Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce family court waiting times for domestic abuse victims seeking to divorce abusive partners.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In April 2022, the Government implemented the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act (“DDSA”) 2020. The DDSA provides a minimum period of 26 weeks to obtain a divorce, and benefits victims of domestic abuse by making it no longer possible for abusive respondents to exercise control by ‘defending’ a divorce and prolonging proceedings. The DDSA did not provide an exemption for domestic abuse victims from the 26-week minimum period because to do so would require a victim to set out allegations, risking further abuse by a perpetrator.
The Government is working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to consider whether a pilot can be established to test a new, fast-track procedure for contested financial cases on divorce under a certain value threshold. The pilot will aim to provide swifter outcomes for litigants, including victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce delays in the family courts.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In the Spring Budget, we announced an additional £55 million to improve productivity, support earlier resolution of family disputes and reduce the number of cases coming to court. This includes creating a digital advice tool for separating couples, piloting early legal advice and supporting the expansion of the private law Pathfinder model.
We are also investing up to £23.6 million in the family mediation voucher scheme, which we intend will allow for its continuation up to March 2025. As of March 2024, over 26,000 families have successfully used the scheme to attempt to resolve their private law disputes outside of court.
In addition, we are working with the Department for Education and other partners on the Family Justice Board to tackle the longest running cases and increase the proportion of public law proceedings that conclude within the 26-week timeline. The Department for Education is also investing an extra £10 million to deliver new initiatives to address the longest delays in public law.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Mental Health Treatment Requirements were issued per year in each year since 2019.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are firmly committed to working with our partners to increase the use of Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs), which can form part of a tough and effective sentence that enables offenders to tackle the health-related causes of their offending behaviour.
There has been a sustained increase in the use of MHTRs, and the number of MHTRs sentenced has nearly tripled in the last ten years, from 760 in in 2012 to 2,000 in 2022.
Data on the number of MHTRs issued per year in each year is published on the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly page which can be accessed using the following link: Offender Management Statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Annual data for 2023 is due to be published at the end of April 2024, alongside Q3 and Q4 quarterly data for 2023.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mental illness on the size of the prison population.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The prevalence of mental health needs in prison is higher than amongst the general population and we are firmly committed to delivering improvements to mental health treatment for vulnerable people in the criminal justice system. An HM Inspectorate of Prisons Report 2022/23 highlighted that, of the surveyed prison population, 82% of female prisoners and 59% of male prisoners reported having a mental health need. The report can be found at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/annual-report-2022-23/.
Many people with mental health needs can be well supported in prison, and all prisoners have access to integrated mental health services commissioned by NHS England as per the national Service Specification for Integrated Mental Health Service for Prisons in England.
However, with the right treatment and support to tackle the causes of their offending behaviour, many offenders can be managed more effectively in the community, and we are committed to diverting offenders with mental health needs away from prison or out of the criminal justice system altogether, where appropriate.
Together with NHS England, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Home Office, we are strengthening Liaison & Diversion services, which are present in police custody suites and criminal courts in England. We are also working to increase the use of Mental Health Treatment Requirements as part of community or suspended sentences.
To reduce inappropriate remands into custody solely on mental health grounds we are piloting a Health and Justice Hub in the Northeast, in partnership with HMCTS and NHS England, to improve the way that courts, health services and prisons work together at a local level to better support defendants with severe mental health needs.
The nationwide expansion of the HMPPS Bail Information Service, as well as the additional funding recently announced by the Chancellor, will also help to ensure judges have the necessary information to make a timely and informed decision on bailing a vulnerable individual with confidence.
Taken together, these steps will help reduce the number of people with mental illness in prisons and divert them into the appropriate support to tackle the root causes of their offending.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people with mental illness held in UK prisons.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The prevalence of mental health needs in prison is higher than amongst the general population and we are firmly committed to delivering improvements to mental health treatment for vulnerable people in the criminal justice system. An HM Inspectorate of Prisons Report 2022/23 highlighted that, of the surveyed prison population, 82% of female prisoners and 59% of male prisoners reported having a mental health need. The report can be found at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/annual-report-2022-23/.
Many people with mental health needs can be well supported in prison, and all prisoners have access to integrated mental health services commissioned by NHS England as per the national Service Specification for Integrated Mental Health Service for Prisons in England.
However, with the right treatment and support to tackle the causes of their offending behaviour, many offenders can be managed more effectively in the community, and we are committed to diverting offenders with mental health needs away from prison or out of the criminal justice system altogether, where appropriate.
Together with NHS England, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Home Office, we are strengthening Liaison & Diversion services, which are present in police custody suites and criminal courts in England. We are also working to increase the use of Mental Health Treatment Requirements as part of community or suspended sentences.
To reduce inappropriate remands into custody solely on mental health grounds we are piloting a Health and Justice Hub in the Northeast, in partnership with HMCTS and NHS England, to improve the way that courts, health services and prisons work together at a local level to better support defendants with severe mental health needs.
The nationwide expansion of the HMPPS Bail Information Service, as well as the additional funding recently announced by the Chancellor, will also help to ensure judges have the necessary information to make a timely and informed decision on bailing a vulnerable individual with confidence.
Taken together, these steps will help reduce the number of people with mental illness in prisons and divert them into the appropriate support to tackle the root causes of their offending.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the Judicial Appointments Commission fulfils its statutory duty to select solely on merit.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is independent from government. It has a statutory duty under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to select on merit and to encourage diversity. The JAC is governed by an independent Board of Commissioners, appointed by His Majesty the King on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. A key objective of the Board is to ensure the JAC is upholding its statutory functions and duties, including to appoint solely on merit.
Throughout the JAC’s selection process, there are several provisions in place to uphold its statutory requirement to select based on merit. This includes scrutiny by a Selection and Character Committee made up of the JAC’s Commissioners. The JAC submits annual reports to parliament about its performance and is also subject to triennial independent reviews. The Lord Chancellor also meets the JAC Chair regularly to discuss the Commission’s work.
Any complaints about judicial recruitment decisions can be considered by the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman, an independent body able to investigate complaints about the administration of the judicial appointment process.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the role of the Chair of the National Council of Lay Observers is not remunerated; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of remunerating that role in line with the level of remuneration provided to the Chair of the National Board of the Independent Monitoring Boards.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Government’s assessment is that it does not currently have statutory authority to remunerate the role of the Chair of the National Council of Lay Observers. The department has considered the merits of remunerating this role and, when parliamentary time allows, our intention remains to introduce a statutory framework to combine the Independent Monitoring Boards’ Management Board and Lay Observers’ National Council into a single Board under a single, remunerated Chair. The intention is to recognise both the unified Board and the Chair role in legislation.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the efficiency of the Office of the Public Guardian.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
It currently takes up to 20 weeks for an LPA to be registered. OPG’s target to register LPAs is 40 days. It should be noted that OPG must carry out checks on receipt of the LPA before notices are issued, and then must observe a statutory waiting period of 4 weeks to allow for objections before the registration process can be completed. This statutory waiting period cannot be waived and is included in the calculation for the number of days to register an LPA. Like many organisations, Covid had a significant impact on the OPG, particularly in the processing and registration of LPAs.
A backlog to register LPAs was initially created at the start of the pandemic when the numbers of staff in the office significantly reduced due to self-isolation, shielding and caring responsibilities. From April 2021 incoming workload increased significantly as restrictions were lifted. There was then a significant period of Covid related sickness from September 2021 for a number of months. The backlog has been exacerbated by record daily applications for LPAs at c4,200 per day (compared to c3,600 a day pre-pandemic). This has caused an increase in average time taken to register an LPA.
The OPG know the delays are frustrating the customers and is committed to reducing the time it is currently taking to register LPAs. OPG staff are working day and night to tackle the Covid backlog. Frontline operational staff whose role requires them to be office-based have worked in the office throughout the pandemic and continue to do so. The OPG rapidly changed working practices and processes during the pandemic to continue to deliver their services and the number of LPAs being processed each month is back to what it was before the pandemic. The OPG has continued to deliver its wider statutory functions throughout the pandemic, including supervising deputies and guardians appointed by the Court of Protection and the High Court, and investigating representations, complaints, or allegations of abuse, made against guardians, deputies, and attorneys acting under registered powers.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the frequency of duplicate payments made by members of the public for services provided by the Office of the Public Guardian.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
OPG launched a new card payment process in November 2021. The introduction of this system led to some duplicate payments, which was identified quickly. Measures have now been put in place to significantly reduce the risk of duplicate payment requests being made. There is no indication that duplicate payments are taking place frequently and the OPG successfully processes payments to register LPAs every week.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many orders are currently waiting to be processed by the Office of the Public Guardian; and what the average number of orders waiting to be processed by that office was during the period between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
There are currently (as of 5 July 2022) 350,000 LPAs waiting to be processed by the Office of the Public Guardian. This represents all applications which the OPG has received and is currently processing and is not a reflection of the applications which have exceeded the 40-day target and might be considered to be part of a "backlog". OPG does not hold data on the average number of LPAs waiting to be processed between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019.