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9 Oct 2006 : Column 83W—continued
Electoral Register
Mr. Hands:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance the Government have issued on whether political
parties may use the full version of the electoral register for (a) party political fundraising purposes and (b) survey canvassing. [89487]
Bridget Prentice: The Representation of the People Regulations 2002 enables political parties to be supplied with a copy of the full electoral register. The full electoral register can then be used by the political party for “electoral” purposes and in complying with the controls on donations as stated in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The Government have not issued guidance on this issue.
Freedom of Information Act
Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what triggers lead to a Freedom of Information Act request to a Government Department being sent to the Department’s clearing house. [89482]
Ms Harman: My Department has published a clearing house toolkit, an annexe to which contains a list of triggers for referring cases to the clearing house. This document is located on the DCA website at http://www.foi.gov.uk/guidance/pdf/annex-b.pdf.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the National Archives has to revise records information leaflet No 14 on family history in England and Wales to include guidance about the procedure for applying for copies of extracts from the 1911 or 1921 censuses under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [92372]
Vera Baird: Guidance for making Freedom of Information requests for information from any records in the custody of the National Archives including 1911, can be found in their publication scheme:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/access_rights.pdf
The 1921 census is in the custody of the Office for National Statistics and not of the National Archives.
Fundamental Rights Agency
Mr. Brady: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to her statement in Prospects for the EU in 2006 (Cm 6896), what role the Government envisages for the Fundamental Rights Agency which would not conflict with the Council of Europe's activities; and if she will make a statement. [89839]
Vera Baird:
The Government consider that the agency should concentrate upon the areas in which it has the greatest potential relevance and utility without duplicating the work carried out by the Council of Europe. Its primary purpose (building upon the mandate of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia) should be as a fact-finding and opinion-giving body able to deal with fundamental rights issues in community law. The Council of Europe will appoint an independent person to the agency's management board to ensure there will not be any overlap between the agency and the Council of Europe. In carrying out its tasks, the agency will refer to the
work of the Council of Europe and the Commissioner for Human Rights. A memorandum of understanding is also being negotiated between the European Commission and the Council of Europe to set out the terms of co-operation between the agency and the Council of Europe.
Hampton Review
Mr. Weir: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what input (a) her Department and (b) its (i) agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies had into the Hampton review and its report ‘Reducing administrative burdens: effective inspection and enforcement’. [89533]
Ms Harman: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms), Question number 89473
Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government
Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will use her powers to designate the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government as a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [89494]
Ms Harman: We are still considering the impact of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on public bodies covered by the legislation and have not yet reached a view on the use of the power contained in section 5 of the Act which provides for extension of coverage. I am therefore not able to comment on whether the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government is likely to be a designated as a public authority for the purposes of the Act.
Irish Language
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many requests for court cases in Northern Ireland to be heard in the Irish language there have been in each of the last 10 years. [89257]
Bridget Prentice: Between the years 1996 to 2005 there is no record of any request for a court case in Northern Ireland to be heard in the Irish language.
There is currently a case before Belfast magistrates court in which there has been application for use of the Irish language in those proceedings. This application is currently subject to legal submission
Judges' Powers
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which stakeholders have made representations in favour of the Government’s proposals to give judges the power to order the withdrawal of a defendant’s solicitor or barrister from certain trials. [92026]
Vera Baird:
The consultation on ‘Proposals to create judicial powers to manage conflict of interest and
capacity issues in very high cost cases’ concludes on 27 October 2006. We shall publish our summary of consultation responses at the beginning of November. It will include a full list of all those who have responded and a summary of the responses received. It will be available on the DCA’s website and copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will place in the Library the responses to the consultation paper on lasting powers of attorney; and if she will make a statement. [89686]
Ms Harman: On Monday 17 July 2006 the Government published its response to the consultation on lasting powers of attorney. Copies of the Government response were placed in the House Libraries on the same day.
The Department wants to give as many interested parties as possible the opportunity to see our response to the consultation. We have therefore produced copies in English and Welsh versions, as well as producing easy read information on the Government response to the consultation.
Law Society
John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which solicitors have been found guilty of breaching Law Society regulations following Law Society investigations in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006; and how many of these decisions have been made public. [91404]
Bridget Prentice: The Law Society has provided the following information.
In 2005, 527 solicitors were subject to an internal sanction (reprimand or severe reprimand by the Law Society adjudication panel). 211 solicitors were subject to orders of the solicitors disciplinary tribunal (SDT) following prosecutions brought by the society.
In 2006, to the 30 September, 435 solicitors were subject to an internal sanction, 141 solicitors have been made the subject of an order of the SDT.
Internal sanctions imposed on solicitors are disclosed to the parties involved but are not made public.
Orders of the SDT are a matter of public record. A list of solicitors who received sanctions from the SDT is available from the Law Society.
Legal Aid
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many recipients of legal aid have been required to make repayments in total (a) before and (b) after the conclusion of proceedings in the most recent year for which information is available. [91956]
Vera Baird: In civil proceedings funded by the community legal service (CLS), during 2005-06, 7,685 legal aid certificates were revoked. These actions require those to whom the certificates were issued to pay the Legal Services Commission (LSC) the value of the work carried out under the certificate. Two thirds of those certificates were revoked before the proceedings had been completed, and one third after.(1)
Additionally, during 2005-06 17,854 cases closed in circumstances that require the legally aided client to repay the costs to the CLS back to the LSC. This happens in successful cases where the value of money or property agreed to be paid to the client exceeds the money paid from the CLS.
In criminal cases funded by the criminal defence service (CDS), during 2005-06 there were 398 recovery of defence costs orders (RDCOs) issued to criminal defendants after the case had concluded.
(1 )This is an estimate based on the number of cases reported to the LSC. Not all cases have been reported.
Mrs. James: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what criteria are used to determine access to legal aid; and if she will make a statement. [92656]
Vera Baird: Civil legal aid is available to anyone who qualifies, provided that the case is within the scope of the scheme. Each application is assessed on an individual basis, and is subject to statutory tests of the applicant’s financial means and the merits of the case.
Criminal legal advice and assistance is freely available to individuals detained at police stations. To qualify for publicly funded representation at magistrates courts, defendants must satisfy both the interests of justice test as well as a new financial eligibility test introduced by the Criminal Defence Service Act 2006. Publicly funded representation at the Crown court depends on the defendant meeting the interests of justice test.
Medical Appeal Tribunals
John Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many medical appeal tribunals were held in (a) 2003, (b) 2004 and (c) 2005. [91503]
Vera Baird: The information you have asked for is contained in the following tables.
| Table 1: Appeals received for AA, DLA IIDB, IB and SDA, January 2003 to December 2005 | ||||||
| January to December each year | AA | DLA | IIDB | SDA | IB | Total |
| Table 2: Appeals cleared at hearing for AA, DLA, IIDB, IB and SDA, January 2003 to December 2005 | ||||||
| January to December each year | AA | DLA | IIDB | SDA | IB | Total |
| Notes: 1. All figures are subject to change as more up to date data become available. 2. Cases transferred onto the new appeals system G2 may not have been updated on GAPS. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 4. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 5. These data are drawn from management information and should not be used in conjunction with sample statistics drawn from the benefit administration systems. Source: 100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System (4 October 2006). | ||||||
Mental Capacity Act
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs with which organisations known by her Department to be opposed to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 she has had recent discussions; and if she will make a statement. [89709]
Ms Harman: We have completed two public consultations in the last few months on lasting powers of attorney and the draft code of practice and received responses from a variety of interest groups and individuals with a range of views and expertise.
Officials in the DCA continue to work with stakeholders across the spectrum of views through discussion, correspondence and stakeholder events.
Election Registers
Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) of 11 May 2006, Official Report, column 458W, on election registers, how many general election marked registers were found to be (a) incomplete and (b) partly missing in the (i) six and (ii) nine months after the 2005 general election. [89627]
Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone) on 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 641W, and 8 May 2006, Official Report, column 108W.
1901 Census
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 July 2006, Official Report, column 931W, on the 1901 census, how much revenue was received in the first 12 months after the release of the 1901 census in January 2002; what estimate has been made of the potential revenue earnings following the release of the 1911 Census; and if she will make a statement. [89930]
Bridget Prentice: In the calendar year from January 2002, gross revenue of £2 million was received for the 1901 online service by the appointed supplier.
The National Archives is in early discussions with potential suppliers for the development of a 1911 census online service. Potential revenue from the 1911 census online service is a matter to be judged by potential suppliers as part of their commercial decision.
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