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28 Mar 2006 : Column 871W—continued
Constituency Sizes (Equalisation)
28. Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on Government policy on the equalisation of the size of constituencies. [61532]
Bridget Prentice: The independent Parliamentary Boundary Commissions review parliamentary boundaries every 8–12 years. Although the electoral quota is important, it is necessary to take other factors into account, such as geographical and community issues. The Parliamentary Boundary Commissions considers all these factors when conducting their review.
New Court House (Colchester)
29. Bob Russell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on progress with the proposed new court house at Colchester. [61534]
Ms Harman:
The project for a new court house at Colchester continues. With the advent of Her Majesty's Court Service we have considered all existing projects carefully and Colchester remains a good fit with our objectives for the justice system. We continue to move forward with this scheme.
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Carter Review
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on what evidence the Carter Review's findings that larger firms are more efficient than smaller firms was based. [61314]
Ms Harman: Lord Carter's final report will be published later this spring. The review's research into the efficiency of firms is ongoing and will be published in due course.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the likely effect of Lord Carter's proposals on legal aid on (a) black and minority ethnic-owned legal firms and (b) ethnic minority communities. [61315]
Ms Harman: Lord Carter's review is independent of Government and is due to be published in late spring 2006. No detailed assessment of the likely effect of Lord Carter's proposals can be provided until then.
The terms of reference for Lord Carter's review require that
Furthermore, Lord Carter's interim report—in acknowledging that assistance will be needed to ensure that smaller firms are able to adapt to a new procurement regime—states that
this [support] will be particularly important in respect of black and minority ethnic firms, to ensure that suppliers continue to reflect the diversity of the communities that they serve."
Citizens Advice Bureau
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what funding has been provided to the Citizens Advice Bureau by (a) central and (b) local government in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; [59956]
(2) if she will make a statement on the future funding of the Citizens Advice Bureau. [59957]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
Central government does not fund individual Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB)—each local CAB is a separate independent charity funded usually by local authorities, charitable trusts or other sources. I do not propose that central government should be directly funding local advice centres on the future. These services are best provided in a way that meets the needs of the local community. Any decision about grant funding for any particular CAB will therefore be for the relevant local authority to make.
Clinical Negligence (Legal Aid)
Mr. Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what sums are due to be reimbursed to the Legal Services Commission in respect of legally-aided clinical negligence litigation in accordance with section 16 of the Legal Aid Act 1988 and sections 10 and 11 of the Access to Justice Act 1999; and if she will make a statement. [61583]
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Ms Harman: The information requested is not available.
Consultancy Fees
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which (a) companies and (b) individuals were in receipt of consultancy fees from her Department in the last financial year. [61007]
Ms Harman: A list of the consultancy companies and individuals that received consultancy fees in 2004–05 is as follows.
Companies used by DCA/court service for provision of consultancy 2004–05
Individuals used by DCA/court service for provision of consultancy 2004–05
Homeless People (Legal Services)
Ms Keeble: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she is taking to improve access to specialist legal services for homeless people. [61524]
Ms Harman: The Legal Services Commission published its strategy for the Community Legal Service on 23 March, which sets out how the Commission will deliver specialist legal services in the future. It has also increased the number of people receiving specialist legal services this year through the roll out of the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme and the increase in the capacity of housing contracts.
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