Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of legal aid provision in Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services. The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid.
Once implemented, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to free legal advice in relation to the removal notice.
We are setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate to help augment capacity so we can meet the anticipated increase in demand for legal aid advice.
We have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases across England and Wales. For example, we are providing up to £1.4m of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.
In 2019, we brought non-asylum immigration and citizenship matters into scope for under 18s who are not in the care of a parent, guardian, or legal authority. This means, for example, that a separated migrant child making an application for entry clearance, leave to enter, or to remain in the United Kingdom, or an application for registration as a British citizen or as a British subject, or for registration as a British overseas territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen is now entitled to legal aid, subject to the means and merits tests.
The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term. we are due to publish a Green Paper in July 2024.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) unaccompanied children and (b) other asylum seekers can access legal aid services in Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services. The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid.
Once implemented, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to free legal advice in relation to the removal notice.
We are setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate to help augment capacity so we can meet the anticipated increase in demand for legal aid advice.
We have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases across England and Wales. For example, we are providing up to £1.4m of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.
In 2019, we brought non-asylum immigration and citizenship matters into scope for under 18s who are not in the care of a parent, guardian, or legal authority. This means, for example, that a separated migrant child making an application for entry clearance, leave to enter, or to remain in the United Kingdom, or an application for registration as a British citizen or as a British subject, or for registration as a British overseas territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen is now entitled to legal aid, subject to the means and merits tests.
The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term. we are due to publish a Green Paper in July 2024.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases in Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services. The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid.
Once implemented, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to free legal advice in relation to the removal notice.
We are setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate to help augment capacity so we can meet the anticipated increase in demand for legal aid advice.
We have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases across England and Wales. For example, we are providing up to £1.4m of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.
In 2019, we brought non-asylum immigration and citizenship matters into scope for under 18s who are not in the care of a parent, guardian, or legal authority. This means, for example, that a separated migrant child making an application for entry clearance, leave to enter, or to remain in the United Kingdom, or an application for registration as a British citizen or as a British subject, or for registration as a British overseas territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen is now entitled to legal aid, subject to the means and merits tests.
The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term. we are due to publish a Green Paper in July 2024.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it his policy to introduce a statutory right for disability support leave for disabled employees.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Government has no plans to introduce a statutory right for disability support leave for disabled employees.
All employers already have a duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act and providing guidance on reasonable adjustments.
For disabled people who require adjustments which are beyond reasonable adjustments, Access to Work (AtW) can provide a grant for the disability related extra costs of working a disabled employee may face. To support employers an AtW case manager will contact the customer’s employer ahead of making an AtW award to offer advice on reasonable adjustments an employer can provide and the support available under the AtW scheme.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people without the means to pay are able to access legal (a) advice and (b) representation for social welfare matters in Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer
In the last financial year, we spent approximately £1 billion on civil legal aid to support the most vulnerable.
We have injected £10 million a year into housing legal aid through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). Since the launch of HLPAS in August 2023, individuals in England and Wales who are facing eviction or repossession have been able to receive free early legal advice on housing, debt, and welfare benefits issues.
All HLPAS schemes in Wales are currently served by an in-court duty solicitor who is able to give emergency on the day advice to anyone facing possession proceedings. Additionally, individuals facing the loss of their home can access early legal advice in respect of housing, debt and welfare benefit issues on a remote basis from any HLPAS provider irrespective of their geographic location. The current list of HPLAS providers can be found via this link.
The Ministry of Justice is also providing additional support to providers who deliver HLPAS, funding a panel of specialist legal advisors (available to providers across England and Wales) and providing £1.5 million in grant funding for the recruitment of trainee solicitors in England and Wales. Both measures are intended to boost provider expertise in social welfare law and enhance their ability to deliver legal aid.
The following table is a breakdown of legal aid providers and provider offices in Wales (position as of 2 April 2024). The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid, including under the relevant HLPAS schemes.
Category | Providers | Offices |
Debt | 5 | 27 |
Housing | 5 | 27 |
Welfare Benefits | 1 | 1 |
HLPAS | 1 | 7 |
Wherever you are in England and Wales, legal advice for housing and debt remains available through the civil legal advice telephone service.
Furthermore, since the publication of the Legal Aid Means Test Review (MTR) Consultation Response in May 2023, the Government has been developing detailed implementation plans for the new legal aid means assessment. When fully implemented, this will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million per year.
The Ministry of Justice is also undertaking a Review of Civil Legal Aid to identify evidence-based options for moving to a more effective, efficient, and sustainable system for legal aid providers and the people who rely on legal aid. We will publish reports for all workstreams by May 2024, and plan to consult on proposed options in a Green Paper in July.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the financial support it can offer local authorities in Wales to support them with the costs of the no recourse to public funds restriction.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Funding for local authorities in Wales is a devolved matter, and it is for the Welsh Government to allocate their resources as they see fit in this area. The Welsh Government are accountable to the Senedd for their spending decisions.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of no recourse to public funds on (a) children from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and (b) children with British citizenship who have parents that were born outside the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office is committed to the continuous review of the NRPF policy and officials are working with a wide range of stakeholders, including other government departments, the devolved administrations, and third sector organisations to develop a greater understanding of how children are directly and indirectly affected by parents / carers being subject to an NRPF condition.
The Government published an overarching Equality Impact Assessment on the Compliant Environment measures, of which the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is part. The impact of the policy on children has been considered as part of this assessment: Compliant environment: overarching equality impact assessment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2024 to Question 20109 on Rivers: Repairs and Maintenance, whether he has held recent discussions with his counterpart in the Welsh Government on riparian landowners responsibilities for watercourse management.
Answered by Robbie Moore
Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders to discuss the department’s policies, including flood and water management.
The government’s independent review of statutory powers and responsibilities associated with Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management assets included riparian landowners’ responsibilities. Whilst the review covered England only, since responsibility for flood risk management is a devolved matter, officials from the Welsh Government and National Resources Wales, and a member from the Wales Flood and Coastal Erosion Committee were members of the Project Board and Project Steering Group. The review has recently concluded, and we expect to publish its findings by the summer.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reverting Support for Mortgage Interest from an interest-bearing loan to (a) an interest free loan and (b) a grant.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
Support in the form of loans meets the policy objective of averting the threat of repossession but in a way that provides a fairer balance between the needs of the individual and the burden on taxpayers, many of whom are unable to afford a mortgage of their own. Interest is charged at the gilt rate as this represents the cost to Government of providing the loans.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the maximum amount of any mortgage on which Support for Mortgage Interest can be claimed.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
There are no current plans to increase the maximum amount of mortgage on which SMI can be claimed.