Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the effect of (a) court closures and (b) the reduction of funding for legal aid on trends in the level of access to justice.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The closure of a court is subject to public consultation and a decision to close is not taken lightly. In every case, the Lord Chancellor will only agree to close a court when satisfied that effective access to justice can be maintained.
Every person should have access to legal advice when they need it – that’s why the Legal Aid Agency keeps availability under constant review and takes urgent action whenever it has concerns. There are enough solicitors and barristers for criminal legal aid-funded cases across England and Wales and the Civil Legal Advice Telephone Service, offers legal services in a range of issues to those who need it.
We are investing £5m in innovative new technologies to help people access legal support wherever they are in England and Wales.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many custodial sentences were given to first-time offenders in England and Wales in each year since 2008.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The number of custodial sentences given to first time offenders in England and Wales is available in the document “Offending History Data Tool: First Time Entrants Statistics” at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017
This data covers the latest available calendar year figures (i.e. the 12 months ending December 2007 to the 12 months ending December 2017)
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the number of suicides recorded by the Coroners Office in each district in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice collects annual data, from each coroner area, on the number of inquest conclusions recorded which are available at:
These include conclusions of suicide and drug/alcohol deaths but do not distinguish between drug and alcohol deaths. We do not collect data on the type of drugs involved in the death.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many deaths attributed to the use of recreational drugs have been recorded by the Coroners Office in each district over the last 10 years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice collects annual data, from each coroner area, on the number of inquest conclusions recorded which are available at:
These include conclusions of suicide and drug/alcohol deaths but do not distinguish between drug and alcohol deaths. We do not collect data on the type of drugs involved in the death.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to meet staff representatives of the National Probation Service to discuss their pay and conditions.
Answered by Rory Stewart
There are no plans at present to meet with staff representatives of the National Probation Service, but we recognise the significant role that probation officers play within the criminal justice system, implementing the orders of the courts, rehabilitating offenders and protecting the public.
Since the creation of the National Probation Service in June 2014, officials from HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have held regular and lengthy discussions with the National Association for Probation Officers (NAPO) (the trade union for probation officers), Unison and GMB SCOOP over pay and working conditions.
There have also been constructive and exploratory talks on pay reform.
We are working to progress a case, consistent with the Government’s overall approach to public sector pay, which can be agreed with Ministerial colleagues at HM Treasury at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many coroner's offices have been closed in each year since 2010.
Answered by Phillip Lee
Since 2010 there have been 23 mergers of coroner areas in England and Wales, reducing the overall number from 116 to 92 coroner areas.
It is the Chief Coroner’s aim, which the Government supports, to move, over time, to around 75 coroner areas, each having between 3,000 and 5,000 deaths reported annually. The aimn of this change is to promote consistency and generate efficiencies for local authorities, which fund coroner services.
The Ministry of Justice does not have operational responsibility for the coroner services and does not hold information about the number of coroner’s offices that have closed.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many coroner's offices have been subject to mergers in each year since 2010.
Answered by Phillip Lee
Since 2010 there have been 23 mergers of coroner areas in England and Wales, reducing the overall number from 116 to 92 coroner areas.
It is the Chief Coroner’s aim, which the Government supports, to move, over time, to around 75 coroner areas, each having between 3,000 and 5,000 deaths reported annually. The aimn of this change is to promote consistency and generate efficiencies for local authorities, which fund coroner services.
The Ministry of Justice does not have operational responsibility for the coroner services and does not hold information about the number of coroner’s offices that have closed.