§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on(a) the duties and (b) the separation of responsibilities of the magistracy and of the justices' clerks and managers' administrative roles;
(2) if he will make a statement on the judicial independence of magistrates, with reference to the proposals of the Le Vay report;
(3) what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on joint funding between central and local government of the magistracy; what implications have been assessed for other funding arrangements; and if he will make a statement;
(4) what alternative is being considered to the agency proposed in the Le Vay report on magistrates courts;
(5) if he will make a statement on progress towards the implementation of the Le Vay report on the magistracy.
§ Mr. John PattenAs my right hon. and learned Friend stated in his reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Martin) on 21 March 1990 at column634, we wish to have well-founded estimates of the costs of the executive agency proposals in the scrutiny report and for comparison purposes those of
400W
Energy consumption in 21 Home Office buildings in 1989–90 Site Gas Electricity Oil Solid (therms) (kWhs) (litres) (tonnes) Abell House 66,289 1,546,890 0 0 Branston 7,234 2,153,347 0 6,380 Cleland House 51,074 1,617,130 0 0 Clive House 36,276 864,680 0 0 Corby 8,751 281,080 56,100 0 Cowley 8,208 160,021 0 0 Dunkeswell 0 86,694 1,250 0 Easingwold 0 298,449 113,245 0 Fire Service College 222,566 2,699,320 1,258,650 0 Harmondsworth 8,744 785,080 258,350 0 Horseferry House 0 1,561,560 141,700 0 Horsham 5,165 214,734 0 0 Inverness 0 30,975 0 0 Langhurst 0 296,098 16,095 0 Leeds 54,244 262,417 0 0 an alternative model based on areas managed by independent boards. I have already made it clear that we shall not reach decisions on the structure or future financing of the magistrates courts service until we have an opportunity to consider these estimates. In reaching decisions we shall take into consideration both the paramount importance of preserving the independence of judicial processes and the need to ensure that there are satisfactory arrangements for the effective and efficient management of the resources committed to the magistrates courts service.