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7 Mar 2006 : Column 1366W—continued
Electoral Registration (Normanton)
Ed Balls: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of young people in Normanton were not on the electoral register in (a) 1997, (b) 2001 and (c) 2005; and what steps her Department is taking to increase the proportion registered. [52651]
Ms Harman: Electoral registers in the UK do not identify the age of electors and no record is kept of categories of electors upon that basis. However, the independent Electoral Commission estimate in their report Understanding electoral registration" (September 2005) that 16 per cent. of 18 to 24-year-olds are not registered and that 28 per cent. of attainers" (16 to 17-year-olds) are not on the register.
Her Majesty's 80th Birthday
Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans her Department has to celebrate Her Majesty's 80th birthday; what advice she has issued to her Department's executive agencies on celebrations for the birthday; and if she will make a statement. [54190]
Ms Harman: Her Majesty the Queen's 80th birthday is a personal anniversary. While the Union flag will be flown by the Department to mark the day, there are no plans for other celebrations. However, Buckingham Palace is planning a series of events to mark the occasion.
Legal Funding
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what representations she has received from citizens advice bureaux in (a) England and (b) Shropshire on the decision of the Legal Services Commission to withdraw funding for specialist advice on complex cases. [56265]
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Bridget Prentice: To date, we have received:
Magistrates (Lancashire)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department is taking to increase the numbers of (a) young and (b) ethnic minority magistrates in Lancashire. [53361]
Ms Harman: As part of the Magistrates National Recruitment Strategy, to increase the numbers of young and ethnic minority magistrates across England and Wales, we have produced publicity material about the magistracy to encourage applications from all sections of local communities and to raise awareness among employers. The Lord Chancellor has set up a working group of the main employer organisations and the Trade Union Congress to seek their active support in encouraging employees to join the magistracy. We are funding the magistrates shadowing scheme run by Operation Black Vote to enable people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups to shadow magistrates in order to gain valuable insight into the roles and responsibilities of a magistrate, and encourage applications. Magistrate courts in the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale areas have participated in the scheme.
In September 2005, the Lancashire Advisory Committee ran a concerted press and radio campaign which produced 206 applications. Of these, 18 were from BME applicants and the age composition of all applications was as follows:
| Age group | Applications |
|---|---|
| 20–30 | 14 |
| 30–40 | 35 |
| 40–50 | 51 |
| 50+ | 106 |
The figures for the number of magistrates appointed are not currently available, as the interview process has not yet started. Out of the 206 applications, 150 applicants have been short-listed for interview.
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Offender Anonymity
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs against how many people proceedings have been initiated for breach of a court order protecting the identity or whereabouts of a person convicted of an offence in each of the last five years; and how many such orders were in place at the last date for which information is available. [55891]
Ms Harman: Information about breaches of court orders protecting the identity or whereabouts of a person convicted of an offence is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost to the Department.
Orders in Council
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Orders in Council were passed in each of the past 30 years. [56207]
Ms Harman: The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Peers' Residences
Linda Gilroy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Members of the House of Lords have their main residence in each (a) country, (b) region and (c) county of the UK, broken down by political affiliation; and what assessment she has made of the geographical distribution of Members of the House of Lords. [53884]
Ms Harman: The figures available at the end of March 2005 show there are approximately 556 peers who have their main residence listed in the UK (where known). The following table breaks down this figure further by county, region and political affiliation. The figures exclude new appointments from April 2005.
Any assessment on the geographical distribution of Members of the House of Lords will be included in the more detailed work on the future composition of the upper Chamber, as part of the modernisation process.
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