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Judicial Deliberations: Leaks
Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether any leak about the deliberations of judges to a newspaper, in advance of a judgment by those judges, is in the interests of justice.[HL1643]
The Lord Chancellor: No. It is not in the interests of justice for the deliberations of judges to be leaked to the newspapers in advance of delivery of a judgment.
General Pinochet: Visit to Spain by Crown Prosecution Service Representative
Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the Crown Prosecution Service representative who visited Madrid prior to the issue of the final warrant for the arrest of General Pinochet met representatives of any Spanish political party.[HL1785]
The Lord Chancellor: Prior to the issue of the second provisional arrest warrant against Senator Pinochet at Bow Street Magistrates' Court on the afternoon of 22 October 1998, a member of CPS staff with counsel travelled to Madrid in connection with the case and did not meet with any representative of a Spanish political party.
Judicial Appointments Commission
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they intend to consult the public about the proposals for a possible Judicial Appointments Commission to advise the Lord Chancellor on selecting judges[HL1668]
The Lord Chancellor: I have not ruled out the possibility of proceeding with consultation on the issues relating to the possible creation of a Judicial Appointments Commission. No decision has yet been taken.
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Chancellor on 15 March (WA 59), to what extent the determination of cases by the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary is being affected by the fact that two Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are chairing enquiries.[HL1774]
The Lord Chancellor: A number of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are currently engaged in judicial tasks outside the House of Lords and the Privy Council. These include Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, Lord Saville of Newdigate and Lord Phillips of Worth Travers, and those Lords who are from time to time appointed to the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. This situation has not affected the number of appeals heard either in the House of Lords or in the Privy Council.
Husbands and Wives: Unequal Treatment in Rules of Law
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Chancellor on 23 March (WA 145), whether they will identify:
referred to therein.[HL1775]
(a) the three minor rules of law in England and Wales which treat husbands and wives unequally;
(b) the similar rules in Northern Ireland; and
(c) the minor rule of law in Scotland,
The Lord Chancellor: The three rules of law in England and Wales are, in brief:
In Scotland, Section 6 of the Conjugal Rights (Scotland), Amendment Act 1861 provides that property which a wife acquires after she has obtained a decree of judicial separation does not pass to the husband if she dies intestate. There is no equivalent rule for husbands.
Lord Graham of Edmonton asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Lord Chancellor: The following tables set out the key performance targets that I have set for Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office, the Public Trust Office and the Court Service for
1999-2000.
Notes
Fuller details of the agency's targets are given in its Business Plan, which is available from Her Majesty's Land Registry.
(1) ROCE below 6% reflects agreement with HM Treasury to apply surplus income generated in 1993-95 (when ROCE exceeded 25% in each year) to fee reductions in 1996-99. The ROCE for
1999-2000 is subject to confirmation by HM Treasury.
(2) The inflation factor for the cost per unit in cash terms is derived from the GDP indices announced by HM Treasury on 9 March 1999.
(3) Denotes the aim in the Registry's Statement of "Service First" Standards which are detailed in Annex C of the Business Plan 1999-2000.
Note:
Fuller details of the Office's targets are given in its Business Plan, which is available from the Public Record Office.
* A Dedicated Investment Portfolio is one which has been constructed to accommodate the specific requirements of the client and has a sufficiency of funds and duration to allow it to be adjusted in line with stockmarket or client circumstances.
** The formal investment review is a full consideration of the overall investment strategy being pursued for a particular portfolio. It is complemented by PTO policies of unitising smaller funds and benchmarking larger portfolios against stock exchange models. The investment media held in the funds are subject to on-going review as company announcements or relevant research material becomes available and actioned at any time.
*** The target includes two new standards for the review of receivership accounts, they are to:
--complete a review of 80% of receivers' accounts within 12 weeks of receipt;
--review 80% of the Receiver's accounts within 12 weeks.
These standards will be reviewed on receipt of the Committee of Public Accounts' recommendations on the Comptroller and Auditor General's report "Protecting the Financial Welfare of People with Mental Incapacity".
Note:
Fuller details of the Office's performance targets will appear in the PTO Plan, which will be available from the Public Trust Office later in the year.
Fuller details of the agency's targets are given in the Court Service Plan, April 1999-March 2002 which is available from the Court Service Headquarters.
(a) the common law duty of a husband to maintain his wife. There is no similar duty laid on a wife to maintain her husband;
(b) the presumption of advancement between husband and wives under which, if a husband transfers property to his wife, he is presumed to be making a gift, unless the presumption is not rebutted by evidence. However, if a wife transfers property to her husband, the presumption is that no gift is intended;
(c) section 1 of the Married Women's Property Act 1964 relating to money and property derived from a housekeeping allowance under which, if a husband pays a housekeeping allowance to a wife, any savings or property derived from that allowance (in the absence of an agreement to the contrary) belong to the husband and wife in equal shares. If a wife pays a housekeeping allowance to the husband, property derived from it belongs to the wife only.
In Northern Ireland the common law duty of maintenance and the presumption of advancement is the same as in England and Wales. The Married Women's Property Act 1964 does not, however, extend to Northern Ireland. The common law rule, which still applies, is that savings from housekeeping monies and proceeds from them belong to the husband. While the equitable doctrine of resulting trust may produce the same result in relation to a housekeeping allowance made by a wife to a husband, the law is unacceptably unsatisfactory, and reform is being considered.
What are the key performance targets for Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office, the Public Trust Office and the Court Service executive agencies for 1999-2000.[HL1831]
Indicator Target
Financial
Percentage return on average capital employed(1) 6%
Efficiency
Cost per unit in real terms £25.13
Cost per unit in cash terms(2) £29.89
"Service First" Standards
Speed
Percentage of office copy and official search applications handled within two working days and 98%
Percentage of office copies and official searches processed in three working days 100%
Percentage of all registrations processed within 25 working days(3) 80%
Accuracy
Percentage of registrations processed free of any error 98.5%
Percentage of customers responding to the Annual Survey who perceive the accuracy of registrations to be excellent or good Better than 90%
Delivery of Electronic Services
Percentage of dealings (key customer interactions) capable of electronic delivery 30%
Percentage of titles in the Land Register capable of electronic delivery 95%
Percentage of titles plans in the Land Register capable of electronic delivery 60%
Number of scanned pages of filed documents (millions) 8.5
Indicator Target
1. Efficiency
Unit costs of key activities:
(a) selecting and preserving the public records. £107.64 per metre: i.e., limit increase to 5%.
(b) giving access to records. £3.82 per information transaction: i.e., reduce by 50%.
Backlog of records in departments reported as being over 30 years old and awaiting review. Process backlog by: (a) reviewing 480 metres. (b) preparing for review an additional 1,000 metres.
Provision of acceptable storage conditions i.e., meeting the preservation and environmental standards recommended by BS 5454: 1989 Recommendations for storage and exhibition of archival documents (BSI, 1989). Increase the proportion of records stored to the standards from 88.29% to 88.45%.
Management efficiency in running support services and projects. (a) reduce the level of staff sick absence in 1999 by 4.3%. (b) increase the proportion of invoices paid within thirty days from 97.5% to 99%
2. Quality of Service
The achievement of Charter Standards
(a) Charter Standard targets for answering letters, delivering documents to users and reprographic services. Achieve 98.5% against the targets.
(b) User satisfaction surveys. Achieve assessment of "excellent" on 56% of survey forms returned.
3. Effectiveness
Performance in achieving specified milestones towards strategic objectives in the light of emerging government policies. (a) increase revenue by 3% against the 1998-99 target. (b) make our lists of records available on the Internet by 31 October. (c) complete and disseminate three quality standards to guide public record bodies on the selection of records in line with the new Acquisition policy.
Indicator Target
1. To carry out accounting transactions within target times. To bring to account at least 99% of receipts and payments transactions within turnaround targets by volume weighted performance.
2. To achieve investment targets. To pay interest on the special rate account at an annual rate at or above the average of the agreed comparator, and to pay at least 75% of that rate on basic rate accounts; to ensure that 92.5% of all funds which have a Dedicated Investment Portfolio* have a formal investment review** at least once a year.
3. To achieve Charter Standards. To achieve 98% of the 19 Charter Standards of most importance to the Office's users.***
4. To meet the unit cost target. To operate within a unit cost of £198.41.
5. Percentage of full costs recovered. To ensure that 100% of full costs are recovered.
Indicator Target
provide a courteous, reliable and accurate service, relevant information and suitable facilities
KPI 1 the quality of service provided to court users 83%
complete all administrative processes promptly
KPI 2 the percentage of administrative work in the civil courts dealt with within target time 92%
reduce waiting times for trial or hearing
KPI 3 the percentage of Crown Court cases that commence within target 78%
KPI 4 average waiting time for Asylum Appeals from receipt at Immigration Appellate Authorities to promulgation of the Adjudicator's decision 23 weeks
reduce the cost of the services we provide
KPI 5 the unit cost of a case in the Crown Court £2,118
KPI 6 the unit cost of an item of originating process in the civil courts £118
achieve full cost recovery in the civil courts
KPI 7 the percentage of the cost of the civil courts recovered through fees 94%
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