Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans the Ministry of Justice has to undertake post-legislative review of (1) the Civil Liability Act 2018, (2) the Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Act 2018, (3) the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, (4) the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, (5) the Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act 2020, (6) the Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020, (7) the Sentencing Act 2020, and (8) the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Act 2020, in line with the policy of reviewing Acts three to five years after enactment
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
All bills that have reached Royal Assent are eligible for post-legislative scrutiny three to five years after they are enacted. Post-legislative scrutiny memoranda have been published on GOV.UK where bills have undergone the process. In addition, the Lords Special Inquiry Committee appointed to carry out post-legislative scrutiny on specific Acts publishes information on its inquiries on parliament.uk.
It is also important to note that post-legislative scrutiny is not the only way policy is reviewed. Many Acts have built-in statutory review mechanisms and consultations have also been launched. This has the effect of providing opportunities for the legislation to be reviewed and assessed without requiring post-legislative scrutiny.
There is no planned timetable for post-legislative scrutiny of the Acts mentioned in this question.
Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the loss of earnings allowance for those on jury service was last increased; and what plans they have, if any, to increase the allowance to bring it into line with the national minimum wage.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to issue a revised response to the report from the Constitution Committee <i>The office of Lord Chancellor </i>(6th Report, session 2014–15, HL Paper 75).
Answered by Lord Faulks
I welcomed the opportunity to participate in the excellent debate on this issue in July of last year, and the Lord Chancellor was similarly grateful for the opportunity to discuss his role during his annual evidence session to the Committee in December. We have no plans to revise the written response provided by the previous administration to the Committee's report.
Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they expect to publish their response to the report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill (HL Paper 103, Session 2013–14) published in December 2013, before the end of the current Parliament.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Secretary of State for Justice wrote to the Joint Committee on 25 February 2014, thanking them for their recommendations. Despite continued consideration of the issues it is clear that a consensus will not be reached in this Parliament given the strongly held views across both Houses. Therefore the Government will not introduce legislation on prisoner voting rights in this Parliament, so there is nothing further the Government can report to the Joint Committee at this stage.
Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government by what date they plan to publish their response to the report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill (HL Paper 103, Session 2013–14) published in December 2013.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Government continues to reflect on the report from the Joint Committee on Prisoner Voting Rights and is considering its recommendations.
This is not a straightforward issue and the Government is looking carefully at the Committee's conclusions, which included new options for implementation.