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Written Question
Prison Officers: Pay
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendation by the Prison Service Pay Review Body to offer different paid contracts for Prison Officers on Fair and Sustainable rates and closed rates; and what steps he is taking to address disparities between the two pay structures.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

In 2012, HMPPS introduced of a new common pay and grading structure called Fair & Sustainable (F&S) that applied to all new staff who joined the service after 1 April 2012 and existing staff who would benefit from opting into the modernised pay structures. This was a Workforce Policy decision and therefore not determined by the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB). There are, however, still a group of staff employed pre-2012 who remain on legacy “closed” grade pay structures. The reason for this is that they would not benefit financially from “opting in” to F&S so they have been allowed to remain on legacy terms. This year, because of the Prison Service Pay Review Body recommendations, the majority of closed grade staff will financially benefit from opting into the Fair & Sustainable pay structures and we will encourage them to do so.


Written Question
Children: Custody
Monday 3rd April 2023

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to support parents who do not live with their children to maintain contact where that contact is hindered by the resident parent or guardian.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The Government is aware of the difficulties that parents can face in continuing a relationship with their child following parental separation or divorce.

Under the current legal framework, a parent can apply for a child arrangements order for the child to live with or spend time with them. The welfare of the child is paramount in any decision regarding child arrangements, including decisions about the nature and extent of parental involvement.

We are committed to supporting families to resolve private family law matters outside of court where appropriate to ensure that matters are resolved earlier, before conflict becomes entrenched.

The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme provides families with up to £500 towards mediation with a trained, authorised professional to help resolve child arrangement issues in a less adversarial way. As of 26 March 2023, over 16,100 families have now benefitted from the scheme. Analysis of the first 7,200 users shows 69% wholly or partially resolve their issues and don’t need to go on to court, other than for a consent order to formalise their agreement. The government announced on 23 March that an additional £15m would be provided to continue the scheme for up to a further two years. This will allow it to help around a further 28,500 families over the period.


Written Question
Ministry of Justice: Buildings
Thursday 27th October 2022

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of work stations available for people employed by his Department on departmental premises.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We refer the honourable member to the reply for PQ No. 61202, which provided the number of workstations available for Civil Servants to use in our headquarters buildings.

There is no central record held regarding the number of workstations available across the rest of our estate


Written Question
Ministry of Justice: Buildings
Wednesday 19th October 2022

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many work stations were available for civil servants to use in the headquarters of his Department on 11 October 2022.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

There are currently 3,146 work stations available for civil servants to use in the buildings across the UK that are used by MoJ’s headquarters.


Written Question
Coroners: Standards
Monday 5th September 2022

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle backlogs in the coroners' court system.

Answered by Simon Baynes

Coroner services are funded and administered by local authorities. However, the Government recognises the pressures experienced by local authorities as a result of the pandemic and has provided £6.15 billion in un-ringfenced funding to local authorities in England and additional funding to the Devolved Administrations under the Barnett formula, to help them manage the costs of those additional pressures, which could include coroner services.

The Chief Coroner has issued guidance to coroners on developing recovery plans and engaging with local authorities on the resources required to deal with the outstanding backlog of cases caused by the Covid 19 pandemic: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GUIDANCE-No-39-Covid-recovery-20-05-2021-002.pdf. He is also undertaking a tour of all coroner areas to engage with them on their post-pandemic recovery plans.

The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022, which received Royal Assent on 28 April, includes a number of measures to streamline coroners’ court processes, support the coronial system with post-pandemic recovery plans and minimise distress to bereaved families.


Written Question
Slavery: Prosecutions
Friday 3rd December 2021

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of successful prosecutions made under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in each year since the Act came into place.

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

The Ministry of Justice has published information on prosecutions and convictions for offences under the Modern Slavery Act in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool, available below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx

  • Use the ‘Offence’ filter to select ‘106 Modern Slavery’.

Written Question
Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders
Friday 17th July 2020

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women and girls in the UK have an FGM protection order in place as at July 2020.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

The Ministry of Justice collates information on the number of applications and the number of FGM protection orders granted. There is no mandatory requirement to collate statistics on the duration of orders and whether they remain in place at any point in time. The quality of available data can only, therefore, be verified at disproportionate cost. However, following their introduction in July 2015, 584 FGM protection orders have been granted up to 31 March 2020, the latest period for which information is available.

Similarly, data relating to the age of the person to be protected by an FGM protection order granted by the court is not collated and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Data relating to age is collated, however, on a person or persons named in any application for a FGM protection order. Following their introduction in July 2015, 405 applicants, aged 17 or under, had been the subject of an application for an FGM protection order up to 31 March 2020, the latest period for which statistics are available.

Statistics to the end of June 2020 are scheduled for publication in late September, and statistics for July are scheduled for publication in late December.


Written Question
Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders: Children and Young People
Friday 17th July 2020

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many girls under the age of 18 in the UK have an FGM protection order in place as at July 2020.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

The Ministry of Justice collates information on the number of applications and the number of FGM protection orders granted. There is no mandatory requirement to collate statistics on the duration of orders and whether they remain in place at any point in time. The quality of available data can only, therefore, be verified at disproportionate cost. However, following their introduction in July 2015, 584 FGM protection orders have been granted up to 31 March 2020, the latest period for which information is available.

Similarly, data relating to the age of the person to be protected by an FGM protection order granted by the court is not collated and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Data relating to age is collated, however, on a person or persons named in any application for a FGM protection order. Following their introduction in July 2015, 405 applicants, aged 17 or under, had been the subject of an application for an FGM protection order up to 31 March 2020, the latest period for which statistics are available.

Statistics to the end of June 2020 are scheduled for publication in late September, and statistics for July are scheduled for publication in late December.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Friday 29th June 2018

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) current waiting time and (b) waiting time was in each year since 2010 for appeals relating to (i) personal independence payments and (ii) employment and support allowance in (A) Huddersfield, (B) Bradford and (C) Leeds.

Answered by Rory Stewart

PIP was introduced in 2013, therefore this explains the sharp increase in waiting times since 2013.

Latest figures indicate that since PIP was introduced, more than 3.1 million decisions have been made, and of these under 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned. For ESA the figure is only 8% of decisions made were appealed and 4% have been overturned at tribunals.

The information requested is in the table below:

Average time receipt to outcome (weeks) 1

Bradford

Huddersfield

Leeds

Apr-Mar

Personal Independence Payments2

Employment Support Allowance3

Personal Independence Payments2

Employment Support Allowance2

Personal Independence Payments2

Employment Support Allowance3

2017/18

28

25

40

39

26

24

2016/17

18

17

22

24

16

15

2015/16

23

22

24

29

20

21

2014/15

21

37

26

32

19

28

2013/14

0

26

0

39

~

20

2012/13

0

19

0

36

0

17

2011/12

0

26

0

28

0

18

2010/11

0

31

0

25

0

15

2009/10

0

13

0

~

0

8

  1. Data include cases cleared with and without a Tribunal hearing
  2. Personal Independent Payment (New Claim Appeals) which replaces Disability Living Allowance was introduced on the 8 April 2013, also includes Personal Independent Claims (Reassessments)
  3. Data include Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit reassessment. Employment and Support Allowance was introduced in October 2008 and Incapacity Benefit reassessment followed in October 2010.

~ Equates to a value fewer than 5

Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale management system and are the best data available.

The data may differ slightly to that of the published stats as these data were run on a different date.

The volume of PIP appeals made to the tribunal has built up over time since it was introduced as a new benefit in 2013.

Clearance times are dependent on several factors, such as the availability of the appellant or their representative, or hearing capacity at the local Tribunal venue. Additionally, a decision on the appeal may be reached after a hearing has been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after a hearing has been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been referred back to the First-tier Tribunal by the Upper Tribunal for disposal. Cases may also have been stayed at the First-tier Tribunal, pending a decision by the Upper Tribunal on a lead case.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Friday 29th June 2018

Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are waiting to have their appeal heard at a Tribunal for (a) personal independence payments and (b) employment and support allowance in the Halifax constituency.

Answered by Rory Stewart

Latest figures indicate that since PIP was introduced, more than 3.1 million decisions have been made, and of these under 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned. For ESA the figure is only 8% of decisions made were appealed and 4% have been overturned at tribunals.

The information requested is in the table below:

Number of cases that are ready to list1 for a hearing in the Bradford Venue2

Year

Personal Independence Payment3

Employment Support Allowance4

31 March 2018

973

430

  1. Ready to list includes cases waiting to be listed for a tribunal hearing. These cases may have already had an initial hearing and be awaiting a subsequent hearing.
  2. Social Security and Child Support appeals are normally registered to the venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. We cannot retrieve data based on the appellant’s actual address, but can produce reports detailing the numbers of cases that were dealt with at one of our Regional Centres or heard at a specific venue. Cases relating to Halifax constituency are registered to the Bradford venue. The above figures relate to all cases outstanding at the Bradford venue rather than just those for the Halifax constituency.
  3. Personal Independent Payment (New Claim Appeals) which replaces Disability Living Allowance was introduced on the 8 April 2013, also includes Personal Independent Claims (Reassessments)
  4. Includes Employment Support Allowance and Employment Support Allowance (reassessments)

Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale management system and are the best data available.

The data may differ slightly to those of the published stats as these data were run on a different date.