---

Council of Europe (UK Chairmanship)

I am sure that the Europe Minister has noted the hon. Gentleman's concerns. Any reform of the Court must begin by addressing the crippling backlog of cases before it; I understand that there are 150,000 cases and that number is increasing at a rate of 20,000 a year. I hope that at the end of the six months in which our Government have the chairmanship, the Opposition will be in a position to give them credit for pushing forward with these reforms. Indeed, the test of success for the Government is not only what they do in the six months when they are in charge, but whether they are able to inspire successive chairmanships of the Court and the Council to take on and continue their reforms. Until now, I have been fairly consensual, but I am about to embark on a section of my speech that is perhaps not so consensual.