§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the daily allowance for people on jury service; and what plans he has to uprate the allowance. [73303]
§ Mr. HoonThe daily allowances where the periods of time over which earnings or benefit are lost or additional expense is incurred are: Up to 4 hours—£24.84 and more than 4 hours—£49.68. Where a juror has served on more than 10 days, they can claim up to a maximum of £99.37 for each day over the tenth day. We will be considering whether or not the allowances should be increased.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will introduce a system of allowances for jurors based on their actual income loss. [73301]
§ Mr. HoonIt is necessary to place a limit on the amount of financial loss allowance payable to jurors to ensure that the expenditure from the public purse is not excessive. There are no plans to alter the current system, which allows jurors to receive up to £49.68 per day for loss of earnings, rising to a daily maximum of £99.37 after 10 days of jury service. Courts will listen sympathetically to applications for excusal or deferral if financial hardship might result.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what reports he has received of jurors seeking to evade jury service because they cannot afford the loss of income to their business. [73658]
§ Mr. HoonI understand that there have been occasional complaints from self employed people called for jury service. Generally, these are dealt with at the originating court and information is not kept centrally.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department on what basis the current level of juror allowance is set. [73304]
§ Mr. HoonThe allowances are broadly based on the average earnings figures. For employed people, they are not subject to deductions for income tax or national insurance. They are updated periodically to allow for inflation. All increases are approved by the Treasury.