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5 Dec 2005 : Column 1054W—continued
Departmental Estate
Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which buildings and sites used by her Department and related agencies (a) have ceased to be used in the last year and (b) will be closed under current plans for relocation. [31757]
(a) Ceased to use: Stewart House, Kingsway; 6th–8thfloors, Southside, London SW1E; and Bradford Combined Court in the past year.
(b) Southside, London SW1E 1st–4th floors will be closed on 24 December 2005 at the end of the lease term.
Further offices will be closed at the end of their lease terms, after the refurbishment of Queen Anne's Gate, as part of the wider rationalisation of the DCA estate.
Diplock Courts
Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court cases the Diplock courts have considered in each year since the Diplock courts were introduced. [34869]
Bridget Prentice:
Diplock courts were introduced in Northern Ireland in 1973. Statistics relating to the number of defendants dealt with by the Diplock courts have been maintained since 1983. Statistics relating to the number of cases dealt with in the Diplock courts have been maintained from 1986.
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Disability Discrimination (Legal Aid)
Danny Alexander: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many individuals have (a) applied for and (b) been granted legal aid for action against (i) employers, (ii) transport providers and (iii) providers of goods and services for failure to comply with disability discrimination legislation. [31147]
Bridget Prentice: Records held by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) only record the category of law to which a proceeding relates rather than the category of business against which the action was taken. Therefore, the LSC can only provide details about Disability Discrimination Act proceedings in the categories of employment, housing and public law. In the last three full financial years 106 certificates were granted within these categories.
European Court of Human Rights
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the cases before the European Court of Human Rights since 1 January 1976 which have been brought against the United Kingdom, indicating in each case whether a finding of a violation of the Convention on Human Rights occurred; which Articles of the Convention were cited in each application as having been breached; what action has been taken to implement the ruling in each successful case; in respect of which successful cases the ruling has not been fully implemented; what the obstacles are to full implementation of each such ruling; and if she will make a statement. [33722]
Ms Harman:
Records have not been kept of all cases brought against the United Kingdom since 1976. There are currently 60 judgments given against the United
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Kingdom which require implementation by the Government. Information on those cases is not held centrally, but we are taking action to obtain and collate it. We expect to provide a list giving details of progress towards implementation in each case before Parliament rises for Christmas.
Gender Recognition Certificates
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many applications for gender recognition certificates (a) she has received, (b) have been approved, (c) have come from overseas and (d) have come from overseas and have been approved. [34654]
Ms Harman: The information requested is as follows:
In total, 1,123 applications have been received and 863 full gender recognition certificates have been issued.
Included in the totals above are 28 applications made on the basis of having changed gender under the law of another country or territory outside the United Kingdom, in respect of which 15 full certificates have been issued.
General Election (Kettering)
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs why the complete marked register for Kettering constituency from the 2005 General Election is not yet available. [34099]
Ms Harman: Pickfords Records Management, who administer the supply of copies of the marked registers, have informed us that after receiving notice on 21 November 2005 that the marked register for Kettering was not complete, located the missing pages on 25 November 2005. These are now being processed.
The missing pages were located in a sack of election documents, separate from the bulk of the marked register. Guidance was issued to returning officers before the 5 May General Election, that marked registers should be stored in the first numbered sack only.
Inquests
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many inquests are outstanding in (a) Southend, (b) Essex, (c) Greater London and (d) Hertfordshire; and how many have been waiting more than (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four and (v) five years since death occurred. [34210]
Ms Harman: I am obtaining this information from the 10 coroners concerned and will then write to the hon. Member. A copy of my reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Kettering Magistrates Court
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many warrants were issued from Kettering magistrates courtfor the arrest of non-attendees in each year since 1997. [34098]
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Ms Harman: Figures for failure to appear warrants are only available for Kettering magistrates court from 2003. The figures to date for police failure to appear warrants are (a) 345 for 2003 (b) 311 for 2004 and (c) 162 1 for 2005.
Legal Aid
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost of legal aid for asylum seekers for the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if she will list the 10 companies in receipt of most aid. [27745]
Bridget Prentice: It Is not possible to separate spend on asylum from this overall category of Immigration and Asylum. Expenditure on legal aid for Immigration and Asylum matters in 2004–05 came to £171 million. Nor is it possible to estimate the cost of legal aid in other matters for those seeking asylum, for example, public law, crime, and clinical negligence.
I will write to the hon. Member when the Legal Services Commission has verified amounts paid to the 10 suppliers in receipt of the most funds.
Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many solicitors have been referred by the Law Society to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in the last three years for which figures are available. [34776]
Bridget Prentice: The Law Society has provided information on the total number of referrals to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for the last three years. The data are set out in the following:
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005(40) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision | |||
| Strike off | 57 | 51 | 52 |
| Suspend | 41 | 38 | 37 |
| Fine | 73 | 68 | 48 |
| Other Decision(41) | 48 | 55 | 39 |
| Total number of referrals | 219 | 212 | 176 |
(40)To 31 October 2005.
(41)Other decisions include: appeals allowed, appeals dismissed, costs only with no penalty being imposed except to pay costs of theapplication to the tribunal, no order was imposed, a minor reprimand being given and withdrawal of the application.
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