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11 Jul 2005 : Column 821W—continued
Waste Management
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what waste management options have been placed before councils by the Government. [11128]
Angela E. Smith: The Department of the Environment has recently published guidance on waste management options for municipal and non-municipal waste in Northern Ireland. The report on Best Practicable Environmental Option for Waste Management follows extensive stakeholder engagement involving District Councils and other stakeholders as part of the Waste Management Strategy review.
A broad range of options were considered comprising different combinations of technologies to divert waste from landfill including recycling, composting, anaerobic digestion, mechanical biological treatment, thermal treatment and advanced thermal treatment (pyrolysis and gasification). These options were assessed against key decision criteria of feasibility, environmental impact, cost and social impact.
The findings provide a framework for assessing the preferred combination of different technologies to meet targets on landfill diversion at 2020, in order to support progress on planning, procurement and funding for a new waste management infrastructure for Northern Ireland. The framework is intended to guide District Councils in the development of their Waste Management Plans and infrastructure procurement, while not constraining local choices to meet challenging Landfill Directive targets.
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CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Claim Management Companies
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent to which claim management companies are adhering to the Claims Standards Council's draft code. [11422]
Bridget Prentice: None. The Claims Standards Council (CSC) has submitted its draft code of practice to the Office of Fair Trading for approval. We will work with the CSC to ensure that compliance with the code is effectively monitored by them.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she has taken to assess the effectiveness of the self-regulation of claim management companies. [11425]
Bridget Prentice: The Government have announced that they will introduce measures in the Compensation Bill to enable claims management companies to be effectively regulated.
Conditional Fee Arrangements
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to reform the rules governing the procedure for conditional fee arrangements. [11424]
Bridget Prentice:
We published a consultation paper Making Simple CFAs a Reality" in June 2004. We have considered the responses made and we plan to publish a report of the conclusions of the consultation by autumn 2005.
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Contingency Fees
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) carried out into the (i)effectiveness and (i) impact of contingency fees. [11423]
Bridget Prentice: The Better Regulation Task Force in its report, Better Routes to Redress" recommended that research should be carried out into the potential impact and effectiveness of contingency fees. The Government rejected this recommendation. They believe that Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) should remain the principal form of private funding in the civil justice system and that the primary focus should remain on making CFAs work better rather than exploring the potential impact of allowing contingency fees beyond their existing use.
Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 26 May, reference 184373–1. [10728]
Bridget Prentice: My Department wrote to my hon. Friend on 1 June saying we would reply by the 29 June. I replied on 30 June one day late. For that I apologise. I understand my hon. Friend received the reply on 6 July.
Criminal Defence Service
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of costs on average were claimed in applications for costs by the Criminal Defence Service in each of the last 10 years. [9831]
Bridget Prentice: The Criminal Defence Service (CDS) does not make an application for costs in criminal defence cases. Under the Criminal Defence Service (Recovery of Defence Costs Orders) Regulations 2001, it is the responsibility of the court to consider making a Recovery of Defence Costs Order (RDCO) at the conclusion of every case heard in the higher courts.
Election Turnout
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average turnout in (a) local, (b) general, (c) Welsh Assembly, (d) Northern Ireland Assembly, (e) Scottish Parliament, (f) London Assembly and (g) European Parliament elections was in each relevant year since 1975. [9767]
Ms Harman: The average turnout in general, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament, London Assembly and European Parliament elections in each year since 1975 is set out as follows:
n/a=not available
(94)February
(95)October
Source:
House of Commons Research Paper 99/64
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| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 46.2 |
| 2003 | 38.2 |
Source:
House of Commons Research Paper 03/59
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 68.7 |
| 2003 | 63.1 |
Source:
House of Commons Research Paper 03/59
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 58 |
| 2003 | 49 |
Source:
House of Commons Research Paper 03/59
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 31 |
| 2004 | 36.97 |
Source:
House of Commons Research Paper 03/59
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1979 | 32 |
| 1984 | 33 |
| 1989 | 36 |
| 1994 | 36 |
| 1999 | 24 |
| 2004 | 38.8 |
Source:
House of Commons Research Paper 99/64
Comprehensive figures for local elections are not available centrally.
11 Jul 2005 : Column 825W
Legal Aid
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent on administering the criminal legal aid system in each of the last 10 years. [9773]
Bridget Prentice: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Legal Services Commission's administration budget does not differentiate between administering the Criminal Defence Service and the Community Legal Service.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) how many civil legal aid contracts awarded in each of the contract rounds since the enactment of the Access to Justice Act 1999 were terminated before the expiry of their term, broken down by region; and what the reasons for the termination were in each case; [9816]
(2) how many civil legal aid contracts awarded before July 2003 were terminated before the expiry of their term, broken down by region; and what the reasons for the termination in each case were. [9817]
Bridget Prentice: The number of civil legal aid contracts terminated before the expiring of their term since civil contracting was introduced in 2000, by region, is shown in the following table. Information on the termination of individual contracts is not held centrally by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). To investigate the reasons behind the termination of these contracts would involve considerable liaison with each regional office and could be achieved only at disproportionate cost to the LSC.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2005, Official Report, columns 1331–2W, on legal aid/salaries, what the reasons were for the termination of the 104 active contracts which were terminated before the expiry of their term; and which regions they covered. [10009]
Bridget Prentice:
Information on the termination of individual contracts is not held centrally by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). To investigate the reasons behind the termination of these contracts would involve considerable liaison with each regional office and could be achieved only at disproportionate cost to the LSC.
11 Jul 2005 : Column 826W
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