Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to call on MINURSO to (a) conduct human rights monitoring in Western Sahara and (b) report their finding to the UN Security Council.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Western Sahara. Our policy regarding the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is informed by ongoing engagement with the parties and regular meetings and consultation with regional and international partners, including MINURSO, the UN, civil society, and the broader international community. The UK has previously supported language in UN Security Council Resolutions that encourages the parties to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make his policy to talk to his Moroccan counterpart on the blocking of visits by (a) parliamentarians, (b) researchers, (c) journalists and (d) lawyers to occupied Western Sahara.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government consistently urges all states to uphold international law, and we continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process regarding Western Sahara. We have supported language in relevant UN Security Council Resolutions that encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara, including the freedoms of expression and association. The UK also shares a bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with Morocco, the third session of which is due to take place in London by the end of the year.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the UN Secretary General’s designation of Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory in the process of decolonisation.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Western Sahara is a UN Non-Self-Governing Territory with no defined Administering Power. The UK has endorsed Morocco's autonomy plan as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting solution of the Western Sahara conflict and welcomed Morocco's stated commitment to provide further details of what autonomy within a Moroccan state could entail, with a view to restarting serious negotiations. In that context, we continue to engage with all relevant parties in support of the UN-led process to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution, based on compromise, which conforms with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the principle of respect for self-determination.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when will legal aid providers be able to submit (a) bills and (b) claims for payments on account following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This is an unprecedented event and an evolving situation, and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We will not reopen the system until the appropriate steps have been taken to enable us to do so. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
In the interim, a number of contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. Contingency measures for billing, including an average payment scheme for civil cases, were implemented week commencing 27 May. For crime providers, processing of bills for graduated fee schemes resumed on 28 May, with payments resuming the following week.
On 27 June, emergency legislation came into force enabling the LAA to implement enhanced business continuity arrangements. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
Our priority remains to maintain access to justice and to ensure legal aid providers can continue to be paid in a timely manner. These enhanced measures are designed to support legal aid providers and their clients and to prevent a significant case backlog while contingency measures are in place.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the response to the Legal Aid Agency data breach on the implementation of the means test review proposals.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This is an unprecedented event and an evolving situation, and every effort is being made to restore systems following the criminal attack on our services. The impact on the system has affected implementation and delivery of intended legal aid fee uplifts in both crime and civil – we are working at pace to operationalise those commitments. More generally, the Government continues to give consideration to the financial criteria that governs legal aid eligibility.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to rebuild the existing case management system or develop a new system, following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.
Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans for the Legal Aid Agency’s case management system to be fully operational, following the recent data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.
Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to develop a new case management system following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.
Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department retains access to all data held in the case management systems impacted by the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.
Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Moroccan counterpart on ending the military occupation of Western Sahara.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following discussions with Moroccan Foreign Minister Bourita, the Foreign Secretary endorsed Morocco's autonomy proposal as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the Western Sahara conflict on 1 June. In that context, we continue to support the UN-led process to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution, based on compromise, which conforms with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the principle of respect for self-determination. We welcome Morocco's stated commitment to further detail and willingness to engage in good faith with all relevant parties, to expand on details of what autonomy within the Moroccan State could entail for the region, with a view to restarting serious negotiations on terms acceptable to the parties.