Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the additional covid-19 risks faced by humanist couples as a result of being required to hold both a humanist wedding in line with their beliefs and a marriage ceremony conferring legal recognition.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
A Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations, and powers to hold weddings remotely in a national emergency. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.
Delivery of registration services falls to local authorities who continue to manage the demand for civil marriage within their respective geographical areas during recovery from the pandemic.
The Government has published guidance on gov.uk to assist couples in planning for their marriage or civil partnership formation in England, and for venues that host ceremonies and receptions to enable them to prepare for these events. The guidance sets out how this can be done in a manner that is safe and complies with legal requirements and social distancing guidelines. The Welsh Government has published similar guidance in respect of Wales.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of granting legal recognition of (a) outdoor civil marriages and (b) humanist marriages to help tackle the backlog in demand for officiants who can conduct legally recognised marriages.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
A Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations, and powers to hold weddings remotely in a national emergency. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.
Delivery of registration services falls to local authorities who continue to manage the demand for civil marriage within their respective geographical areas during recovery from the pandemic.
The Government has published guidance on gov.uk to assist couples in planning for their marriage or civil partnership formation in England, and for venues that host ceremonies and receptions to enable them to prepare for these events. The guidance sets out how this can be done in a manner that is safe and complies with legal requirements and social distancing guidelines. The Welsh Government has published similar guidance in respect of Wales.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of granting interim, time-limited legal recognition to humanist marriages on the same basis as has been given for outdoor civil marriages.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
A Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations, and powers to hold weddings remotely in a national emergency. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.
Delivery of registration services falls to local authorities who continue to manage the demand for civil marriage within their respective geographical areas during recovery from the pandemic.
The Government has published guidance on gov.uk to assist couples in planning for their marriage or civil partnership formation in England, and for venues that host ceremonies and receptions to enable them to prepare for these events. The guidance sets out how this can be done in a manner that is safe and complies with legal requirements and social distancing guidelines. The Welsh Government has published similar guidance in respect of Wales.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of cases being withdrawn as a result of court delays and case backlogs.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the CPS and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) introduced an Interim Charging Protocol in April 2020. This enabled the prioritisation of the right cases to facilitate the effective working of police, CPS and courts during a time of crisis. The interim protocol sets out how cases should be managed by the police and the CPS by identifying three categories of cases:
A. Immediate – Custody and all Coronavirus related cases;
B. High Priority – Non custody bail cases;
C. Other cases – Released under investigation or no arrest required
In the courts we have taken decisive action to address the impact of the pandemic on how quickly cases can be heard. We spent over £250 million on recovery last financial year roll-out out new technology for remote hearings, make the court estate COVID-secure, and set up 60 new Nightingale courtrooms. This has enabled disposals to return to pre-pandemic levels in the Crown Court, which is over 2000 cases per week, and we completed over 7000 jury trials last year.
We will continue to address the outstanding caseload and reduce delays by increasing capacity in our physical estate, running Crown Courts to the fullest possible extent, using every judge and courtroom to maximise court sitting days.
We have increased funding for victim support services, with £151 million this year, including £27 million to increase the number of independent advisors for sexual violence and domestic abuse victims by over 40 per cent. Beyond significant increases in funding to victims’ services, the Government has taken a range of actions to ensure that victims and witnesses receive the support they need in the face of delays caused by the court backlogs.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of sentences of less than six months in reducing reoffending.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Sentencing must match the severity of the crime. Whilst there is evidence that short sentences do not help some offenders turn their backs on crime, protecting the public will always be our priority.
As part of our recent review, we have considered changes to sentencing for prolific offenders which could help break the cycle of reoffending.
We know that these offenders generally have multiple and complex needs which are linked to their offending behaviour, in particular drugs, alcohol and mental health needs. Solutions will often lie in effective community sentences.
We intend to bring forward a comprehensive package of reforms, including to community penalties to ensure they both punish and tackle the underlying drivers of offending.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the consultation entitled Proposal to amend the Tribunal Procedure (First-Tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008, published by the Tribunal Procedure Committee in March 2018, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that consultation is accessible for people in need of additional support to communicate and express their views.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Tribunal Procedure Committee’s consultation is available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposal-to-amend-the-tribunal-procedure-first-tier-tribunal-health-education-and-social-care-chamber-rules-2008
When it was published, the consultation was sent to key mental health organisations including MIND, Rethink, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Mental Health Foundation and Mental Health UK so they could consider the proposals and reflect the experience of those with experience of mental health problems.
The Ministry of Justice has not carried out an Impact Assessment but awaits the outcome of the Committee’s consultation. If the Committee decides to make any changes to the rules, the Lord Chancellor will consider the potential impact of those changes before deciding whether to allow the proposed changes to be implemented.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the consultation entitled Proposal to amend the Tribunal Procedure (First-Tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008, published by the Tribunal Procedure Committee in March 2018, whether an impact assessment has been undertaken of the proposal to give First-Tier (Mental Health) Tribunals the power to take decisions without an oral hearing where a patient has been automatically referred to a Tribunal.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Tribunal Procedure Committee’s consultation is available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposal-to-amend-the-tribunal-procedure-first-tier-tribunal-health-education-and-social-care-chamber-rules-2008
When it was published, the consultation was sent to key mental health organisations including MIND, Rethink, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Mental Health Foundation and Mental Health UK so they could consider the proposals and reflect the experience of those with experience of mental health problems.
The Ministry of Justice has not carried out an Impact Assessment but awaits the outcome of the Committee’s consultation. If the Committee decides to make any changes to the rules, the Lord Chancellor will consider the potential impact of those changes before deciding whether to allow the proposed changes to be implemented.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the joint HM Inspectorate of Probation and the Care Quality Commission report entitled New Psychoactive Substances: the response by probation and substance misuse services in the community in England, published in November 2017, whether his Department has plans to produce guidance for probation services on working in the community with offenders who use new psychoactive substances.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
We are grateful to H M Inspectorate and the Care Quality Commission for their report. We are working with partner agencies across the criminal justice system, as well as the Department of Health, to address the problem of new psychoactive substances and ensure that probation staff have the information they need to help offenders tackle substance misuse problems. The National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies are drawing up action plans in response to the recommendations in the report that are addressed to them, including in relation to training.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the joint HM Inspectorate of Probation and the Care Quality Commission report entitled New Psychoactive Substances: the response by probation and substance misuse services in the community in England, published in November 2017, what assessment he has made of the level of specific training on new psychoactive substances provided to community probation staff in England.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
We are grateful to H M Inspectorate and the Care Quality Commission for their report. We are working with partner agencies across the criminal justice system, as well as the Department of Health, to address the problem of new psychoactive substances and ensure that probation staff have the information they need to help offenders tackle substance misuse problems. The National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies are drawing up action plans in response to the recommendations in the report that are addressed to them, including in relation to training.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were serving prison sentences for offences related to cannabis in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
Prior to June 2015, information held centrally on prisoners serving sentences for drug related offences was not sufficiently detailed to identify offences relating to cannabis as opposed to other drugs. Providing data back to 2010 could therefore only be done at disproportionate cost.
According to centrally held data, as at 30 June 2015 (latest available), there were 1,363 offenders in prison custody for cannabis related offences in England and Wales. This number includes all offenders who have had their offence categorised as a ‘drug offence’ and in which cannabis is explicitly stated in their offence description. This number does not include instances where cannabis may have been a contributing factor to the main offence committed.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.