Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in requiring offenders to attend their sentencing.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to legislating to enhance court powers to require offenders to attend their sentencing hearings. This measure will be included in the Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill which the Government intends to introduce in the first parliamentary session.
Further details will be made available as part of the Bill’s introduction into Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the risk assessment by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service which led to their decision to ban electric bikes from their premises.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A preventative and risk-based decision to not allow the internal storage of e-bikes and their batteries on HMCTS premises was made in early 2024 pending further assessment of the risks and mitigations available.
This decision took into consideration emerging national fire service data and a serious fire incident that had occurred in the Royal Courts of Justice related to an e-bike battery.
A survey is being undertaken to establish where e-bikes may be safely stored within interior areas of HMCTS buildings. If a site has the physical capacity to store the e-bikes internally, building fire risk assessments are being reviewed to consider whether e-bikes can be safely stored.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in each of the last 10 years, how many drivers have successfully claimed 'exceptional hardship' when they have reached 12 penalty points and have therefore carried on driving.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
HMCTS records case management information about circumstances where there are grounds for mitigating the normal consequences of a driving conviction, but does not categorise specific data under ‘exceptional hardship’. In the Crown and magistrates’ courts there were 83,581 cases with no disqualification due to mitigating circumstances for the period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2020.
Examples of exceptional hardship are loss of employment; impact of employment on others; impact on the health and safety of others; caring for elderly or disabled relatives; mortgage default or other financial loss.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all wills requiring probate are required to be made available for public inspection; if not, what plans they have to make this a requirement for all wills, including those of members of the Royal Family; and, further to the Wills Act 1837, whether the last will and testament of HRH The Prince Philip will be made available for public inspection.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
Where an application is made to the Probate Service (part of the Family Division of the High Court) for a grant of probate in respect of a will, the general rule is that the will is attached to the grant of probate and made public. However, under Section 124 of the Senior Courts Act 1981, this is “subject to the control of the High Court and the probate rules”. Rule 58 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 makes provision for the Court to determine that a will shall not be open to inspection if “such inspection would be undesirable or otherwise inappropriate”.
The Government has no current plans to change these rules. It is for the Court to determine, on an application by the personal representatives of the testator, whether any will should be closed to public inspection.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to bring into force section 137 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Government is working to put the necessary computer changes and other processes in place to allow for the commencement of section 137 of the Coroner and Justice Act 2009, which requires a court to extend a driving ban to take account of the period an offender spends in custody.