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4 July 2006 : Column 969W—continued
Family Court (Imprisonments)
John Hemming: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people were imprisoned following in-camera hearings of the family court in each of the past three years; how many of these were imprisoned for offences relating to contempt of court; how many were imprisoned for more than a month; and for what offences, other than contempt, they were imprisoned. [79825]
Ms Harman: Information on how many people have been sentenced to a term in prison by the family courts in each of the last three financial years is not recorded. However the following figures show the number of people remanded under custody. These cases include those sentenced to a prison sentence and those kept in police cells. The table also shows the number of people remanded on bail or for medical reports.
| Financial year | Bail | Custody | Medical reports | Total |
| Note: The figures are from the County and High Courts only and relate to the breach of Family Law Act 1996 orders. | ||||
Green and White Papers
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list in date order (a) Green and (b) White papers produced by her Department since October 2005. [81262]
Ms Harman: In the absence of a precise definition for White and Green papers I have included details of all command papers published by my Department.
From October 2005 to June 2006, 11 command papers have been published by DCA. I have listed them in date order as follows:
Criminal Defence Service Bill supplement to Framework Document, 10 October 2005
The Future of Legal Services—Putting Consumers First White Paper, 17 October 2005
Supporting Magistrates Courts to Provide Justice White Paper, 7 November 2005
Autumn Performance Report, 20 December 2005
Judicial Appointments 7th Annual Report 2004-05, 31 January 2006
Government Response to Constitutional Affairs Select Committee
Report on Courts: Small Claims, 27 February 2006
Government Response to Constitutional Affairs Select Committee
Report: Compensation Culture and NHS Redress Bill, 3 May 2006
Judicial Statistics England and Wales 2005, 18 May 2006
Departmental Report, 24 May 2006
Draft Legal Services Bill, 24 May 2006
Draft Coroners Bill, 12 June 2006.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her assessment is of the reasons for the scale of the increase in successful appeals against incapacity benefit decisions since 2001; and if she will make a statement. [80303]
Bridget Prentice: Appeals against incapacity benefit decisions are made to an appeal tribunal under section 12 of the Social Security Act 1998. Each year, the president of appeal tribunals reports, based on the cases coming before appeal tribunals, on the standards achieved by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the making of decisions against which an appeal lies to an appeal tribunal.
The following table provides details, since 2001, on the number of: incapacity benefit claims; appeals received; and, the number of those appeals cleared in favour of the appellant, including the proportion successful.
| IB appeals cleared in favour | ||||
| IB claims | IB appeals received | Number | Percentage of IB appeals received | |
| Notes: 1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10. 2. IB claims 2002—figures are for the period July 2002 to December 2002 only. 3. IB claims—data are not available prior to July 2002. 4. Appeals received and cleared—figures are for each calendar year (January to December). 5. Appeals received and cleared—all figures are subject to change as more up to date data become available. 6. Appeals received and cleared—figures for the latest months will rise substantially as information feeds through the Tribunals Service. 7. ‘Cleared in favour’ indicates that the appeal was cleared in favour of the appellant. Sources: IB claims—MISP system IB appeals received and IB appeals cleared in favour—100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System | ||||
Law Commission Reports
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which Law Commission reports published since 1976 have been implemented in legislation; what the implementing legislation was in each case; which reports are awaiting implementation; which reports awaiting legislation the Government have accepted (a) in full and (b) in part; and which Law Commission reports the Government have rejected. [81455]
Vera Baird: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. For completeness we have included table 5 which sets out those reports that are awaiting a decision by Government.
Post Office Contracts
Danny Alexander: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs for which services (a) her Department and (b) its associated public bodies hold contracts with the Post Office; and what the (i) start and (ii) termination date is of each contract. [81545]
Bridget Prentice: Neither DCA, nor any of its associated public bodies, hold any contracts with the Post Office.
Repossessions
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in (a) Southend West constituency and (b) each borough in Essex in each year since 1997. [81453]
Ms Harman: The following table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made at each of the Essex county courts (Basildon, Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester, Grays Thurrock, Harlow and Southend-on-Sea) since 1997.
The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for instance repossessions at Southend-on-Sea county court may relate to properties in other constituencies besides Southend West.
These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
| Number of mortgage( 1) possession orders made( 2) at Essex county courts, 1997 to 2005 | |||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| (1) Local authority and private. (2) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (3 )Braintree county court closed as of 1 December 1997. (4) Grays Thurrock county court closed as of 31 January 2000. | |||||||||
Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in (a) Stroud constituency and (b) Gloucestershire in each year since 1997. [82037]
Ms Harman: Although figures for Stroud constituency are not available (this court closed in 1994), the following table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made at Cheltenham and Gloucester court since 1997.
The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for instance repossessions at Cheltenham county court may relate to properties in other constituencies besides Cheltenham.
These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
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