§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list(a) the locations of judges' lodgings and (b) the number of nights each lodging was occupied in each of the last five years. [139153]
§ Jane KennedyThe information requested for the three years 1997–98 to 1999–2000 is set out in the table.902W Prior to 1997 lodgings were administered locally and the requested information could be provided for the two years before 1997 only at disproportionate cost.
Judges lodgings—number of nights occupied Number/lodgings name 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 1 Birmingham 630 695 585 2 Bristol 430 378 323 3 Caernarfon 10 16 13 4 Cardiff 360 335 331 5 Carlisle 60 43 59 6 Chelmsford 68 98 113 7 Chester 175 187 198 8 Exeter 110 118 73 9 Leeds 480 480 509 10 Leicester 100 45 62 11 Lewes 170 155 120 12 Lincoln 60 65 42 13 Liverpool 430 400 529 14 Maidstone 140 165 120 15 Manchester 605 565 492 16 Mold 25 50 23 17 Northampton 20 25 23 18 Norwich 115 155 130 19 Nottingham 195 345 201 20 Oxford 35 45 72 21 Plawsworth 560 470 554 22 Plymouth 40 23 15 23 Preston 210 240 274 24 Reading 115 99 110 25 Sheffield 205 257 230 26 St. Albans 105 120 165 27 Stafford 130 135 146 28 Swansea 145 90 147 29 Truro 25 46 20 30 Warwick 10 10 38 31 Winchester 340 295 370 32 Worcester 40 35 29
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) in respect of the Crown courts situated at(a) St. Albans, (b) Reading, (c) Chelmsford, (d) Colchester and (e) Maidstone (i) how many sitting days were held at each court in each of the last five years, (ii) how many nights the judges' lodgings were occupied in each of the last five years, (iii) how may High Court judges sitting at each of the courts (A) regularly made use of the lodgings, and (B) habitually commuted from their own residence to court and (eave) what was the annual cost of each of the lodgings for each of the last five years [139156]
(2) what assessment he has made of the value of judges' lodgings and associated expenditure as a benefit in kind for income tax purposes. [140787]
§ Mr. LockI regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before prorogation. I shall write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will place in the Library the guidance agreed with the judiciary on the use of lodgings. [140804]
§ Jane KennedyCopies of the general guidance on the use of lodgings agreed with the judiciary in 1997 have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
903WIt should be noted that the single judge allowance (referred to in the guidance as being £280 per judge week) was raised to £310 from the beginning of 2000.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will issue guidance to(a) High Court and (b) circuit judges on when it is appropriate to commute to court from home; and if he will make a statement. [140806]
Current rates of accommodation allowances paid to circuit judges staying away from home Subsistence1 Hotels and private clubs in London Actual expenditure up to a ceiling of £100 for bed and breakfast costs plus 24 hour allowance of £21 and personal incidental expenditure allowances of £5 Hotels and private clubs elsewhere Actual expenditure up to a ceiling of £80 for bed and breakfast costs plus 24 hour allowance of £21 and personal incidental expenditure allowance of £5 Staying with friends/relatives in London £32.45 Staying with friends/relatives elsewhere £31 Own property in London (e.g. town flat) Reimbursement of certain expenses necessarily incurred up to a limit of £32.45 Own property elsewhere (e.g. country cottage) Reimbursement of certain expenses necessarily incurred up to a limit of £31 Rented accommodation in London Actual expenditure up to a ceiling of £60 for rental costs plus 24 hour allowance of £21 and personal incidental expenditure allowance of £5 Rented accommodation elsewhere Actual expenditure up to a ceiling of £50 for rental costs plus 24 hour allowance of £21 and a personal incidental expenditure allowance of £5 Hotels, private clubs and rented accommodation in London as an alternative to the above £65.15 plus a personal incidental expenditure allowance of £5 Hotels, private clubs and rented accommodation elsewhere as an alternative to the above £62.40 plus a personal incidental expenditure allowance of £5 1Night subsistence per night
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list for each judges' lodgings(a) whether it is (i) rented, (ii) leased and (iii) owned by the Crown, (b) in the case of the lodgings which are rented or leased (i) what the length of the lease is, (ii) what the cost per annum is of (x) rent, (y) service charges and (z) rates, (iii) if the lease is a full repairing lease and (iv) whether the lease is subject to the Landlords and Tenants Act 1954, in respect of business
904W
Judges lodgings Property Tenure Lease expiry Repairing lease Landlord and Tenants Act Comments Birmingham Leasehold 29 September 2074 Yes Yes — Bristol Leasehold 31 December 2016 Yes Yes 6 months notice Caernarfon Hiring n/a — — — Cardiff Freehold — — — — Carlisle Hiring n/a — — — Chelmsford Leasehold Licence No No 12 months notice Chester Freehold — — — — Exeter Hiring n/a — — — Leeds Leasehold Holding over Yes Yes — Leicester Hiring n/a — — — Lewes Leasehold 30 August 2006 Internal only Yes 6 months notice Lincoln Hiring n/a — — — Liverpool Leasehold 31December 2010 Yes Yes Break option in 31 December 2003 Maidstone Freehold — — — — Manchester Freehold — — — — Mold Leasehold 31 March 2017 Yes Yes Break option in 2004 and 2011 Northampton Hiring n/a — — — Norwich Freehold — — — — Nottingham Freehold — — — — Oxford Leasehold Holding over No No — Plawsworth Freehold — — — — Plymouth Hiring n/a — — — Preston Freehold — — — —
§ Mr. LockNo. Such guidance is not required. I refer my hon. Friend to the written answers given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre Forest (Mr. Lock) on 24 November 2000,Official Report, column 343W.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the allowances for accommodation expenses paid to circuit judges staying away from home.[140812]
§ Mr. LockThe table sets out the allowances, and the current rates at which they are paid.
tenants; and (c) in the case of those that are owned (i) what the current capital value is of the property, (ii) what the cost is for each of the last three years of maintenance and (iii) what the cost is for each of the last three years of rates. [140813]
§ Jane KennedyThe information requested is contained in the tables. While the capital values of the individual freehold lodgings are classified as "Commercial in Confidence", I can confirm that the estimated total capital value of the freehold lodgings estate is £10.84 million.
905W
Judges lodgings Property Tenure Lease expiry Repairing lease Landlord and Tenants Act Comments Reading Freehold — — — — St. Albans Freehold — — — — Sheffield Freehold — — — — Stafford Hiring n/a — — — Swansea Freehold — — — — Truro Hiring n/a — — — Warwick Hiring n/a — — — Winchester Leasehold 28 September 2896 Yes Yes — Worcester Hiring n/a — — —
£ CILOR/Rates Property Rent Service charge Hiring charge 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Birmingham 550.00 560.36 — 4,426.34 5,037.88 — Bristol 26,000.00 — — 11,873.70 9,844.54 13,904.41 Caernarfon — — 4,838.00 — — — Cardiff — — — 8,597.16 8,593.16 8,034.00 Carlisle — — 22,718.00 — — — Chelmsford 25,000.00 42,195.00 — — — 38,272.00 Chester — — — 10,448.86 10,779.52 10,604.43 Exeter — — 33,930.00 — — — Leeds 25,000.00 24,999.25 — 8,382.83 8,648.11 — Leicester — — 25,449.00 — — — Lewes 30,000.00 — — 2,828.99 3,138.47 3,008.33 Lincoln — — 21,411.00 — — — Liverpool 14,000.00 — — 18,272.99 9,742.71 — Maidstone — — — 10,923.80 11,269.49 8,736.00 Manchester — — — 25,202.20 28,609.54 32,876.65 Mold 10,000.00 25,029.31 — — — — Northampton — — 11,967.00 — — — Norwich — — — 9,356.48 9,652.57 — Nottingham — — — 8,657.43 7,594.66 8,620.74 Oxford 15,975.00 — — — — — Plawsworth — — — 21,335.74 7,594.66 6,968.00 Plymouth — — 8,467.00 — — — Preston — — — 6,649.27 6,859.69 7,786.47 Reading — — — 2,469.43 2,549.09 2,704.00 St. Albans — — — 14,248.44 22,187.34 14,976.00 Sheffield — — — 6,293.06 6,492.21 7,369.34 Stafford — — 60,897.00 — — — Swansea — — — 4,943.37 5,104.69 4,330.33 Truro — — 13,623.00 — — — Warwick — — 1,254.00 — — — Winchester 17.50 — — 9,973.91 10,289.54 10,122.41 Worcester — — 11,399.00 — — — Note:
Prior to 1999–2000 Government Departments were not liable to pay non-domestic rates. A charge in lieu of rates (CILOR) was paid to the Crown Property Unit.
906W907W
£ Maintenance Council Tax Property 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Birmingham — — — 423.00 446.26 468.76 Bristol — — — — — — Caernarfon — — — — — — Cardiff 15,473.00 35,142.59 38,186.25 — — — Carlisle — — — — — — Chelmsford — — — — — — Chester 16,145.00 46,096.10 31,672.51 — — — Exeter — — — — — — Leeds — — — — — — Leicester — — — — — — Lewes — — — — — — Lincoln — — — — — — Liverpool — — — 107.00 390.51 390.51 Maidstone 30,273.00 119,359.31 46,415.00 — — —
£ Maintenance Council Tax Property 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Manchester 17,435.00 34,287.17 44,964.24 356.92 381.19 401.82 Mold — — — — — — Northampton — — — — — — Norwich 38,312.00 26,893.83 21,275.00 — — — Nottingham 10,527.00 12,957.55 20,469.01 — — — Oxford — — — — — — Plawsworth 74,026.00 87,993.19 53,722.41 — — — Plymouth — — — — — — Preston 24,072.00 103,722.34 31,557.10 — — — Reading 35,223.00 19,650.69 7,122.00 — — — St. Albans 40,303.00 42,623.45 26,603.00 — — — Sheffield 117,904.00 123,353.04 137,003.24 — — — Stafford — — — — — — Swansea 39,568.00 90,937.31 43,161.53 — — — Truro — — — — — — Warwick — — — — — — Winchester — — — — — — Worcester — — — — — —
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list, for judges' lodgings, what in each case, is(a) the geographical distance between the lodging and the court it serves and (b) the average time taken to travel from (i) lodgings to court and (ii) court to lodgings, by chauffeur-driven car in time for the start of proceedings each day, and to return at the end of the day; and if he will make a statement.[140805]
§ Jane KennedyThe information requested is contained in the following table. Where lodgings service more than one court, the figure quoted represents the estimated distance/travelling time between the lodgings and its principal court centre.
908W
Distance and travelling time between courts and judges' lodgings No. Lodgings name Distance (miles) Estimated time taken to and from lodgings and court (minutes)1 1 Birmingham 4.0 15–20 2 Bristol 2.5 10 3 Caernarfon 2.0 10 4 Cardiff 6.0 15 5 Carlisle 10.0 20–30 6 Chelmsford 275 32 7 Chester 4.0 10 8 Exeter 1.0 10 9 Leeds 4.0 15 10 Leicester 2.0 10 11 Lewes 5.0 12 12 Lincoln 2200 35 13 Liverpool 2.5 20 14 Maidstone 6.0 20 15 Manchester 4.0 15 16 Mold 40.0 32 17 Northampton 1.0 5 18 Norwich 2.0 15 19 Nottingham 2.0 10 20 Oxford 10.0 30 21 Plawsworth 14.0 30 22 Plymouth 1.0 5 23 Preston 8.0 20–30 24 Reading 2.0 10 25 Sheffield 5.0 20 26 St. Albans 4.0 10 27 Stafford 2200 35 28 Swansea 5.0 20
Distance and travelling time between courts and judges' lodgings No. Lodgings name Distance (miles) Estimated time taken to and from lodgings and court (minutes)1 29 Truro 7.0 20 30 Warwick 40.0 32 31 Winchester 0.5 10 32 Worcester 17.0 15 1Based on estimated travelling times and subject to the vagaries of traffic conditions 2 Yards 3 Walk 4Within the precincts of the court
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on which circuits and at which lodgings circuit judges are accommodated under arrangements made on those circuits; if, when circuit judges are accommodated in judges' lodgings, they are entitled to(a) no allowance in addition, (b) a lesser allowance than High Court judges and (c) the same allowance as High Court judges; and if he will make a statement. [140811]
§ Jane KennedyThe network of judges' lodgings is primarily provided for High Court judges when they try serious criminal and civil cases on circuit in the principal towns and cities outside London, although occasionally circuit judges also reside there. When they do, they are charged a nominal £31 per night.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on how many occasions in the last three years circuit judges' overnight hotel accommodation expenses were met, when there were vacant facilities available in judges' lodgings within reasonable travelling distance of the court where the judge concerned was sitting; and if he will make a statement. [139734]
§ Jane KennedyTo provide the information requested would require a search of data held in manual form at local level and would incur disproportionate cost.