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7 July 2009 : Column 662W—continued
Territorial Army
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the location is of each Territorial Army centre in the United Kingdom; [280199]
(2) what the (a) establishment figure, (b) current manning figure and (c) location is of each unit of company equivalent level or higher of the Territorial Army in the United Kingdom. [280200]
Bill Rammell:
There are more than 2,600 sites accommodating the reserve forces and Cadets, ranging from Cadet huts to training areas. The Territorial Army (TA) shares many of these sites with other reserve force and Cadet units, and some TA units are based at regular Army sites. Following the recommendations of the Strategic Review of Reserves to improve the Volunteer Estate, we are currently capturing detailed information
about reserve force locations. Once this information is available, I will place a copy in the Library of the House.
A copy of TA sub-unit establishment liability figures will also be placed in the Library of the House.
As at 1 April 2009, total manning for the TA was 35,350. Manning information is held in the Joint Personnel Administration system but not in the format requested. This information could be provided at disproportionate cost in the requested format only.
Trident
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy not to take any decision on the initial gate stage of Trident until proposals for such a decision have been debated on the floor of the House; and if he will make a statement. [284968]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 June 2009, Official Report, column 628W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn).
Justice
Appeals: Disability Living Allowance
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of appeals against a refusal to award disability living allowance to young people with autism have been upheld in each year since 2001. [284132]
Bridget Prentice: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) does not keep the information which the hon. Member requested in a readily available format. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The following disability living allowance data are available:
| Numbers of disability living allowance appeals | |||||
| Appeals cleared at hearing( 1) | Decisions against the appellant | Percentage decision against | Decisions in favour of the appellant | Percentage decision in favour | |
| (1) In addition to decisions ‘in favour’ and ‘against’, this includes cases that have been withdrawn, postponed or adjourned. (2) Data not available. Only limited data are available for 2006-07 as there was a change-over between computer systems during the year which has left an overlap in records which cannot be reconciled. | |||||
Closed Circuit Television
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance the Information Commissioner has provided to local authorities on the use of CCTV cameras fitted with microphones. [284153]
Mr. Wills: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority established to promote access to official information and to protect personal data.
The ICO has not issued guidance specifically for local authorities on the operation of CCTV cameras. However, the Office published a revised edition of its CCTV code of practice in 2008. The code offers guidance to all operators of CCTV cameras to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).
In addition, the ICO provides guidance to any data controller in response to specific queries; such queries could include the operation of CCTV cameras.
Coroners and Justice Bill
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what (a) representations he has received from and (b) discussions he has had since January 2009 with (i) hon. and right hon. Members and (ii) Members of the House of Lords wishing to amend the Coroners and Justice Bill to (A) repeal, (B) clarify the provisions of the existing law on the prohibition of assisted suicide and (C) make it easier to assist suicide overseas; and if he will make a statement; [283872]
(2) whether Ministers from his Department have (a) authorised Parliamentary Counsel to assist in drafting amendments to the Coroners and Justice Bill on behalf of private Members in the House of Lords and (b) authorised officials in his Department to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to draft amendments to the Coroners and Justice Bill which (i) were subsequently provided to private Members in the House of Lords and (ii) are intended to be provided to private Members in the House of Lords for tabling; and if he will make a statement. [283723]
Claire Ward: We have received 186 letters from hon. Members and right hon. Members and one letter from a Member of the House of Lords during this period.
My noble Friend Lord Bach has had a number of meetings with Members of the House of Lords on all sides on various aspects of the Coroners and Justice Bill including proposals by Lord Falconer to reform the law on assisted suicide.
With regard to the issue of legalising assisted suicide, the Government believe that this is an issue of individual conscience and hence a matter for Parliament to decide.
Parliamentary counsel has not been instructed by the Department to draft amendments to the Coroners and Justice Bill to be tabled by private Members in the House of Lords.
EU Law
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the statutory obligations upon it provided for in legislation on matters for which it is responsible which were introduced as a consequence of obligations arising from EU legislation in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available. [283472]
Mr. Straw: Information as to statutory obligations arising from EU legislation and their associated costs is not held centrally by the Department and could not be collected without disproportionate cost.
Legal Aid
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes to the criteria for eligibility for legal aid for civil cases have been made since May 1997. [284086]
Bridget Prentice: On 1 April 2000, the Access to Justice Act 1999 came into force and established the community legal service (CLS) in place of the previous civil legal aid scheme. The financial eligibility criteria for legal help and for legal representation through the CLS were set out in the Community Legal Service (Financial) Regulations 2000, which came into force on 1 April 2000. The financial criteria were substantially amended by the Community Legal Service (Financial) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2001, which came into force on 3 December 2001. This brought about the simplification of the means test, with the introduction of a gross income limit and disposable income calculation based on a small number of targeted allowances. The financial eligibility limits are increased from time to time in line with inflation. From April 2005, the income limits for legal help and legal representation were aligned. At the same time the disposable capital limit for legal help was increased from £3,000 to £8,000, and we allowed the disposable income limit to be waived for victims of domestic violence seeking protection from harm. From 9 April 2007 we extended this so that both income and capital limits could be waived for these domestic violence victims. On 6 April 2009 we increased the financial eligibility limits for civil legal aid by 5 per cent.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms on legal aid for civil cases in each year since 1996-97. [284171]
Bridget Prentice: The information requested is shown in the following table, however, expenditure for 2008-09 is provisional. The figures do not include administration costs. The real terms expenditure is based on 2008-09 prices.
| £ million | ||
| Total cash civil legal aid expenditure | Real terms expenditure | |
Legal Services Commission
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will discuss with the Legal Services Commission the incidence of solicitors paying referral fees to other solicitors for advocacy work under the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme. [284277]
Bridget Prentice: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is currently investigating a small number of specific allegations that have been made about referral fees. The LSC will continue to investigate any specific issues brought to its attention, and will respond appropriately if a firm has breached the terms of its contract with the LSC.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding has been allocated by his Department through the (a) exceptional funding process and (b) Legal Services Commission to Green Planning Solutions in relation to planning inquiries in the last five years. [284085]
Bridget Prentice: Advocacy before a planning inquiry is outside the normal scope of civil legal aid. Green Planning Solutions have not been, and are not, contracted providers of civil legal aid, and therefore would not have provided legal aid advice on planning matters. Neither my Department, nor the Legal Services Commission, have any record of legal aid for advocacy before a planning inquiry being granted to a client of Green Planning Solutions under the exceptional funding scheme.
Local Government Boundary Committee for England
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what methodology is used by the (a) Boundary Committee for England and (b) Boundary Commission to estimate the size of the electorate for the purposes of boundary reviews. [284087]
Mr. Wills: Questions relating to the Boundary Committee for England are the responsibility of the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission.
Under the current rules governing reviews by the Boundary Commission, the electorate of any constituency in each part of the United Kingdom must be as near as is practicable to the electoral quota (which, broadly, is the average number of electors in each constituency). Differences in the size of the electorate in each constituency may occur since the Boundary Commission may depart from strict application of the rules in specified circumstances, for example, where special geographical considerations apply or to take account of any local ties which would be broken by boundary changes. The rules require the Boundary Commission when carrying out a review to use the number of electors whose names appear on the register of parliamentary electors in force on the date on which the notice of the start of the review is published.
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