Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will increase the resources the UK Government is providing to investigations of Rwandan nationals in the UK alleged to have taken part in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.
Answered by Sarah Dines
As the question concerns resources relating to investigations into Rwandan nationals in the UK, I am unable to provide an indication of future resource allocations. This falls under the responsibility of the Home Office and the relevant devolved administrations.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what budget was expended over investigations into war crimes committed abroad by suspects living in the UK over each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information. This is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the Government document outlining the call for evidence on assisted dying that was prepared in 2019.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
We have no plans to publish a draft document prepared for the previous government which was not issued, and no plans to review the law on assisted suicide or issue a call for evidence.
The government’s view remains that that any change to the law in this area must be for individual Parliamentarians to consider as an issue of conscience, rather than a decision for Government.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 24 June 2020 to the Question 60692, what assessment he has made of whether the two-year timescale in scheduling the legally mandated review of secret court proceedings remains in line with the requirement under the Justice and Security Act 2013 to conduct that review as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the period to which the review relates.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
I note the Rt. Hon. Member’s ongoing interest in this matter, and would reassure him that discussions are taking place at official level on the statutory review.
The right to a fair trial is a fundamental part of our society and the Closed Material Procedures contain strong procedural and judicial safeguards.
We will bring forward the statutory review as soon as possible.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has appointed a reviewer to undertake the review of the operation of sections 6 to 11 of the Justice and Security Act 2013, as required by section 13 of that Act.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
I can advise that discussions are still ongoing and an announcement will be made in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to announce the review of the operation of sections 6 to 11 of the Justice and Security Act 2013, as required by section 13 of that Act to be begun as soon as reasonably practicable five years after section 6 of that Act came into force in 2013.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
I can advise that discussions are still ongoing and an announcement will be made in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he will accord the review of sections 6 to 11 of the Justice and Security Act 2013 the status of a full public consultation.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
I can advise that discussions are still ongoing and an announcement will be made in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding from the Victims Surcharge has been allocated to charities in the Midlands.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Revenue from the Victim Surcharge forms only one part of the Ministry of Justice’s Victim and Witness budget. This budget is used to fund support services that help victims to cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. The budget also funds services to help witnesses to give their best evidence in court. In 2018/19 the Victim and Witnesses budget was about £96m, of which £30.5m was revenue raised from the Victim Surcharge. Most of this money went to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission/deliver local services for victims of crime. The rest of the budget is used to nationally commission support services, including the National Homicide Service, the Court Based Witness Service and support for victims of rape and sexual violence. It is not possible to identify which services receive funding directly from the Victim Surcharge revenue. However, the table below sets out the value of grants covering the Midlands in 2018/19.
PCC Area | PCC grant allocation to deliver local victim services in 2018/19 | Grant allocation to rape support centres in the PCC area in 2018/19 |
Derbyshire | £1,211,079 | £0* |
Leicestershire | £1,243,516 | £0* |
Lincolnshire | £864,044 | £159,430 |
Northamptonshire | £852,090 | £68,328 |
Nottinghamshire | £1,320,326 | £159,430 |
Staffordshire | £1,302,143 | £159,430 |
Warwickshire | £647,092 | £234,824 |
West Mercia | £1,462,958 | £272,182 |
West Midlands | £3,329,807 | £356,817 |
TOTAL | £12,233,055 | £1,410,441 |
* The Government is funding rape support centres in this area from 2019/20
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to respond to the corporate liability for economic crime: call for evidence consultation, which closed on 31 March 2017.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Government is considering the case for reforming the law on corporate criminal liability for economic crime and will publish a response to the Call for Evidence in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure sufficient numbers of criminal duty solicitors are available in the West Midlands.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government is clear that there are sufficient solicitors to undertake criminal legal aid-funded cases and will make sure this continues to be the case in the West Midlands. The Government commenced a review of all criminal legal aid fee schemes in December 2018, including the criminal duty solicitor fee scheme.
In June 2019 the Government took the decision to accelerate certain key areas of the Criminal Legal Aid Review that were highlighted to be of immediate concern to defence practitioners
In addition to monitoring duty solicitor coverage on an ongoing basis where issues are identified, the Government continues to take action to ensure there is ongoing availability of criminal legal advice for the public.