Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision, if any, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service has made for courts to sit in prisons when a prisoner refuses either to attend court or to take part in a video link between a prison and a court.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
A decision that a court should sit within a prison when a defendant refuses to attend court in person or by video link is for the judiciary. If such a decision is made HMCTS , in conjunction with HMPPS Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service makes the necessary arrangements.
The Court has no legal power to direct a prison officer (including a Governor) to use force or to compel a prisoner to attend court.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people are currently on the prison officer reserve list; what proportion of those on the reserve list have received training in the duties of a prison officer; and how many of those on the reserve list have been deployed to assist in prisons following the riot in HM Prison Birmingham.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
We currently offer permanent flexible contracts to ex-prison officers under the HMPS Reserve Scheme which was established in November 2015. Under the HMPS Reserve Scheme, we offer a permanent flexible contract to prison officers who have left voluntarily within the preceding 2 years. These staff will work flexibly to meet the needs of the estate. This helps to support the current operational workforce across the estate and to complement existing methods for meeting the staffing needs of prisons around the country.
HMPS Reserve staff provide a valuable flexible resource for NOMS by supporting prison regimes and as at 30 September 2016, the date of the most recent published figures, there were 10 prison officer reserves and they continue to be deployed on an on-going basis across the Service in support of existing staff including after the riot in HMP Birmingham.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will bring forward a draft bill to make provision for guardianship of the property of missing persons.
Answered by Lord Faulks
My Department is working to prepare the legislation necessary to create the new legal status of guardian of the property and affairs of the missing person. We will bring forward legislation when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that cases in the Court of Protection involving personal liberty are not delayed by lack of representation for persons with mental disabilities, following the recent ruling of that Court requiring representation in such cases.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Court of Protection deals with some of the most vulnerable people in our society and is responsible for making difficult decisions including where a person must be deprived of their liberty for the purpose of care or treatment. The protection of vulnerable people is a priority for the Government and we remain committed to finding a fair and proportionate resolution. We are considering whether changes need to be made to the way these cases are dealt with in the courts following the recent ruling on this topic.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to encourage government departments to meet their targets and legal obligations relating to the release of records to the National Archives.
Answered by Simon Hughes
Departments must comply with the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958 and the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on Records Management, issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Government departments are currently in transition from the 30-year rule for transferring records to The National Archives to a 20-year rule, over a ten year period. The National Archives works closely with departments to help them meet their targets for transferring records through published statistics and capability assessments.
On 6 November a report by the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Alex Allan, was published. It contains a number of recommendations relating to how Government should manage its records. We have accepted these recommendations in full. The Ministry of Justice will continue to support The National Archives’ work with departments to facilitate Information Management Assessments and to encourage continued diligence in taking these recommendations forward.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.
Answered by Simon Hughes
Each spring and autumn the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provides a submission to The National Archives (TNA) which sets out its progress for transferring records as part of the 10 year transition from the 30 to 20 year rule. In MoJ’s most recent submission to TNA in spring 2014, the department reported that it is on track to transfer records due in 2014. MoJ’s submission forms part of TNA’s Record Transfer Report which is available at the following link:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/record-transfer-report.htm
MoJ currently has 10 members of staff that undertake record review.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that departments meet targets for clearing public records for transfer to the National Archives.
Answered by Simon Hughes
Government departments are currently in transition from the 30 year rule for transferring records to The National Archives to a 20 year rule, over a ten year period. The National Archives works closely with departments to help them meet their targets for transferring records through published statistics and capability assessments.
In March 2014 the Prime Minister commissioned his independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Alex Allan, to establish the position across government on the annual release of papers and the ability and readiness of departments to meet the requirements of moving to the 20-year rule. The Government will consider Sir Alex’s recommendations in due course.