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25 Jan 2010 : Column 701W—continued
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which magistrates courts have withdrawn in-person fine payment facilities in each of the last five years. [312928]
Bridget Prentice: All magistrates courts in England and Wales offer facilities for payment to be made in person with the exception of Abertillery, Aberystwyth, Ammanford, Cardigan and Carmarthen, Maidenhead and Wells. The variety of payment facilities at other courts vary from site to site but include cash deposit boxes, payment counters, dedicated telephone lines and staff members with Allpay accounts. Her Majesty's Courts Service intends to ensure that some facility is provided in all courts.
Over the last five years the following courts have had their cash counters removed, while retaining other in person payment facilities:
2005
Abergavenny
Abertillery
Balham
Bexley
Brent
Brentford
Bromley
Caerphilly
Camberwell Green
City of Westminster
Cwmbran
Ealing
Enfield
Feltham
Harrow
Kingston-upon-Thames
Newport
Richmond
South Western
Tower Bridge
Woolwich
Wimbledon
Uxbridge
2006
Carmarthen
Leamington
Southend
2007
City of London
Greenwich
Ipswich
Kings Lynn
Lowestoft
Newark
2008
Bury St. Edmunds
Great Yarmouth
Norwich
Poole
Runcorn
2009
Aldershot
Barnstaple
Basingstoke
Bodmin
Camborne
Cirencester
Exeter
Honiton
Mansfield
Newport (Isle of Wight)
Newton Abbot
Penzance
Plymouth
Portsmouth
Southampton
Stroud
Torquay
Truro
Worksop
Closed within the last five years but date unknown
Cambridge
Hinckley
Peterborough
In addition to the existing in person payment facilities at court, last year HMCS rolled out a dedicated 24 hour payment telephone line and internet site. HMCS also takes payment through the extensive network of Paypoint sites.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 14 December 2009 concerning a constituent. [312938]
Bridget Prentice: I replied to the hon. Member on 11 January.
Monarchy: Succession
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the statutory legal grounds are by which it is claimed the Act of Settlement excludes illegitimate children from a right to succession to the Crown, with particular reference to the basis of succession outlined in Section 1 of the Act of Settlement 1700; [312534]
(2) on what legal grounds, by reference to the Act of Settlement, the UK made its interpretative declaration in respect of articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born out of Wedlock. [312538]
Mr. Wills: Succession to the Crown is governed by the common law rules of descent for hereditary titles, including legitimacy, as well as the Act of Settlement. Although the Legitimacy Act 1976 made it possible for persons born outside wedlock to be legitimised, for most purposes, by the subsequent marriage of their parents, succession to the Crown and to any peerage is specifically exempted. The Act of Settlement and the common law together form the basis on which the UK's interpretative declaration in respect of articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born out of Wedlock was made and remains valid.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the UK's interpretative declaration in respect of articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born Out Of Wedlock is a designated derogation or reservation under article 1 (2) of the Human Rights Act 1998. [312535]
Mr. Wills: No. Section 15(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998 explains that:
"In this Act "designated reservation" means:
(a) the United Kingdom's reservation to Article 2 of the First Protocol to the Convention; and
(b) any other reservation by the United Kingdom to an Article of the Convention, or of any protocol to the Convention, which is designated for the purposes of this Act in an order made by the Secretary of State."
The Convention referred to in section 15(1)(a) and (b) is the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The UK has no other reservations to the ECHR or any of its Protocols, and therefore none has been designated as described at article 15(1)(b).
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what external legal advice he has taken in respect of the rights of illegitimate children in succession to the Crown, and the UK's interpretative declaration made in February 1981 of articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born out of Wedlock. [312536]
Mr. Straw: There is no record of any external legal advice having been sought or received in respect of these matters.
Multiple Publication Rule
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to publish his response to his Department's consultation on defamation, the internet and the multiple publication rule. [310969]
Mr. Straw: The consultation 'Defamation and the Internet: The Multiple Publication Rule' closed on 16 December 2009. The responses are currently being analysed with a view to publishing the response paper in March 2010.
National Standards for Enforcement Agents
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents. [312044]
Bridget Prentice: The National Standards for Enforcement Agents was published in May 2002, and copies were placed in the Libraries of both Houses, at its launch on 8 May 2002, Official Report, column 252W.
Parole Board
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to publish his response to his Department's consultation on the future of the Parole Board. [310968]
Mr. Straw: The consultation period was extended to allow for further replies. The Department is currently carrying out a full analysis of the responses and an official response will follow thereafter.
Pleural Plaques
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent staff are working on preparation of his Department's response to its consultation on pleural plaques. [311153]
Mr. Straw: Two full-time members of staff cover matters relating to the law of tort and damages, which includes the issue of pleural plaques.
Prisoners on Remand
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many juveniles remanded in custody were subsequently (a) acquitted and (b) given a non-custodial sentence in (i) a magistrates' court and (ii) the Crown Court in 2008. [311655]
Claire Ward: I wrote to the hon. Member on 10 August 2009 enclosing a table that showed data relating to the number of juveniles remanded in custody who were subsequently acquitted or given a non-custodial sentence in each year between 2003 and 2007. The 2007 data remain the latest currently available. Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
Prisoners Release
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) men and (b) women released from prison in each year since 2000 had served (i) four, (ii) five, (iii) six, (iv) seven, (v) eight, (vi) nine and (vii) 10 or more previous custodial sentences. [310964]
Mr. Straw: The following table contains the number of adult offenders who were discharged from custody in the first quarter of each year for which data are available, by number of previous custodial sentences and gender.
Please note this data is from the "Reoffending of adults: Results from the 2007 cohort" publication, therefore data are based only on the first quarter of each year. Figures for the total number of offenders cannot be aggregated up to full year figures because there is no evidence that the first quarter is representative of the full year.
Please note figures are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data on court orders. Since it will not substantially increase the knowledge on the current progress on reoffending, no resources have been allocated to fix this problem.
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