Found: Denise Fahmy [HRW0039 ] LGB Alliance [HRW0066 ] Fair Play for Women [HRW0067 ] Correspondence from Lord

Found: Report, paras 2.2 & 2.6 41 Q 60 ; C&AG’s Report, para 2.6 42 VMLA0010 43 Q 60 44 Correspondence from Lord

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Bellamy on 16 June and 2 August 2023 (HL8197 and HL9550), whether they will publish a response to the Law Commission Report Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law, published in July 2022, particularly Recommendation 42.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are aware that the Law Commission made recommendations for wholesale change to weddings law in July 2022. These recommendations include recommendation 42, in relation to the creation of offences relating to an officiant dishonestly misleading a couple about the legal effect of a wedding ceremony or failing to disclose that the ceremony they are officiating will not create a valid marriage. We will take the time as a new Government properly to consider the Law Commission’s recommendations and will outline our position in due course.

The Marriage Act 1949 enables religious bodies, alongside the Church of England and the Church in Wales, to conduct legally binding weddings. However, the difficulties which those who have undergone ceremonies which do not qualify as legally binding face when their relationships come to an end is a matter of concern. That is why the Government committed in its 2024 manifesto to ‘strengthen the rights and protections available to women in cohabiting couples’. We will set out the next steps on this manifesto commitment in the near future.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bellamy on 21 March (HL3214) what assessment has been made of the drop in prosecutions for poaching in England, from 107 in 2019 to 34 in 2023.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the problems and distress which poaching can cause for local communities. Tackling it is one of the UK's national wildlife crime priorities.

The number of prosecutions for poaching in England can vary year from year due to a number of factors. For example, the levels of hare coursing, an abhorrent form of poaching, can be affected by the suitability of local ground conditions during a hare coursing ‘season’. If it is too wet, there is an increased risk that the vehicles used to facilitate coursing might get stuck in fields where hares are found so the activity is less likely to be carried out. If it is too dry, the dogs used by coursers are at an increased risk of injury. The numbers of prosecutions in a local area will also depend on effective enforcement. The level of resourcing assigned to tackle poaching may vary year from year depending on decisions taken by local police forces.

The difference in prosecutions between 2019 and 2023 might also have been affected by a key change in legislation. The 2019 figure provided by the Ministry of Justice in its answer of 21 March (HL3214) is from a time prior to the enactment of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This legislation increased police powers and sentences for a number of hare coursing offences. It is reasonable to suspect it had a deterrent effect on potential offenders and offences that may have led to prosecution. In combination with this new legislation, improved police tactics, intelligence and information sharing as well as the use of community protection notices and criminal behaviour orders may also have had an impact on recent poaching prosecution numbers. Finally, it must be noted that the 2023 figure of 34 used in the Lord Bishop’s question is not consistent with the other years as it only includes prosecutions for the months from January to June rather than, as with the years being compared with it, the full calendar year.

Found: Lord Bellamy (Conservative), then a parliamentary under secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice

Found: Letter from Lord Ponsonby to Lord Bellamy regarding issues raised at the second reading debate: Clause

Found: Lord Bellamy (Conservative), then a parliamentary under secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice

Found: B★_ Lord Bellamy to move, That this House do not insist on its Amendment 33 to which the Commons

Found: B★_ Lord Bellamy to move, That this House do not insist on its Amendment 33 to which the Commons

Found: LORD BELLAMY 1★_ After Clause 31, insert the following new Clause— “Right to erasure of personal

Found: Baroness Brinton asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Bellamy, “there is an issue

Found: Justice Minister Lord Bellamy KC said:  We know successful mediation is quicker and less stressful than

Found: inaugural meeting, which was chaired by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice, Lord

Found: Baroness Brinton asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Bellamy, “there is an issue

Found: Letter dated 15/08/2024 from Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede to Lord Bellamy regarding issues raised at the

Found: Letter dated 25/05/2024 from Lord Bellamy to Lord German regarding response to a question concerning

Found: Separately, Haemophilia Scotland have sent the attached letter to Lord Bellamy, the Ministry

Found: Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Draft Bill in January 2024 and received the following information from Lord