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14 Jun 2006 : Column 1266W—continued
Coroners (Oxfordshire)
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the names were of the deputy coroners employed by Oxfordshire county council in 2003; and what the dates were of their service. [76799]
Ms Harman: The deputy coroner for Oxfordshire in 2003 was Dorothy Margaret Flood. The assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire in 2003 was Dr. Richard Michael Whittington. They were appointed in 1997 and 2000 respectively and both continue in these appointments.
Courthouses
Bob Russell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006, Official Report, column 1469W, on courthouses, which consortium or company holds the equity of the Essex magistrates court. [76459]
Ms Harman: Currently no consortium or company holds equity in the Essex magistrates court scheme as this only occurs at contract close which is unlikely to be reached until early 2009.
Courts Administration
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many times a prisoner changed legal team due to a change in the court where the trial was held in each year from 2000 to 2005. [74572]
Ms Harman: This information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of staff in her Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension. [73009]
Vera Baird: Members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) can pay additional contributions to top up their pension either through the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme (CSAVCS), a money purchase arrangement, or by buying added years of service in the PCSPS. As an alternative to membership of the PCSPS recruits from 1 October 2002 have been able to join a stakeholder arrangement, the partnership pension account.
The number and percentage of staff in the Department for Constitutional Affairs who are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension as at 1 June 2006 are shown in the table.
| Number | Percentage | |
Disability Access
David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether any building in her Department falls short of disability access regulations. [73007]
Vera Baird:
Save for the exceptions detailed below, the majority of buildings used by the Department for Constitutional Affairs are now believed to be compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as regards accessibility for all users. There was some
slippage with regard to works required by 1 October 2004 deadline at a small number of locations, but these have since been addressed.
Following on from the transfer of the magistrates courts estate to Her Majesty's Courts Service (an Executive agency of the Department for Constitutional Affairs) on 1 April 2005, a programme of access audits has been carried out to establish the degree of compliance of the magistrates courts buildings with the Act and to put in place managed solutions where appropriate. In parallel with this interim solution, a programme of works has now been agreed and costed and will be implemented as soon as practical.
Dr David Kelly
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions took place between the Oxfordshire coroner and (a) her Department and (b) Lord Hutton before the coroner's decision to issue a death certificate for Dr. David Kelly on 18 August 2003. [74198]
Ms Harman: The coroner did not issue a death certificate for Dr. David Kelly. It is the responsibility of the local registrar to issue death certificates or more properly certified copies of entries in the register of deaths.
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 May 2006, Official Report, column 1663W, on Dr. David Kelly, what the verdict of the inquest was; and on what date the verdict was announced. [73991]
Ms Harman: There was no inquest verdict in the case of Dr. David Kelly. The coroner did not resume the inquest after it had been adjourned pending the Hutton inquiry.
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on what date the Oxfordshire coroner complied with the requirement of section 17A(6) of the Coroners Act 1988 in the case of the death of Dr. David Kelly; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the certificate required under this section. [74470]
Ms Harman: The Oxfordshire coroner advises me that he notified the registrar on 16 March 2004 in accordance with the requirements of section 17A(6) of the Coroners Act 1988. I understand that notification would have contained personal information about Dr. Kelly and it would not be appropriate for it to be put into the public domain.
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the categories of information available to Lord Hutton for his inquiry into the death of Dr. David Kelly in respect of which some or all information has been (a) withheld from the public and (b) destroyed. [74481]
Ms Harman: None of the evidence submitted to Lord Hutton for his inquiry has been destroyed.
The website for the inquiry www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk contains a list of all evidence submitted to the inquiry. Where that evidence has been withheld from the public a reason has been given. Most of the evidence is, however, available to the public through the website.
The original documents supplied to the inquiry are held at the National Archives.
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 3 May 2006, Official Report, column 1666W, on the Hutton inquiry, who took the decision that Lord Hutton did not need the formal powers of the 1921 Act in order to carry out a full and comprehensive inquiry. [70328]
Ms Harman: The Lord Chancellor took the decision that Lord Hutton did not need the formal powers of the 1921 Act. It was made clear that if Lord Hutton required more powers he could ask for them. Lord Hutton did not make any request for more powers.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) which Government Departments were issued copies of the Hutton Report following its publication; and how many copies were distributed to each: [74645]
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many copies of the Hutton Report were printed; how many were sold; at what price; how many were obtained by No. 10 Downing Street; and to whom they were issued. [74527]
Ms Harman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess), on 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 758W.
FOI Requests
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the disclosure of personal information from the 1911 census have been received by the National Archives since 29 January 2006; and what the outcome was in cases where the applicants provided documentary evidence that all the 1911 residents of a specific property were no longer alive. [76084]
Ms Harman: The National Archives has received 42 requests to access information contained in the 1911 census returns in the period between 29 January and 17 May 2006. All of these requests, including one where the inquirer provided evidence that all persons believed to be resident at a particular address in 1911 are now deceased, were denied on the grounds that the s.41 exemption of the Freedom of Information Act—relating to information provided in confidence—applies. These decisions were taken in the context of the Government’s policy that decennial census returns should be closed for 100 years.
Information Commissioner
Mr. Davey: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost was of the casework management system installed in the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2004 to monitor breaches of telephone preference service regulations. [75906]
Vera Baird: The Information Commissioner’s Office is an independent statutory body. It receives a wide range of complaints, principally under the Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information Regulations 2000, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. The Information Commissioner’s Office introduced a Casework Management and Enquiry Handling system from 2003 onwards to provide support for all of these complaints activities.
Separate costings for the functionality of the different elements of the Information Commissioner’s Office casework system are not available and there was no specific expenditure to cover complaints under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
Legally Aided Litigants
Mr. Scott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of costs protection on the opponents of legally aided litigants. [76526]
Vera Baird: No formal assessment has been made. However, the role of cost protection and its impact on clients and opponents was considered by the Department in 2004-05. It was decided to remove cost protection from most family cases but retain the existing rules for non-family proceedings. The purpose of cost protection is to ensure that vulnerable clients are not deterred from bringing proceedings by the threat of having to pay excessive costs, should they lose their case. Clients bringing certain types of civil proceedings with the help of legal aid are protected so that they can only be ordered to pay costs which are reasonable, given their circumstances. However, in certain circumstances, courts can also direct that costs awarded to an individual, against a funded client, should be paid by the Legal Services Commission, if the individual will suffer financial hardship if the costs are not paid.
Ministerial Travel (Accommodation)
David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in her Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in each of the last three years. [69026]
Ms Harman: This information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
Official Residences
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the (a) notional market rent, (b) estimated capital value, (c) total cost of rent, security, utilities, facilities management and general maintenance was of the Lord Chancellor’s official residence in the House of Lords in the most recent year for which figures are available. [75265]
Ms Harman: The Lord Chancellor’s official residence is used by the Lord Chancellor as the Speaker of the House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor does not live there, but it is used for official entertaining and charitable receptions. It is maintained by the House. No figures are held by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
Potters Bar Rail Crash
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the timetable is for the holding of a coroner’s inquest into the Potters Bar rail crash. [76120]
Ms Harman: I refer the hon. Member to my previous reply of 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1594W. Further to that reply, the coroner has appointed Mr. Justice Sullivan as assistant deputy coroner to hold the Potters Bar rail crash inquests.
Victims of Crime
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what mechanisms are in place in the criminal justice system to ensure a formal acknowledgement of the harm caused to victims of crime and their families. [73980]
Ms Harman: The Victim Personal Statement scheme allows victims an opportunity to tell criminal justice agencies and services dealing with their case how the crime has affected them. Anyone who sees the case files should consider the Victim Personal Statement when making decisions. The scheme is one of a range of measures designed to give victims a voice, such as the use of Victims' Advocates. In some local areas, victims may also request a restorative justice process, which brings together the victim and offender, and the wider community, to address the harm caused by crime.
Treasury
Climate Change Levy
Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on the revenue to the National Insurance Fund of the increase in the climate change levy. [76644]
John Healey: The announced increase in the rates of the climate change levy in 2007 will not affect the revenue to the National Insurance Fund.
HM Revenue and Customs
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether some HM Revenue and Customs training courses are offered only to certain members of staff based on (a) sex, (b) ethnic origin and (c) sexual orientation; and if he will make a statement. [77411]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC has in the past and continues to offer development programmes to members of staff based on their sex, race or sexual orientation, usually with a mix of participants from various backgrounds.
These training programmes are offered as part of the Department's positive action programme which is in place to assist in righting the imbalance of under represented groups at higher grades. Both the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976 allow positive action.
Mr. Wareing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received in respect of the proposed closure of the HM Revenue and Customs office at Regian House, Liverpool; what response he has made; and if he will reconsider the closure. [77249]
Dawn Primarolo: The HM Revenue and Customs office at Regian House, Liverpool is not closing. However processing work currently carried out in Regian House and other offices in the Liverpool area, is being centralised in Manchester as part of HM Revenue and Customs' overall efficiency plans.
Special Protection Areas
Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the population was of each ward (a) in and (b) adjacent to special protection areas in (i) Surrey, (ii) the Thames Basin and (iii) the UK in the last period for which figures are available. [76637]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 14 June 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question regarding the population in each ward (a) in and (b) adjacent to Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in (i) Surrey, (ii) the Thames Basin and (iii) the UK in the last period for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence (76637).
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