Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Maguire Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alex Davies-Jones]

This issue is of grave concern to the Government, in England and Wales but more broadly across the United Kingdom. Anyone accessing records without the appropriate permission and level of security should be held accountable. As the hon. Gentleman will know, the Public Office (Accountability) Bill is in the other place, and although the new offence of misconduct in public office does not apply to frontline NHS workers, I have had conversations with the Health Secretary about how we can apply nuance in the case of people accessing records without permission. It causes immense distress to victims and bereaved families, and I will be sure to raise the matter with my counterparts across the United Kingdom.

[Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)]

3. Whether he is taking steps to reform the family court system.

[Ian Sollom (St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

10. Whether he is taking steps to reform the family court system.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

The Government are reforming the family justice system to support families and children better. We are rolling out the child-focused model nationally and legislating for new child safety measures to ensure that child welfare continues to be prioritised, and in due course we will publish a cross-system family justice strategy.

[Ben Maguire]

The ex-partner of one of my constituents is subject to a non-molestation order and has been charged with stalking. He repeatedly withdraws consent from school and medical decisions made about their child, forcing my constituent to pay a solicitor to apply to court each time; he will then back down shortly before the hearing. My constituent just misses out on legal aid, owing to her earnings, most of which now go on legal fees. How are the Government reforming the family law courts to prevent such abuse?

[Jake Richards]

We are introducing new types of order, which will come with legal aid, to allow constituents like the hon. Gentleman’s to be represented without having to venture into their own personal finances. However, we must also make the family court system work much more efficiently, because part of the problem is the number of delays and the countless hearings that victims have to go through simply to protect their families and their children. We will have rolled out the child-focused model across the country by 2029, and in due course we will produce a family justice strategy that will go further on ensuring a more productive and efficient family court system.