Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Minister for Energy and Climate's response to the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex during the Urgent Question on Prepayment Meters: Ofgem Decision on 6 February 2023, Official Report, column 672, whether he plans to publish his Department's findings on the root cause of the decision-making on the process for obtaining warrants to forcibly install prepayment meters.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
All warrants for forced entry to install pre-payment meters are made by members of the judiciary under the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 in accordance with rights of entry granted by the Gas Act 1986 and the Electricity Act 1989.
Statutory responsibility for issuing guidance to the judiciary is held by the Lord Chief Justice, the Senior President of Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner.
As the judiciary are independent, it is not appropriate to comment on judicial matters.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of his policies of access to a local legal aid provided for housing advice in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The government spent £813 million on civil legal aid in the last financial year and is increasing investment specifically for housing legal aid by up to £10 million per annum with the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). HLPAS providers will be paid for early legal advice work and renumerated at a higher rate for a court duty service compared with the current Housing Possession Court Duty Service (HPCDS) from 1 August 2023. A full impact and equality assessment for HLPAS may be found on the housing legal aid consultation GOV.UK page: Housing Legal Aid: the way forward - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The HLPAS tender is ongoing and the Legal Aid Agency is monitoring the process closely, taking actions where gaps in compliant bids appear. The LAA are currently running a second tender opportunity to ensure provision is available in Liverpool and Merseyside. The deadline for submissions for the tender is 12 pm on 1st March. The procurement timetable confirms that the outcome of the procurement process will be communicated to applicants in June.
The recently announced Review of Civil Legal Aid will assess how the market is currently working and what is driving problems and gaps in provision with the aim of improving the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid system.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing a temporary increase in funding for the civil legal aid system while the present civil legal aid review takes place.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The purpose of review of civil legal aid is 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.
Whilst the review of civil legal aid is taking place, we are continuing to make improvements across the sector to ensure legal aid is available to those who need it.
We are injecting £10m a year into housing legal aid through upcoming changes to the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS), to give people the best change of keeping their home when they fall into difficult financial times.
From 1 March 2023, we are broadening the evidence requirements for victims of domestic abuse applying for legal aid. Special Guardianship Orders in private law proceedings will also be brought into the scope of legal aid from 1 May 2023. This will deliver on our commitments to support victims of domestic abuse and allow special guardians to access legal aid. This means an increase in funding of £13m per year.
We are expanding legal aid provision through the Nationality and Borders Act, spending over £8m, aiming to provide advice to individuals who are prioritised for removal from the UK, and to help identify victims of modern slavery.
Legal aid provision is kept under constant review by the Legal Aid Agency, who will take immediate action to ensure there is access across England and Wales.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the uptake of Housing Loss Prevention Advice Scheme contracts in Liverpool.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Legal Aid Agency is closely monitoring the tender for the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). On 6 February we launched a second tender opportunity for 12 areas where compliant bids for the HLPAS have not been received including Liverpool. The deadline for submissions for the tender is 12 pm on 1st March. The procurement timetable confirms that the outcome of the procurement process will be communicated to applicants in June. We will assess the results of this tender on 01 March and respond accordingly to ensure legal aid is available for those facing the loss of their home in Liverpool.
We continue to consider measures to support the sustainability of legal aid providers. The recently announced Review of Civil Legal Aid will explore options for improving the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid system.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of prosecutions for rape; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In June 2021, we published the End-to-End Rape Review Report and Action Plan and we are seeing steady and sustained progress on our ambitions to increase the number of adult rape cases being referred, charged, and received at the Crown Court.
According to the latest data (Jul – Sep 2022) we are on-track to reach our ambition for all three metrics:
We have also seen increases in the number of people prosecuted for an adult rape offence, which went up by 15% over the past year (from 1,193 in the year to June 2021 to 1,371 in the year to June 2022) and by 62% compared to the pre-pandemic year (from 848 in the year to June 2019).
We are determined to go further for rape victims so that more victims of rape get the justice they deserve and more rapists are taken off our streets.
We regularly publish updates on the progress we are making through the six-monthly progress reports. We have published three of these reports (in December 2021, June 2022, and December 2022), with the next report due to be published in June 2023. The December 2022 Progress Report was already announced in the House through a written ministerial statement.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing the actions set out in the report entitled End-to-End Rape Review Report on Findings and Actions.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The End-to-End Rape Review Report and Action Plan (published June 2021) set out a public ambition to more than double the number of adult rape cases reaching court by the end of this Parliament.
It is positive to see that we are making steady and sustained progress on this ambition and that we are currently on-track to reach our ambition for all three Rape Review metrics, with the latest figures (Jul – Sep 2022) showing a continued increase in the number of adult rape referrals, charges, and Crown Court receipts:
The number of people convicted of an adult rape offence also went up by 65 percent over the past year (from 323 in the year to June 2021 to 532 in the year to June 2022). Compared to the pre-pandemic year, convictions are up by 41 percent (from 377 in the year to June 2019 to 532 in the year to June 2022).
We are continuing to deliver the Action Plan by:
We regularly publish our progress on delivery of the action plan, through six-monthly progress updates, with the most recent report being published in December 2022. The next report is due to be published in June 2023.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had recent discussions with the senior presiding judge of England and Wales on whether his recent guidance to magistrates on the suspension of the granting of warrants for forced entry to install prepayment meters included the cancellation of warrants previously approved but yet to be actioned.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary. The Senior Presiding Judge has made the position clear, and it is not the role of Ministers to comment on judicial decisions. The scope of judicial decisions and advice is a matter for the judiciary, who act independently from government.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish his Department's guidance on Ministers' use of personal (a) devices, (b) emails or (c) communication apps for official business.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government takes matters of security very seriously. A security briefing pack is provided by the MoJ Security and Information Group to all MoJ Ministers when they are appointed, as per Cabinet Office guidance. This pack covers personal, cyber, technical and information security.
In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the Government does not comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has (a) provided recent guidance to and (b) had recent discussions with the judiciary on the issuing of warrants for the forcible installation of prepayment meters.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Lord Chancellor and Ministers regularly discuss a broad range of justice matters with the senior judiciary.
As the Business Secretary announced on 23 January 2023, the Government is working to deliver a five-point plan to protect customers who are struggling with the cost of energy. As part of this plan, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Ministry of Justice will work with Ofgem, to ensure that the process by which suppliers bring cases to court to seek entry to install prepayment meters is fair, transparent and supports vulnerable customers.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to curtail the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Protection by Ministers .
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has announced its intention to legislate against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation when parliamentary time allows. The means of doing so must be balanced, with scope wide enough to protect free speech and encompass the various areas of laws and tactics used, but not so expansive that it risks hindering access to justice by preventing meritorious claims from proceeding and individuals legitimately defending their reputation.