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17 Oct 2007 : Column 1158W—continued
Legal Aid: Blackpool
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received from individuals and organisations from Blackpool on the Government's legal aid reform plans. [158224]
Maria Eagle: In the past year the Ministry of Justice and its predecessor have received two such representations from the hon. Gentleman on behalf of constituents and one from the hon. Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble).
Legal Aid: Fees and Charges
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to re-introduce a graduated fee system for legal aid rates in replacement of the fixed rate fee system. [158223]
Maria Eagle: The fixed fee schemes being introduced for civil, family, immigration and criminal legally aided work set fees for particular tasks or groups of tasks. Thus the fees are graduated according to the requirements of work. This move from remuneration for each hour worked to payment for each job done is an essential part of our strategy for reform of legal aid.
Mental Capacity Act 2005
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what amendments have been made and what recent representations he has received about the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and if he will make a statement; [158333]
(2) what (a) statutory instruments, (b) departmental circulars and (c) other documents he (i) has issued and (ii) plans to issue in the next 12 months consequential to the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and if he will make a statement. [158334]
Bridget Prentice: Since the Mental Capacity Act 2005 received Royal Assent we have held a series of public consultations seeking views as we have developed the code of practice and secondary legislation to support the implementation of the Act. In addition to the formal responses to consultation we have on occasion received representations on the Act from members of the public via their Members of Parliament. Since April 2007 we have received 43 such communications asking questions or commenting on the Act’s provisions.
There have been two minor changes to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to date, both of which were introduced by the Mental Health Act 2007. The first made a minor amendment to section 20(11)(a) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to correct a drafting error by replacing the word “or” with “and”. The second amended section 49 of the Act to clarify the occasions when it is not necessary to appoint an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate.
In addition the Mental Health Act 2007 contains provisions that will amend the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to introduce new safeguards to address the issues raised in the European Court of Human Rights judgment on 5 October 2004 in the case of HL v. the United Kingdom.
A number of pieces of secondary legislation that prescribe the detail of how the Act will operate have been laid before Parliament and have come into force as of 1 October 2007. In addition the Office of the Public Guardian has produced a wide range of forms, guidance and other information related to the operation of the Act. The Department’s Mental Capacity Implementation Programme and the Office of the Public Guardian have also regularly informed stakeholders and customers of progress implementing the Act via update newsletters.
I have laid a table in the House Library today providing a list of the main secondary legislation, forms and guidance and newsletters produced by the Department to support the implementation of the Act. Further information may be produced in the next 12 months as required.
Prison Accommodation
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many spaces in prisons in England and Wales are expected to be withdrawn in each of the next five years. [158348]
Mr. Hanson: There is a planned rolling programme of refurbishment of accommodation across the prison estate. This allows the critical maintenance of the estate to be undertaken while having no significant net change on the number of places in use. Annually this means that between 1,500 and 2,000 places are out of use at any one time for essential work. We are not currently planning to withdraw any further accommodation in addition to these places.
Prisoners: Age
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in prison of each ethnic group are (a) 18, (b) 19, (c) 20, (d) 21, (e) 22, (f) 23, (g) 24, (h) 25, (i) 26, (j) 27, (k) 28, (l) 29, (m) 30, (n) 31, (o) 32, (p) 33, (q) 34 and (r) 35 years old. [158643]
Mr. Hanson: The following table shows the population in prison establishments in England and Wales aged 18-35 by ethnic group as at 31 August 2007:
| White | Mixed | Asian or Asian British | Black or Black British | Chinese or Other | Not stated. Unrecorded and 1991 census codes | All | |
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007, Official Report, columns 1227-8W, on accident and emergency departments, whether the advice on catchment population size applies to West Sussex. [157445]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department has not issued guidance stating that accident and emergency departments should cover a given catchment population.
It is a matter for the local national health service to ensure that there is appropriate provision of urgent and emergency services that are responsive to people’s needs.
Accident and Emergency Departments: Age
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age was for patients admitted to accident and emergency units in hospitals in the West Sussex primary care trust geographical area in the latest period for which figures are available. [157013]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held by the Department in the format requested. However, the following table shows the count of finished admission episodes and the mean (average) age for patients admitted via accident and emergency with a primary care trust (PCT) of responsibility of West Sussex PCT. The PCT of responsibility is the PCT with whom the patient is registered and has commissioning responsibility for the patient.
| Count of finished admission episodes and mean age of patients admitted via accident and emergency with a primary care trust (PCT) of responsibility of West Sussex PCT for 2005-06: National health service hospitals—England | |
| Notes: Admission m ethods: 21—Emergency: via accident and emergency (A and E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 28—Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the A and E department of another healthcare provider Finished admission episodes : A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Ungrossed data : Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). Data quality : Hospital episode statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. Whilst this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care | |
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