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In the event of a revaluation, the existence of a conservatory would be taken into account, as would any other feature, positive or negative, that affects value in the market at the time.

Dwellings are valued "as a whole" and as such the value of a conservatory is not separately calculated.

Courts Service: Estates

Question

Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Up until 1 April 2005, magistrates' courts were the responsibility of locally managed magistrates' courts committees which were statutorily independent. The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of magistrates' courts prior to 2005, as they were not required by statute to inform the department of closures that were not subject to an appeal under Section 56(3) of the Justices Peace Act 1997 (now repealed). Research suggests that there were 479 magistrates' courts in 1997 and 335 will remain following the closures announced in the Statement.

In 1997, there were 30,374 magistrates of which 14,516 (47.8 per cent) were female and 15,858 were male. As at 25 March 2010, there are 28,761 magistrates of which 14,633 (51 per cent) are female and 14,128 are male.



6 Apr 2010 : Column WA388

Crime: Rape

Questions

Asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for rape of a male and female, England and Wales 2004 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table. The table includes conviction rate figures which are based on the proportion of defendants proceeded against who were found guilty.

Court data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts, and found guilty at all courts for rapes(1) England and Wales 2004 to 2008 (3) (4) (5)
YearProceeded againstFound guiltyConviction rate (%)(2)

2004

2,453

644

26

2005

2,558

694

27

2006

2,335

754

32

2007

2,138

777

36

2008

2,181

822

38

(1) Includes: Rape of a female and male (excludes attempted rape).

(2) Proportion of defendants proceeded against who were found guilty.

(3) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

(4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

(5) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates' court for April, July, and August 2008.

Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice.

Asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Rape prosecutions are a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service. However, this information is not collated centrally as no central record is maintained of defences in these cases.



6 Apr 2010 : Column WA389

Debt: Rural Areas

Question

Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): The advisers are based at specific locations in 22 citizens advice bureaux (CABx) around England, and operate from these locations across more rural parts of various counties. They typically undertake around a third of their work at outreach locations, to help reach the most financially excluded clients. The counties (and the locations in which they are based) are as follows:

No. of AdvisersCountiesLocations they are based

3

Northumberland

Berwick-upon-Tweed, Morpeth, Hexham

3

Cornwall

Penzance, Redruth, Liseard

2

Devon

Barnstaple

2

Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

2

Cambridgeshire

Ely, Fenland

2

North Yorkshire

Hambleton, Harrogate

1

Somerset

Mendip

1

Dorset

Weymouth

1

Wiltshire

Trowbridge

1

Norfolk

Diss and Thetford

1

Lincolnshire

Boston, West Lindsey

1

Herefordshire

Hereford

1

Shropshire

Shrewsbury

1

Cumbria

Eden, Windermere

1

County Durham

Barnard Castle

1

East Yorkshire

Goole

In addition, the CABx make available a varied and wide-ranging nature of face-to-face advice provision in areas outside their fixed points of contacts so people can get help without the need for them to travel to a main CABx.

Advisers operate on different days between the main office and their outreach locations and also they work across other CABx within the same county and run outreach at local community centres, village halls, GP surgeries, schools, prisons and so on, plus arranging home visits for clients who would have difficulties in accessing a main office or outreach location (for example, people with disabilities).



6 Apr 2010 : Column WA390

Democratic Republic of Congo

Questions

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): The UK Government are deeply concerned at the problems faced by children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We have worked with REJEER, a children's rights non-governmental organisation, to fund a leaflet aimed at children to explain their rights under the 2009 Child Protection Law. We are also funding projects for improving access to primary education through the Department for International Development which will help children.

I did not raise the issue of shegues with the Government of DRC on my recent visit, but we have asked the UN for confirmation of reports that street children are being imprisoned and of the conditions in the prison, which we are waiting to receive.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: The CNDP is no longer active as a militia group. Ex-CNDP elements integrated into the Congolese army (FARDC) are still in control of some mines in the east. I spoke to PM Muzito and reiterated the need to reform the mineral sector when I visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in February.

The Government, through DfID, have been working with the international community (World Bank, EC, IMF and UNDP), to increase transparency in the DRC. We are supporting government institutions to develop a more efficient and transparent public financial management system and are working to improve the quality of government audit and budgeting processes.

The UK has not lobbied the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda on the issue of ex-CNDP elements of FARDC controlling Congolese mines.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool



6 Apr 2010 : Column WA391

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: We have made no representations to the Governments of Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as to how they should handle this issue, nor have we discussed the case in the fora of the African Union, EU or UN. We understand that detailed bilateral discussions, on a political and legal level, are under way between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the case of Laurent Nkunda to establish whether the legal problems in extradition, including the DRC's retention of the death penalty, can be overcome. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Disabled People: Mobility Scooters

Questions

Asked by Baroness Gardner of Parkes

The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The feasibility study identified areas where further work is required in order that firm policy and guidance be formulated. The study suggested that smaller and lighter mobility scooters ("class 2" devices) equipped with dry cell or gel batteries could be safely carried on public transport in the right circumstances. The Department for Transport continues to keep this matter under review.

Guidance for users of public transport services Get wise to using public transport has been published by the British Healthcare Trades Association in conjunction with the Department for Transport, and can be found at:

www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/tipws/getwheelchairwise/getwheelchairwiseawheelchair6l66.

The guidance highlights that it may be possible for class 2 scooters to be carried but that it is a decision for the individual operator as to whether they carry mobility scooters on their services, given that the design of individual buses and levels of occupancy may impinge on what is practicable in different places.

The department has also published guidance about using buses and coaches in the form of frequently asked questions for disabled passengers, which is on the department's website at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/buses/frequentlyaskedquestions?page=2.


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