| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
21 Jul 2005 : Column 1938W—continued
Human Rights
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which rulings of the European Court of Human Rights have not been fully implemented by the United Kingdom Government; what the obstacles are to full implementation of those rulings; and if she will make a statement. [14755]
Ms Harman:
There are 32 active cases against the United Kingdom pending before the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which under Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights is responsible for supervising their execution. Some of these are quite recent, and in some a referral to the
21 Jul 2005 : Column 1939W
Grand Chamber of the Court is being considered. In other cases the Government are of the view that implementation is complete, but the cases are under review by the Council of Europe Secretariat. In some cases, further administrative or legislative steps are needed. It is the policy of the Government to implement all judgments of the European Court of Human Rights as soon as possible.
Legal Aid
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans to use the same quality assessment for price competitive tendering as that used for civil legal aid contracts. [13887]
Bridget Prentice: Ensuring a high quality of advice for clients is a priority for the Legal Services Commission (LSC). The LSC has developed, and is continuing to develop, a number of successful quality assessment systems, such as peer review, which are used in both civil and criminal contracts. These systems will be applied as appropriate to contracts awarded under the price competitive tendering scheme.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the likely effects of price competitive tendering on civil legal aid. [13888]
Bridget Prentice: Competitive tendering is one of several policy initiatives that the Government are exploring in order to achieve greater value for money across the Criminal Defence Service as a whole. This will help to ensure that legal aid resources can be more effectively focused on the vulnerable individuals and groups supported by the Community Legal Service.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she plans to take to monitor the quality of criminal legal aid work throughout the term of a contract under price competitive tendering. [14073]
Bridget Prentice: Improving the quality of service for clients is a key objective of the Legal Services Commission (LSC). All firms wishing to bid for a contract under the price competitive tendering project will have to pass a quality assessment. Once a contract is awarded, the LSC will employ quality assurance mechanisms to monitor the quality of advice being provided throughout the term of the contract. Among those quality assurance mechanisms currently under consideration are peer review and file assessment.
Management Consultants
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the total expenditure saved in each of the last three years as a result of implementing recommendations by management consultancies within her Department. [13633]
Bridget Prentice:
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
21 Jul 2005 : Column 1940W
Personal Injuries
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made with research into the effects of changing the small claims limit for personal injuries. [13667]
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 of raising the small claims limit for personal injury cases from the current limit of £1,000. The Government indicated that they would carry out this research and would also consider other options for dealing with these claims in a more proportionate and cost effective way. That research is currently under way and consultation will take place on any proposals which may emerge.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans to hold a public consultation prior to changing the small claims limit for personal injuries. [13668]
Bridget Prentice: The Government agreed to carry out research into the potential impact of raising the small claims limit, as recommended by the Better Regulation Task Force in its report: Better Routes to Redress". The Government indicated that they would also consider other options for dealing with these claims in a more proportionate and cost effective way. That research is currently under way and consultation will take place on any proposals which may emerge.
Voter Registration
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will estimate the socio-economic breakdown of those citizens who have failed to register to vote; and if she will conduct research into this issue. [8948]
Ms Harman: My Department has been conducting research into the attitudes of the electorate, especially those who are currently not on the register of who did not vote. A report is being prepared. The variable that has the most significant effect on non-registration is age, with younger respondents being less likely to be registered.
The joint Constitutional Affairs and ODPM Select Committee reported in March this year that registration was significantly lower among younger age groups and amongst black and ethnic minority groups. It also cited research from 1991 that reflected both these differences and the significantly lower levels of registration in metropolitan areas compared to non-metropolitan areas, and between those in rented accommodation compared to owner occupiers.
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 how many representations she has received on (a) postal ballot fraud and (b) voter under-registration in the last 12 months. [8950]
21 Jul 2005 : Column 1941W
Ms Harman: While we do not keep a detailed breakdown of the content of correspondence, my Department received a significant number of representations about postal voting in the run up to and following the June 2004 elections, many of which raised the issue of postal vote fraud and security.
Since the recent general election we have received approximately 52 items of correspondence relating to registration issues, the majority of which relate to difficulties with the correspondents' registration, while some relate to under-registration in the wider sense. In the same period we have received some 74 items of correspondence relating to postal voting, some of which relate to fears of fraud, while the majority relate to voters' either not receiving their ballot papers or receiving them too late to take part in the election.
WALES
Consultants
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department's total spending on management consultants has been in each of the last three years. [13137]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office has not awarded any contracts to management consultants in any of the last three years.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the total expenditure saved in each of the last three years as a result of implementing recommendations by management consultancies within his Department. [13634]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office has not used any management consultants in the last three years.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list management consultants employed by his Office in each of the last three years. [14359]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office has not awarded any contracts to management consultants in the last three years.
Correspondence
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many items of correspondence have been dealt with by (a) the Secretary of State for Wales and (b) his Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in each year since 1999. [13172]
Mr. Hain: The following table shows the number of items of correspondence dealt with by Wales Office Ministers since July 1999.
21 Jul 2005 : Column 1942W
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters to his Department from hon. Members in session (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are (i) one month old, (ii) two months old, (iii) three months old, (iv) four months old and (v) over six months old. [13852]
Mr. Hain: There are no unanswered letters from hon. Members to the Wales Office for either of these parliamentary sessions.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |