HC Deb 30 November 2000 vol 357 cc901-8W
Mr. Dismore

To 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 Kennedy

The information requested for the three years 1997–98 to 1999–2000 is set out in the table. 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. Dismore

To 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. Lock

I 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. Dismore

To 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 Kennedy

Copies of the general guidance on the use of lodgings agreed with the judiciary in 1997 have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

It 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. Dismore

To 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. Dismore

To 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

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. Lock

No. 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. Dismore

To 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. Lock

The 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 Kennedy

The 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.

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.

£
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. Dismore

To 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 Kennedy

The 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.

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. Dismore

To 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 Kennedy

The 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. Dismore

To 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 Kennedy

To provide the information requested would require a search of data held in manual form at local level and would incur disproportionate cost.

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