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15 Jan 2007 : Column 869W—continued
Departmental Publications: Translation
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost of translating departmental publications into languages other than English was in 2005-06. [110201]
Vera Baird: The Department for Constitutional Affairs does not collect the information centrally and it could be given only at disproportionate cost. The Department is giving consideration to the routine collection of data relating to translating departmental publications into languages other than English.
Election Officials
Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to review the upper age limit on working at a polling station or as an election count official in the light of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. [114839]
Bridget Prentice: There is no set upper age limit for being employed to work in a polling station or at an election count, and the Government have no plans either to review this, or to introduce any limit.
The employment of election staff is a matter for individual returning officers.
Employment Law
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Government plan to restrict to members of the legal profession the ability to provide advice on employment law; and if she will make a statement. [114314]
Vera Baird: The Government have no plan to restrict to members of the legal profession the ability to provide advice on employment law matters.
Employment Tribunals
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Government plan to restrict representatives at employment tribunals to members of the legal profession; and if she will make a statement. [114313]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have no plans to restrict representatives at employment tribunals to members of the legal profession.
The Government have no plans to make a statement beyond this.
Freedom of Information Act Fees
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will publish the representations her Department has received from the BBC on plans to change the regulations governing Freedom of Information Act fees. [114172]
Vera Baird: On 14 December 2006, the Government launched a public consultation on draft Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2007. The consultation closes on 8 March 2007.
Representations made to my Department in response to the plans to change the regulations governing Freedom of Information Act fees will be published following the conclusion of the consultation.
Jury Service
Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the number of people given temporary exceptional leave to remain who have (a) been called for and (b) carried out jury service in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [115166]
Ms Harman: Information is not held in the format requested. However, to be summoned for jury service one must be registered to vote in parliamentary or local elections. This includes Commonwealth and European Union citizens. To be qualified for jury service one must also have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for any period of at least five years since attaining the age of 13.
Legal Aid
Ms Butler: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department has made a recent assessment of (a) any alternative fee systems and (b) graduated fee systems for legal aid; and if she will make a statement. [114534]
Vera Baird:
Lord Carter considered a range of remuneration systems for both civil and criminal legal aid in his report on the procurement of legal aid, “Legal Aid: A market-based approach to reform”, published in July 2006. Following the public consultation on Lord
Carter’s proposals, the Government has accepted his recommendation that graduated fees should be used to remunerate Crown court litigation and advocacy, and will consider whether such a scheme should be introduced for magistrates court work prior to the introduction of best value tendering.
Early in 2007, the Legal Services Commission will re-consult on a revised care proceedings graduated fee scheme, with a view to implementing the new scheme—apart from for advocacy—in October 2007. At the same time, the LSC will re-consult on a revised scheme for family help—Private, with a view to implementation in October 2007. Regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) will be drawn up for the new schemes.
Ms Butler: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of fixed fees for legal aid on (a) people from ethnic minorities, (b) people with disabilities and (c) young people. [114535]
Vera Baird: The Department and the LSC recently published “Legal Aid Reform: the way ahead”, which sets out our commitment to ensure a sustainable legal aid market is in place, with a quality assured service at the heart of our procurement strategy. It was accompanied by a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) that made a full assessment of the impact of the introduction of fixed fees for criminal legal aid in the magistrates court. It also covers the tailored fixed fee (TFF) replacement scheme for civil legal aid work excluding family and mental health. Copies of both these documents can be found in the Library and on both the DCA and LSC websites.
The LSC will shortly be releasing a further consultation paper regarding the introduction of fixed fees for work in the police station. This will be accompanied by a draft RIA, which will be finalised following the publication of the LSC’s response to consultation and will again make a full assessment of the impact of fixed fees in this area.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which 10 (a) individual lawyers, (b) firms and (c) cases received the largest sums in legal aid in 2006; and what the sums were in each case. [115295]
Vera Baird: The information for the year 2006 is not yet available. However, my Department and the LSC are currently working on compiling the information for 2005-06, which will then be placed on my Department’s website.
Magistrates
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2006 to the hon. Member for Warrington, North (Helen Jones), Official Report, column 343W, on magistrates, how many magistrates in the county of Cheshire do not live within their local justice area. [114302]
Ms Harman: We do not record whether magistrates live in the local justice area to which they are allocated. There are 471 magistrates in the six local justice areas in Cheshire.
52 magistrates live in the constituency of the City of Chester
27 magistrates live in the constituency of Ellesmere Port and Neston
49 magistrates live in the constituency of Eddisbury
54 magistrates live in the constituency of Warrington South
two magistrates live in the constituency of Wirral South
seven magistrates live in the constituency of Alyn and Deeside
three magistrates live in the constituency of Wallasey
42 magistrates live in the constituency of Crewe and Nantwich
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Wrexham
three magistrates live in the constituency of Clwyd South
39 magistrates live in the constituency of Tatton
34 magistrates live in the constituency of Macclesfield
33 magistrates live in the constituency of Congleton
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Cheadle
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Altrincham and Sale West
33 magistrates live in the constituency of Weaver Vale
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Salford
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Knowsley South
40 magistrates live in the constituency of Halton
41 magistrates live in the constituency of Warrington North
two magistrates live in the constituency of St. Helens North
one magistrate lives in the constituency of St. Helens South
two magistrates live in the constituency of Liverpool, Garsten
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Leigh
one is unknown due to incorrect postcode being recorded.
Advisory committees on justices of the peace follow the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor’s directions when making recommendations for appointment to the magistracy. This provides guidance that each local justice area should broadly reflect the community it serves including geographical spread.
Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what her objective justification is under the Employment Directive 2000/78/EC for section 13 (1) of the Courts Act 2003 which transfers magistrates onto the supplemental list at the age of 70 years; [114837]
(2) what her objective justification is under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 for refusing to appoint magistrates aged over 65 years. [114867]
Ms Harman: The new age regulations provide that discrimination will not be unlawful if it is undertaken in order to comply with a requirement of any statutory provision. The retirement age for magistrates is set at 70 by section 13(l) of the Courts Act 2003. Therefore, moving magistrates on to the supplemental list at age 70 does not constitute unlawful age discrimination under the regulations.
Magistrates sit in a part-time capacity and generally have little previous experience of the court system, so will require training, mentoring and the opportunity to
gain experience. The Lord Chancellor would normally expect that part-time magistrates will be able to sit for at least five years before retirement, and he will therefore not normally appoint anyone over the age of 65.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether data were collected on the average travel times of prospective users of magistrates courts when re-locations were considered; and if she will make a statement. [114180]
Ms Harman: There has been no central collection of data on the average travel times of prospective users of magistrates courts. However in deciding where magistrates courts may sit, there is a duty to have regard to ensure that courthouses are accessible to persons resident in each local justice area.
Departmental guidance provides for site selection on new builds to be located within 10-15 minutes walk of more than one form of public transport.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates courts were capable of undertaking criminal proceedings in cases which would require imprisonment upon conviction in each year since 1997. [114181]
Ms Harman: The following table details the number of magistrates courts in England and Wales since 1997. All magistrates courts are capable of undertaking criminal proceedings in cases that would require imprisonment upon conviction.
| Number of magistrates courts | |
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates courts were capable of undertaking family proceedings in each year since 1997. [114182]
Ms Harman: The following table details the number of magistrates courts in England and Wales since 1997. All magistrates courts are capable of undertaking family proceedings.
| Number of magistrates courts | |
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what changes were made to magistrates’ training (a) within the last 12 months and (b) in each year since 1997. [114183]
Ms Harman: The only significant change to magistrates’ training in the last 12 months is that in April 2006 the Lord Chief Justice assumed responsibility from the Lord Chancellor for magistrates’ training.
In 1997 each of the 42 Magistrates Courts Committees (MCC) in England and Wales were responsible for the training of magistrates in their area, subject to guidance from the Judicial Studies Board (JSB).
In 1999 the “Magistrates’ New Training Initiative” introduced a competence framework and appraisal scheme for all magistrates.
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