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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: Membership
Baroness Macleod of Borve asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When will they announce changes in membership of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege): Further to the announcement on 7th November at columns WA 76-78, when we said that a further announcement would be made of one additional appointment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, we are pleased to announce that the following has been appointed as a member:
- Dr. Joan Kathleen Stringer, Principal of Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh,and Member of the Scottish Standing Committee of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education.
Judicial Costs and Court Fees
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether it is correct, as reported in The Times on 2nd December 1996, that the Government intend to reap the entire cost of running the civil justice system, including judges' salaries, from fees charged to litigants; and if so, how this is compatible with the constitutional right to unimpeded access to justice for all.
The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern): It has been the policy of successive Governments, at least since the 1920s, that the costs of the administration of civil justice should be defrayed by the litigants' fees. Until 1992, judicial costs were not included in the definition of costs to be so defrayed. However, as these costs, in common with all other costs of the courts, are a call on public funds, I decided in 1992 that they should progressively be included. Needy litigants in receipt of legal and have their court fees paid by the Legal Aid Fund.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether it is correct, as reported in The Times on 2nd December 1996:
(a) that the Government's reported plan for the self-financing of civil justice has been decided without consulting the judiciary, and, if so, what are the reasons for this lack of consultation; and
(b) that they intend to make judges' salaries part of the money available to run the civil justice system;
- and, if so, whether they consider such a policy to be compatible with the independence of the judiciary.
The Lord Chancellor: It has been the policy of successive Governments, at least since the 1920s, that the costs of the administration of civil justice should be defrayed by the litigants' fees. The policy of full cost recovery in the civil courts was referred to in 1992 in answer to a parliamentary Question in another place [Official Report, 24th November 1992, col. 558], and specific reference to the inclusion of judicial costs was made in the Departmental Report published in March 1994 (Cm 2509, paragraph 11).
This decision does not affect the protection afforded to those judges whose salaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund. The independence of the judiciary is unaffected by the inclusion, in the total sum of money to be recovered through court fees, of a figure equal to the amount which is separately expended on judicial salaries.
Judicial Independence
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their definition of judicial independence as secured by the principles and conventions of the British Constitution.
The Lord Chancellor: Judicial independence requires that judges can discharge their judicial duties in accordance with the judicial oath and the laws of the land, without interference, improper influence or pressure from any other individual or organisation.
Litigants in Person
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What proportion of civil appeals during each of the past five years in England and Wales have been brought by litigants in person.
The Lord Chancellor: The question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its framework document. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to respond.
Letter to Lord Lester of Herne Hill from the Chief Executive of the Court Service, Mr. M. D. Huebner, dated 16th December 1996. PQ 97/114 Proportion of Civil Appeals by Litigants in Person
The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, has asked me to reply to the above Question about the proportion of civil appeals by litigants in person.
The table below shows the number of appeals lodged by litigants in person in the Court of Appeal, Civil Division compared with the total number of appeals
lodged. No comparable statistics are kept for appeals dealt with in the High Court or county courts.| 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | |
| Total received | 1,594 | 1,840 | 1,768 | 1,825 | 1,750 |
| In person | 154 | 181 | 164 | 186 | 166 |
| Percentage in person | 9.66 | 9.84 | 9.28 | 10.19 | 9.49 |
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will undertake research into the reasons for the increase in the number of litigants in person bringing civil appeals in England and Wales.
The Lord Chancellor: I have no plans to commission research into this subject at this time. This was, however, one of the matters considered by a working party established under the right honourable Lord Justice Otton, at the request of the Judges' Council, and their report was published in June 1995. Following that report I agreed to fund a two-year project providing assistance to litigants in person at the Royal Courts of Justice, which began in April 1996. The project is being monitored and will be evaluated at the end of that period.
Moreover, I have established a wide ranging review of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal against the background of an increasing number of applications and appeals, and consequent delays in the hearing of appeals. The review will put forward its recommendations by summer 1997.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What reasons do they attribute for the increase in civil appeals brought by litigants in person in England and Wales during the past five years; and whether they consider that the increase in the number of such appeals has been influenced by the absence of legal aid.
The Lord Chancellor: A working party established under the right honourable Lord Justice Otton reported in June 1995 on litigants in person in the Royal Courts
of Justice. The report concluded that the high levels of litigants in person visiting or contacting the Court of Appeal office could be attributed to various factors, but did not identify specific causes underlying the increase in the level of this category of appeals.It is not possible to establish any direct link between levels of legal aid eligibility and the numbers of litigants in person. The growth in numbers of litigants in person has been apparent since at least 1989, and does not appear to have been influenced by specific changes to legal aid eligibility. Legal aid is available for proceedings in the Court of Appeal, provided that the applicant's means are within the qualifying limits and the case has merit.
University Museums, Galleries and Collections in Scotland, Wales andNorthern Ireland
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Answer given by Lord Henley on
9th December (H.L. Deb., col. WA 78), why no museums, galleries or collections which form part of universities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were included in that Answer and whether they will now list such establishments.
The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Lord Henley): There are no museums or galleries which form part of higher education institutions in Wales or Northern Ireland. A list of those institutions which receive grants from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) is given in the attached table, together with allocations for 1995-96 and 1996-97. I apologise that this information was not included with the original response.
| Museum, Gallery or Collection | Higher Education Institution | Grant Allocation | ||||
| 1995-96 | 1996-97 | |||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| Marischal Museum | University of Aberdeen | 78,200 | 80,000 | |||
| Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments | University of Edinburgh | 34,400 | 37,000 | |||
| Collection of Historical Musical Instruments | University of Edinburgh | (1)n/a | 20,000 | |||
| Mackintosh Building | Glasgow School of Art | 37,800 | 150,000 | |||
| Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery | University of Glasgow | 536,100 | 550,000 | |||
| St. Andrew's University Collections | University of St. Andrews | (1)n/a | 20,000 | |||
(1) No allocation in 1995-96.
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