Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Personal Independence Payment applicants are awaiting a tribunal hearing.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Information about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
As of 30 June (the latest period for which data are available), the total number of Personal Independence Payment1 appeals awaiting a tribunal hearing was 31,276 (7,111 of which are listed for hearing and 24,165 are ready to list).
Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available. The data may differ slightly from that of the published statistics as these data were run on a different date.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to reduce the current backlog of cases with the Office of the Public Guardian.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
OPG are working hard to reduce the length of time that customers are currently waiting for their LPAs to be registered. To tackle the backlog of applications that arose during the pandemic and meet the increased demand for services, OPG have hired extra staff and teams are working overtime and across multiple shift patterns to ensure customers receive their LPAs as quickly as possible. OPG have introduced process efficiencies and continue to make sure they are doing all they can to improve the application journey for customers. These measures are starting to take effect and customers should see waiting times begin to reduce.
The government is currently supporting the Powers of Attorney Private Members Bill led by Stephen Metcalfe MP. This Bill will facilitate changes to modernise the LPA service, with the aim to increase safeguards, improve user access and achieve sustainability for the OPG while keeping the LPA affordable for the public. It is expected that these changes could also have a positive impact on the time taken to register LPAs.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of social distancing for the requirement in the Wills Act 1837 that a person who may be a vulnerable individual be in the physical presence of two independent witnesses when signing a will; and if he will enable (a) video conferencing and (b) privileged wills in those cases during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Government is currently reviewing the case for reform of the law on making wills given current circumstances.
The constraints of the Covid-19 situation must be balanced against the important safeguards in the law to protect elderly and vulnerable people in particular against undue influence and fraud. Having two independent witnesses provides safeguards to those making wills. Privileged wills are a long established convention restricted to people making wills when on active military service where the normal formalities cannot be observed, but which do not equate to the current civil circumstances. Other reform measures are being considered at present.
In the longer term, the Government will consider reforms to the law on wills arising from the forthcoming Law Commission report on wills, which will explore a range of issues reviewing the current law and the case for reform (including on the use of technology).
The Government is committed to considering further work on witnessing documents by video-conference generally, in the light of the recent Law Commission report on Electronic Execution of Documents, which will help to inform potential reforms to the law on wills in the future.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the age at which a person can change their name by enrolling at the Royal Courts of Justice is different from that at which they can do so by deed poll.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Individuals aged 16 years or more can change their name by deed poll. The deed may be enrolled at the Central Office of the Supreme Court provided that the application for enrolment satisfies the requirements of the Enrolment of Deeds (Change of Name) Regulations 1994 (as amended).
For individuals aged between 16 and 18, the regulations require that the application for enrolment may have to completed by a person with parental responsibility for the individual and supported by evidence of the agreement of other persons with parental responsibility to the change of name. This enables the court to be satisfied that the relevant persons with parental responsibility are content with the proposed change of name.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will undertake a review of the (a) role and (b) functions of the second executor in relation to wills.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Individuals may appoint one or more executors of their choice in their wills. The appointments may include “second executors” whose appointments are conditional (for example, where an appointment is only to take effect on the happening of an event) or substituted (for example, where one executor is to be substituted for another upon the happening of an event). The Government is not aware of concerns about the role or functions of “second executors” in relation to wills and does not have any plans to review this area of the law.