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20 Oct 2008 : Column 48W—continued
Judiciary: Pensions
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the value was of public sector pensions for the judiciary in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the public purse was of providing such pensions in each year. [228432]
Mr. Straw: Figures for the Judicial Pension Scheme have been published in the Scheme's Resource Accounts for 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, and are set out in the following table.
The Judicial Pension Scheme's Resource Accounts for 2007-08 will be published in due course.
| £000 | |||
| Gross pensions expenditure | Contributions receivable (from members) | ASLC( 1) contributions receivable from employers | |
| (1) Accruing Superannuation Liability Charges. Note: Member's basic contribution rates vary between 1.8 per cent. and 2.4 per cent. (equivalent to 3 per cent. and 4 per cent. gross). The ASLC rate was 29.25 per cent. between 2003-04 and 2005-06 and 30.75 per cent. for 2006-07. | |||
Magistrates Courts: Closures
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates courts have closed in (a) rural areas and (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1995. [227305]
Bridget Prentice: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the magistrates courthouse closures, which occurred prior to 1995. The following table provides details of the magistrates court closures (broken down into (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas) which have taken place since 1995.
Parental Responsibility
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the implications of the Coleman judgement on the status of parents with a disabled child. [226690]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
In its judgment in Coleman v. Attridge Law, the European Court of Justice decided that the European Framework Employment Directive, which concerns equal treatment in employment and occupation, provides protection from direct discrimination or harassment that arises from a person's association with a disabled person. This means that parents of a disabled child, like other associates of a disabled person, are protected by the directive from direct discrimination or harassment on the grounds of their child's disability. The Government are giving careful consideration to this judgment and its implications for domestic anti-discrimination legislation.
Prisons: Crime
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many crimes have been committed in prisons in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) offence and (b) prison establishment; and if he will make a statement. [227283]
Mr. Hanson: This would require the checking of the records of over 140 prisons and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Prisons: Fires
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fires there were in prisons in each of the last five years; and what the cost of repairing the damage caused by each of them was. [226232]
Mr. Hanson: The data requested are shown in the table.
| Total number of fires for the last five financial years | |
| Number | |
These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.
The cost of cell fires (as this is where most fires take place) are not reported centrally therefore this information is not readily available.
Where there is damage to the cell but no injury to persons and damage is considered to be low level, the matter is generally not pursued by the police; however, this may be subject to local adjudication procedures. If the charge is proven as a result of the adjudication there may be loss of privileges, earnings or segregation of the prisoner in question.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the expertise and qualifications of the lay members of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel will be. [227569]
Bridget Prentice: Appeals and claims will continue to be heard by a specialist panel consisting of a lawyer and two non-legal (specialist) members. The qualification for members of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel is experience of educational, child care, health, or social care matters.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who will chair the case management hearings for the new Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel. [227570]
Bridget Prentice: The chairs of case management hearings will be specifically trained for the Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel's (SENDISP) work. No person will chair a Special Educational Needs and Disability case management hearing unless that person has been trained (a) in SENDISP's jurisdictions and (b) specifically as a case management chair in SENDISP.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what expertise or training in special educational needs will be required of chairs of the new Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel. [227571]
Bridget Prentice: The chairs of case management hearings will be specifically trained for the Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel's (SENDISP) work. No person will chair a Special Educational Needs and Disability case management hearing unless that person has been trained (a) in SENDISP's jurisdictions and (b) specifically as a case management chair in SENDISP.
All current chairs of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal will remain as chairs of the SENDISP. No additional chairs are being sought at this time. Any future appointees will receive the same training as current appointees.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans are in place to assess and review the effects of implementation of the changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. [227568]
Bridget Prentice: The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) has established a special user group, on which the parent-led Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA) is represented, to advise it on what is practical and appropriate for users in the new arrangements. The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) will be able to ask the Senior President of Tribunals to report on this group's work in the annual report that the Senior President of Tribunals submits to him.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken in response to representations from parents about the changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal to be made on 3 November 2008. [227574]
Bridget Prentice: The judicial management group of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) has been running a user group since June of this year with key stakeholders to consider the rules, practice directions and case management processes. A meeting has taken place with the National Association of Independent Schools and Non-Maintained Special Schools and the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice. The majority of the representations from parents have been incorporated into the final rules of procedure and practice directions for the jurisdiction of SENDIST within the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. SENDIST acting judicial lead, Mr. Simon Oliver, has attended and is continuing to attend parent organisations to help explain the changes and contribute to parent representative training.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the time needed by organisations providing support to parents going to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal to retrain their staff to advise parents on the new system. [227576]
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