HC Deb 27 June 2000 vol 352 cc489-90W
36. Mr. Hilary Benn

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the powers of bailiffs. [126372]

Mr. Lock

Professor Beatson of Cambridge University is conducting a review of bailiff law on our behalf, and will report to us this month. The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux has published a report, entitled "Undue Distress", on bailiff powers and regulation. The Government have substantial concerns about the way some bailiffs operate and are regulated. We will look closely at the powers and role of bailiffs in the light of both these reports.

of women in all their programmes. This includes key agencies in the UN, the European Commission, the international financial institutions, and international organisations in civil society. More specifically, we have recently significantly increased our support to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Details of this support are published in our annual Departmental Report.