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Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will conduct research into the impact of functional illiteracy on electoral registration rates. [38271]

Ms Harman: The Electoral Commission published its report Understanding Electoral Registration" in September this year. Although the research did not specifically address the impact of functional illiteracy, it found some significant gaps in people's awareness and knowledge of the registration process.
 
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There are no plans to conduct research into the impact of functional illiteracy on electoral registration rates; but my Department is working with key stakeholders on improving the annual canvass form by making it clearer, simpler and easy to understand.

Family Law Act

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans to adjust the criminal legal aid budget to provide for changes in criminal defence costs under the section 42A of the Family Law Act 1996. [37773]

Bridget Prentice: We constantly review our forecasts for both civil and criminal legal aid and take any action necessary to fund all those cases which require legal aid.

Gender Recognition Panel

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) acceptances and (b) rejections there have been of the applications received by the Gender Recognition Panel; and what the reasons were for each rejection. [38057]

Ms Harman: The information requested is as follows:

In total, 1,153 applications have been received and 896 full Gender Recognition Certificates have been issued. 17 applications have been rejected. Disclosing the reasons for each rejection would be likely to reveal the identity of these applicants. Reasons for rejection include incomplete or insufficient medical evidence, an incomplete statutory declaration, or refusal by an applicant to state whether he or she is married.

Inquests

Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average waiting time was between the death of a person and the conclusion of the inquest in (a) England and (b) Teesside in the last 12 months. [38382]

Ms Harman: The average time taken between the death of a person and the conclusion of the inquest in 2004 (the latest 12-month period for which figures are available) was 22 weeks in England and 35 weeks in Teesside.

Judges (Complaints)

Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the complaints made by (a) members of the public, (b) hon. Members and (c) members of the House of Lords about the conduct of (A) Crown court judges and (B) judges of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the outcome was in each case. [37544]

Ms Harman: Since 1998, the Judicial Correspondence Unit in the Department for Constitutional Affairs has received each year between 1,000 and 1,600 complaints from members of the public and Members of Parliament. These include some complaints against judicial office holders sitting in the tribunals. (The majority of the complaints received turn out to be complaints about
 
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judicial handling and judicial decisions, in neither of which the Lord Chancellor can intervene because of the principle of judicial independence ).

The Lord Chancellor would not normally make public the detail of individual complaints or the disciplinary action resulting from those that are upheld unless he and the Lord Chief Justice conclude that it is in the public interest to do so.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance is issued to members of the public wishing to make a complaint about (a) a Crown court judge and (b) a judge of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division); and if she will make a statement. [37545]

Ms Harman: Leaflets are available in courts for users who wish to complain and information is also provided by way of frequently asked questions on the Department for Constitutional Affairs' website at www.dca.gov.uk/legalsys/complain.htm. More detailed guidance is provided in the Lord Chancellor's Judicial Complaints Protocol which is available to members of the public on request.

Juries

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the selection of juries is representative of the ethnic profile of the local population. [37748]

Ms Harman: The principle of random selection from the electoral register should mean that the composition of juries, whether in terms of ethnic background, age, gender, sexuality or religion is broadly representative of the general population. Jurors are summoned from geographic catchment areas within 1½ hours travelling distance from the Court. The Government is committed to ensuring that juries reflect the full diversity of the communities they serve. The Electoral Administration Bill currently before Parliament includes provisions aimed at improving both the quality and the coverage of the electoral register. In addition the Get London Registered" campaign will target young people and black and ethnic minority groups to ensure that they are properly represented on electoral registers.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what data her Department collects on the ethnic composition of juries; and what recent research her Department has conducted into the under-representation of ethnic minorities on juries. [37759]

Ms Harman: The Department for Constitutional Affairs does not collect data on the ethnic composition of juries, or any other data for monitoring purposes. As jury selection is a random process there is no business requirement to collect data on ethnicity. A research project looking at the ethnic make-up of juries from summoning through to service, commissioned by DCA, is due to be published in 2006.

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to increase the subsistence allowance for jurors; and if she will make a statement. [38694]

 
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Ms Harman: Jurors can claim for subsistence, travel and financial loss. The allowances are reviewed annually in line with inflation. Jurors are currently paid daily subsistence of £5, or £10.67 if they are required to be at court for more than 10 hours.

National Parking Adjudication Service

Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Department has taken to ensure that decisions taken by the National Parking Adjudication Service are consistent. [37967]

Ms Buck: I have been asked to reply.

The National Parking Adjudication Service is an independent tribunal and their Parking Adjudicators operate under supervision of the Council on Tribunals. To help ensure impartiality and fairness, the Government do not have any powers to question decisions they make.

Royal Household

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2005, Official Report, column 1755W, on the Royal Household, if she will list those members of Her Majesty's family who are also members of the Royal Family regularly undertaking official duties and functions on Her Majesty's behalf. [38445]

Ms Harman: According to the official Court Circular, the following Members of The Queen's Family are listed as having undertaken official duties and functions on Her Majesty's behalf: The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

Search Warrants

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many search warrants were granted by Northamptonshire magistrates in the last year for which figures are available. [38100]

Ms Harman: The number of search warrants issued between 1 December 2004 and 30 November 2005 was 1,166.

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