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23 July 2007 : Column 774Wcontinued
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people (a) applied for and (b) received legal aid for the costs of representation in care cases involving children in each of the last five years. [150650]
Maria Eagle: The number of people who applied for and received representation in public law child care cases in each of the last five years is as follows:
Applications | Certificates issued( 1) | |
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will review the Boundary Commissions mechanisms for co-ordinating its work on parliamentary constituencies and local government boundaries. [151690]
Bridget Prentice: Reviews of parliamentary constituency and local government boundaries in England are currently conducted by separate bodies: respectively the Boundary Commission for England, and the Boundary Committee for England (part of the Electoral Commission).
The Eleventh Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life has recommended that the Boundary Committee for England be removed from the Electoral Commission and re-established as a separate organisation. It has also recommended that a single secretariat be established to support jointly both organisations, in large part to improve the co-ordination of their work.
The Government will be responding to the CSPL recommendations shortly.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how the proposed non-statutory Chief Coroner would enforce decisions; whether such decisions would be subject to judicial review; and if he will make a statement. [151692]
Bridget Prentice: I am currently considering what the role and responsibilities of a non-statutory Chief Coroner might be, and whether such a post would provide a helpful addition to current arrangements at this time.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who is responsible for providing coroners court facilities; and who will be responsible under his Departments proposals for reform. [151693]
Bridget Prentice:
Coroners have a statutory duty to undertake inquests and order post-mortem examinations, and the relevant local authority is responsible for meeting the costs. A number of coroners have dedicated courts provided by their local authority. Where this is not the
case coroners liaise with their local authorities and local HMCS court managers to secure the use of suitable court accommodation. In a reformed system these basic arrangements will not change. Where difficulties with court provision are identified we will continue to work with coroners and other stakeholders to help find local solutions.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many coroners inquests arising from (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan have been completed; and how many were completed by coroners other than the Oxfordshire and Wiltshire coroner. [151638]
Bridget Prentice: 109 inquests arising from Iraq since 2003 have been completed. Four of these have been held by coroners other than the Oxfordshire or Wiltshire and Swindon coroners.
Eight inquests arising from Afghanistan since 2001 have been completed. Four of these have been completed by coroners other than the Oxfordshire and Wiltshire and Swindon coroners.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criminal offences have been introduced by his Department in primary legislation since October 2006. [149720]
Maria Eagle: For my Department during the period in question, the only primary legislation that introduced criminal offences was the Fraud Act 2006. That Act, owned by the Home Office until the creation of the Ministry of Justice, created a mixture of new offences and those that replaced earlier existing criminal offences. However counting all offences created by the Fraud Act including those replacing existing offences the Act created five new offences:
Section 1 Fraud. This replaced various deception offences in the Theft Acts 1968 and 1978, the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 and the Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
Section 6 Possession etc. of articles for use in frauds: This is a new offence but it replaced the cheat elements of section 25 of the Theft Act 1968 and section 24 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969. The new offence in section 6 is broader than the cheat element of section 24 and section 25 had been.
Section 7 Making or supplying articles for use in frauds.
Section 9 Participating in a fraudulent business carried on by a sole trader etc.
Section 11 Obtaining services dishonestly: This replaced section 1 of the Theft Act 1978 and Article 3 of the Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to make a statement on discussions with the working group of the judiciary on creation of his Department. [150505]
Mr. Straw: I have met with the Lord Chief Justice on a number of occasions since my appointment to discuss a variety of issues, including those raised in the judicial working group.
I will keep Parliament informed of any significant developments.
Mr. Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of his staff took early retirement in the last
five years; at what cost; what grades of staff took early retirement; and what percentage of each grade took early retirement. [148813]
Maria Eagle: The following table sets out the proportion of staff who took early retirement between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2007, broken down by grade.
A breakdown of cost would be provided by the civil service pension payroll provider (Capita Hartshead) but could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Financial year | Leaving reason | Government grade | Number of staff taking retirement |
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