§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) pursuant to his answer of 11 July,Official Report, column 393, what plans he has to order (a) increases in the fees for civil business and (b) cuts in his Department's spending to make up for the £52 million shortfall in predicted income from civil business for the current financial year;
(2) what is the total sum that he is seeking to recover from individual circuits in the current financial year;
(3) how much, by way of running costs, he is seeking to recover from each individual circuit in the current financial year;
(4) pursuant to his answer of 11 July, Official Report, column 393, what effect the £52 million shortfall in projected income from civil business in the current financial year will have on (a) the circuit court building programme, (b) the magistrates courts building programme, (c) the number of hours sat by recorders and assistant recorders and (d) the number and the length of time for which courtrooms are not in use.
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Mr. John M. TaylorWe plan to meet the forecast shortfall by a combination of fee increases and expenditure cuts. A package of county court fee increases, worth an estimated £11 million this year, is in hand. We are monitoring changes in income and expenditure closely, and drawing up detailed plans to cover the remaining gap. It is too early to say what the extent of the expenditure cuts will be, where they will fall, or what the effects of them will be.