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Debt Arrears

Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many county court judgments have been (a) registered and (b) issued on people due to arrears of unsecured debt for each month for which data is available since 1990, broken down by county; and if she will make a statement. [24299]

 
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Bridget Prentice: The Department does not hold all of the information requested and it could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However, the following table sets out the number of judgments against individual
 
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consumers registered each month from January 1990 to September 2005, which is the only information currently available.
Register of county court judgments—consumer judgment registrations

	January	February	March	April	May	June	July
2005	73,907	62,590	68,125	72,072	62,191	59,758	71,776
2004	41,606	41,098	42,138	34,853	38,202	55,363	47,412
2003	76,178	45,369	50,894	38,761	59,449	40,535	44,187
2002	63,531	56,354	55,259	45,292	60,157	36,424	39,045
2001	68,150	56,607	66,113	48,399	52,255	59,141	49,657
2000	92,243	68,006	77,014	56,113	52,811	59,516	62,739
1999	81,642	86,304	75,699	109,384	62,968	55,070	61,746
1998	93,327	79,002	71,250	77,961	74,483	57,552	82,466
1997	84,926	107,860	76,562	74,719	103,650	63,886	68,007
1996	84,078	98,125	105,669	36,748	105,082	88,898	75,101
1995	88,948	99,593	126,052	83,374	72,427	99,758	74,368
1994	119,135	117,656	106,045	123,136	96,614	87,041	131,611
1993	155,683	120,209	117,931	162,124	113,685	93,263	145,130
1992	183,888	163,795	148,529	133,550	135,080	114,873	195,345
1991	130,910	128,514	181,412	142,848	161,703	88,868	112,879
1990	86,699	87,644	136,615	84,878	72,509	102,516	160,033

	August	September	October	November	December	Totals
2005	89,510	85,144	—	—	—	645,073
2004	55,178	59,160	67,838	82,550	44,985	610,383
2003	72,444	56,496	64,413	44,296	38,346	631,368
2002	66,072	54,120	58,242	59,632	35,841	629,969
2001	78,956	63,768	55,838	63,400	34,705	696,989
2000	72,939	74,776	85,464	68,394	49,785	819,800
1999	67,220	72,948	89,101	69,571	60,437	892,090
1998	72,898	83,082	103,994	85,840	60,238	942,093
1997	97,063	82,921	97,715	84,980	49,856	992,145
1996	116,951	105,238	94,304	89,472	43,054	1,042,720
1995	94,416	118,381	121,355	95,095	72,228	1,145,998
1994	92,508	135,392	99,634	105,535	90,462	1,304,769
1993	114,437	106,082	141,478	108,341	95,498	1,473,861
1992	125,630	129,717	146,182	99,005	112,442	1,688,036
1991	151,409	224,236	187,770	197,800	109,262	1,817,611
1990	178,813	149,651	133,799	184,048	108,803	1,486,008

Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent assessment his Department has undertaken of the circumstances in which financial institutions can repossess debtors' homes in order to collect unsecured debts; and if she will make a statement. [24300]

Ms Harman: My Department has not undertaken, nor have any plans to undertake, an assessment of the circumstances by which an individuals home can be repossessed due to unsecured debts.

Chris Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many proceedings for the repossession of mortgaged property were initiated in each quarter since 1988, broken down by region; and how many repossessions were granted to lenders in each quarter. [24323]

Bridget Prentice: A table setting out the relevant mortgage possession figures from the 1st Quarter 1988 to the 3rd Quarter 2005, broken down by region has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The 2004 and 2005 figures are provisional and therefore liable to revision to take account of any late amendments.

Departmental Property (Kettering)

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what (a) land and (b) property her Department owns in Kettering constituency. [24785]

Ms Harman: The Department for Constitutional Affairs has two freehold properties within the electoral constituency of Kettering county. These are Kettering magistrates court, located in London Road, Kettering, and Kettering county court, located in Dryland Street, Kettering. We do not hold any land separately within the electoral constituency of Kettering.

DNA Bioscience

Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether DNA Bioscience is accredited for DNA-related work in the UK. [25226]

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) on 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 8W. I am still investigating the matters raised by the hon. Member's question, and I will write when I am in a position to do so.
 
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Expert Witnesses

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the training received by individuals who give expert testimony in court. [20181]

Fiona Mactaggart: I have been asked to reply.

Training for individuals who give expert testimony in court is available from a range of commercial bodies. It is also often supplied by the professional bodies to which many of those who give expert evidence belong. We welcome the recent initiative by the Bar Council clarifying the duty of counsel to ensure that evidence in support of a client's case is presented to best effect.

Great War Medal Index

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Great War Medal Index cards are privately owned. [23656]

Ms Harman: On 6 May 2005, by authority delegated from the Lord Chancellor, The National Archives (TNA) approved the presentation of the bulk of the First World War Army medal rolls' index cards to the Western Front Association (WFA). A small sub-collection, for awards to women, was separately presented to the Imperial War Museum. Approval in both cases was granted by virtue of section 3.6 of the Public Records Act 1958, under which records thus presented lose their public record" status and pass into the legal ownership of the recipient institution.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what criteria were used in making the decision to pass the original Great War Medal Index Cards to the Western Front Association. [23657]

Ms Harman: The decision to pass the First World War Army medal index cards to the Western Front Association (WFA) was based on the following criteria:

The WFA's ability to provide adequate storage for the whole collection, appropriate in terms of both environmental and physical security

The WFA's preparedness to accept the full collection

The WFA's commitment, and declared wish, to enable access to the information by researchers as soon as practicable

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what tendering process was undertaken for the storage of the Great War Medal Index Cards. [23658]

Ms Harman: Following the agreement in principle to pass the Great War Medal Index cards to the Western Front Association (WFA), it became the WFA's responsibility to find appropriate premises for the storage of the cards. No tendering process was undertaken by The National Archives or by the Ministry of Defence.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list military museums which are classified as National Archive depositories. [23659]

 
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Ms Harman: The regimental and corps museums listed have appointments, under the Public Records Act 1958 section 4(1), as places of deposit for preserved public records:

Airborne Forces Museum

Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre

Cheshire Military Museum Archives

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst Collection

Tank Museum

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