Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether records relating to marriage in England and Wales are to be made available for immediate access to the public.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent considerations other than administrative requirements have been taken into account in the retention of the 28-day notice period for weddings.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the Law Commission's recommendations in their report Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law, published on 18 July 2022.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will review the decision made in 2014 to increase from 14 to 28 days the notice period for weddings.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the incidence of polygamy in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what information they, or prison authorities, hold on the volume and value of claims by persons held in custody against (1) prison authorities, and (2) independent insurers (where prison authorities are made aware of the insurance claims).
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of 4 March 2024, there were 3,828 open claims by prisoners against His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS). The nominal amount of claims against HMPPS is of the order of £62 million but that figure is not indicative of any ultimate liability. HMPPS does not hold data on claims made by prisoners against independent insurers. The number and value of claims has remained fairly consistent over recent years. A significant number of open claims and proportion of the total value of claims are historic and relate to incidents that are alleged to have occurred in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
HMPPS successfully defends around two-thirds of all litigation cases brought by prisoners. Where damages are awarded to prisoners, we seek to ensure that payments are offset against any outstanding debts owed to victims and the courts.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many men aged (1) 70–72, (2) 73–75, (3) 76–79, and (4) 80 and above, were held in prisons nationally in each year since 2010; and of those, how many in each age category were diagnosed with progressive dementia.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Annual data on the number of men in prison in the specified age groups are set out in the table attached. Information about prisoners diagnosed with dementia is collected by the NHS. It is not collated in the form requested and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Health services for those in custody, including dementia support, are the responsibility of the NHS, which is required to provide services of a standard equivalent to that which is available to the general population.
HMPPS works in partnership with the NHS and Adult Social Care services to support prisoners with dementia. Examples include awareness training for staff, cognitive exercises such as reminiscence activities, and cognitive stimulation therapy. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice has published guidance on the circumstances under which applications can be made for prisoners to be considered for early release on compassionate grounds subject to specific criteria being met. This can be accessed on gov.uk or using the link provided: www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-release-on-compassionate-grounds-policy-framework.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what protocols exist governing the circumstances under which a person under the age of 16 can be subject to handcuff restraint.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
There are two settings in which a child aged 16 or under may be handcuffed: through interaction with the Police, or within a secure setting overseen by the Youth Custody Service.
Owing to the way in which police use of force data is collected, data is recorded on the number of times a tactic was used, not the number of unique events or people involved in incidents. 36,279 police handcuffing tactics were recorded for those aged under 18 in the year ending March 2020.
In 2019/20, in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres handcuffs were applied to children under the age of 16 on 117 occasions, involving 63 different individual children.
Any use of force, including the use of handcuffs by the Police or within a secure setting, must be reasonable and necessary in the circumstances, proportionate to the threat posed and only the minimum force necessary may be used.
The College of Policing is responsible for setting the standards and training to which police operate. Guidance on the use of force and restraint by the police is set out in the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice, which includes guidance on how to deal with vulnerable people.
In Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres, handcuffs are one of a range of approved restraint techniques. Handcuffs are used as an ethical and safer alternative to physical restraint technique. The use of handcuffs must always be reasonable and proportionate, and with the aim of preventing harm occurring to the young person or others. A report must be made every time handcuffs are used.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children under the age of 16 who have been subject to handcuff restraint in the last 12 month period for which statistics are available.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
There are two settings in which a child aged 16 or under may be handcuffed: through interaction with the Police, or within a secure setting overseen by the Youth Custody Service.
Owing to the way in which police use of force data is collected, data is recorded on the number of times a tactic was used, not the number of unique events or people involved in incidents. 36,279 police handcuffing tactics were recorded for those aged under 18 in the year ending March 2020.
In 2019/20, in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres handcuffs were applied to children under the age of 16 on 117 occasions, involving 63 different individual children.
Any use of force, including the use of handcuffs by the Police or within a secure setting, must be reasonable and necessary in the circumstances, proportionate to the threat posed and only the minimum force necessary may be used.
The College of Policing is responsible for setting the standards and training to which police operate. Guidance on the use of force and restraint by the police is set out in the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice, which includes guidance on how to deal with vulnerable people.
In Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres, handcuffs are one of a range of approved restraint techniques. Handcuffs are used as an ethical and safer alternative to physical restraint technique. The use of handcuffs must always be reasonable and proportionate, and with the aim of preventing harm occurring to the young person or others. A report must be made every time handcuffs are used.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the provisions of the Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 (1) are enforceable, and (2) have been enforced in relation to the operation of TripAdvisor in the UK.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 set out detailed provisions regarding the operation of the defence against liability for defamation created by section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013 for website operators hosting user-generated content. It is for the parties involved to decide whether to follow the procedures specified, which are not obligatory. No information is held on how the provisions have been used in the case of individual website operators.
The Ministry of Justice intends to carry out a post-implementation review of the working of the Act and the Regulations in 2019. The Government has no plans to invite Ofcom to carry out a review of the Regulations.