Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government Response to the Twenty-first Report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights of Session 2017-19, Proposal for a draft Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (Remedial) Order 2019, HC 2225, what progress has been made on extending eligibility for bereavement damages under Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 to fathers of illegitimate children.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.
Changes to extend availability to other family members (including fathers of illegitimate children) whose relationship to the deceased person may be less close may require a fundamentally different approach which would permit enquiries into the nature of the relationship in individual cases. This could lead in some cases to intrusive and upsetting investigation of the claimant’s relationship with the deceased person and could also increase the cost and complexity of the proceedings.
The context is important - bereavement damages are widely recognised and accepted as a fixed payment in acknowledgment of grief and are in no way intended to try to reflect the value of the life lost in monetary terms. They are only one element of the damages that may be awarded in a particular case, which for example can also include damages for dependency.
The statutory sum for bereavement damages was increased in 2020 (to £15,120).
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to take steps to increase the statutory amount of bereavement damages in Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.
Changes to extend availability to other family members (including fathers of illegitimate children) whose relationship to the deceased person may be less close may require a fundamentally different approach which would permit enquiries into the nature of the relationship in individual cases. This could lead in some cases to intrusive and upsetting investigation of the claimant’s relationship with the deceased person and could also increase the cost and complexity of the proceedings.
The context is important - bereavement damages are widely recognised and accepted as a fixed payment in acknowledgment of grief and are in no way intended to try to reflect the value of the life lost in monetary terms. They are only one element of the damages that may be awarded in a particular case, which for example can also include damages for dependency.
The statutory sum for bereavement damages was increased in 2020 (to £15,120).
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason fathers of illegitimate children are not eligible for bereavement damages under Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.
Changes to extend availability to other family members (including fathers of illegitimate children) whose relationship to the deceased person may be less close may require a fundamentally different approach which would permit enquiries into the nature of the relationship in individual cases. This could lead in some cases to intrusive and upsetting investigation of the claimant’s relationship with the deceased person and could also increase the cost and complexity of the proceedings.
The context is important - bereavement damages are widely recognised and accepted as a fixed payment in acknowledgment of grief and are in no way intended to try to reflect the value of the life lost in monetary terms. They are only one element of the damages that may be awarded in a particular case, which for example can also include damages for dependency.
The statutory sum for bereavement damages was increased in 2020 (to £15,120).
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking with the Forced Marriage Unit to prepare healthcare practitioners for the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 coming into force in March 2023.
Answered by Gareth Johnson
On 28 April 2022, the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 received Royal Assent and will come into force on 27 February 2023.
We are working with all relevant government departments and bodies impacted by the Act to ensure that appropriate guidance is in place for all relevant practitioners ahead of implementation.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Clause 164 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would allow deaf people who need Speech to Text Reporting within the deliberation room to undertake jury service.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Individuals with hearing impairments currently have access to Induction Loop Systems and those who are able to lip read can and do serve as jurors. They also have access to shorthand writers who transcribe the proceedings in court. While Speech to Text Reporters (STTR) may be suitable for transcribing court proceedings, they are not considered an effective option to enable jurors to converse and engage with other jurors and fully participate in deliberations.
Clause 164 in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill has therefore been drafted to enable only British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to be present in the jury deliberation room. We have also considered speech to text transcription using AI technology as an additional support which would not require a change in the law. However, the technology is not yet sufficiently advanced to accurately transcribe a real time written account of jury deliberations and enable a deaf juror to fully engage in discussions. We will continue to keep this under review as the technology develops.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what adjustments do HM Courts and Tribunal Service offer to deaf jurors who need speech to text reporting within a deliberation room.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Individuals with hearing impairments currently have access to Induction Loop Systems and those who are able to lip read can and do serve as jurors. They also have access to shorthand writers who transcribe the proceedings in court. While Speech to Text Reporters (STTR) may be suitable for transcribing court proceedings, they are not considered an effective option to enable jurors to converse and engage with other jurors and fully participate in deliberations.
Clause 164 in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill has therefore been drafted to enable only British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to be present in the jury deliberation room. We have also considered speech to text transcription using AI technology as an additional support which would not require a change in the law. However, the technology is not yet sufficiently advanced to accurately transcribe a real time written account of jury deliberations and enable a deaf juror to fully engage in discussions. We will continue to keep this under review as the technology develops.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to implement a Nightingale Court in Nottingham.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Nightingale courts are one of the ways in which we are ensuring we have additional capacity to alleviate the pressure on courts and tribunals resulting from the pandemic. We are considering a number of locations for future Nightingale courts, but no final decisions have been made.
HMCTS has published an update on their response to covid-19 in the criminal courts in England and Wales (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-and-tribunal-recovery-update-in-response-to-coronavirus). This provides a comprehensive update on our recovery plans.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date (a) protective screens installed and (b) other covid-19 protective measures were introduced at Nottingham Crown Court.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HMCTS has in place a range of measures, developed in line with, and validated against, relevant public health standards, to help to prevent the transmission of Covid 19 across the court and tribunal estate. Details can be found in the published Organisational Risk Assessment, and in the site-specific risk assessments undertaken and reviewed regularly at each building, which are available on request. These measures have enabled HMCTS to run its vital public services, and so maintain access to justice, throughout the pandemic emergency.
Nottingham Crown Court had screens installed on the 25th September 2020 into two jury deliberation rooms and two court rooms.
Furthermore, as well as requiring anyone in public spaces within our buildings to wear a face covering (unless exempt), a series of other measures have been put into place since the 16th March 2020 to ensure that the building operates in a Covid secure way, including introducing revised entry and search procedures for all court users, the provision of hand sanitiser at convenient points across the building, and public concourses marked out with socially distanced floor markings and appropriate guidance signage. In addition, all work assessed as suitable by the judiciary can be managed by way of remote/virtual hearings, and staff who can work remotely are doing so to reduce footfall and ensure social distancing can be adhered to.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of court security staffing.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service keeps the security arrangements at its court and tribunal buildings under close review and we are satisfied that appropriate provision is in place to ensure that all of our sites are safe for our users.
In April 2020, OCS became the sole national provider for security services across the HMCTS estate, enhancing the day to day security provision at courts and tribunals. The new contract enables improved monitoring of security in our sites, provides enhanced training of security staff and delivers an improved experience for all users of our courts and tribunals.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to prioritise cases dealt with by the courts during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The prioritisation of cases is a matter for the judiciary.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has assisted the judiciary by providing analyses of caseload and case types for the most time-critical and sensitive cases.
HMCTS are investing record amounts, with £153m to improve court and tribunal buildings, as well as more than £80m on a range of emergency measures to tackle the impact of Covid-19, including the recruitment of 1,600 additional staff.
To enable judicial prioritisation HMCTS has rapidly rolled out technology to support far more remote hearings than could have been supported before the pandemic, set up Nightingale courts, conducted detailed risk assessments, and completed physical building works to enable hearings to take place safely where cases are prioritised for an in-person hearing.