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30 Nov 2005 : Column 641W—continued
Legal Aid
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) women and (b) men received legal aid in respect of care and custody proceedings in each of the last three years for which information is available. [31020]
Bridget Prentice: I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Substantive answer from Bridget Prentice to Andrew Turner:
The total number of certificates issued in care and custody proceedings, broken by down by gender in 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 is given as follows.
| Female | Male | Not recorded | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 45,050 | 36,427 | 2,120 |
| 2003–04 | 44,335 | 35,399 | 2,159 |
| 2004–05 | 43,413 | 34,580 | 2,510 |
These figures are inclusive certificates granted to both children and adults.
Life Sentences
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people who pleaded guilty to murder and received life sentences are appealing against the sentence. [32472]
Ms Harman: Information on people who pleaded guilty to murder and received life sentences now appealing against the sentence is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportion cost.
Marked Registers
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the constituencies which have (a) all and (b) part of their marked registers from the 2005 general election missing; and if she will make a statement. [32655]
Ms Harman: The information is as follows:
(a) The only constituency in England and Wales where all of the marked register for the May 2005 general election appear to be missing is Woking.
(b) The Government are aware that reports have been made about missing pages from the marked registers of the following May 2005 general election constituencies:
National Security Appeals Panel
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many public hearings the National Security Appeals Panel has held since inception. [31366]
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Ms Harman: The National Security Appeals Panel has heard three cases in public since its inception. A fourth case was heard in private but was retrospectively made public at the hearing stage.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the National Security Appeals Panel has taken to publicise its functions. [31367]
Ms Harman: Since April 2005 the Information Tribunal website has included a section for the National Security Appeals Panel which includes copies of previous judgments, regulations and legislation.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the (a) staffing level and (b) cost of the National Security Appeals Panel has been in each calendar year since inception. [31368]
Ms Harman: The National Security Appeals Panel is included in the budget for the information tribunal and is not separately identified. Between inception and 2004 secretariat functions to the information tribunal were provided as part of the responsibilities of one member of staff in the information rights division. Staffing levels were increased in preparation for the coming into forceof the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The information tribunal currently has three full time members of staff who are all based in Leicester.
The costs incurred by sittings of the National Security Appeals Panel can be broken down for each year as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | 2411.87 |
| 2002–03 | 3617.77 |
| 2003–04 | 3074.48 |
| 2004–05 | 4094.69 |
| 2005–06 | 9807.17 |
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many cases have been decided by the National Security Appeals Panel in each calendar year since its inception under (a) section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and (b) section 60 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if she will list the parties to each case in which all proceedings are complete. [31369]
Ms Harman: Under section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 there have been five cases in which all proceedings are complete. For each year the number of decisions and the parties in the cases are as follows:
Mohammed El Fayed v. Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
No decisions have yet been made by the panel under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the judgements have been published in each case decided by the National Security Appeals Panel in each calendar year since its inception under (a) section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and (b) section 60 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [31398]
Ms Harman: The five cases decided by the panel under the Data Protection Act 1998 where all proceedings are complete are published on the National Security Appeals Panel section of the information tribunal website.
There have been no decisions under section 60 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Ethiopia
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Ethiopia. [32078]
Ian Pearson: We remain concerned about the internal situation in Ethiopia. The tragic events in Addis Ababa and other towns at the beginning of November, which resulted in deaths and injuries, have further deepened the political and social divisions in the community, as well as damaging Ethiopia's international reputation. The people of Ethiopia need reassurance of a peaceful, just and democratic future. To this end, in our capacity as presidency of the EU, we have called on the Ethiopian Government and opposition parties to undertake a series of measures aimed at ensuring a return to peaceful dialogue, and restoring confidence in the democracy building process.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Ethiopian Government on the imprisonment of opposition politicians. [32079]
Ian Pearson:
My noble Friend, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman of Tottenham) summoned the Ethiopian Charge" d'Affaires on 1 November to register our concerns about the situation in Ethiopia, including the issue of detainees. On 6 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development also raised the issue when he spoke to Prime Minister Meles. Also on 6 November, in our capacity as EU presidency, we issued a statement on the situation in Ethiopia, which included reference to our concerns regarding detainees. Our ambassador in Ethiopia has also raised our concerns with Prime Minister Meles, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister and other Government Ministers.
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We continue to call for the immediate release of all political detainees, for those individuals not charged under due process to be released immediately, and for access to those detained for their families, legal counsel and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross or other appropriate representatives of the international community.
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