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16 Jan 2007 : Column 1108W—continued
Legal Aid
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what proportion of legal aid costs has been paid to (a) solicitors, (b) expert witnesses and (c) counsel in (i) criminal and (ii) family law cases in each of the last five years. [115639]
Vera Baird: The information is provided in the following table.
It is not possible to state what proportion of costs is spent on expert witnesses as this is not recorded centrally.
| Percentage | |||||
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the change in expenditure on (a) family and (b) criminal legal aid which will result from the proposed legal aid reform. [115640]
Vera Baird: There will be no additional costs for family or criminal legal aid as a result of the proposals announced in “Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead”.
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost of (a) family and (b) criminal legal aid was in each of the last 10 years. [115642]
Vera Baird: The information requested is given in the following table, in terms of cash expenditure.
| £ million net | ||
| Total family legal aid | Total criminal legal aid | |
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the development of a standard form of legal aid application as set out in Commission Decision 2005/630/EC, OJL225 of 31 August 2006; what assessment her Department has made of the costs of implementing the scheme; and what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the scheme on the quantity of litigation in the courts. [115693]
Vera Baird: The form is to accompany legal aid applications which are transmitted between the legal aid authorities of different member states under the European Legal Aid Directive for cross border cases, which came into effect in 2004. The volume of applications is not expected to be significant. In the current financial year, there have been 11 such applications received for legal aid in England and Wales and 27 applications transmitted to other member states.
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to conduct a rural impact assessment on the proposed reforms of legal aid. [115750]
Vera Baird: My Department and the Legal Services Commission published “Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead” in November 2006, which was accompanied by a regulatory impact assessment, including an assessment of the impact of reform upon rural areas. This can be found on both the LSC and DCA’s websites.
The LSC will be consulting further on elements of the reform programme over the coming year. These consultations, some of which will be conducted locally, will also be accompanied with an assessment of any potential impact on rural areas.
Departmental Travel
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what the Lord Chancellor's Department's expenditure was on foreign travel, including accommodation, in 1996-97; [114014]
(2) what her Department's expenditure was on foreign travel, including accommodation, in 2005-06. [114017]
Ms Harman: For figures for ministerial expenditure on foreign travel, including accommodation, in 1996-97 and 2005-06, I refer the hon. Member to the Prime Minister's answer given on 19 December 2006 to the hon. Member for Blaby, (Mr. Robathan) Official Report, column 1808, which refers to the published annual list of overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers and includes the overall cost of all Ministers' overseas travel.
Costs of foreign travel, including accommodation, for civil servants incurred by the Department in 1996-97 and 2005-06 are not separately identifiable within the Department's accounts and may be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Department has published rules for official travel in its staff handbook, and all travel is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the "Civil Service Management Code". All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code" and "Travel by Ministers", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Translation Services
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what documents her Department and its agencies translate for people in the UK who do not speak English; into which languages such documents are translated; and what the cost was of producing such translations in each of the last five years, broken down by language of translation. [113889]
Vera Baird: The Department for Constitutional Affairs translates documents including consultation papers; public information; reports and guides. The Department does not collate information on which languages are translated from and to.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs does not collect the information centrally and could only be given at disproportionate cost. This department is giving consideration to the routine collection of data relating to translating departmental publications other than English.
Her Majesty’s Court Service has a Welsh Language Unit, which translates court proceedings from commencement to the transcription at the conclusion.
There is currently no central policy regarding translating documents into other languages. This function is determined at local level. There would be disproportionate costs in obtaining the information regarding the costs and the number of languages. Her Majesty’s Court Service is giving consideration to the routine collection of data relating to translating departmental publications other than English. A central policy is currently being drafted which will identify the six most commonly requested languages for corporate publications to be translated into.
Since the Tribunal Service was created in April 2006, the documents translated for people in the United Kingdom who do not communicate in the English language include literature about how to bring a case to tribunal; claims forms; judgments; and correspondence with appellants and parties. The languages into which such documents have been translated are Welsh, Gaelic, Arabic, Chinese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Somali, Urdu, Vietnamese, Greek and Turkish. Since April, it is estimated that £27,000 has been spent on translation. The cost of breaking down the costs by language would be disproportionate.
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs for what services provided by her Department and its related agencies translation services are provided. [113890]
Vera Baird: The Department for Constitutional Affairs translates documents as requested including consultation papers; public information; reports and guides.
Her Majesty’s Court Service translates court proceedings from commencement to the transcription at the conclusion. There is a Welsh Language Unit that translates documents into that language. Other languages are translated by local agreements.
The services provided by the Tribunals Service for which translation services are provided relate to bringing a case to a tribunal.
Wider Markets Initiative
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs who has participated in the Wider Markets Initiative; and what payments have been received. [115665]
Ms Harman: A total of 50 venues have participated in the Wider Market Initiative over the past three years. The total payments received since April 2004 amount to £2,303,420.70. A detailed breakdown of the sites used and incomes received for each year has been placed in both Libraries of the House. A separate breakdown for the Royal Courts of Justice has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Solicitor-General
Bowland Dairies
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Solicitor-General if he will take steps to ensure that rulings of the European Court of Justice in favour of UK businesses are not
overridden by executive action of the European Commission; and if he will seek to intervene in the case of Bowland Dairies. [113106]
Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
The European Commission is bound by the decisions of the Court. The lawfulness of European Commission
actions is open to challenge under Article 230 of the treaty establishing the European Community.
The case of Bowland Dairy Products Ltd v. Commission is a matter for the parties. The United Kingdom Government have not sought to intervene in the case.
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