs). This is followed by training and assessment by the Driving Standards Agency's (DSA) trainers at Cardington.
DVTA SEs are selected through internal promotion procedures. Candidates undergo initial screening, followed by a seven-week course in Cardington, which includes learning, coaching and assessment techniques.
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The selection process for Cardington trainers includes assessment of presentation skills, in-car instruction and classroom sessions and is followed by a three-week training course.
The agency's process for assessing driving examiners and SEs is based on the DSA model. There are currently no plans to review these requirements.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the driving test pass rate for each test centre in Northern Ireland was in each of the last five years. [9828]
Angela E. Smith: The driving test pass rate for tests carried out at each of the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency's centres is provided in the following table.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average time taken by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to process housing benefit applications in Northern Ireland was in 2004–05. [9522]
Mr. Hanson: The average time taken by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to process housing benefit applications in Northern Ireland at May 2005 is as follows:
91.4 per cent. of claims were processed within 14 days of receipt of all necessary evidence/information.
Police Service
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civilians are employed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and in what categories of employment. [7827]
Mr. Woodward:
In June the Police Service of Northern Ireland employed the equivalent of 3,475 civilians. These can be broken down as follows.
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