Draft Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2024
Heidi Alexander Excerpts(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. This is my first Delegated Legislation Committee as a Minister. In fact, this is my first speech in this House since the general election. It is somewhat of an unexpected pleasure to be speaking on the subject of judicial pensions.
The draft statutory instrument amends a number of the judicial pensions regulations, and specifically the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations 2017, referred to as the FPJPS regulations; the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, referred to as the 2023 FPJPS amendments; the Judicial Pensions Regulations 2022, referred to as the JPS22 regulations; the Judicial Pensions Regulations 2015, referred to as the JPS15 regulations; and the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (Judicial Offices) Order 2015, referred to as the judicial offices order. I hope the Committee is keeping up.
The judicial pension scheme is made up of a number of historical pension schemes. Since April 2022, the only scheme open for pension benefit accruals is the judicial pension scheme 2022. All preceding judicial pension schemes closed to further accruals on 31 March 2022, but the older schemes are still relevant, as the majority of judges have service extending across multiple schemes.
The FPJPS regulations established the fee-paid judicial pension scheme. The JPS15 and JPS22 regulations established the judicial pension scheme 2015 and the judicial pension scheme 2022 respectively. The amendments in the draft regulations will make a range of changes to improve and, where necessary, correct the running of those schemes, in line with statutory requirements and actuarial advice.
By their nature, the draft regulations are highly technical. In essence, the amendments to the existing schemes do the following. First, they provide for an employer cost cap in the judicial pension scheme 2022, following the completion of the scheme valuation in February 2024. Secondly, they add further eligible judicial offices to the appropriate pension scheme, where that eligibility has now been determined. Thirdly, they extend a number of deadlines for member elections under the fee-paid judicial scheme. Fourthly, they extend powers to reconcile amounts that were paid to judges whose pre-2000 service must now be taken into account as a result of the O’Brien 2 litigation, in respect of those new, pre-2000 entitlements, with their formal entitlements for that period. Finally, a number of technical changes are required to facilitate the smooth running of the pension schemes. I shall cover each of those points in more detail.
The amendments provide for inclusion of a cost control mechanism—CCM, for short—in the JPS22 regulations. That is a statutory requirement under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 for all public sector pension schemes. That must be included by 6 February 2025, one year on from the first actuarial valuation of the scheme by the Government Actuary’s Department.
The CCM is designed to ensure a fair balance of risk with regard to the cost of providing public service defined-benefit pension schemes between members of those schemes and the Exchequer. That is partly achieved through setting an employer cost cap. If, when the overall CCM is tested, costs have increased or decreased by more than a specified percentage of pensionable pay compared to the employer cost cap, member benefits and/or member contributions in the relevant scheme are adjusted to bring costs back to target. That could mean, for example, that a member’s contribution rate could go up or down. However, the mechanism is designed with the intention that that would be triggered only by “extraordinary, unpredictable events”.
The amendments also add a number of judicial offices into the FPJPS, JPS15 and JPS22, where their eligibility for a judicial pension has been determined. That will allow those members to accrue pensions in the correct scheme for their office and, where applicable, to have access to retrospective entitlements in JPS15 and JPS22, enabling members with service in those offices to access the benefits they are entitled to and to make the correct contributions to the scheme.
A number of deadlines are also being extended for member elections in the FPJPS. Following the O’Brien 2 judgment, the scheme was amended in 2023 to take into account eligible service prior to 7 April 2000, in order to mirror pension entitlements for the salaried judiciary. The 2023 amendments set deadlines by which eligible members must make an election concerning their FPJPS pension provisions and purchase additional pension benefits that they were entitled to following the O’Brien 2 judgment. We are now extending those deadlines to allow more time for the scheme to engage with eligible members, in order to give members the time and information needed to make an informed choice.
In advance of the FPJPS regulations’ being made, the Ministry of Justice made interim payments in lieu of pension, known as PiLs, to eligible judges, to provide an approximation of the remedy they would likely receive once the legislation was in place and operationalised. The regulations included a power to reconcile those payments with the actual amounts of pension owing. The power allowed the MOJ, once the regulations were in force, to either recover any excess PiLs payments made, or pay out further pension where PiLs had been underpaid.
Following the O’Brien 2 litigation, this power was extended by the 2023 FPJPS amendments to permit the MOJ to reconcile PiLs paid to judges in relation to their pre-2000 service, where those amounts were paid before 1 April 2023, the date on which the 2023 FPJPS amendments came into force. However, exact pension entitlements could not be calculated immediately from 1 April 2023, due to operational constraints, so payments continued to be made on an approximated basis after that date, albeit that they were paid as pension rather than PiLs. Therefore, the amendment regulations before us extend the reconciliation powers to permit MOJ to continue to reconcile the approximated pension payments made to judges from 1 April 2023 in respect of their pre-2000 service.
Finally, a number of further technical amendments to the FPJPS and to JPS22 correct typographical errors and cross-references to ensure that the regulations reflect the policy intention. Additionally, the FPJPS regulations included a voluntary fee-paid judicial added benefits scheme when it came into force; this was amended in 2023 to reflect the O’Brien 2 remedy. The scheme is highly technical, and in operationalising it we have identified the need to amend the scheme again to simplify its structure, make some clarifications and corrections, and include updated actuarial factors for determining cost and conversion values for added units of benefit. This will allow the scheme to run more smoothly and will better reflect the original intention to mirror the provisions available to relevant salaried comparators
I turn now to the consultation that we have undertaken on these amendments. On 19 February 2024 the MOJ opened a consultation on the proposals, which closed on 14 April. There were six responses, which were of a technical nature, with no objections to the content of the amendments. On 14 October the Government response was published, setting out that no further changes to the amendments were needed to address the responses.
Officials in the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have been kept apprised of the development of the amendment regulations, in particular in relation to the offices whose jurisdictions are in those countries, and their views have been reflected in the drafting. The Secretary of State for Scotland was also consulted.
Subsequent to the consultation, the MOJ identified the need for additional amendments to extend the reconciliation powers and to further extend certain deadlines. It engaged the senior judiciary on these matters, which also resulted in no objections to the amendments.
In conclusion, I assure Committee members that the amendments set out in this statutory instrument are necessary to improve and correct the running of the judicial pension schemes, to meet our statutory duty to insert a cost cap mechanism and, together with other measures on judicial pay and pensions, to help ensure that we can continue to support our outstanding independent judiciary.
Heidi Alexander
I am grateful to the shadow spokesperson for his support and brevity, and I am sure all members of the Committee endorse that comment. With that, Mr Betts, I hope you agree that this statutory instrument is necessary, and I commend it to the Committee.
Question put and agreed to.
Criminal Legal Aid
Heidi Alexander Excerpts(1 week ago)
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
Today, I am announcing the Government’s response to the criminal legal aid “Crime Lower” consultation which was launched in January of this year. “Crime Lower” covers work carried out by legal aid providers at police stations, in the magistrates courts in relation to people accused of, or charged with criminal offences, prison law and work completed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission
Criminal legal aid is a vital part of the criminal justice system. It plays an important role in upholding the constitutional right to access to justice and a fair trial, providing an equality of arms between the prosecution and defence.
In response to the criminal legal aid independent review, the Ministry of Justice allocated additional investment in its 2024-25 budget to solicitors undertaking criminal legal aid work in police stations and the youth court. The “Crime Lower” consultation sought views on how best to distribute the additional £21.1 million funding for those schemes.
The Government are committed to supporting the sustainability of the criminal legal aid system and will invest an additional £2.9 million in the police station schemes, taking the total annual investment in response to the crime lower consultation to £24 million.
£18.5 million per annum will go into the police station fee schemes to begin the process of harmonising the different fees across different police stations.
£5.1 million per annum will be spent on a separate youth court fee scheme with enhanced fees for the most serious offences.
We are also introducing police station travel renumeration in relation to police station schemes with fewer than two providers, and the Isle of Wight. This reflects concerns around capacity challenges for specific schemes and is designed to incentivise providers from neighbouring schemes to pick up cases in these areas of concern. This will cost around £0.4 million per annum.
The consultation response has been published on gov.uk and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
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Oral Answers to Questions
Heidi Alexander Excerpts(2 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
We are funding 106,500 Crown court sitting days this financial year—500 days more than the previous Government originally agreed. To reduce the number of cases that end up at the Crown court, we are also extending magistrates’ sentencing powers to up to 12 months for an individual offence.
Sojan Joseph
It is important that victims of crime have the swift access to justice that they deserve, so I welcome the extra funding from this Government that will lead to more than 106,000 sitting days in Crown courts this financial year. That includes nearly 3,000 in the Crown courts in Kent. Does the Minister agree that dealing with the court backlog left by the Conservatives is essential to make sure that offenders are quickly brought to justice and faith is restored in the criminal justice system?
Heidi Alexander
I agree. This Government inherited a record and rising Crown court backlog. We walked into a criminal justice system on the brink of collapse, with our prisons overflowing and our courts buckling under the weight of demand. While we cannot fix this mess overnight, we will do everything we can to ensure swift justice for victims and to restore faith in the entire system.
Sir Ashley Fox
I am sure the Minister will acknowledge that the Crown court backlog is caused by a combination of covid and strike action by barristers. Will she outline the steps she will be taking to continue Nightingale court sittings and to improve the quality and number of Crown court judges sitting and able to hear cases?
Heidi Alexander
We are currently operating 18 Nightingale courts in eight different locations, and we continue to recruit to the judiciary. The Conservatives cannot wash their hands of responsibility for the Crown court backlog. It was rising before covid. They closed more than 260 court buildings. They express concern now, but there was scant evidence of that in the 14 years they were in power.
Warinder Juss
Last week it was reported that the Crown court backlog is 71,000 cases, which could hit 100,000 unless radical action is taken. Some cases have not proceeded at all because of delays, includes those involving victims of serious offences such as rape, reinforcing that justice delayed is justice denied. I welcome the Chancellor’s Budget, confirming the significant financial investment in prison expansion and the Ministry of Justice funding settlement, which will increase Crown court sitting days. Does the Minister believe that the measures will be sufficient to reduce the Crown court backlog to an acceptable level, or does she envisage that further action will be necessary, such as increases to criminal legal aid?
Heidi Alexander
Legal aid is a vital part of the justice system, and it underpins our plans to build a justice system that works fairly for all parties. The previous Government left the civil and criminal legal aid markets in dire straits and facing significant challenges. We intend to publish our response shortly to the “Crime Lower” consultation, which relates to the fees paid to duty solicitors in police stations among other things, and we will follow up on that with our response to the Law Society’s successful judicial review of the previous Government’s decision on criminal legal aid fees.
Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)
The Minister has referenced magistrates courts. Cheltenham magistrates court, I regret to inform the House, has backlogs, but also an inappropriate courthouse. It is failing victims, the accused and justices of the peace, and it is not accessible for disabled people. The roof is leaky, and it is generally considered to be in a shocking state of affairs. Will the Minister make a statement on whether there will be investment in magistrates courthouses to ensure that justice can be carried out at the local level?
Heidi Alexander
If the hon. Gentleman writes to me with specific details of the issues in his local magistrates court, I will raise those with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. We were successful in securing a £177 million increase in capital spending for the Ministry of Justice in last week’s Budget. That will cover expenditure on prisons and courts.
Dan Aldridge (Weston-super-Mare) (Lab)
Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
Legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It underpins our plans to build a justice system that works for victims, supports access to justice and upholds the rule of law. We are looking carefully at the evidence gathered as part of the review of civil legal aid, which covered issues such as demand, fee levels and the geographic provision of services.
Abtisam Mohamed
Cuts to legal aid and the narrowing of its scope by the Conservatives have meant that many people are no longer able to resolve their problems through access to early legal advice. That has resulted in legal representation being available only to those who can afford it. Will the Minister consider looking into restoring legal aid to the level it was before the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 for all areas of civil law, to ensure that justice is made available to all people who can afford it? Will she commit to reviewing the bureaucracy of the Legal Aid Agency, which does not support the needs and capacity of small firms?
Heidi Alexander
My hon. Friend has significant experience of working in the legal aid sector, and she is right to highlight the importance of good quality legal advice to resolving a whole range of social welfare problems. We are looking at how to improve access to early legal advice and support, but she will appreciate the challenging financial outlook that we are grappling with. I will raise the administrative issues in relation to the Legal Aid Agency with its chief executive.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
Every week I have people coming to my office who are victims and have no access to money. They deserve justice, and the only way they can get it is with legal aid. What discussions has the Minister had with the Policing and Justice Minister in Northern Ireland to ensure that legal aid available here can also be available in Northern Ireland?
Heidi Alexander
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. I have yet to have those conversations with my counterparts in Northern Ireland, but I hope to do so in the coming months.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
I have listened carefully to concerns raised about the single justice procedure. As a first step, I have asked the Courts and Tribunals Service to redesign the SJP and make it clearer. I will also call in SJP prosecutors to discuss ways in which we can ensure that they consider the public interest in advance of making prosecutions.
Lee Pitcher
Earlier this year, a decision by the chief magistrate overturned the use of SJP for rail fines, potentially nullifying and requiring the refunding of as many as 74,000 fines. In the past few days it has been reported that LNER has brought similar prosecutions under SJP without supplying any evidence at all. I make no assumption about the guilt or innocence of anyone involved in those prosecutions, but justice must be open, clear and fair. It is unfair to expect people to engage with a process without it being clear what evidence has been laid against them. Will the Minister confirm that her Department will keep those principles at the heart of all our justice practices, including SJPs?
Heidi Alexander
I will raise the evidential questions that my hon. Friend raised with representatives of the train operating companies when they and other SJP prosecutors join me in discussions in the next few weeks. I am clear that the single justice procedure is vital for the efficient running of the magistrates court. However, it must operate fairly and effectively. I will not tolerate poor practice, and I will not hesitate to fundamentally reform the system if that is required.
Paul Davies (Colne Valley) (Lab)
Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
The register plays an important role in helping lenders assess credit worthiness and enhancing financial transparency. These objectives seek to support vulnerable debtors by encouraging and enabling responsible borrowing. A consultation on including claimant data on the register closed recently. Responses to it were very positive and I hope to announce a way forward imminently.
Will Stone
I am pleased to hear the Minister is moving forward with the next steps following the consultation. I would further like to congratulate the Minister on moving swiftly on this matter, especially as the consultation had been stalled since January. I hope that with care and attention, data protection for claimants will soon be able to be included in the register. Will the Minister also consider other updates to the register, such as recording partial settlements and shifting the burden of proof on debt satisfaction? That would really help my constituents in Swindon.
Heidi Alexander
My hon. Friend raises some interesting points and, as he is, I am always very keen to help people in Swindon. Our focus is on responding to the consultation on including claimant data on the register, which would improve financial inclusion by helping people to resolve judgment debts. Once our response has been published and any reforms regarding claimant data are implemented, we will consider any wider reforms.
Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)
Jack Abbott (Ipswich) (Lab/Co-op)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
The Government have made it clear that we are fully committed to bearing down on the Crown court caseload. To relieve pressure on Ipswich Crown court in particular, the south-east region has begun sending appropriate cases to Cambridge Crown court for hearing. Nationally, we have increased the number of Crown court sitting days to 106,500, which is 500 more than agreed by the previous Lord Chancellor.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
An estimated 80,000 disabled young people are unable to benefit from their child trust fund savings, because their families are being thwarted by a complex legal process before they can access them. The previous Government let these families down by tolerating that, so this Government need to act. Will the Minister commit to simplifying this agonising process to ensure that these disabled young people get the cash that they deserve?
Heidi Alexander
This Government recognise the difficulties that parents and guardians of young people who lack mental capacity can face in accessing their child trust fund. I recently met the hon. Member’s colleague, the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne), and his constituent about this issue. The Government will consider what can be done in a way that safeguards those who lack capacity.
James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome the commitment in the Budget to our courts after 14 years of neglect. Truro Crown court is facing a temporary cut to Crown court sitting days until the end of the year. I have previously asked about delayed rape and sexual offences cases at Truro Crown court. Can measures be considered to assist?
Heidi Alexander
As my hon. Friend will know, we are doing everything we can to bear down on the Crown court caseload, including extending magistrates’ sentencing powers. The Budget also confirmed 106,500 sitting days for this year.
Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)
Earlier this year, I spoke with the now Minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), about my campaign to make court transcripts free. She was supportive, but was not sure that Labour could commit to spending the £2.2 million that it would cost. The Justice Committee has urged the courts to consider whether artificial intelligence-powered transcription could reduce the cost of producing court transcripts. Will the Minister commit to carrying out the Committee’s recommendations before the end of this parliamentary Session?
Heidi Alexander
I understand why the hon. Lady raises that issue, but transcripts must be 100% accurate. They are legal documents, so “good enough” simply does not cut it. I will review what technology is available, and I am happy to keep her updated.
Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)
A report from May 2022 showed that only nine of the 32 prison education institutions inspected were judged “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted; additionally, less than 40% of prisoners took courses up to GCSE level. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we are to tackle rehabilitation, we must improve prison education across the estate?
Heidi Alexander
Some cases are eligible for legal aid under exceptional case funding. If my hon. Friend writes to me with the details of the case, I will come back to him with any advice that I can offer.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
As Ministers are doubtless aware, domestic abuse includes financial abuse and coercive control. I have a constituent whose ex-partner is using the family courts to perpetrate his controlling and abusive behaviour against her. What can be done to prevent the legal system from being used as a vehicle for extending domestic abuse by former partners?
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)
There was welcome news for the Ministry of Justice in the Budget last week, but I did not hear any mention of legal aid funding. When will the criminal legal aid advisory board recommendations and the civil legal aid review be published, and when can we expect to see some reversal of the catastrophic cuts made to legal aid and advice since 2010?
Heidi Alexander
We will publish our response to the “Crime Lower” consultation in a matter of weeks. I anticipate being able to publish the CLAAB report at that stage, and some of the documents relating to the review of civil legal aid before the end of this year.
Law Commission Digital Assets Report: Government Response
Heidi Alexander Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede) has today made the following statement:
I am pleased to inform the House that we are taking forward the Property (Digital Assets etc.) Bill via the Law Commission’s special procedure. This recommendation was made in the “Digital Assets: Final Report” published by the Law Commission in June 2023. The Bill will confirm in statute the common law position that certain digital assets can constitute property.
Providing certainty over legal issues around digital assets will encourage the use of English and Welsh law in internationally mobile transactions. The Ministry of Justice commissioned the digital assets report in 2020 to identify any barriers to the recognition of digital assets as property under English and Welsh private law and to recommend reforms in this area of law. This work is vital to our ambition to maintain English and Welsh law as a global law of choice.
I also accept the second recommendation by the Law Commission to set up an expert group on control of digital assets. The Ministry of Justice has asked the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce, an expert group chaired by the Master of the Rolls that produces non-binding guidance on areas of legal uncertainty, to take forward this work as a body that already has an internationally credible voice in the intersection of the law and technology. I believe the UKJT is uniquely placed to convene the expertise needed to consider the issues around control of digital assets.
Finally, the report made recommendations to make statutory amendments to the Financial Collateral Arrangements Regulations and to set up a multidisciplinary project to formulate a statutory framework for the entering into, operation and enforcement of certain crypto-token and crypto-asset collateral arrangements. I understand that my colleagues in HM Treasury are reviewing these recommendations and will provide an update in due course.
[HCWS84]
Oral Answers to Questions
Heidi Alexander Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
It is good to be back. Mr Speaker.
The Government are committed to reducing caseloads and bringing waiting times down for court users across all jurisdictions. We continue to keep 18 Nightingale courtrooms open across eight venues, so that we have more physical capacity to hear cases in all jurisdictions. We plan to sit more than 105,000 days in the Crown court and more than 102,000 days in the family court this financial year, enabling us to work through as many cases as possible.
Mr Brash
Hartlepool’s court building has stood empty since 2017, after it was mothballed by the then Conservative Government. Will my hon. Friend investigate the potential for reopening Hartlepool’s court as part of our efforts to expand capacity and clear the backlog, and will she meet me to discuss the issue further?
Heidi Alexander
I hear you, Mr Speaker.
I welcome the question from my hon. Friend. He will know that His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service keeps the court estate under regular review to ensure that it meets operational requirements. I am afraid there are currently no plans to reopen Hartlepool magistrates court, but I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend alongside officials from HMCTS to discuss his concerns. The reasons behind the increased caseload in our criminal courts are complex and multifaceted, but the number of courtrooms available is not the main constraint we currently face.
Steve Darling
Torquay magistrates court closed in the last decade, and therefore justice is served somewhat distantly from our communities in Torbay. Can the Minister assure the House that there will be some reviews to ensure that justice is served more locally to our communities in south Devon?
Heidi Alexander
I may be having another meeting, with the hon. Gentleman, as well as looking at the court in Chorley, and I am happy to discuss that matter with him.
Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)
Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
We are committed to ensuring the swift delivery of justice for victims at all stages of the criminal justice system, and we are working closely with various partners involved to achieve that aim. In relation to the courts, we plan to sit more than 105,000 working days in the Crown court this financial year, and we continue to hear criminal cases at Nightingale courts. We are also considering other measures to speed up justice for victims, and we will make further announcements in due course.
Mr Kohler
I thank the Minister for her answer. After waiting seven years for the Grenfell inquiry to report, the bereaved families and survivors have now been told that they must wait two or possibly three years for a decision on whether and whom to prosecute. As Martin Luther King said,
“justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
I understand from the Crown Prosecution Service, which I met recently, that much of the delay is for the discovery process, where the welter of digital information must be assessed. Can the Minister tell me what is being done to address these delays and whether things such as artificial intelligence are being contemplated?
Heidi Alexander
As the Prime Minister made clear, those affected by the Grenfell tragedy have already waited too long for justice. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that anything in my or my Department’s power that needs to be done will be done. The Government fully support the Metropolitan police and the Crown Prosecution Service as they complete their investigations and bring prosecutions to trial, while respecting their operational independence. I am sure the use of all forms of technology will be considered in that process.
Sir Desmond Swayne
Perhaps too many barristers have become politicians, but however caused, how will the Minister address the shortage at the criminal Bar?
Heidi Alexander
I hesitate to answer the right hon. Gentleman’s question, given that my boss is a former barrister—I say that we cannot have too many.
Only last week I discussed the adequacy of numbers of legal professionals in the Crown court with the chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Mary Prior, and I will be working with the profession to ensure not only that we are recruiting sufficient barristers to work in the courts, but that we are retaining barristers at the criminal Bar.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
Our team in Newport East are trying hard to raise the issue of how long cases are taking for constituents—we inherited those delays from the Conservatives—but even the CPS is taking months to answer basic queries about where the delays are in cases. Will the Minister urge the CPS to respond faster?
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that a properly funded legal aid scheme both here and in Scotland is essential for access to justice, and that the decline in this vital public service that both the Tories and the SNP have presided over is nothing short of disgraceful?
Heidi Alexander
What we are experiencing is the very long tail of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which has meant that both the civil and criminal legal aid sectors have faced huge challenges. That is vital to people’s access to justice.
Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
As I said to the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler), we will do everything we can to ensure swift justice for the victims of Grenfell. We plan for the Crown court to sit for at least 105,000 days this financial year, and we will do more to increase the speed with which cases are heard in the Crown court.
Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)
Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)
Heidi Alexander
As I have said, the Crown court will sit for more than 105,000 days this financial year—an increase of 28% on the year before the pandemic. That means that there is more capacity in the Crown court this year than in six of the past seven years. We have inherited a criminal justice system on life support as a result of the previous Government, and we have a broken economy. Everyone can see the state of the public finances, and justice is not immune from that.
Henry Tufnell (Mid and South Pembrokeshire) (Lab)
In Pembrokeshire we have no local solicitors’ firms offering pro bono work, and the nearest free legal advice centre is in Swansea. Many of my constituents are therefore unable to access to justice, which is particularly distressing in the area of family law and care proceedings. What steps is the Minister taking to tackle the issue of legal deserts in places such as Pembrokeshire and west Wales?
Heidi Alexander
Access to justice is integral to a fair society, including for our rural communities. In our courts and tribunals, modernised services and a more effective use of technology can improve people’s access to the justice system, but I recognise that there is more to do and I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that.
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)
A widow was prosecuted under the single justice procedure after her husband had passed away and the car tax expired. She was convicted over just £3.34, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency sent the letter to the wrong address. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can reform the single justice procedure to make it more accountable and ensure that there is better oversight of the process?
Heidi Alexander
I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend. I am also very keen that we keep under review what more can be done to support vulnerable defendants going through the single justice procedure, and to improve oversight and regulation of the organisations using that procedure.
Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)
Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)
Will the Secretary of State ensure that measures are put in place in the criminal justice system to support survivors of violence against women and girls, including mandatory training for prosecutors on understanding the impact of trauma on survivors and the release of court transcripts for free for victims of rape?
Heidi Alexander
The hon. Lady may know that we currently offer free transcripts of judges’ sentencing remarks to families of victims of fatal road offences, murder and manslaughter. In May, we extended free transcripts of sentencing remarks to victims of rape and serious sexual offences, in a year-long pilot. We will continue to look at how we can lower the costs of obtaining a court transcript.
Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)
Former clients of the law firm SSB Law were unexpectedly pursued for adverse legal costs following the installation of defective cavity wall insulation. I understand that the Solicitors Regulatory Authority has opened an investigation. Will the Secretary of State review the situation urgently, including establishing a cross-Government working group on the matter?
Heidi Alexander
I am aware from correspondence that I have received, as the Member of Parliament for Swindon South, that there are significant concerns about the collapse of law firms such as SSB Solicitors, Axiom Law and McClure. As my hon. Friend said, the Solicitors Regulation Authority is looking at this, as is the Legal Services Board, and I shall be happy to speak to her further to provide an update.
Sir David Davis (Goole and Pocklington) (Con)
The Justice Secretary will be aware that the Criminal Cases Review Commission took 17 years to overturn the conviction of Andrew Malkinson, an innocent man, even though DNA evidence exonerating him was available from the fourth year; and his is not the only such case. Has the Minister any intention of addressing the resources, regulation and management of the CCRC to ensure that innocent people are not left incarcerated for many years?
Heidi Alexander
What happened to Mr Malkinson is appalling, both for him and for the victim of the crime. It is vital that lessons are learned. As the right hon. Gentleman will know, following the publication of the Henley review of the CCRC’s handling of Mr Malkinson’s case, the Lord Chancellor’s view is that the current chair is unfit to fulfil her duties. As for resources, the amount that the CCRC has received in recent years has risen, and we will continue to keep that under review.
Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)
As the Minister will know, one of the factors that can contribute to backlogs in courts is the existence of basic maintenance problems with the buildings, which prevents cases from being heard. In Swindon this year, we had a serious fire which resulted in one of the courtrooms being closed and cases being transferred elsewhere. What investment is being made in courts in places such as Swindon to ensure that justice can be delivered swiftly?
Heidi Alexander
I am very pleased to be responding to a fellow Swindon Member, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me the chance to mention our home town during my first ministerial outing. I should add that I am also grateful to local judiciary court staff and justice stakeholders for their work in maintaining justice during that incident in Swindon. As the Lord Chancellor said earlier, ensuring that buildings are maintained effectively is critical to the delivery of justice.
Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Stamford) (Con)
My constituent was brave enough to report her husband for the abuse that he put her through. He has just been released from prison on two conditions: he would be tagged and he was not allowed to go into her village. He has not been tagged because the Probation Service says that it does not have enough tags and there is a technical fault, and he entered her village on his first day out of prison, staying overnight. He was on her street, and his family knocked on her door. Will the Secretary of State please respond to my letter about my constituent, who feels extremely vulnerable? Will she also confirm that there are enough tags, and that in cases such as this there will be not just a verbal warning—which is all that her husband received for his actions—but remedial repercussions?