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Written Question
Parole Board: Standards
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the decision-making framework used by the Parole Board to assess risk.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

In accordance with the Parole Board Rules, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, has applied to the Parole Board for reconsideration of the provisional decision to release Simon Smith on life licence. This is now a matter for the Parole Board.

In the Root and Branch Review of the Parole System, published in March 2022, the Government proposed making the release test more prescriptive, setting out the criteria the Board must consider. The Victims and Prisoners Bill implements this proposal, setting out a new release test which makes clear that minimising risk and protecting the public are the sole considerations in deciding release.


Written Question
Simon Smith
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will use the set aside process to seek reconsideration by the Parole Board of its decision to release Simon Smith from prison on licence.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

In accordance with the Parole Board Rules, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, has applied to the Parole Board for reconsideration of the provisional decision to release Simon Smith on life licence. This is now a matter for the Parole Board.

In the Root and Branch Review of the Parole System, published in March 2022, the Government proposed making the release test more prescriptive, setting out the criteria the Board must consider. The Victims and Prisoners Bill implements this proposal, setting out a new release test which makes clear that minimising risk and protecting the public are the sole considerations in deciding release.


Written Question
Probate: Standards
Monday 4th September 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time was for Probate to be granted, as of 19 July 2023.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

As of 19 July 2023, the most up to date published official statistics relating to average waiting times for probate grants is for the period of January to March 2023. Average waiting times are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and can be found at: Family Court Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

HMCTS are focused on reducing overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 9 weeks.


Written Question
Marriage: Location
Wednesday 31st May 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2022 to Question 45488 on Marriage: Location, whether he plans to implement the Law Commission's recommendations on removing restrictions on venues where civil and religious marriages can take place; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

In July 2019, the Government invited the Law Commission to undertake a wholesale review on weddings law in England and Wales. The Law Commission report was published on 19 July 2022 and contains 57 recommendations for extensive legislative reform.

We must now take the time to consider the report recommendations fully. As has been set out in Parliament, marriage will always be one of our most important institutions, and we have a duty to consider the implications of any changes to the law in this area very carefully. We will publish a response to the report in due course.


Written Question
Judiciary: St Kitts and Nevis
Wednesday 26th April 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what links his Department has with the judiciary of St Kitts and Nevis.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice has had no recent engagement or links with the judiciary of St Kitts and Nevis.


Written Question
Russia: Ukraine
Tuesday 14th February 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to reports of Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine, what steps is his Department taking to collect eyewitness evidence from Ukrainians living in the UK to support the prosecution of Russian military personnel for those crimes.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Russia’s use of indiscriminate force against innocent civilians in its illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine amounts to war crimes. We are committed to accountability for the atrocities perpetuated by Russian forces in Ukraine and are actively engaging with our international partners to ensure that these crimes are investigated.

We are dedicated to supporting the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the situation in Ukraine, including through seconding national experts and a financial contribution of £1 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. We will continue our support for the ICC through a Justice Ministers Conference, co-hosted with the Netherlands in March 2023, which will focus on enhancing technical and practical assistance to the Court.

In addition, the UK has embedded a dedicated Met Police liaison officer in The Hague to facilitate information sharing from the UK to the ICC. To gather evidence of war crimes, the Metropolitan Police SO15 War Crimes Team has worked with Ukrainian Community Groups in the UK, completing a number of appeals for witnesses through traditional and digital media platforms. In line with this, the SO15 War Crimes reporting portal has Ukrainian and Russian language options, and it also allows for media files to be uploaded.


Written Question
Child Contact Centres: Finance
Thursday 2nd February 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether funding arrangements for the payment of grants to Child Contact Centres have been finalised.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

In December 2022, the Ministry of Justice appointed the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC) as the administrators of the Supported Child Contact Centre Grant for the 2022/23 financial year.

NACCC has now assessed the bids received from centres and is currently in the process of making grant awards to recipients.

Future funding arrangements for child contact centres are being considered by the Department and any decisions will be communicated later in the year.


Written Question
Asylum: Rwanda
Friday 24th June 2022

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the amount of legal aid that has been allocated to law firms representing litigants who are proposed to be transported to Rwanda for the processing of their asylum applications.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There is no specific allocation of legal aid funds for the representation of asylum seekers who have received removal directions to Rwanda under the Migrant and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda. Funding for legal aid is on a demand led basis, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) does not have a specific budget allocation for delivery of legal aid services under its contracts.

Similarly, legal aid funding is not pre-allocated to providers in individual cases. Claims for payment are, in the majority of cases, submitted at the end of the case where they are subject to assessment by either the LAA or court as may be appropriate.


Written Question
European Convention on Human Rights
Thursday 23rd June 2022

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether there are any plans (a) to make interim measures granted by the European Court of Human Rights binding on the UK, and (b) to amend the Human Rights Act 1998 to make a breach of an interim measure granted by the European Court of Human Rights a breach under UK law.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Bill of Rights was introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday 22 June 2022. Clause 24 section 3 of the Bill states that domestic courts may not have regard to interim measures when deciding whether to grant relief.


Written Question
Bill of Rights: Juries
Thursday 23rd June 2022

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the right to a jury trial will be included in the proposed Bill of Rights.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government introduced the Bill of Rights on 22 June. The Bill of Rights recognises the right to trial by jury under, and subject to, the framework set by Parliament and by the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. This enables us to give greater prominence to a UK right which is central to our justice system.