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Statutory Declaration Fee
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the £5 fee for making a statutory declaration was last amended; and if he will make a statement. [30308]
Mr. Hoon:
The fee for making a statutory declaration in the Magistrates' Court was increased to eight pounds on 1 April 1992, by the Magistrates' Courts Fees (Amendment) Order, SI 842/1992. I am considering whether to conduct a major review of all civil fees in the Magistrates' Courts.
19 Feb 1998 : Column: 846
Dr. Marek:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list those Government records of the 1960s relating to Gibraltar that have not been released after 30 years; and if he will indicate the reasons for not releasing them. [30399]
Mr. Hoon:
Public records of the 1960s relating to Gibraltar are likely to appear, among the records of a number of Departments, including those of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its predecessor Departments, of the Ministry of Defence and its predecessors, of the Cabinet Office and of the Prime Minister's Office. There is no pre-existent list of records of this period relating to Gibraltar, and currently no automated means of generating one.
As well, the documentation of withheld records that is maintained by the Public Record Office, and in particular the documentation of withheld extracts from records, is by document reference alone, and not by subject description, so that it is not in a form which would enable a listing of unavailable records of the 1960s relating to Gibraltar to be produced, without disproportionate cost. The catalogues available to the public in the Public Record Office note whole items which are closed or retained, but not the fact of a withheld extract, but because there is no pre-existent list of Gibraltar records, the catalogues could not be used to list closed records on this subject, except at similarly high cost.
Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what subsidy is provided for (a) nursery places and (b) holiday play schemes; if he will list the organisations used by his Department for child care; and if child care vouchers are made available to staff. [30020]
Mr. Hoon:
At present, the Department provides subsidised child care places at 13 nurseries and 15 play schemes. The subsidy varies, depending on individual business cases and value for money justification. The child care organisations used by the Department are listed. Child care vouchers are not generally made available to staff, although they have been made available on a temporary basis in exceptional circumstances.
19 Feb 1998 : Column: 847
Birmingham Holiday Club
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what expenditure has been incurred by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies (a) in 1996-97 and (b) since 1 May 1997 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; if he will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each; and if he will make a statement. [26667]
Nurseries
Westminster Children's Society (2 nurseries)
Nurseryworks Ltd.
Buffer Bear Nurseries Ltd. (6 nurseries)
Kinderquest Ltd.
Aston Students' Guild
Acorns Nurseries
Crown House Childcare Scheme (Benefits Agency)
Play schemes
Kinderquest (Westminster Holiday Playscheme)
Jancett Group of Day Nurseries (Croydon Playscheme)
DNS Durham Kids Club
MOD Holiday Playscheme, Liverpool
DFEE Holiday Playscheme, Leeds
DFEE Coventry Holiday Activity Scheme
DSS Bristol Holiday Playscheme
Court Service Peterborough Holiday Playscheme
Busy Bees (Manchester)
DFEE Holiday Playscheme, Darlington
DSS Rascals Holiday Playscheme, Northampton
DSS Exeter Holiday Playscheme
Land Registry Plymouth Holiday Playscheme
Prescription Pricing Agency Holiday Playscheme, Gateshead.
| Project | Cost £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | MORI survey of court users to assess extent to which non-professional users would prefer to appear in court either on Saturday morning or on a weekday evening | 19,975 |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | (1) Research by Professor John Baldwin into the effect of the rise in the Small Claims Limit | 24,788 |
| (2) Research by De Montfort University into take-up of Magistrates Courts Inspectorate information leaflets | 70 | |
| Since 1 May 1997 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | None | -- |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | (1) Research by Professor John Baldwin into the effect of the rise in the Small Claims Limit | 11,205 |
| (2) Research by Central Office of Information on ways to create a broader base of applicants to the magistracy | 38,000 |
| Project | Cost £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | None | -- |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | (1) ONS Omnibus Survey into public awareness of the Small Claims procedure | 2,645 |
| (2) Public attitude Survey for Sheffield Combined Court's pilot user survey | 5,052 | |
| Since 1 May 1997 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | None | -- |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | (1) ONS Omnibus Survey into public awareness of the Court Service | 3,600 |
| (2) British Market Research Bureau: staff opinion survey into Investors in People | 25,591 |
19 Feb 1998 : Column: 848
| Project | Cost £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | Customer Service Survey to identify areas for improvement in the delivery of the Registry's services | 3,541 |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | None | -- |
| Since 1 May 1997 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | (1) Independent Customer Service Survey to provide independent verification of customers' satisfaction with the delivery of services and identify areas for improvement | 13,285 |
| (2) Consultation Paper on a proposal to restore "Price Paid" to the Land Register | 3,191 | |
| (ii) Focus groups | Customer Service. Discussions with key customers on areas for improvement in delivery of services | 790 |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | Interviews with key customers on specific areas of service improvement | 500 |
| Project | Cost £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | Community Attitudes Survey--the public's attitudes to law, order, and security issues | 5,920 |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | None | -- |
| Since 1 May 1997 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | None | -- |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | Contribution towards a survey on Divorce commissioned by the Office of Law Reform | 10,000 |
| Project | Cost £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | None | -- |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | -- | |
| Since 1 May 1997 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | None | -- |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | None | -- |
| Project | Cost £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | None | -- |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | None | -- |
| Since 1 May 1997 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | None | -- |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | None | -- |
19 Feb 1998 : Column: 849
| Project | Cost £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | MORI poll into public awareness of legal aid in general, and franchising in particular | 7,050 |
| (ii) Focus groups | None | -- |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | None | -- |
| Since 1 May 1997 | ||
| (i) Opinion polling | MORI poll into public awareness of legal aid in general, and franchising in particular | 7,050 |
| (ii) Focus groups | MORI focus groups to review promotional material in support of public awareness of franchising | 2,115 |
| (iii) Other forms of market research | None | -- |
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