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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 14th December 1992
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Legal Services Ombudsman
Mr. French : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases have been dealt with by the legal services ombudsman.
Mr. John M. Taylor : A full investigation has been conducted and a report issued in 823 cases. Of these 766 related to complaints about solicitors, 53 to complaints about barristers and four to complaints about licensed conveyancers. The legal services ombudsman has received a further 883 complaints relating to solicitors, of which 559 failed to meet the criteria for investigation, and 324 are either awaiting or under investigation. He has also received a further 58 complaints relating to barristers, of which 42 failed to meet the criteria and 16 are either awaiting or under investigation. In addition, the legal services ombudsman has received a further four complaints relating to licensed conveyancers, none of which met the criteria.
The legal services ombudsman has also investigated and reported on 560 cases which had been referred to the lay observer prior to 31 December 1990, but which had not been dealt with by him before the legal services ombudsman replaced him on 1 January 1991.
Mr. French : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many solicitors have been ordered to pay compensation as a result of intervention by the legal services ombudsman.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Since 1 January 1991, the legal services ombudsman has recommended that 50 solicitors should pay compensation to complainants. In addition, he has recommended that the Solicitors Complaints Bureau should pay compensation in 10 cases.
Mr. French : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people have made a complaint to the legal services ombudsman in relation to their dealings with the Solicitors' Complaints Bureau.
Mr. John Mr. Taylor : The legal services ombudsman has received 1, 649 cases relating to the way in which the Solicitors Complaints Bureau has dealt with complaints about solicitors.
Mr. French : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to increase funding to the office of the legal services ombudsman.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The allocation to the ombudsman's office for 1993-94, excluding the accommodation charge, will be approximately £547,000. The allocation for 1992-93, on a comparable basis, was approximately £508,000.
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Poll Tax
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will issue guidance to magistrates on the use of their powers to require means inquiries or to waive charges in cases of hardship in cases relating to non-payment of poll tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Where an application has been made to commit a community charge defaulter to prison, magistrates are required to hold an inquiry into the debtor's means, and have the power to remit amounts due where a committal warrant is neither made nor its issue postponed. Guidance on the operation of the community charge regulations was issued to magistrates courts by the Home Office in 1990. It would not be right for me to seek to interfere in the way in which magistrates exercise their discretion in individual cases.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Sees and Titles
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he expects to conclude consultation with the Roman Catholic Church on the official recognition of territorial sees and titles ;
(2) if he will give a summary of action taken on consultations following the Prime Minister's statement on 18 May, Official Report, columns 5-6, about the consideration of official recognition of territorial sees and titles of the Roman Catholic Church ; (3) if he will make a statement on progress towards official recognition of territorial sees and titles of the Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply he was given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 10 December, at columns 753-54.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in opposition to official recognition of territorial sees and titles of the Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Charles Wardle : This department has received two letters expressing concern about the possibility of greater recognition being afforded to Roman Catholic territorial sees and titles.
Catholic Bishops Conference
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he provided a substantive reply to the letters dated 16 July and 7 October from the Right Rev. Monsignor Philip Carroll, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference.
Mr. Charles Wardle : An interim reply was sent on 28 July. My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to be in a position to respond to the substantive points raised in those letters very shortly.
Remand Contract Units
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what prisons other than Strangeways have been the subject of funding for the remand contract unit in his Department for market testing ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : None at present, but we have already announced that new prisons will be opened up to competitive tender and further plans are being considered.
Prisoners
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to reduce the number of people in prison.
Mr. Jack : It is for the court to decide, within the framework provided by Parliament, whether a custodial sentence is appropriate in any individual case.
A new sentencing framework was created by the Criminal Justice Act 1991, which came into force on 1 October 1992. It is based on the clear proposition that the sentence passed should match the seriousness of the offence committed. It provides, therefore, that the use of custodial sentences should be confined to offences whose seriousness is such that only a custodial sentence can be justified and as a consequence enhances the role of non-custodial sentences. Pre-sentence reports are now mandatory in an increased range of cases, to ensure that courts receive relevant advice on the suitability of possible community sentences.
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The range of community sentences available to the courts is expanded and strengthened by the Act ; a probation order becomes for the first time a sentence of the court and a court may now impose a combination order involving both probation and community service. National standards have also been introduced from 1 October to strengthen the effectiveness and consistency of supervision in the community by probation and social services, and to assure courts and the public as to the quality of that work. Central Government funding for the probation service has increased by over 25 per cent since 1990-91.Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sentenced offenders aged (a) under 21 years, (b) under 18 years and (c) under 17 years were held in prison service establishments at the end of September, October and November and on the most recent available date.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The latest readily available information is given in the table :
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